From Bordeaux, I decide to rent a car to go to Cognac. The morning is filled with logistics of returning the keys to the host, finding the rental location, doing the contracts and finding the car and document the previous damages. Why is the car rental process still so tedious? Is it done on purpose to get you to sign all the extra fees? Should be a straight process after booking the car online. Anyhow, I get a nice C4 with GPS, roll out of Bordeaux in sunshine, and reach the small town of Cognac in the afternoon. I check into the nice but odd hotel I booked on the main street. Time to explore a new town!

As it is afternoon, I decide to visit the Cognac museum first and try to find tours the next day. I stroll down the city, through the city gate and reach the river Charante where the museum is located. It is a nice small museum in a nice building describing both the city and its history briefly as well as give introduction to the Cognac houses and production.

I plan to visit two houses – Martell and Otard based on the thinking that Martell is a major brand and must be more “industrial” and Otard since I learned at the museum that this family of Norwegian and Scottish ancestry bought the castle where the French king Francois I was born and lived.

Before the visits, I take a promenade through the town, see the nice public garden and the city hall and take a detour to visit Remy Martin. They had a very nice shop with extremely nice Cognacs – the most expensive at 22000 Euros but no tasting.

Next stop is Camus which is the only family owned house left. The lady in the shop is knowledgeable and nice and let me do a tasting of all of their different Cognacs. Just a small sip and even if their XO is nice, I fall for the Ile-de-Ré Cognac where the grapes has been growing on the island and matured on the island and refilled in another vat and matured again in Cognac. The island cognacs have a taste that goes better for me so I buy a bottle.

With perfect timing I reach the Martell house just in time after having a galette at Creperie l’Olympia. I start to grow an addiction to these filled pancakes. The Martell tour is what I expected. Professional, well planned and with a tour through the site and ended with a tasting of the XO and the Cordon Bleu.

Right after that I run down to the Otard house down at the river and come just-in-time for the tour. Completely other setting. We are four persons on the tour and the guide is both knowledgeable and shows a lot more passion for the Otard cognac house, the production as well as showing the castle. I get to taste the VSOP, XO and even the top 1795. Very nice Cognacs and good setting.

After the tastings, it is time for a promenade by the river through the Francois I park which is a large green area by the river.