Jean Fillioux

The biggest names in Cognac and Armagnac have earned their success for good reason, but look further and you’ll find a plethora of fascinating, high-quality and characterful spirits made by the many smaller, family-oriented producers across the two regions.

A lot of questions abound about French brandies, especially Armagnac and Calvados. But myths and misconceptions arise even around France’s most famous Brandy export, Cognac.

“Single Casks,” That Is! Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados Producers Join in on the Fun

In Cognac Women: Moving into the Light, just translated into English, Monique Fillioux showcases the work that women have been doing behind the scenes of one of the world’s most prestigious liquors. The French entrepreneur is writing from experience; for almost 40 years, she managed Cognac Jean Fillioux, the house founded by – and named after – her husband’s great-grandfather in 1894.

Experiences at the smallest houses are different again. At Jean Fillioux, the vineyards stretch down the hill behind the family home and hangar doors are left open for nesting swallows. Christophe Fillioux, who is the fifth generation, says: “I sell cognacs I didn’t harvest and put into barrel liquid I’ll never taste.”

The latest crop of new cognac spans craft producers and collectable bottles.

There are plenty of cocktails you can toast the new year with, but this year, we’re opting for cognac-based drinks that are easy to mix and easier to drink.

Led by a fifth-generation master blender, Jean Fillioux rose to new heights with the Best Spirit by Value award at the Bartender Spirits Awards.

The limited-edition Rome de Bellegarde was discovered in the cellars of Cognac house Jean Filloux by fifth generation cellar master Pascal Filloux, and is believed to be the very first blend created by Jean Filloux in 1894.

The 40ml serving of Rome de Bellegarde sold after it was discovered in the cellars of cognac house Jean Fillioux.

Just in time for the holidays, W. Blake Gray examines a different kind of Christmas spirit.

If Cognac has a soul, then this soul lives at La Pouyade and is echoed in the spirits made by Jean Fillioux.

I asked the distillers at … Jean Fillioux how they felt about the new focus on cocktails. Is it a good thing? When I posed the…question to master distiller Pascal Fillioux, he said simply: "I am not a mixologist. I like to drink cognac."

For over 130 years, the Fillioux family name has been synonymous with Cognac. Beginning with Honore in the 1880s, the trade has been handed down for five generations from father to son. Currently, the father and son team Pascal and Christophe Fillioux are working side by side in the distillery and in the cellar, where they have worked now for over a decade.

La Buche: Chestnut Cream and Pear Yule Log

This Christmas season, treat yourself to a slice of yule log, served with Cognac Jean Fillioux's 8-year-old, La Pouyade. This perfectly balanced spirit has notes of spring flowers, fruit aromas, and hints of almond that will harmonize perfectly with the chestnut cream of the yule log. It is also a favorite of whiskey lovers.

Brandy has a long standing reputation as the gentleman’s drink. Envision it being swirled in the hand of some perfectly mustached-man sitting in his leather armchair, admiring the crackling flames in a grand marble fireplace. Traditionally intended to be leisurely sipped as an after dinner drink, brandy has become so much more than that.

The world of cognac can sometimes appear vast and complex, so let’s begin with a couple of the basics. All cognac is brandy – but only brandy from the officially designated Cognac region, in the French departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime, may be called cognac.

On my tenth trip to Cognac in2012 when I was awarded Cognac Personality of the Year by the BNIC, I spent an afternoon with the Fillioux family, Pascal, Monique and son Christophe, at their 63-acre estate in the prime acreage of Grande Champagne, the famed Golden Triangle consisting of Verridres, Angeac-Champagne and Juillac-le-Coq.