VSOP is a common midrange age designation for cognac and other brandies. Its use dates back to 1817, when the future King George IV of Great Britain asked the venerable cognac house of Hennessy to create a “very superior old pale cognac” (at the time, “very superior old pale” was a common designation for fine sherries). Any eau-de-vie used in a VSOP cognac must have aged in an oak cask for at least four years. The same is true for brandies from Armagnac and Calvados. Although brandies produced in the United States may bear the VSOP designation, there is no minimum aging requirement associated with it.
Bromley and Short, auctioneers (advertisement). London Morning Post, June 29, 1814, 4. Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac. L’encyclopédie du Cognac. http://www.pediacognac.com (accessed July 6, 2021).
By: David Mahoney