Cognac Drinks
Cognac Drinks!
Cognac, named after the town of Cognac in France, is a brandy, which is produced in the region surrounding the town. It must be made from at least 90% Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, or Colombard grapes. The rest of the cognac can consist of ten selected grapes. However, most cognac is made from Ugni Blanc only. It must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least 2 and 1/2 years in French oak barrels in order to be called cognac.
Cognac might have made a name for itself with its wine and salt trading while the Cognaçais, proud of their nickname: 'cagouillard' (snail ), enjoyed a slow pace of life, had it not been for the river Charente, dubbed 'my kingdom's nicest' by King Henry the IVth.
This river, particularly navigable, gave Cognac easy access to the nearby Atlantic ocean, in South Western France, not far from Bordeaux. A climate and soil most appropriate to vine growing, combined with a solid intuition for trade, and a love of perfection did the rest.
Merchants, mostly English and Dutch, began to distill the wines in order to avoid the long boat trips spoiling their quality. The Dutch turned it into 'Brandewijn', or burned wine. This would become the forerunner of 'Brandy'.
During the XVIIth century, the Cognaçais initiated the process of double distillation, allowing the concentrated alcohol, the 'water of life' known as 'eau-de-vie', to travel in the safest and most economical conditions. This alcohol, stored in oak barrels,was to be diluted upon arrival. It is purely by chance that they realised that these eaux-de-vie improved with time and contact with the oak wood. They began to drink it as such. Soon, it would be named: Cognac.
The Cognac region was then primarily Protestant. The "Edict of Nantes" was their guarantee of "freedom of faith and worship, and safe heaven". When King Louis the XIVth, the Sun King, cancelled the edict, it forced many Protestant families to leave. They established themselves in England, Ireland or Holland and some began to import the eaux-de-vie produced by their relatives in the region. A strong export network thus began to spread.
The XVIIIth century saw the first exports to Holland, England, North America and the Far East.Trading Houses created in the XIXth century began to ship their products in bottles and no longer in casks. This was the start of yet another economic cycle, leading to the creation of factories producing bottles, boxes, corks and labels. Cognac was fast becoming a major trade and export centre.
At the end of the XIXth centurya major crisis hit the region, with the onset of the infamous phylloxera, a fungus that spread throughout the vineyards, destroying them. In 1888, a French scientist traveled to Dennison, Texas, where he found the long termcure to phylloxera. The Cognac merchants led the way in replanting, partly from American vines, while helping growers with plants, fertilisers and advice...
Little by little, the vineyards were entirely replanted, and became France's largest for white wine. This left the Charentais with new battles to fight, such as opening new markets throughout the world, guaranteeing quality, maintaining the region's global economy and protecting against Cognac's imitators.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the cure of phylloxera in 1988, Dennison, Texas and Cognac, France, became sister cities. Meanwhile, in the historic part of the town of Cognac, the rue 'Saulnier' (salt trader in old French) remains the only witness to the town's original trade.
The Romans are credited with planting the first grapes in the region around the town of Cognac, in France.
The age of cognac is determined by its time in the barrel. It is not considered any more aged once it's bottled - no matter how long it stays there.
By law, distillation must take place March 31st of the year following harvest in order to capture the fresh, fruity qualities of the wine.
Legend has it that cognac's double distillation originated when an 18th century brandy producer, Chevalier de La Croix-Marone (the Knight of the Brown Cross), dreamt that the devil was trying to extract his soul by boiling him. It took the devil two times to do so, hence he realized he could find the soul of the brandy by distilling it twice.
The "paradis" is the most cherished spot in the cognac cellar, where the oldest cognacs are kept in glass vessels.
Ideally cognac should be served in a narrow tulip-shaped glass. This allows the aroma to be concentrated and slowly released without being overwhelming - as with a snifter.
Cognac bottles should be stored vertically or the spirit will attack the cork. (Down Cognac, down!)
VS = Very Superior - a blend of 40 cognacs and is aged a minimum of 2-1/2 years VSOP = Very Superior Old Pale - a blend aged a minimum of 4-1/2 XO/Napoleon/Hors d'age = Extra Old - is aged a minimum of 6 years
What's the difference between cognac and armagnac?
Of these two French brandies, armagnac is the elder by a few hundred years.
Cognac:
Region: Charente (around the town of cognac)
Distillation: multiple distillations in pot stills
Proof: must have a minimum alcohol content of 40% vol.
Aged: in white oak
Character: smooth & polished
Armagnac:
Region: Gascony
Distillation: single distillation in a continuous still, resulting in a more robust flavor that is truer to its components and which must be tempered during aging
Proof: about 110
Aged: in black oak. The age listed on the bottle must refer to the age of the youngest element of the blend.
Character: fiery, earthy, aka "the velvet flame" (not to be confused with Mel Tormé, "the velvet fog").