Brandy ranks as an under-the-radar liquor in today’s drinking trends. Brandy and its variations remain important to specific groups.

However, brandy does not enjoy the popularity of vodka or whiskey. Mixologists often pass over brandy when it comes to whipping up a new cocktail concoction.
A European tradition, making brandy proved successful for early American colonists, especially those living in the Upper Midwest.
After Prohibition ended in 1933, sales of grain-based alcohols like beer and whiskey soared to become the enduring liquor of choice instead.
But brandy may be preparing for its renaissance. The first American distillery fermenting fruit mash to make brandy since Prohibition opened in 1982.
By the 2010s, 500 distilleries produced brandy in the U.S. Still, the most expensive brandy varieties on this list represent overwhelmingly European brands of brandy, cognac, and calvados.
Check out the priciest bottles of brandy and cognac in the world. While most people can’t afford these, there are still plenty of high quality brandies you can enjoy!
Louis XIII de Remy Martin Rare Cask Grande Champagne Cognac
We open our list with what is considered the most impressive bottle of brandy ever produced.
The Louis XIII de Remy Martin Rare Cask Grande Champagne Cognac received glowing reviews, earning labels like ageless, epic, and an authority on this type of brandy.
Cognac represents a narrower definition of brandy, using only specific fruit distillations.
More than 1,200 different distillations, called eaux-de-vie, are combined to make this elite bottle of Remy Martin brandy. Spirits within this bottle are aged from 40 to over 100 years.
This complex and unforgettable brandy retails for more than $4,000 for a 750 mL bottle.
Cognac Brugerolle 1795
As the name implies, this bottle of brandy dates back to the French Revolution.
One bottle of Cognac Brugerolle went up for auction in 2012, with an estimated price of about $150,000.
The legend claims this particular bottle of Cognac Brugerolle 1795 accompanied Napoleon on the battlefield in the late 18th century.
That bottle is estimated to be the last remaining bottle of this historically significant brandy.
This richly flavored liquor is still run by a member of the Brugerolle family, operating an innovative distillery in France.
1865 Manoir de Beraut Comte de Goyon Armagnac
Armagnac describes a niche variety of brandy developed in southwest France.
Dating back to the 14th century, Armagnac owns the title of the oldest recorded liquor in the world. No example of armagnac ranks above the 1865 Manoir de Beraut Comte de Goyon Armagnac.
The fruit for this brandy was grown especially for a prominent French general and politician.
This rich and complex beverage retails for around $9,000 per bottle. Very few bottles of this deeply-colored liquor still exist.
Louis XIII Black Pearl
To celebrate the 140th birthday of the first brandy on this list, Remy Martin released the spectacular Louis XIII Black Pearl edition.
As you can expect from Remy Martin, this brandy bottle is almost as incredible as its flavor.
A metallic, pearlescent bottle is decorated with the brand’s signature fleur de Lys with rippled glass edges.
Only 775 of these amazing crystal decanters of Louis XIII Black Pearl exist. Each bottle retails for around $30,000 for a 750 mL bottle.
The most expensive brandy brands on this list are best enjoyed neat, or without ice, and at room temperature.
Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne
Like the Black Pearl, the Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne earns its jaw-dropping price from the elite, 100-year-old distilled liquor inside and the presentation on the outside.
The Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne’s bottle is wrapped in 24-carat gold, platinum, and six thousand diamonds.
A bottle of this cognac reaches more than $1.2 million.
This amazing price tag makes the Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne the most expensive bottle of brandy ever manufactured.
Cave de l’Hotel de Paris Grande Champagne Cognac
Another French cognac makes our list of the most expensive brandy you can buy.
The Cave de l’Hotel de Paris Grande Champagne Cognac will cost around $10,000.
Bottles of this brandy from the mid-19th century retail for closer to $6,000 while a bottle from 1809 fetches a price closer to $25,000.
This bottle of brandy was made for visitors to a fancy 19th-century French hotel. Its longevity not only pampers you with the complex flavors of elite French cognac but also serves as a way to step back in time.
Check out other great cognacs that won’t break the bank like this one.
Lecompte Secret Calvados, France
Forgotten barrels of brandy nestled deep in the cellar of the Lecompte distillery fermented for nearly 85 years before discovery.
