Hennessy Cognac tasting.

I managed to secure myself an invite to a tasting and seminar hosted by Oak Restaurant in Boulder yesterday. Though I have walked by Oak lots of times (and it always looks busy), this was my first time inside and I must say I was pretty impressed. It has a neat look to it.
The seminar was conducted by Cyrille Gautier Auriol, a Global Brand Ambassador for Hennessy. He is 8th or 9th generation from a family that has been in Cognac since the 1800's.
We started with a sidecar made with VSOP. This is the first time and will not be the last time that I have had this cocktail. It was pretty tasty.
The tasting featured Hennessy XO, Paradis, and their top of the line Richard. He spoke for a good hour, telling us about the region, how and when the blenders taste, how they make the final blend, aging, grapes, and so on. In comparing the colors of the spirits I would say it was the Richard that was the darkest and had the most concentrated color to it, but it was only a slight difference between it and the XO. All displayed the neatly running legs I would expect to see in older spirits, with the Richard again looking almost like brush strokes dropped straight down. And eventually we did get to taste...
Hennessy XO.
Blended in production 2-3 times, taking 24 months to assemble the final blend. Oldest approximately 30 years, give or take. Comprised of up to 100 eaux-de-vies.
Peppery, baking spices (cinnamon, allspice, light vanilla, clove), candied fruit, caramelized sugar. A little firey in the mouth.
Hennseey Paradis.
The name comes from the cellar where Cognac producers store their oldest spirits, "paradise". This was first produced in 1979. Contains over 100 eaux-de-vies, oldest being from late 1800's. Made only from petit and grand champagne cognacs.
Silky smooth mouth, nuts, rancio, baking spices, some floral aroma and flavor, tobacco, long finish. I could taste this one for quite awhile despite several sips of water to prepare myself for the next one...
Hennessy Richard.
As I said, this is their top of the line stuff. I thought we would just get a tiny taste, but the pour was very generous- probably close to an ounce. At 2500-3000 dollars a bottle, that means I drank a hundred or more dollars. First produced in 1996. Contains spirits dating from 1830-60 and made from Folle Blanche (Ugni Blanc is now the main grape). Minimum age is 45 years, maximum 200.
This stuff was amazing. I don't think I will ever forget drinking this. Even smoother mouth feel, rancio, fruit, baking spices, sugar, earth, dried leaves, nut, citrus, tobacco. Incredibly complex and nuanced. Long long finish. I could taste this half an hour later. My coworker sitting next to me said she got a tear in her eye, and yes, I could see how this could move you to tears.
It was a very fun and interesting event, and a great opportunity to taste and increase my knowledge. Thanks again to Brian at Oak.