It’s brandy season! I mean… when is it not? But the holidays lean into the brandy vibes that little bit more than most times of the year. Although brandy can go by many names — cognac, calvados, Armagnac, weinbrand, eau de vie, grappa, applejack, brandy de Jerez, pisco — there’s something for everyone and every vibe, time, and feel. Moreover, since there is so much different brandy out there, there’s always some really good stuff for great prices.
To that end, we’re calling out 10 of our favorite brandies — across all styles — for under $60. The brandy bottles below are all affordable. Moreover, you should be able to find them fairly widely at any decent liquor store or online retailer. The throughline is that they’re all delicious… in their own ways. We’ve specifically cast a wide net to offer refined French spirits next to American crafty apple brandies next to murky and dark Spanish pours and more.
Since there is something for everyone below, our advice is as follows. Read through our tasting notes, find the brandy that sparks your interest, and then hit those price links to get a bottle. Sound good? Let’s dive in!
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10. Hennessy VS Cognac
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $34
The Brandy:
Ol’ Henney Lo. This entry point to the wide world of Hennessy is a blend of over 40 brandies (or eau de vie) that were aged a minimum of two years. The grapes are exclusively Ungi Blanc and grown in the core regions of Cognac, France.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich chocolate and marzipan lead on the nose with a good line of ripe red fruits leaning toward black cherry and blackberry with a hint of the bramble.
Palate: The palate is lush but light with bright fruits leading toward a hint of cinnamon and clove wrapped in old leather with a twinge of oak in the background.
Finish: The end brings back the choco-marzipan vibe with a whisper of red berries sourness.
Bottom Line:
This is where most brandy journeys begin and it’s easy to see why. This is a great classic cognac that’s easy to drink while offering a signature brandy vibe. Overall, this is a great candidate for brandy cocktails or replacing whiskey in whiskey cocktails.
9. Asbach Original Aged 3 Years
ABV: 38%
Average Price: $34
The Brandy:
Germany’s Asbach is the closest you’ll get to “cognac” outside of France. The brandy was re-designated “weinbrand” (wine brandy) after the French dialed in their appellation designations for “cognac” and prohibited anyone outside the region from using that term back in 1892. The grape distillate is made from German-grown grapes but aged in French Limousin oak (like cognac) for up to three years. The result is a blend of two to three-year-old brandies.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Aspach starts with nice woody vanilla, buttery caramel, and notes of ripe and almost juicy apricot on the nose with a nice twinge of winter spice from the wood.
Palate: Warm pepper spiciness comes into play on the palate with a rush of dark sweet fruits, light and dry nuts, and a touch of light but acidic white wine.
Finish: The end is heavy on the vanilla and berry with a nice accent of woody spice that fades pretty quickly.
Bottom Line:
The classic highball to make with this is an ABC, which is an AsBach and Coke. It’s a delicious variation on the iconic Jack and Coke. From there, this is also a very good brandy to pair with chocolate, making it great for holiday sipping once you get into that box of chocolates from your favorite aunt.
8. Cognac Park VS Carte Blanche
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $39
The Brandy:
PARK VS Cognac is a classic brandy that’s that little bit more refined than your average Henny or Remy. This brandy is made with a 50/50 blend of brandies made with Fins Bois and Petite Champagne grapes. The brandy then spends up to three years aging in Limousin oak before batching and proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a deep sense of buttery salted caramel apples cut with Luxardo cherries, a hint of woody winter spice, and a flutter of pear skin over white wildflowers.
Palate: Those white florals brighten on the palate as a sharp note of white pepper arrives with a return of the apple and cherry, now cut with bright orange zest.
Finish: The flowers take on a slight honeyed vibe late with a nice sharp woody spice on the finish that’s warming but not overpowering.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper before a big meal. It’s light but offers flavors that are just deep enough to keep your attention. You can also stir up some nice brandy old fashioneds with this one.
7. Starlight Distillery Applejack Brandy
ABV: 41.5%
Average Price: $31
The Brandy:
This apple brandy is made in Indiana from mostly locally-grown apples from the Huber Farms. The on-site pressed juice is fermented and then distilled in an old 80-gallon copper pot still. That juice is then left to mellow in charred new American oak barrels until it’s just right.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one bursts with freshly picked sweet apples with a hint of woodiness, apple core, and apple stem next to bright summer flowers and a dash of honey sweetness.
Palate: The palate follows the same path while leaning into the essence of a fresh apple with a lovely sweetness and a hint of spiced apple butter over an English muffin with a bit of cinnamon butter.
Finish: That butter cinnamon and stewed apple drive the long finish with a nice dose of woody winter spice mix that brings about a hot apple cider vibe on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a deep and delicious apple brandy through and through and takes you on a journey from the tree to the warm mug of cider. Now, that’s the holidays in a glass!
6. Torres 20 Hors D’Age Brandy
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $57
The Brandy:
This Spanish brandy is a throwback to centuries-old brandy making. The juice starts with Parellada and Ugni Blanc grapes that are fermented slowly. That wine is then distilled twice in old copper stills before it’s loaded into French Limousin barrels for a long 20-year rest.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is pure holiday cake on the nose with plenty of dark spices next to rich dried fruits, candied cherry, orange oils, and fatty nuts with a hint of creamy vanilla.
Palate: The palate delivers on those notes while folding in a light sense of musty cellar beams and the smoothest cinnamon and clove-spiked vanilla pudding you can imagine — it borders on light eggnog with a little water added.
