Cognac can feel like a members' club with its own code. It is not. Learn three abbreviations and you can buy it with total confidence.

Cognac is brandy from one strictly defined region of western France, twice-distilled from white wine and aged in French oak. The mysterious letters on the label simply tell you how long the youngest spirit in the blend has aged, and that is most of what you need to know.

VS, VSOP, XO

VS (Very Special) is the youngest and brightest, aged at least two years, perfect for cocktails. VSOP steps up to at least four years, rounder and smoother, the natural sipping starting point. XO (Extra Old) is the serious tier, aged a minimum of ten years, deep, layered and made for slow appreciation. That is the whole ladder.

Climbing to XO

At the top, XO is where the great houses show off their oldest reserves, blending hundreds of aged spirits into something rich with dried fruit, leather and spice. It is the Cognac equivalent of a very old single malt, and worth every bit of the patience that went into it.

So the code is simple: VS to mix, VSOP to sip, XO to savour. Learn those three and the whole golden world of Cognac opens up.

And when you want to put a VS to work, it is the backbone of one of the great cocktails: the Sidecar.

One last thread worth pulling. Every Cognac is a brandy, but not every brandy is Cognac — and knowing exactly what separates the two makes you a sharper buyer the moment you step past the Cognac shelf.

And once Cognac makes sense, meet its older, wilder cousin from the south-west: how Armagnac differs from Cognac, and when to reach for it instead.