Hennessy VS and VSOP: What the Letters Mean

The letters on the label aren't marketing. They're a French legal grade, and they say exactly how old the youngest cognac in the bottle is.

VS means two years

Very Special. The youngest cognac in the blend has had at least two years in oak. This is the Hennessy people mix - with soda, with juice, in a cocktail. It has fruit and a little spice and it survives ice without disappearing.

VSOP means four

Very Superior Old Pale. Four years minimum. At double the time the wood has done its work: vanilla, dried fruit and honey, and the alcohol reads much softer. Drink this one neat, in a glass with room, at room temperature.

Which to buy

If it's going in a mixer or onto a party table, VS, and don't think about it. If you're going to sit down with it or give it to somebody, VSOP. The price gap is real, and so is the gap in the glass.

The sizes change the sum

The 375 is half a bottle and the cheap way to try it. The 1.75 litre pours thirty-nine drinks and costs a lot less per glass - that's the one for a house where people gather.

And the little flavoured ones

Hennessy make 375ml bottles that are already mixed, like the iced tea and the berry. They're finished cocktails: serve very cold over ice and buy nothing else.

Beverage World Package Store

6731 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Doraville, GA 30360. (770) 441-0001. Open 10am to 9pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 11pm Thursday to Saturday, and 11am to 9pm Sunday. Delivery from $4.99.