St. Rémy XO - Why This $20 French Brandy Is the Sommelier’s Best-Kept Secret
No, it’s not Cognac. Yes, you should absolutely put it on ice.
I’m a sommelier. By trade, I am genetically predisposed to wax poetic about the rugged terroir of Armagnac or the ancestral prestige of a Grand Champagne Cognac. But have you seen the price of a VSOP lately? My “willingness to spend” threshold has been officially breached.
Back in my twenties, I was the guy at the club ordering Hennessy VS on the rocks while catching a DJ set. Even then, dropping a cube into a glass of “liquid gold” felt a little like committing a minor felony in the eyes of the spirits elite. But here’s the thing: I like the profile of brandy. I love the soft-focus aromatics, the deft (not cloying) use of oak, and the complexity that only comes from distilled grapes.
And more importantly, I love a cocktail I don’t actually have to stir.
Enter St-Rémy XO. At roughly $20 a bottle, it is—without exaggeration—the least expensive distillate in my cabinet. It is my transitional season MVP. When the weather is playing a chaotic game of “Is it 65 or 32 degrees today?” this is the tipple that bridges the gap.
The Lowdown on the “XO”
Before we get into the glass, let’s clear up the nomenclature. In the world of Cognac, an XO (Extra Old) designation means the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend has spent at least a decade in oak. St-Rémy is not Cognac. It’s French Brandy, sourced from grapes across the country and distilled in the Atlantic-adjacent reaches of the Loire.
In this neck of the woods, “XO” translates to roughly two and a half years of aging. Is it a centuries-old heirloom? No. Is it made by the experts at Rémy Cointreau who know more about high-quality distillation than almost anyone on the planet? Absolutely.
How to Drink It
I like to enjoy it in a stemless Gabriel-Glas with a large cube. As the ice melts, it opens up those tight, fruity aromatics and softens the edges just enough to make it dangerous. It’s refined, it’s refreshing, and most importantly, it leaves enough in the budget for a second bottle.
Consider the “guilt” officially removed from the pleasure.
