The drink of choice for rail tycoons and hip-hop artists alike, brandy has been around for 700 years and is still going strong. But wait a second, we thought Nas and Jay-Z liked Cognac — not brandy.

But hope is not lost for lovers of fine French brandy. As with many French wine-and-spirits designations, cognac is the name ... A label that says VS means the Armagnac has spent a minimum of ...