Cognac: The Story of the Worlds Greatest Brandy (Classic Wine Library)

I recently got "into" cognac and ordered this book to further my understanding of this ambrosial elixir. While not quite what I'd hoped for, the book turned out to be much more interesting than I had expected.The book starts with an overview of the making of cognac, including information about the geography of the Cognac region and how it influences the quality of the brandies produced in the various sub-region This is followed by a detailed history of the region and the drink. I found Nicholas Faith's writing about the trials and tribulations of Cognac to be to be quite engaging. At the end, there is a short section on the enjoyment of cognac, followed by a listing of cognac houses and very terse comments on their various cognacs (just a few words each).My only disappointment is that I was hoping for more a "drinker's guide" to Cognac with detailed reviews, something along the lines of the books the late Michael Jackson wrote about beer and whiskey. I'm thinking that  Cognac (Mitchell Beazley Drink)  might be more what I was looking for, so I'll order it next.

I learned a lot from reading this book. However a couple of things the reader should know. There's a few typos in the text (eg global warning on p. 28; and I think it's more accurate to use the term climate change and qualify what that means in Cognac-country). Also if you get a chance to look at the more "coffee table" format of the first edition you will see better quality images, and photographs in colour and monochrome.Nonetheless if you want an informative text on Cognac and reading French texts is beyond you, this is a good place to start your quest for Cognac knowledge.

Great Book pertaining to what seems like portions of the History of cognac. Seemed a little lacking. Does a lot to introduce people, companies, rules that have influenced the history of the drink up to this point. Would like to have seen a more comprehensive list of the companies producing the spirit today, as it left out a ton, however I also learned of some new houses so... :). Overall, a worthy purchase for only the cognac enthused.

Great history of classic spirit, large focus on history less on manufacture, includes info on legal requirements of French government concerning spirit distillation

Great. Thanks.