It’s always good to end the year with some awards, so Meukow and Comandon both have reason to celebrate.
For Meukow, their VSOP Superior and the XO Grande Champagne both won a gold medal by The Spirit Business at the London Cognac Master competition in November.
The Comandon XO cognac has caused quite a stir across the pond in the US. The magazine, The Tasting Panel, has released its list of ‘most outstanding spirits of 2011,’ and this blend of 125 Borderies eaux-de-vie has been declared as one of these – carrying the flag for cognacs within a list that consists of mainly vodkas, bourbons and tequilas.
This graduation with honours list judges spirits on both quality and what they call unique charm, and they describe Comandon XO Cognac as “most-well balanced spirit of the year.”

A nice touch about the sprits awarded by The Tasting Panel Magazine is that they often include the smaller brands or what they call “boutique spirits.” This is a wonderful boost for the smaller distilleries who often compete on what is essentially an unlevel playing field amongst these days of mass distribution.
Read more about Comandon XO and Meukow’s cognacs.