Cognac is a famous drink - but it's also an intoxicating and charming medieval French town

Barrels of joy! Cognac is a famous drink - but it's also an intoxicating and charming medieval French town. Mark Palmer sips his way into cognac houses in Cognac - many of which offer tours for around £15. to a bottle of cognac the same way," he says. He stays in a Scandinavian-style room at the Hotel Chais Monnet & Spa, a former distillery founded in 1838

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Posted: 10:13 GMT, 18 November 2022 | Updated: 10:13 GMT, 18 Nov 2022

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A few years ago a friend suggested we watch England play a game important football in Portugal. After a disastrous schoolboy defense, England lost the game and Nigel said, "I think we need a cognac".

So we found a fancy bar, ordered something or other, and then Nigel started swishing the amber liquor around his glass like he was a real connoisseur. It turned out that he knew a little more about this famous spirit than I did. That's why we meet in Cognac, where we are joined by Johnny, a mutual friend, who doesn't know his VSOPs from his XOs either.

"Lads on tour" has never been my thing, but it's a totally different experience.

We are sipping rather than swallowing, with history, tradition and craftsmanship all thrown into the h...