Expert: Paul Wagner - 12/5/2004

Question
Paul,

I found a bottle of cognac in my basement that belonged to my Grandfather.  It is at least 50 years old. On the bottle it says "Unicoop" and the liquor is "Cognac des Paysans Charentais" produced and bottled by Union Cooperative de Viticulteurs Charentais - COGNAC. It is a product of France and it a 4/5 quart bottle.  The sole agents are Vintage Wines, Inc. New York, NY. There is a seal on the top that has a serial number on it, but part of the numbers are missing. What do you think this bottle may be worth, if anything? Also, how do you think it would be to drink?

Thank you for your help.
Jennifer Simonelli

Answer
Dear Jennifer:

While many wines improve and increase in value as they age in the bottle ( and some go completely over the hill!) distilled spirits like cognac are much higher in alcoholic content, and don't change much at all.  The older brandies and whiskeys which are so valuable are aged in the barrel for all that time, not in the bottle.

Which is a long way of saying that your bottle hasn't changed much.  It is perfectly safe to drink but won't have increased in value much either.  YOu might get someone to bid on it on ebay, but it would have to be someone with a special interest in the Charente, for example.

Paul Wagner