XO or Extra Old...
It was in 1870 that the name XO first appeared for Cognac. It was the HENNESSY company that invented this name, in reference to the links that unite Cognac with Great Britain, where most of the great merchant families come from, and many other foreign countries.
To benefit from this XO appellation, and according to the BNIC specifications, the brandies that make up the blend must have aged for at least 10 years in casks before being bottled.
The XO Cognac is very popular with connoisseurs and remains a reference in spirits despite the recent appearance of the XXO. The XO is in a way the "Big Brother" of the VSOP; older, rounder, more complex, it is best consumed neat or on ice to appreciate its full potential.
Although legislation requires a minimum of 10 years in casks, it is not uncommon for some producers to have an average age of their XO that is much higher. Indeed, while the large merchants blend several dozen eaux-de-vie to obtain their final cognac, the producers' stocks are not as large, so they are limited in their blending possibilities to a dozen or so eaux-de-vie, which mathematically increases the age of their cognac. It is common for a producer to have an average age of 18/20 years, or even 25 years.
It is also interesting to know that an XO cognac, therefore made of eaux-de-vie with a minimum of 10 years of cask age, can use other appellations, such as Hors d'Age, Extra, Ancestral, Ancêtre, Or, Gold, Impérial and finally Extra Old...
To help you in your choice, all our cognacs are listed by "Categories".