After this unveiling, Lecompte got to work to produce an unforgettable calvados brandy using this untouched eaux-de-vie distilled by the distillery’s founder in the early 1920s.
Calvados brandy is typically made from apples and is a close relative to cider. Most other brandies, like grappa and cognac, are made from fermented grape mash.
This fruit choice gives Lecompte Secret Calvados a distinct caramel and coffee flavor with classic apple tartness and candied fruit flavors for an impeccable balance. Pick up this brandy for about $3,000 per bottle.
Croizet Cognac Leonie 1858
Croizet Cognac traces its roots to 1805, serving as one of the oldest producers of cognac in the world.
Croizet produces only a single vintage product, which is unusual for distilleries.
This means a bad year for grape growing for Croizet becomes no cognac for that entire year.
Most cognac houses, wine growers, and other similar industries simply blend grapes across growing years to mask an inferior crop.
A bottle of Croizet Cognac Leonie 1858 costs about $150,000. This liquor is sold by the bottle only, except for at InterContinental Hong Kong.
This hotel is the only place in the world where you can buy a shot of this cognac. Be prepared to pay almost $9,000 for one shot, earning the Guinness World Record for Most Expensive Shot of Cognac.
Hardy L’Ete Lalique Cognac Grande Champagne
A blend of six, century-old cognacs delivers on a promise from the early 20th century.
In 1919 and 1940 a third-generation member of the British-founded Hardy cognac house.
These hand-selected bottles blended into a vibrant brandy offering notes of apricot, cinnamon, and honey.
The crystal decanter for this cognac differs from the other signature bottles on this list. A smooth, contemporary presentation overall, the bottle’s closure provides the element of drama.
A rainbow-shaped sculpture depicted with grape vines crowns this $8,500 bottle of brandy.
Only about 400 bottles of Hardy L’Ete Lalique Cognac Grande Champagne exist.
Hennessy Beaute du Siecle Cognac
Henessy ranks as the brand of cognac with the most name recognition inside the United States.
After rap stars started referencing Hennessy and cognac in the 1990s, this liquor became a drink of choice for this community.
The Hennessy Beaute du Siecle Cognac offers not only a spicy, robust flavor but also a thrilling presentation.
A treasure chest contains this signature bottle of Hennessy, along with four glasses perfect for enjoying this rare eau-de-vie. With only 100 bottles released, this rare liquor costs around $195,000.
HINE 250 Years Decanter 1953 Cognac
The special vintage of 1953 provided a flavor of cognac many experts believe to be unbeatable.
The driest year of the 20th century, 1953 provided fruit that needed more time to age.
Now, these 250 bottles offer an exquisite cognac that proves the phrase, slow and steady wins the race.
The HINE 250 Years Decanter 1953 Cognac, at a nearly $12,000 price tag, provides a sensory experience.
You will smell notes of acacia, fig, and honey before tasting leather, orange, and tobacco. This brandy delivers a spicy undertone and a long, satisfying finish.
Like other brandies on this list, the HINE bottle was designed by the masters at Baccarat crystal.
Unlike those bottles, this cognac house preferred an understated bottle reminiscent of a multifaceted diamond.
Hardy Privilege Caryota Lalique Cognac Grande Champagne
Another bottle from the Hardy cognac house makes our list, with the Hardy Privilege Caryota Lalique Cognac Grande Champagne.
The fruits contained within this bottle hail from a specific region of France picked and distilled before 1914.
This cognac’s appearance reflects a deep amber or mahogany color, versus the pale amber color of the HINE 250 Years Decanter 1953 Cognac.
A woodsy comparison continues with this liquor’s strong aroma offering notes of cedar.
Nutmeg, black pepper, plum, and cherry flavors join together to produce this well-rounded liquor. A bottle of this Hardy Privilege will cost nearly $8,000.
Hennessy Timeless Cognac
Taste the elite history of cognac with a bottle of Hennessy Timeless.
This liquor, released in 2000, features a blend of 11 eaux-de-vie from the best years in the four-generation history of Hennessy.
Hennessy’s Grandes Reserves, which all contributed to a bottle of Timeless, represent the largest reserves of eaux-de-vie in the world.
To produce Timeless, Hennessy cellar masters painstakingly taste and supervise the aging of these century-old liquors.
The result is a celebration of the craft of brandy, with a price tag of about $10,000.