COGNAC

As a spirit, cognac must be misunderstood about as often as it is brandished by a rapper in a music video. Which is to say, a lot. So let's start by clearing some things up.

First of all, what is it? In basic terms, it is a spirit distilled from wine made from grapes grown in the Cognac region. All cognacs are brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. Very special brandy indeed, though, with Victor Hugo once referring to cognac as ‘the liquor of the gods.’

As in Champagne, much of the control of production and dominance of sales has come to rest in the hands of a small number of very large brands. The ‘Big Four’ of Hennessey, Rémy Martin, Martell and Courvoisier have a production that dwarfs the combined efforts of the region's hundreds of other distillers by a significant margin. Their size and scale have helped to propel cognac onto the global stage, with excellent bottles available at a number of price points. learn more

Similarly to champagne, smaller houses exist and thrive. Lhéraud and Tesseron are fantastic examples of family-owned producers offering interesting and unique cognacs.

The drink itself is versatile and lends equally well to classic cocktails, mixers and straight. Younger examples, such as those labelled VS and VSOP, may have a sharper, brown sugary taste that pairs deliciously with soda, ginger ale or lemonade, while the XOs and rare vintage bottles often have the distinctive rancio aspect (think tropical fruits, cigar box and earth) that is best enjoyed neat.