Germain-Robin Distillery

Know the difference between Cognac & Brandy? By the very simplest of definitions, Cognac is Brandy. Though, to be a Cognac, a Brandy has to be produced only in an authorized region of France & it has to be produced in accordance with specific rules & regulations. For more, check out the Wikipedia entry:
Beyond the literal definitions of Cognac & Brandy, there’s also the likely perception that Cognacs are superior to Brandies. Just go down the liquor aisle of any major supermarket. The Cognacs stocked on the shelves are probably higher quality (& more expensive) than the Brandies.
& maybe, to a certain extent, Cognacs do tend to be better than Brandies. But that most definitely is not the case with Germain-​Robin Brandies. It’s not surprising, really. G-​R has its roots in Cognac. Instead of France, however, they’re in Northern California. This is key.
Rather than be bound by Old World dogma, following all those rules & regulations on how to make Cognac, G-​R does what we crazy Californians have done all along. Defy convention. Experiment. Innovate. All with incredible effect. G-​R Brandies have beaten much pricier Cognacs in blind tastings.
I’ve been a huge fan of G-R’s story, philosophy & Brandy for well over a decade now. So when I got the email invite for a tour of their distillery along with some old & rare tastings, I did not hesitate. 1 cheerful phone call later & my place on the tour/​tastings was reserved.
The distillery is not easy to find. GPS Nav will only take you so far. You have to keep going down Bel Arbres Dr., past the sign that says private road & look for the driveway on the right. After the short driveway, there’s a large gravel parking lot. The building housing the distillery, a squat steel structure, isn’t much to look at.
It’s what’s inside that counts. Through the entrance, it’s immediately evident that G-R’s got some major wood. French Oak barrels fill an expansive, open, high ceiling room, stacked floor to ceiling & wall to wall. Our small tour group congregated near the center of the barrel room until the tour started.
Our tour guide, Ansley Coale, is 1 of the guys who got this whole thing started. We started in a side room with the still. There, we got a detailed rundown on the distillation process. After, back where we gathered earlier, the old & rare tastings got underway. & by old & rare, I mean carefully selected/​blended Brandies aged up to 30 years.
Everything I tasted was absolutely exquisite. My personal favorite, the GR/​30, is the single best spirit, any spirit, I’ve ever tasted. Amazing. Mind-​blowing. While I didn’t pony up the $$$$ to get a bottle of GR/​30 that day, I reconsider that decision almost every day. It’s that good. I’m thinking I need to get it sooner or later.
Thank you Ansley Coale & all the folks at Germain-​Robin for a great tour of your distillery & some of the finest tastings of my entire life. I’ve been a huge fan for a long time. Getting to visit the wellspring from which all your astounding elixirs flow was truly special for me.