Chatting about cognac, sports and Le Portier with Shannon Sharpe and Dan Dunn on What We’re Drinking With Dan Dunn.
Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Dan Dunn and Shannon Sharpe on Dan’s brilliant podcast, What We’re Drinking with Dan Dunn.
We launched the inaugural release from Le Portier, Shay VSOP, at a glittering evening held at the Hollywood Park Casino on 16th November, and Dan was there to get a slice of the action, or should I say, a taste of the cognac. So I was keen to catch up with him a few days later to find out what he thought - he’s known for his honesty so I knew I could expect a frank appraisal of Shay VSOP.
Shannon Sharpe joined us to talk about everything from sports stadiums to launch parties, and of course, cognac. We discussed the thought process behind the design of the box and the endless tastings it took for us to find a cognac as perfect as we both demand.
Le Portier was created to honour Shannon’s grandmother, Mary Porter, and he talks about how growing up in the tough conditions they endured filled him with the desire to do better, for himself, his grandmother and his own kids. When he told me he wanted it to be an homage to his grandmother, I instantly knew we had to call it ‘Le Portier’, the French version of Porter. In so doing, we honour the discipline and hard work she instilled in Shannon and that formed the foundations of his success in sports, TV and now Cognac.
Both Shannon and I are fully invested in the business and spent years planning, designing and discussing every element. This is no endorsement - Shannon has been involved in every step from design to taste.
When we first started crafting Shay VSOP, I asked Shannon what he likes from his cognac. He picked out smoothness, a bit of spice, and some butterscotch, but while Shannon is a fan of XO and XXO cognacs, replicating that quality in a VSOP is a matter of expertise and timing. A living, breathing entity, taking the cognac out of the barrel at the right time is key and so I tasted multiple barrels in Cognac, France to find the right one, at the right time.
We shipped out multiple samples to LA to allow Shannon to go through the whole process of finding the perfect cognac for him, but also for a wider audience of both cognac connoisseurs and those new to the drink. As Dan says in the podcast, there was a wide mix of people at the launch, and everyone was drinking Shay VSOP and enjoying it.
Of course, anyone who knows my work at The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. will know I’m a perfectionist and it’s a trait I share with Shannon. It’s this obsessive perfectionism that has led to the creation of a VSOP that is a cut above all others. Aged for five to eight years, this cognac is certainly more mature than other VSOPs on the market, and the design is an additional marker of distinction. Add in the collectable semi-precious Obsidian closures, the multiple prototypes we worked through for the box alone, and the science behind the glass (available soon) that removes the ethanol, allowing the drinker to fully appreciate the flavour and aroma of the cognac, and you have a cognac that is destined to outclass all others.
Tune in to find out more about cognac, Le Portier and the ‘phenomenal’ Shay VSOP. Shay VSOP is currently available to buy exclusively from ReserveBar.