Overall marks were very high for this tasting, so no surprise that the results were tight. In terms of taste, first to last place were separated by just over 10 points, with three jointly sharing second spot. As Garry Clark, from the Chester Grosvenor put it: ‘There were no bad drinks here; it was really a question of which style the tasters preferred.’

Olivier Gasselin reckoned there were two key styles: those that were ‘modern and easy drinking’ and those that were ‘more multilayered with more finesse’.

With the panel finding it hard to separate the submissions on taste, the ‘look’ part of the ICE judging acquired added significance. This, at least, is fitting, since premiumness of presentation is arguably more important in cognac than any other brown spirit, and our tasters were not shy of a bit of bling.

The Martell and Hennessy XOs were the two clear winners when it came to looks, and this, given how tight the tasting section was, propelled them to the top two slots.

The Martell wasn’t the most elegant cognac on display, but it was big, showy, hearteningly soft and delivered a really satisfying mouthful. Nobody who ordered it could feel short-changed either by the ostentatious bottle, or the full-on, rich, sweet old cognacs in their glass.

With many thanks to St James’ Hotel and Club for hosting the tasting

Garry Clark
Chester Grosvenor

‘The standard of the cognacs was very impressive. The overall quality was good – the variations were ones of style.’

Nigel Lister
Consultant

‘The cognacs were very consistent. There weren’t any that were below par, and you get a lot for your money, too. They’re pretty good value, even at these prices.’

Mark Jenner
Coburg

‘Though there were some great examples here, for what you pay per shot I might expect a bit more.’

Armagnac deserves its artisanal image, as anyone who’s ever stood in a small Gascon garage watching a Lilliputian-sized still turn out niggardly quantities of eau-de-vie will agree. But how does this rougher-and-readier image work when it comes to very rare, old, expensive bottles?

Previous ICE tastings have seen marks varying far more for armagnac than cognac – both upwards and downwards – with the somewhat less-polished tones occasionally veering off into plain weird. And with 15 marks separating first place from last, this was broadly the case again here.

Yet when the spirit gets it right, as some of the entries here most definitely did, it is capable not only of hitting the heights, but of doing so with a more affordable insouciance that can win over the most sceptical taster.

And anyone who needed proof of the drink’s capacity for astonishing longevity needed only to taste the 50-year-old bottle of Darroze – a drink that was just starting to dry out round the edges, but clearly had many a good few years ahead of it. The 20- and 30-year-old offerings, meanwhile, were more or less felt to be at their peak, so no surprise that this is where marks tended to be highest.

‘There was a lot of vibrancy and character,’ said Chester Grosvenor’s Garry Clark. ‘They all had their own flavour profile and character, and a lot of presence on the palate.’

Sadly, this description couldn’t apply to the Château de Laubade, which was suffering from cork taint. A double shame, since its fancy bottle gave it a high score in the ‘design’ section, and a good ‘tasting’ score might have seen it win. Certainly, it’s atypically fancy look gave it real standout among its more artisanal competitors.

With many thanks to St James’ Hotel and Club for hosting the tasting