Delamain Pale & Dry XO Centenaire Cognac 50cl

"…we don’t have any money for advertising," said Monsieur Delamain, the patriarch of one of the last great cognac families, "we put everything into the distillate." His XO has now been awarded a special honour by the International Spirits Award. Not only was it named Brandy of the Year, but it also received the very rarely awarded Grand Gold honour.
Delamain is not a distiller; instead, the house has been purchasing casks of cognac from local distillers since 1795. Each cask is tasted separately and checked to ensure it meets the high standards of the House of Delamain.

For the Pale & Dry, only carefully aged cognacs from the Grande Champagne region are used. After blending several casks, the as yet unfinished blend is aged for a further two years and then very slowly diluted to 40% alcohol using old, 15%-proof Grande Champagne cognac.

The name ‘Pale & Dry’ was chosen because this cognac is lighter in colour than usual and has not been coloured. ‘Dry’ refers to the natural dry flavour of this cognac, which has not been sweetened.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light gold
Nose: Intense, floral notes as well as vanilla, plenty of rancio
Palate: Mild and round; its great age is evident. Plenty of fruit.