Although Cognac and some brandies are wine based, the taste of the wine is completely lost in the final product. As such, the proper blessing is the standard one for beverages, Shehakol.
Click here for the text of the Shehakol blessing.
Rabbi Eliezer Posner
Louis Royer vsop are kosher and there are several others
I go to lake wood NJ. The stores Cary them. Pennsylvania it it not sold here. Lehiam Be carful there is a lot of non kosher cognac,s. Make sure you see ou on the bottle. There is a lot of misinformation on this subject. Always look for ou. Some will tell you xo is kosher but many are not. Happy Purim.
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To Luzy
I made the mistake of bringing a bottle of cognac into a Chabad house during Shabbos some time ago. I had presumed that since whiskey (and some other hard liquors) were allowed, and often without kosher certification, a bottle of cognac would be okay.
If I remember correctly, my mistake(s) in this case had to do with meshuval; and since brandies and cognacs are all distilled from wine (whereas other hard liquors often are not), that was applicable.
Also, I believe there was a question of, going by strict shomer shabbos standards, what could be transported into shul during Shabbos: Even if it was a meshuval wine product, it might have been more proper for me to have brought it before Shabbos commenced.
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That's really strange Perhaps it was just your shul's rule not to have any Cognacs or Brandies. It's really hard to find kosher cognac or brandy, so maybe the machers in your shul decided to forbid them entirely. Does that make sense to you, Thomas? Reply
Also,-
Cognacs and brandies are not supposed to be brought into shul during Shabbos, unlike wine; which, if I remember correctly, can be brought in for Oneg Shabbat (or kiddush).
I don't presently remember why though.
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What would the blessing be for consuming non-wine based liquor?
The blessing for all beverages other than wine is Shehakol.
Thank you