Finish: The finish arrives with a subtle push towards the spice and dried fruit and leaves you with a dry sense of orange-infused tobacco and dry walnut shells.
Bottom Line:
From the holiday cake on the nose to the orange spice tobacco on the finish with a deep nuttiness, this is like Christmas in a glass. It’s such a delicate pour as well that’ll hook you instantly.
5. Chateau de Laubade VSOP Armagnac
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $44
The Brandy:
Château de Laubade is a vine-to-glass experience from Armagnac, France. The Maison uses primarily Ugni Blanc and Folle Blanche grapes to make their spirit. The juice then goes into the barrels for six to 12 years. The barrels are then hand-selected and small-batched with no more than 20 barrels going into a single batch.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a creamy caramel and vanilla underbelly that leads toward bright and ripe cherries on the nose with a fleeting sense of warm florals and soft honey.
Palate: That cherry sweetness counterpoints notes of old oak and dark spice as the sweetness edges towards creamed honey on the palate with a silken overall mouthfeel that’s a delight.
Finish: Sweet dark stewed fruit lingers on the sense of the finish as a tart and spicy pear crumble with notes of clove, woodruff, and lavender mingle on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is just a nice and very easygoing sipping brandy. It’s clear and concise as a neat pour but gets nicely creamy with a single rock, adding a nutty depth that helps this one lean more into the winter vibes with all that stewed fruit and spice.
4. D’Usse Cognac VSOP
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $49
The Brandy:
This was Jay-Z’s signature brand. The juice in the bottle goes way back to Baron Otard from the famed Château de Cognac. The new line was re-crafted to suit American palates and includes a blend of cognacs that are aged at the château for four to eight years before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose starts with dark and rich chocolate and marzipan then carries on toward old soft leather and mild Christmas cake spices with a hint of vanilla and candied fruit.
Palate: The taste mingles soft vanilla pods with buttery toffee and woody spices as the fruitiness shines a ray of sunshine through the whole sip.
Finish: The end has a good sense of dark chocolate and almond with a hint of black tea bitterness rounding everything out.
Bottom Line:
This is an essential cognac sipper that also makes a killer cocktail, especially if you’re leaning into holiday flavors like nogs and Manhattans.
3. Cardenal Mendoza Gran Reserva Brandy de Jerez
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45
The Brandy:
This Spanish brandy has some serious pedigree. The juice is made from Airen grapes grown in Jerez, Spain. The distillate then goes into former Pedro Ximenez sherry casks where it rests for 15 long years. The result is a deeply flavorful snifter that’s second to none.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted nuts, orange-infused dark chocolate, espresso beans, and brown bread greet you on the nose.
Palate: The sip embraces the oak, nuts, and coffee as the body of the brandy feels like sharp beams of golden light flooding through darkly colored stained glass.
Finish: The fruit is fairly dried and plummy and the sweetness edges ever-so-slightly toward molasses. The end is dry, bold, and leaves you warmed to your soul.
Bottom Line:
This is a deep and dark sipping brandy that’s brimming with holiday vibes. Seriously, this is Christmas in a glass. Pour this in a big balloon after a big holiday meal and you’ll be all set. This also rules in eggnog or brandy Alexanders.
2. Boulard Calvados Pays d’Auge VSOP
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $53
The Brandy:
This Norman French apple brandy is built from hundreds of acres of apple trees in northern France. The actual apple farm in the Pays d’Auge district was officially designated as the source of the best apples in all of Normandy by the French, so there’s that. The actual brandy is made from several varieties of apples plucked from those famed orchards and pressed before long fermentation and distilling. The brandy then rested for four to 10 years before small batching and proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and fresh apples — sweet, tart, woody, and soft — bloom on the nose as a rich oily vanilla offers a lush sense of breezy brandy cut with sunshine and oakiness.
Palate: The apple takes on a lightly stewed vibe on the early palate as the rich vanilla from the French oak peaks with a sense of luxurious mouthfeel next to soft buttery bread smeared with apple butter and a hint of apricot jam cut with orange zest.
Finish: The vanilla layers into the buttered bread as the apples break down into a spiced sauce before adding more butter, creating a fatty apple cider vibe with tons of vanilla, winter spice, and tart red berries adding counterbalance.
Bottom Line:
This turns into a rich and buttery winter apple cider on the palate that’s sort of magical. Take it slowly with this sipper and enjoy the fall vibes leading into deep winter ones. Then go back for more.
1. Cognac Ferrand 10 Generations Grande Champagne Cognac
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $45
The Brandy:
This is a “Grande Champagne” blend, which is the height of cognac making. The cognacs in the batch are five to 25 years old with 20% of the barrels going through a finishing rest in used Sauternes wine casks before the final batching and proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and fresh honey greets you on the nose with ripe apricot, soft sultana, and rich salted caramel vibe before a deep fruit cake spiced with ginger, nutmeg, and clove and cut with rose water and orange oils leads to a deep nuttiness.
Palate: The apricot dries out on the palate along with stewed pear, crushed grapes, and brandy-soaked pineapple and mango with a hint of nasturtiums next to fatty walnuts and menthol pipe tobacco.
Finish: The honey marries the florals on the finish as the minty tobacco takes on a spiced almost peppermint with hints of that nutty fruit cake popping back up with a touch of powdered sugar frosting cut with vanilla, almond, and orange oils.
Bottom Line:
Peppermint tobacco and wintry fruitcake are about as holiday-forward as you can get. Pour this neat and let it warm you next to a crackling fireplace.
