6 Best Brandies Under $40, Ranked by Critics

Brandy is the most underestimated category on the back bar. While whisky drinkers argue about age statements and tequila fans obsess over production methods, brandy sits quietly on the shelf, offering serious quality at prices that make everything else look overpriced. This list pulls the six best brandies under $40 from The Daily Pour’s review archive, ranked by our critics’ scores. Ties are broken by price, accessibility and how well each bottle makes the case for the category.

6. Kvint Divin VSOP 5 Year Old Brandy

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Coming out of Tiraspol, Moldova, Kvint Divin VSOP 5 Year Old Brandy is the kind of bottle that makes you question every assumption you had about where good brandy comes from. Tiraspol Winery & Distillery KVINT works with eight white grape varieties, including Bianca, Aligoté, Ugni Blanc, Riesling and Colombard, double distilling in Charentais pot stills before five years of aging in French oak. At 40% ABV and around $20, it punches well above its price. The nose carries dried apricot and a faint floral lift, while the palate settles into candied orange peel, vanilla and a dry, woody finish that lingers just long enough to remind you this is a properly made spirit. The 90-point score is earned.

5. St-Rémy XO

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St-Rémy XO is the brandy that shows up at the holiday table and quietly outperforms everything around it. The French house ages a selection of eaux-de-vie in small French oak casks for an extended period, bottling the result at 40% ABV. What comes through in the glass is a richer, more honeyed profile than the VSOP designation would suggest: beeswax and toasted brioche on the nose, then a palate that moves through dried fig, caramelized walnut and a faint spice note that keeps things from going too sweet. The finish is clean and medium-length. For a bottle that sits comfortably in the under-$30 range, the 91-point score makes it one of the more obvious value plays in the category.

4. 10th Mountain Brandy

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10th Mountain Brandy is a craft brandy produced by 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company in Vail, Colorado. Made from Pinot Noir grapes, the spirit is aged for two years in a single-use American bourbon barrel, giving it a profile that sits somewhere between traditional brandy and American whiskey.

The bourbon cask influence is immediately noticeable on the nose, with red berry fruit and baking spice. On the palate, it moves into vanilla custard and dried cherry before finishing with toasty oak that feels remarkably well integrated for a two-year-old spirit. Bottled at 47.5% ABV (95 proof), it has enough structure to support the flavors. With a well-earned critics’ score of 91 points, the brandy typically retails for around $35.

3. Three Barrels V.S.O.P. Brandy

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Sporting a score of 92 points, Three Barrels V.S.O.P. is the brandy equivalent of a reliable utility player — not flashy, not trying to be, and consistently better than the competition at its price point. Raynal & Cie sources white grapes from Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy, ages the spirit in oak and bottles at 38% ABV, which puts it on the lighter end of the proof spectrum. At around $22, it’s practically a rounding error in the spirits budget. The palate leans toward roasted hazelnut, soft toffee and a dried citrus peel note that gives the whole thing a pleasant, slightly bitter edge. The finish is short but tidy.

2. Père Magloire Fine VS Calvados

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Calvados is its own category, and Père Magloire Fine VS Calvados, another 92-point offering, is a strong argument for keeping a bottle around at all times. Made at the Père Magloire distillery in Pont-l’Évêque, Normandy and matured for two years in French oak, it is bottled at 40% ABV with a character that is apple-forward and layered. The nose is fresh-cut apple and a little cider vinegar tang, the kind of thing that smells like a farmers market in September. The palate delivers baked apple, a touch of cinnamon and a dry, slightly woody finish that keeps the sweetness honest. Two years is a young age statement for Calvados, but the lively, almost electric quality of this bottling makes that a feature rather than a flaw.

1. Vecchia Romagna Classica Brandy

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Taking the top spot, Vecchia Romagna Classica shows why Italy’s most iconic brandy house remains such a compelling value. Produced by Vecchia Romagna, the spirit is made using continuous distillation and aged in oak. Despite being the youngest expression in the portfolio, it delivers one of the most complete drinking experiences in this lineup.

The nose is a little unexpected, offering dried flowers, warm pastry dough and a faint grape-skin note that leans slightly toward grappa, a reminder that this is unmistakably Italian rather than French in style. The palate is where it truly opens up, revealing almond paste, soft dried apricot and a finish with a lightly resinous, almost herbal quality that helps it stand apart from other brandies in this price range. Bottled at 40% ABV with a critics’ score of 93 points, it earns the top position without any asterisks.