Most of us have seen those oh so familiar magazine ads - the ones that show an elegant gentleman and his seductive female companion cradling very large glasses of spirits. And you know exactly what they're drinking: It's Cognac of course.

Oh, there are other great spirits, and other great brandies, but Cognac is at the top end of the quality scale, and there's simply no argument. There are differences in style, quality, and value among the brands of Cognacs on the U.S. market. You simply have to know what to look for in this sophisticated spirit.

All Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac. This is because only brandies crafted in the sub-regions of the area surrounding the town of Cognac, in northwest France, are entitled to use this name.

It takes time, and a bit of finesse, to make fine Cognac. This complex spirits starts where wine making leaves off. Growers in Cognac discovered by the 17th century that their local white wine, (Ugni Blanc), grown in chalky soil, was never to amount to anything but thin, pale and very acidic wine. They found that distilling was the way to transform their local wine into something more powerful, more sophisticated and far more intriguing and desirable. The raw, nearly colorless, nectar extracted directly from the copper pot stills used to distill Cognac, is harsh at first. To double distill, helps smooth it a bit, but the spirit needed to be aged to create the liquid gold.

Barrel aging is the next important process for the much needed slow maturation This mellows Cognac's texture, adds depth, vanilla flavors and its color. The top distilleries may age their Cognacs for decades in seasoned oak. About 3% of the spirits is lost each year by the evaporation process as it is being aged in the oak barrels. This is known as the "angel's share" and adds significantly to the cost and is equivalent to about 20 million bottles a year.