[DustySox]

Hi,

I'm after some advice.

I have some neighbours coming round for dinner.

We have put a lot of thought into the food. I enjoy an after dinner Brandy...who doesn't!!
Can any of you help/advise which one to get, as I don't have a clue?

Regards

Darren

[ufitsy]

Remy Martin

[Keith Hurst]

COURVOISIER

http://www.courvoisier.com/

KH

[Drd]

This would do fine.I'll be around just as you finish dinner,I'll even wash up for a glass of it!



Joking apart (unless you win £120 million tonight),you'll have to give us a clue as to how much you're thinking of spending.

[Ian J]

We also have dinner guests tomorrow night and I've just checked the drinks cabinet and we have Remy Martin and Courvoisier but as an alternative we also have Grahams Late Bottled Vintage Port plus a bottle of Marsala who's provenance I can't recall.

Any of them will be fine

[DustySox]

Phew.. quick responses!!

All round Ian's house me thinks!!

I don't have a figure to spend....no more than one hundred pounds (seeing as Toshiba HD player been put back ).

Hadn't thought of Port, cool idea.

More thoughts most welcome!!

Darren

[CaptainCook]

You can get a good XO for just under £100. I have a bottle of Hennessy XO put aside for special events.

Do you have large snifters? Do they like it warmed (but that is a different story)?

CaptainCook

[Drd]

Yep.If you're willing to spend that then I too would go for either a Hine antique XO or a Remy XO

There are many less well known,one of my favourites being a Delamain early landed which has spent time in English cellars and is quite different to a traditional French cognac.

Darrenc, a lot of women don't like brandy, myself included; so I was glad to see IanJ suggest port too.

We have liqueurs in our cabinet that have been there for yonks, no one ever seems to want them. If I had to choose, I would opt for Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

If you offer a decent cognac and port, and that's all you need, it shows you know a thing or two about entertaining.

Lucky neighbours to be enjoying such a meal, chosen with care.

[DustySox]

Originally Posted by Cynthia 7

Darrenc, a lot of women don't like brandy, myself included; so I was glad to see IanJ suggest port too.

We have liqueurs in our cabinet that have been there for yonks, no one ever seems to want them. If I had to choose, I would opt for Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

If you offer a decent cognac and port, and that's all you need, it shows you know a thing or two about entertaining.

Lucky neighbours to be enjoying such a meal, chosen with care.

Hi,

We have put a lot of thought in to the evening....fail to prepare...prepare to fail!!! Trying different foods/recepies. And this evening I have been trying different wines....n now I feel a little "squiffy"..hic!!

Now on to the the Vino Rouge!!

Hard work this entertaining lark!!

[la gran siete]

Wine Society's brandy failing that Armagnac

[Garrett]

Remy for the coinsure, but if you want something a little lighter try the Greek brandy Mataxa.

[Knyght_byte]

dont forget to work out what the dessert is going to be as well, no point serving up the wrong after dinner drink even if it tastes good the rest of the time

if the dessert is very sweet, suggest using a dessert wine to match it, it wont be quite as sweet tho so wont be as much a shock to the palate once the brandy hits.....

btw, if you want something a little upmarket to impress during the meal, duck breast at this time of year is very nice
(served with sauted sweet potato slices, battered baby corn, stir fried sugar snap & chunky cut mixed peppers..........sweet chili sauce on the corn and a light drizzle of maple syrup on the stir fry before you take it out the pan)
serve with a good quality Sancerre for the men and a mild Pouilly Faume (scuse the spelling, might have it right, under the affluence atm..lol) for the ladies....
if you have the ability, a good mango thingy for the duck (dammnit, forgot the word...its basically a type of sauce...lol...)

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by Garrett

if you want something a little lighter try the Greek brandy Mataxa.

I still remember drinking Metaxa one star in Greece years ago as it was so foul. I'm no connoisseur but I know the difference between Brandy & Paraffin.

Unless your guests are brandy connoisseurs I wouldn't bother with anything more expensive than the already expensive "standard" stuff as few will be able to tell the difference anyway.

LGS offered an interesting alternative in Armagnac

[spocktra]

Many years ago,i worked at a very plush hotel in Stratford up-on avon.I worked in the cocktail bar and we had Louis 13th cognac.Had the fortune of trying a tot and still remember it to this day.WOW.Bearing in mind this was 15 years ago it cost the hotel £750 per bottle to buy.We charged £35 a shot .Sold on average three bottle a year.I dont think there can be many if any bottles left anywhere .

[Ian J]

I had a similar experience 25 years ago at Ockenden Manor in Cuckfield (if it's still there). At the time I was working for a Merchant Bank and was entertaining a client for lunch which I had paid for on my company's Diners Club card. We had retired to the lounge for coffee when we spotted the bottle of very, very old and very very expensive brandy and my client paid for a couple of doubles which cost him far more than the expensive lunch had cost the bank.

It was so nice that I felt obliged to offer the bank's hospitality once again and buy another brace of doubles. The client wasn't large enough to warrant that amount of expenses so I paid for it on the bank's American Express card and claimed it on my expenses as entertaining a completely different client for dinner.

[Drd]

Originally Posted by spocktra

Many years ago,i worked at a very plush hotel in Stratford up-on avon.

That wouldn't be Billesley Manor by any chance?Had quite a few nice brandies and ports there in years gone by.

[Mr.D]

Much rather have a good single malt over any brandy any day.

[mugsy]

Courvoisier and Martell VS (not the VSOP) are my favourites - you can't go wrong with either of those. I think Martell is on special offer at tesco at the mo as well

[eviljohn2]

Originally Posted by Mr.D

Much rather have a good single malt over any brandy any day.

