Cognac is absolutely deservedly considered a noble and refined alcoholic drink. Determining the endurance is not easy. Without special skills and experience, most people will hardly be able to say at least something specific about the taste, aroma and color of this alcohol alone. Most of the characteristics of this drink just depend on how long the cognac spent in an oak barrel.
The production of cognac is not easy. Exposure is considered only the time that the drink spent in direct contact with the tree.… Traditionally, it is believed that "real" cognac is made in France. However, today this drink is successfully produced all over the world. Since cognac can have different characteristics, manufacturers use special markings to clarify them. The stars on the label are also markings, not just pretentious marketing designs. Each star is aged for 10 months.
1. Latin "French" labeling of cognacs
The letter C (Cognac) - means only that cognac was really poured into the bottle. The letter E (Special) - means high quality, that this cognac is "special". The letter O (Old) means that the cognac was aged for at least several years. The letter V (Very) is the word "very". The letter S (Superior) - "excellent", denotes the highest quality of the product. The letter P (Pale) indicates that the cognac is "light", and X (Extra) classifies the drink as of the highest quality class.
The indicated letters can be combined, as a result of which the designations are obtained VS - "very excellent", for example a drink aged 2.5 years or more or VO - "very old", a drink aged for at least 3 years. Combination VSOP will mean that the bottle contains "very old light cognac", a drink aged from 3 years. The best cognac is considered the one that receives the marking. XO - "exceptionally old", its exposure is from 6 years.
2. Cyrillic "Soviet" labeling of cognacs
Cognac can only be produced in France? "Ha!" - they said in the Soviet Union and set up their own production. And at the same time, their own labeling was introduced to designate alcoholic beverages. In general, the meaning of the labeling is the same as in the "capitalist countries". By the way, today in the post-Soviet space, cognacs are not produced less than with 3 stars. But in the USSR they did not hesitate to produce "single" drinks, just as they do in France.
The Soviet Cyrillic marking, as a rule, appeared only on the highest quality cognacs with five stars and served as a clarification. For example, KV - "aged cognac" was applied to drinks aged from 6 years. KVVK - "aged cognac of the highest quality" was celebrated for cognacs aged from 8 years. KS or "old cognac" are drinks with a 10-year aging! But "OS" - "very old" in the Soviet classification, was received only by the oldest Armenian cognacs, which spent 20 years in a barrel.
If you want to know even more about alcohol topics, then you should read about why the inspector asks when the driver "used" the last timeand what to answer.