Christmas Cocktails in February

Well, Brandy is defiantly a Christmas time spirit. We finally broke into one of the Korbel Brandies we picked up while we were visiting the Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville earlier this month. We decided to try the VSOP first. VSOP was originally released in 2000, but it is considered the top of the line of the Brandies by the Korbel Gift Shop employees. I had picked up a 750ml bottle of it, so we have a bit to get through. It’s a good brandy, but neither of us is really into Brandy, at least at this time of year. VSOP is labeled as the Gold Reserve Brandy. The distillery is in Digiorgio, California, which is south of Bakersfield. The brandy is then brought to the Guerneville Cellars to be aged in charred American Oak barrels. After aging, it is mixed and bottled. They use grapes from the same vineyards from which they select grapes for the Champagnes. It has a distinct butterscotch and smoky flavor. It’s just the wrong time of year for Brandy, but we did like the flavor. We just couldn’t get into drinking a brandy in February. It should be really good come Christmas time. Since we couldn’t get into the VSOP, we decided to wait a while to open the other two, the standard Brandy and the XS Brandy, which I’m told stands for extra smooth. I haven’t found anything that says what VSOP stands for, but it is supposed to refer to the crowned heads of Europe in the 19th century.