I tend to agree, the problem is that really the single malt should be served before dinner with the brandy afterwards. But I'm sure you already know that.

Originally Posted by darrenc

Hi,

We have put a lot of thought in to the evening....fail to prepare...prepare to fail!!! Trying different foods/recepies. And this evening I have been trying different wines....n now I feel a little "squiffy"..hic!!

Now on to the the Vino Rouge!!

Hard work this entertaining lark!!

Hi Darren,

You are so right, it's exhausting preparing a dinner party. Cleaning up the house so it's spotless. Then sorting out linen, china, glasses, food, wines. I love your expression "fail to prepare ...prepare to fail". I shall remember that as it's very true when it comes to entertaining. I used to always want to try out new recipes and if I didn't try them out beforehand it could be a disaster.

I also learnt never to have a drink with guests before dinner. I normally drink very little alcohol so I'm easily affected. I can remember one evening ages ago when I had two drinks and couldn't move from the chair. A friend was helping pour the drinks and he must have mixed a cocktail of spirits for me. I sat, smiling at everybody, and everyone sat around waiting forever for the meal, all very relaxed. My husband didn't seem to notice. Eventually my next door neighbour took charge (most of the meal was ready) and everything went smoothly. The only time I've ever been drunk. It wasn't a bad experience, I felt happy, I was waited on, and the washing up was done by someone else!

Good thing you're trying out the wines beforehand. You've put such a lot of thought into this dinner, it's going to be a great success and all the neighbours will be angling for an invite in future! It's not easy, having a good reputation as the best host and chef in the area but you and your wife will have that glow at the end of the evening when everything has gone perfectly. Don't forget some unobtrusive music, at low level, when the guests arrive.

Lucky neighbours.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by Cynthia 7

Good thing you're trying out the wines beforehand.

Years ago in my dinner party heyday many of our friends were so called wine snobs and they often liked to discuss the wine around the dinner table except they never used to do it round at our house.

I wonder whether this had anything to do with the fact that we always decanted the wine and if they couldn't see the label and didn't know what they were drinking their snobbery used to vanish as they were too scared of making a fool of themselves.

Wine label snobs more like it

[drunkenmaster]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

I tend to agree, the problem is that really the single malt should be served before dinner with the brandy afterwards. But I'm sure you already know that.

You can have another Single Malt after the Brandy if you want , but remember no driving!!!!

Now where is my bottle of Laphroaig.......

[DustySox]

Dinner cooking

"Wine is breathing"

Beer is chilled

I'm knackered

Hope I've not forgotten anything!!!

7 mins till show time

Cue Pearl & Dean

Nah, too chessey...dam forgot the cheese!!

O the jokes!!

[eviljohn2]

Relax and enjoy the evening a bit matey.

Originally Posted by Ian J

Years ago in my dinner party heyday many of our friends were so called wine snobs and they often liked to discuss the wine around the dinner table except they never used to do it round at our house.

I wonder whether this had anything to do with the fact that we always decanted the wine and if they couldn't see the label and didn't know what they were drinking their snobbery used to vanish as they were too scared of making a fool of themselves.

Wine label snobs more like it

Your post amused me and took me back to our dinner party heyday! Like you, there seemed to be dinner parties every week and everyone trying to outdo the other (not us, of course We often used to laugh afterwards at the wine snobs, who had bought cases of this and that, at enormous prices and spent the evening telling us this. They would sometimes criticize the host's choice of wine, and woebetide anyone who had bought a supermarket bottle!

A clever ploy, Ian, to decant the wine and leave them floundering on a sea of little knowledge. They can react to a label but couldn't probably trust their own palate as to whether it was a good vintage. I like that.

Nowadays we get some of our wine from The Sunday Times Wine Club and our friends do too. Except when special offers are shown of wines we liked and we find wherever we go we are drinking the same.

[Drd]

Well,purely in the interest of science you understand,I've just had a snifter of Remy XO while watching 'Coast' on the box.The BBC at it's best with the French having a good go too!Cornwall and amongst other things its fishing industry.Last week I was trying to find a kilo of Langoustine and all the local fishmongers were telling me 'there's no demand for them'.No wonder they all get sold in France.Madness.Hope it's going well darrenc.

[Knyght_byte]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Years ago in my dinner party heyday many of our friends were so called wine snobs and they often liked to discuss the wine around the dinner table except they never used to do it round at our house.

I wonder whether this had anything to do with the fact that we always decanted the wine and if they couldn't see the label and didn't know what they were drinking their snobbery used to vanish as they were too scared of making a fool of themselves.

Wine label snobs more like it

I've known a few like that.....always good fun buying a very cheap red that has an expensive looking label and letting them gush over its complexities, bouqet, the fact its obviously not cheap etc......whilst the receipt for £2.99 is in my pocket still..lol

then you know they are not just wine label snobs, but idiots too


I can tell the difference between the differnt grapes/styles for the most part, and due to drinking them enough i can tell certain mass producers trademark stamp on the flavour (can spot Lindemanns and Gallo wines 9/10 times..heh).....but i certainly wouldnt be able to define the vintage on top...lol.....well, not on modern wines....sadly i have yet to taste many true vintage wines...mebbe a dozen.......nicest one was in a bar in London, forget the name, anyhow they have the largest range of Cigars & Whiskies available, plus a good selection of wine, friends 40th b-day and he'd just got a healthy retirement payout from his firm (architecture) so he split a bottle of something from the late 60's i think it was with me, quite cheap at around £200 a bottle..lol....

[spocktra]

Originally Posted by Drd

That wouldn't be Billesley Manor by any chance?Had quite a few nice brandies and ports there in years gone by.

No It was The welcombe hotel.