KINDRED SPIRITS

SIP AND

SAVOR

A LOWDOWN ON THE HEAVENLY CREATION KNOWN AS COGNAC.

T

he care and dedication that goes into creating Cognac makes it especially sublime – years, and even decades, are required to get from the earthly vine to the angel’s share. So esteemed is the process that artists have taken to glorifying each step, to divine effect. In the 1980s, Art Deco artist Erté designed seven bottles capturing each Cognac step. From vine, harvest and distillation to aging, tasting, spirit and the angel’s share – when the spirit loses a bit of its volume to evaporation – each Cognac milestone is immortalized in a bottle of the rarest blend from the Grande Champagne region. (One blend dates back to 1892, the year Erté was born.) Courvoisier stored the collection for 30 years and released an eighth bottle, sold for $10,000, in 2008.

So esteemed is the process that artists have taken to glorifying each step, to divine effect.

KINDRED SPIRITS

RÉMY MARTIN LOUIS XIII BLACK PEARL COGNAC

Another exceptional French brandy to behold is Rémy Martin’s Louis XIII Black Pearl Cognac. Made from a blend of 1,200 eaux-de-vie aged from 40 to 115 years, this very limited Cognac (only 786 bottles available) is packaged in a black crystal Baccarat decanter similar to the distiller’s classic Louis XIII flacon. Like fine wine, each Cognac blend offers its own taste profile, and this single-tier spirit has aromas of vanilla, cream, spiced flowers and fruit that precede a palate blending flavors of passion fruit, ginger, nutmeg and sandalwood.

The original Cognac classifications date back to the early 1800s and refer to the years and quality of the spirit, specifically the age of the youngest eau-de-vie used to make it. Here, we demystify the Cognac designations and what exactly those alluring initials mean. Initial Choice

VS – Only eaux-de-vie at least two years old can be used to make a VS Cognac, which stands for “Very Special.”

VSOP – Short for “Very Superior Old Pale,” this category covers eau-de-vie aged for at

least four years and includes designations such as “Old” or “Reserve.”

XO –The official age for XO, which stands for “Extra Old,”

is now 10 years, increased from six years in 2018. Cognacs

such as “Napoleon” or “Old Reserve” are equivalent to XO Cognac.

XXO – The newest category of Cognac

requires the youngest eaux-de-vie in any blend to be aged for a minimum of 14 years.

Like fine wine, each Cognac blend offers its own taste profile.