Going to grow on me? My nose says No.

A few days ago, my big brother took me to buy my birthday present: booze!

Most of what he bought for me, I picked out: Malibu, Irish Cream, Kahlua, and Vodka for White Russians and Cranberry Vodka and similarly mixed things. But he also decided I need cognac. "I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me," said he, vehemently.

So there's a bottle of V-S Courvoisier in the liquor cabinet- or actually sitting in the living room with me right now, so I wouldn't have to remember how to spell the name.

One of my dogs just smelled it and snorted.

Cognac is a gorgeous color- a warm woody gold, like a room lined with a deep pine. It looks inviting. On the other hand, the logo loks a bit too much like the hag/beautifully lady optical illusion. This color is partially due to the product being aged up to seven years, according to the product website. (It's a Flash based site, so I can't link to the exact page, but the product section is Marques.)

I've tried a little of Cognac, and I'm waiting for it to grow. I can agree it's smooth. I'm not sure I can understand at all when the website tells me I'll be smelling "delicate ripened fruit, fresh oak, and spring floral notes" in the bouqet, even after I put the cognac in a wine glass and swirled it about. (I have no goblets, sadly- I would love one. I'd feel like Jehosaphat the Pretentious Dragon, although in the only picture I can find of him, he's drinking a martini. I assure you he moved on to brandy.)

Taste... I don't know. Cognac is brandy, and brandy is distilled wine- generally. I like wine. This tastes very different. I don't think it's something I'll be drinking straight.

I know that brandy tastes lovely in hot tea or mulled sweet cider. Excepting that which I share with my mother, who wants access to the cognac for when she is sad, the rest of this bottle is probably going to wait until winter to be drunk. Maybe by then I'll like it straight. Even if that's the case, it still feels more like a winter or autumn drink to me. I'd rather be drinking a rosé wine or a fruity cocktail or something summer-y now. It's 66.6 degrees out and sunny!