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ognac has always had the reputation of being a bit stuffy, a drink for the upper crust of society to sip as they discuss their thoroughbred racehorses and whether they prefer their vacation home on Nantucket or the Hamptons. But times they are a changin’, and cognac is getting the attention it deserves for being a full-bodied, sophisticated drink, all thanks to most recently, ummmm, Busta Rhymes?

Cognac is in fact, a brandy, but a very specific one. Just as not all wine is champagne, not all whiskey is scotch, not all brandy is cognac. Brandy can not only be made anywhere in the world, but it can also be made using fermented fruits beyond just grapes, like apples, cherries, raspberries, and pears. Cognac, however, has strict rules to be worthy enough for its name. Cognac must be made in the Cognac region of France, more specifically, from the state of Charente, using grapes from that region as well. Most commonly used are the ugni blanc grapes. Wine made from these grapes is distilled twice then left to sit in French oak barrels for at least two years -- any less than two years and it cannot be called cognac. Once this process is over, the real fun can begin as some cognacs have special tasting committees. For example, a committee of seven people meet for two hours a day to taste samples of Hennessey Cognac and ensure consistent quality. It takes ten years of training before a person is allowed to be on this committee, and I would think part of this intense training is learning how to function for the rest of your day, once the sipping time is over.

Cognac distillers label their bottles based upon how long the products age in the French oak barrels. If you see VS on the label, that stands for “very special,” which means the cognac has aged two years in the barrel, the shortest amount allowed and still be called cognac. The VS cognac is better used in a mixed drink, rather than sipping alone. VSOP means “very special old pale,” and is aged for four years. This is also a good quality to be used with mixers but can stand on its own as well. If your label says XO, this means your cognac is “extra old,” aged over 10 years in an oak barrel. This is the best of the best and is also referred to as Napoleon. To mix this would be an abomination against cognac as it should be enjoyed neat or over ice.

Cognac’s history starts in the 16th century when the Dutch were frustrated that the wine they were bringing back home from France wouldn’t keep for the long journey. They decided to distill the wine and ended up with what they called brandewijn (burnt wine). This name morphed into brandy. By the 18th century, cognac houses started to pop up, with these houses buying only the grapes or brandy that fit their strict cognac standards. Cognac became very popular, especially with people in the UK, but high taxes on imports forced residents to take matters into their own hands and smugglers became the biggest importers at the time. In the 1870s an outbreak of phylloxera, an insect that attacks the vine root and kills the plant, nearly devastated the cognac industry. During prohibition, cognac saw a resurgence in demand with the popularity of drinks, such as the Sidecar and the Corpse Reviver. Cognac’s demand ebbed and flowed with the times but saw another large push when Busta Rhymes came out with the catchy tune Pass the Courvoisier, and thus cognac became popular with a whole new generation.