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.

Martell Cognac Event for 2012: Cordon Bleu 100th Anniversary

Martell, the second largest cognac producer and the oldest Cognac House among the top 4 largest house is about to celebrate a very important anniversary. 100th! In 1912, the company launched a new cognac which quickly became an iconic product and which is still today considered by many people as the archetype of premium cognacs. It is revered in Asia and it is very unique in its assemblage/formula and flavor profile. One of its secret is the use of cognacs originated from the Borderies region of production in Cognac. This is very much of a house characteristic for Martell as much as the assemblage of Grande and Petite Champagne is a trait of Remy Martin, the Borderies assemblage belong to Martell.
When you analyze the Martell Cordon Bleu product with today's "marketing eyes" one would imagine that it would be a project that would be quickly abandoned. Most of the new products being made are concentrating on the production of modern cognacs supported by trendy packagings. Cordon Bleu like Remy Martin 1738 are offering "old school" looks which are often perceived as evidence of "authenticity" by consumers. Hence, authenticity is an important characteristic for cognacs.
http://youtu.be/1MCxIdk6ZYw

Grammy-Award Winner and Cognac Connoisseur ‘Barefoot Diva’ Cesaria Evora has Past Away

Cognac Paradis Cesaria Evora

Singer Cesária Evora, nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" because of her propensity to perform without shoes, has died aged 70 this past Saturday 17th December 2011.

Evora started performing Portuguese-creole songs when she was 16 years old in the bars of her hometown, Mindelo. World recognition came later in her life when at the age of 47, in 1988 she released her debut album, La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (The Barefoot Diva), which launched her career as a recording artist.

Evora grew up in poverty in the port city of Mindelo and often refused to wear shoes while performing in support of the homeless and poor women and children of her country.

Her 1995 album, Cesária, was released in more than a dozen countries and brought Evora her first Grammy nomination, leading to a tour of major concert halls around the world and resulting in album sales in the millions.

She later won the "Best World Music Album" Grammy in 2004 for her album Voz D'Amor.

The Grammy-winning singer, who was forced to retire in September due to ill health, passed away in the hospital on her native island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Cape Verde is a republic made of 10 Islands set off on the west coast of Africa where people speak Portuguese.

Evora was famous for singing blues-influenced music and often recognized  for her interest in the enjoyment of the finest cognacs.

We regretfully say our goodbyes to a Diva.

Source: Photo: Silvio Tanaka

Cognac Glasses Make Very Good Music Instruments

What do cognac and classical music have in common?

Perhaps the cognac glasses! How come? Have you heard of Glass Harp?

Glass made instruments appeared for the first time in the 12th century in China. Today, a Polish couple are using cognac snifters to play the most difficult classical music pieces from Bach to Tchaikovsky. Some people may prefer Harry Potter or Star Wars themes but because today's is Hanukkha and this weekend it will be Christmas I thought it would be more appropriate to have something like "Sugar Plum Fairy" by P. Tchaikovsky.

ENJOY WITHOUT MODERATION THIS TIME!

Learn more from http://www.glassharp.eu

Cognac = Definition of a "Classic": It Never Goes Away!

Amy Cavanaugh 's post could not be more stereotyped of what I hear from people who like spirits, brown or clear, scotch, vodkas, and else, but knows nothing or very little about cognac.

Cognac Paradis Courvoisier 21 Connoisseur Collection

"Going into a cognac tasting at the Drawing Room last week, I didn’t know much about the grape-based spirit. I’m a brown spirits drinker, but my tastes usually run more toward bourbon and scotch, and I hadn’t ever had more than a nip of cognac here and there.

I blind tasted cognac against Irish whiskey, Scotch whiskey, rye, bourbon, and aged rum to taste the difference between grain and grape-based liquors. I found cognac heavier on the tongue, with a taste that lingered longer in my mouth than any of the other spirits did.

Cognac was originally used in mint juleps, sazeracs, and other classic cocktails that now feature bourbon and other spirits. It fell off the radar over the years, thanks in part to an insect attack that destroyed many French vineyards in the late 19th century. With the resurgence of interest in the classics, it’s starting to appear on more and more cocktail menus."

Cognac is a modern spirit because it is a classic, that means it never goes away and it is always trendy for the connoisseurs.  It is the traditional ingredient of prohibition cocktails and back in the trends today. It is made by  a long list of connected intermediaries and families, and it requires the utmost quality steps to be created. It is very exclusive and also sustainable from an environmental perspective - "liquid gold" some call it.

So do not get me wrong. I enjoy most types of spirits (with moderation). I only have favorites spirits for specific situations. I think cognacs are more elegant, subtle and clean than other spirits, but I am open minded. If I had to pick a second favorite spirits it would be eaux-de-vie for the variety of fruits that can be found. Otherwise, in second I would pick Calvados. I love crepes perhaps this is why.

http://chicagoist.com/2011/11/06/make_charles_jolys_cognac_cocktails.php

Source: Photo: Courvoisier Cognac

Sartori to Release Cognac BellaVitano® Cheese varieties for 2011 Holiday Season

Sartori Company announced this week that it will be releasing a very limited quantity of Cognac BellaVitano for the 2011 holiday season.

