Spirits & Liqueurs · Thu 15 Oct 2026

VS, VSOP or XO? What a cognac label really says, with a blend-age builder

VS, VSOP and XO on a cognac label are age statements, and they are about the youngest spirit in the blend, not the average. A bottle can hold a 30-year-old eau-de-vie and still be a VS if one component is only three years old.

This piece explains the legal ladder (2, 4, 6 and 10 years, with XO raised from six to ten in 2018), how double distillation and oak ageing build the flavour, and what to pour for mixing versus sipping. A blend builder lets you set the age and share of three spirits and see which label the mix earns.

Picker · 5 min read

A brandy snifter with three spirits marked 3, 25 and 35 years, the youngest highlighted

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