Cognac and Chocolate Have Many Things in Common

Chocolate Assortment

An epicurean is someone who seek pleasure from the consumption of goods, in particular food and beverages.  If you are an epicurean of Cognac, you are most likely an epicurean of other things such as cheese, wine, coffee, perhaps mushrooms or else, one has only to imagine what it could be.

Personally, and perhaps because it is holiday seasons I cannot help to think of chocolate. If you are interested in cognac you must like chocolate too - I assume.

A great number of people are turning to premium bakers as well to get these amazing desserts they can only get from top-end restaurants. With this economy, they may not be able to afford going out to expensive but rather purchase and indulge affordable desserts directly from the bakery which maybe producing for highly rated restaurants. Or  chefs from deluxe restaurants may starts their own small business focusing on exquisite bakery or precisely "patisserie" to supply refined consumers.

In America, the bakery world is changing and more refined artisan breads and baked goods are being sought after by consumers. This trend is also happening with artisan chocolate makers, called "chocolatier" who are producing chocolates confection closer to jewelry making. Belgium and Switzerland are evident drivers of this phenomenon with famous brands such as Godiva or Leonidas. But here again, like in Cognac, the interest of the epicurean is directed towards the "boutique" chocolate producers such as Pierre Marcolini, Gilles Desplanches, Wittamer, etc... using cocoa from Madagascar, Venezuela and even Cuba.

Cognac Paradis Gilles Desplanches

More Info: see for instance, http://tinyurl.com/8a4fck3

If you are a chocolate epicurean you are looking for uniqueness and small-batch production. I often like cognacs which have chocolate nuances. I also like my cognac with dark chocolates and chocolate ice creams. I like nuts such as pecans, and other standards like almonds. Perhaps, my favorite are candied chestnuts but these are hard to find.

In a future posting I will go over the cognac tastings and different tastings wheels available. What is interesting is to look at and compare other tasting wheels such as the one provided to chocolate or coffee lovers. You will see there are many similarities with cognac.