This Cognac-based liqueur incorporates 20 pounds of pears in each 750-ml bottle, yielding a rich golden hue and bold fresh-pear scent. As a digestif-worthy sipper, look for a balanced honey and vanilla flavor profile, with a suggestion of pear on the finish. Ideal for cocktails, baking or sipping straight.

— Kara Newman

Made with a blend of brandies aged 30–35 years, this shows dark amber in the glass yet is remarkably soft, balanced and easy to enjoy. The bouquet entices, with scents of caramel, vanilla and orange peel that are mirrored on the palate along with a slight saline twang that reads as salted caramel, braced by clove and cinnamon.

— Kara Newman

Heavenly!

Excellent,Highly Recommended.

Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation.

Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation.

Excellent, Highly Recommended.

Chateau de Larressingle, located in the Ténarèze AOC of Armagnac, is a fine place to begin your explanation of this brandy category. It is a relatively small producer, but has good distribution throughout the U.S., as it is marketed by the import house of Kobrand Wine & Spirits. It’s good, solid, earthy Armagnac, a blend of choice brandies from both Bas-Armagnac and Ténarèze, great for sipping, enjoying with coffee after a good meal, or to inspire a great cocktail.

— Hoke Harden

Classic French brandies make stride vis mixology and innovation... Other changes and introductions: Delamain, a family-owned house which only produces Grande Champagne Cognacs at XO range and above, repackaged its Delamain Vesper (a blend of 30-35 years Cognacs) and continued to introduce rare vintage bottlings, only recently allowed.

— Jack Robertiello

This year I was a guest of Tia Maria Liqueur and Disaronno Originale for Tales of the Cocktail, and was invited to do an Instagram Take-Over of the Tia Maria Account! I had a blast exploring the city, and finding new ways to use the classic coffee liqueur!

— Emily Arden Wells

Vesper, with its substantial mouthfeel, strong woody presence and lingering, caramel finish, delivers the goods, satisfying that cognac jones the way Led Zeppelin satisfies your classic rock jones or Hemingway satisfies your literature jones. If your dad worked a job he didn't love in order to put you through college without your acquiring a bundle of student debt because, dammit, that's what men are supposed to do, this is the cognac for him.

— Tony Sachs

Kobrand Corp. is backing passion fruit liqueur brand Alizé with an outdoor campaign this summer focusing on the New York metro area. The push, titled “Life is more fun in color,” includes more than 350 individual ad units across outdoor venues throughout New York City, and coincides with a tasting campaign on the brand taking place throughout New York state. Alizé includes Red Passion, Blue Passion and Gold Passion variants.

— Staff

Though it may not appeal to pedestrian rum drinkers, rhum agricole tends to be popular among whiskey drinkers, as Depaz Rhum spokeswoman Stephanie Rubin explains. "It's going to have a nose, and a complexity of a whiskey or a fine tequila. Both of those are very mixable, and they bring characteristics to what they make." She suggests trying rhum agricole in a mojito, for starters. "If someone wanted to ask their bartender to try something different, this would be the drink that I would suggest. It's a rum, but it's not a rum."

— Lauren Viera

Extraordinary, ultimate recommendation.