Cognac Paradis - Sartori Cheese Bella Vitano Cognac

Based in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Sartori has been producing artisan and premium cheese for seven decades for Specialty, Retail, Ingredient, Restaurant and Food Service markets.  Cognac BellaVitano is an extension of the company's BellaVitano Cheese varieties.

The cheese itself is extra aged; it matures for at least 18 months.  After the aging process, it is submerged in a premium Cognac and is only removed when Sartori Master Cheesemakers believe it is just right.  The end result is unique and complex celebration of smoky, nutty, oaky flavors with toasted notes of vanilla and caramel from the Cognac.  Each finished wheel will be hand signed and numbered by Master Cheesemaker Mike Matucheski.

Sartori is excited to announce that this year's very first two 20 pound wheels, hand signed by Master Cheesemakers at Sartori, will be sold at auction via eBay.  All proceeds from the auction will be donated to local food banks. Jim Sartori, CEO, sums up the decision to donate best: "This is a challenging time of year for some members of our community.  We will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the food banks to help out families in need.  The Cognac wheels at auction are wheels #1 and #2, and we are only selling 20 wheels this entire holiday season.  We expect the auction to be very successful."  The auction for wheel #1 will begin Monday, November 21st, and Wheel #2 will go up November 26th with each auction running 10 days.  

Sartori will sell the remaining wheels more conventionally by partnering with a very limited number of specialty retailers. The Cognac BellaVitano will carry a $75 per pound suggested retail price.  Additionally, a limited supply of 4 oz. wedges will also be available for sale on the company website, www.sartoricheese.com.  This will give people who do not live within driving distance of a retailer carrying the item the opportunity to buy and share this unique cheese.

Source: Photo: Sartori Company

Source: News: PR from Sartori Company

Cognac and Armagnac - It is Like Salt and Pepper

Cognac Paradis - Armagnac Baron de Sigognac VSOP

John W. Fischer in his blog published on November 5th 2011, gives us a rare explanation of what is cognac versus armagnac but also he offers an interesting view on why someone may select armagnac over cognac. The number of people who prefer armagnac over cognac is very limited. I often find that these people do not have a single valid reason for why they prefer armagnac (I will below give you my rational for preferring armagnac). In addition, preferring one over the other is like preferring salt over pepper. You need both in life because their are different and complementary.

At the end, comparing the 2 and saying which one is better makes no sense. But if I had to guess which one people think is better I would say that over 90% of the time people prefer cognac over armagnac. The driving reason for this may be that people do not know armagnac as much as they know cognac. There is 25 times more cognac than armagnac being produced. That just does not make it better - it is just a fact. Armagnac is 200 years older than cognac but that does not make it better either. Cognac has grown faster because of its natural proximity to the ocean which favored international trades for centuries. Remember 95% of the cognac is exported, and this percentage has been pretty much the same since it was created. Anyway, it was created by foreigners for foreigners  (quickly and over-simplified explanation but pretty valid).

Cognacs are generally assembled (blended) for the sake of creating the most balanced products. In many cases, the blends include over 100 different cognacs. Hence, they are smoother than armagnacs where the spirits are much less blended. Also, cognacs are distilled two times whereas traditionally armagnacs are distilled 1 time. The more you distill the smoother it gets. Passed 2 times you are removing significantly the characteristics of what you are distilling. So as a rule of thumb, 1 distillation are for eaux-de-vie, where the spirits are the expression of the fruits being distilled.

2 distillation is good balance where you have the best of both worlds: enough purity and still the complexity and typicity of what you are distilling.

--->Why vodkas are distilled 20 times? The worst the "stuff" you have fermented to generate alcohol the more you need to distill to get to neutrality. Plus some people are pretty bad at distilling so they need more times.

--->Why some vodkas are distilled 9 times or more ... (1) it is a marketing gimmick, and (2) they are not good at it. It is like someone telling you a joke and they need to repeat their joke 5 or 10 times to get you to laugh. Either the joke was bad or they were not good at telling the joke.

Going back to armagnac. Advanced spirits tasters look for single grape armagnacs made of colombard or made of only folle blanche. And since it is only made of a single grape one should taste a difference. That is a plus point of armagnacs as they more often make this distinction. The truth is you should taste a difference if the armagnacs are less than 5 years old but passed 5 years old the armagnacs or anything that is aged for that matter start tasting the same. So if someone starts spending a lot of money on very old armagnacs, and even more money because they are single grape armagnacs they are only being snob! Sometime people just know enough to get themselves in more trouble!

However, I will give you some valid reasons why someone may prefer Armagnac in another postings to keep things short and parsimonious.

Link to John Fischer's article: http://tinyurl.com/8x297zk