Well, last week was about America so let’s move on to some Christi- dammit. Yes, dear readers now that we’ve scrubbed out whiskey onto its own day we can finally kick brandy and cognac into high gear, and as a lower gear (in terms of cost/tier) this is, for the most part, a pleasant one to drive in.
There is something to be said that the methods of this may be old, but they don’t bandy about such phrasing as the same recipe from the 1800’s a welcome fact considering how some of the more ‘aged-ed spirits’ feel about heritage when in fact they are bad. Overall we welcome a look at a more mature version of this because the showing here is quite good.
What they Say: “The Christian Brothers Brandy dates back to the 1800s as one of the oldest, bestselling American spirits. The time-honoured copper pot still production method creates a full-bodied taste and rich flavour enhanced by ageing in hand-selected oak bourbon barrels for unequalled smoothness. ”
Taste: 5.0 – It’s weirdly awful, but that brandy barrel ageing actually does help mull it nicely. Overall it’s a mixed flavour.
Aftertaste: 6.0 – It does at least end nice and warm and brandy like. Not perfect or spectacular mind you, and with the burn, it’s not entirely pleasant
Burn/Smooth: 3.0 – That certainly burns like a ten dollar brandy.
Aroma: 6.5 – It smells kinda peppery? There’s surely some warm spices and hints of the bourbon smell there, but it’s not super cognac or even grape smelling. Nice though.
Honesty: 6.0 – ‘unequalled smoothness’ – It’s that word that bothers us. Because sure you can say this burn compared to the rest of the spirit may not have an equal (unlikely though), but the implication of quality while not stating it has us unsettled.
Mixability: 5.75
W/ Rocks: 6.5 -In short, burn is less, warmth is less, but flavour is more. Thankfully because of that it’s not a bad flavour so it’s actually well received.
Sidecar: 5.0 – As for a sidecar though, that’s not super great.
Value: 6.5 – This is 3 dollars CHEAPER than E&J. While not a fantastic brandy for the cheap price compared to its peers we wholeheartedly recommend these brothers over the others.
Google Shop Average: $10
Website: http://christianbrothersbrandy.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.0
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Metric Score: 38.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.54 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.0
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Final Thoughts: We might need to update these scores once we get further into brandy, because while this does burn like a sonuva, overall it’s a pretty good VS brand. We currently go against the full spectrum from the worst E&J to the best aged Cognac, but time will tell.
One of the smoothest drinks u can dtink
Hi I bought a bottle of CB VS brandy a few weeks ago at a local Walmart. This brandy did not taste like the brandy I have been buying for a few years. It had a funny smell and it was not smooth at all, I was afraid to drink it. Did you change the way you make it what happened? Thanks.
I bought your brandy for decades. However, today
because of inventory in this challenging time, they
only had it in a plastic bottle. This affected the taste in a significantly negative way. If that’s all they have in the future – I wouldn’t buy it.
I would not buy no brandy in a plastic bottle! Christian Brothers has always been my favorite brandy since I was a teenager. It’s great on a cold northern day when you have someone who loves you to snuggle!
I switched from Korbel to Christian brothers, mostly because it was a little cheaper. It gives me a headache, what’s that about? The bottle? The copper? The aging barrel?
I have becoming hooked on CB Peach and Apple Brandy. Both are made with CB VS Brandy with added flavoring. It truly removes most if not all of the objections in these reviews – – initial taste is quite good, aftertaste is outstanding, and the aroma is heavenly. I drink it strait at the end of the hard day.