Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff
APPEARED IN BEVERAGE MEDIA - MARCH 08 ISSUE
COGNAC
There is a small group of distilled spirits that is unique to their place of origin and cannot be produced anywhere else in the world. This is partly because of established controls but mostly because of the place itself. It would be difficult to produce a spirit with the same flavor profile as single malt scotch outside of Scotland , or a grape eau de vie that could rival the aromatic brandy made in Peru and Chile .
Cognac is such a spirit of origin. The cognac region in France follows the Charente River from the coast inland a hundred miles. It is surrounded by wine regions and historically its coastal salt flats were the center of a thriving salt trade. The salt traders account in a large part for the growth of cognac brandy trade. Just a short sail up river from the coastal salt flats put the traders in wine country and so a wine trade developed along side the salt trade. Lore has it that wine traders, attempting to economize on shipping costs, removed the water from the wine by distillation intending to re-hydrate at the other end of the voyage. The truth lies more with the grapes and the soil of the region. The areas surrounding cognac, Bordeaux to the south and Burgundy to the west produced much more successful wines and growers discovered over time that the chalky soil of cognac produced thin high acid wines from the Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche grapes but produced a much more successful eau de vie when distilled.
Today the blended and aged eau de vie of cognac is considered by many to be the ultimate expression of grape brandy. Here in this hallowed place surrounded by cellars full of this noble brandy, bartenders from around the world were invited to a cocktail summit. Odd considering that a few short years ago, the older generation of cognac makers bristled at the thought of their brandy keeping company with other ingredients in a cocktail. But the PR folks and the staff of the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac reassured any remaining skeptics among the producers that the whole thing was a good idea and made the bartenders feel welcome. The guest bartenders were happy for the opportunity to see the techniques and learn about the traditions and mystery that surround the production of cognac.
We were welcomed to Cognac by Jérôme Durand, Marketing and Communciations Director for the BNIC, who wasted no time putting the group to work. Most of the bartenders were good natured as they were prodded and poked by the cognacaise for secrets and trends in the thriving cocktail business that might help them capture a substantial number of cocktail glasses world-wide for their product. The trend and data gathering took half of the first day. Then at lunch we discovered a trend that seems to have swept cognac. Prior to our lunch of fish and foie gras , shots of cognac were served straight from the freezer; breaking from the tradition of drinking room temperature or warmed cognac. I know this goes back to the Hennessy Martini of the 1990's but I was surprised to see the makers actually embrace this concept.
The second day of workshops found tables of journalists and bartenders working in groups to craft the perfect cognac cocktail; some of the journalists felt inadequate to the task and some of the bartender were loath to let go of their secrets. But I am being completely unfair; the group were jolly, ingredients were flying, and the mood was festive. Perfect cocktail or not, the connections were made and relationships established. And in the end it was cognac that brought us all together. Several of us returned to tried and true recipes that we have had tremendous success with, including myself, with my Ritz Cocktail (see below).
The distillery tours were so good and so revealing. We began at Frapin where we were greeted by the director Jean-Pierre Cointreau and his father, Max. Frapin is an estate cognac that has practiced sustainable growing techniques since 1991. They have 500 acres but only 220 under vine at a time. Vines over forty years old are removed and the land is rested and recharged with alternate crops. When we entered the court yard of the distillery property we were greeted with the sight of a cooper working on several barrels indifferent stages of finish. The coopering is an important element in Frapin Cognac because they will cooper to the specifications of different clients to produce brandy of different styles. They will toast light medium and heavy. Frapin has a technique seldom, if ever seen in barrel aging; grooved barrels that add additional complexity to the cognac. The grooves are an eighth of an inch deep and about a quarter inch wide and follow the grain of the staves on the inside of the barrel from top to bottom except where the bung is cut and opposite. The grooves dramatically increase the wood contact with the eau de vie. Frapin's line of cognac is imported to the United States by Palm Bay Imports…call them and order a couple barrels with your private toast selection!
The technique of coopering is only one of many variables from maker to maker. Frapin is religious about fermenting and distilling their product on the lees, a process of adding pulp matter and yeast sediment to the still during the first distillation. When we arrived at Martell we learned that there is more than one gospel in the bible of cognac; at Martell they prefer to distill without the lees The group was split as to the merits of lees versus no lees. I found that cognac distilled on the lees is richer, and without the lees a bit more austere. I'm sure that a good bartender can craft cocktails that suit both styles.
The trip to Camus gave all of us a chance to blend a batch of cognac ourselves. At Frapin they prefer to limit their blend to two of the six districts that comprise the cognac region, Grande Champagne (champagne reverts to its generic meaning here of field ) and Petit Champagne. Martell adds two more regions to their house blend; the floral notes of the Borderies and the earth tones from the Fins Bois. At Camus they are all over the region. They are the only house to make a single growth cognac from Borderies and one from Ile de Re off the coast and included in the Bois Ordiniares district. They offered us four mature cognacs from four districts Bon Bois, Borderies, Petit and Grade Champagnes to blend. My fellow cognacaise and I chose the following blend: 5 % Grande Champagne, 15 % Petit Champagne, 40 % each of Bon Bois and Borderies…we are not sure what we have since we were instructed to wait two to three months for the brandies to become acquainted. The two leaders of the industry were our final stops Courvoisier and Remy Martin. Courvoisier is located right on the Charente River in the town center of Jarnac. I have already picked out the little town house behind Courvoisier with a front door that opens to a dock and a little speed boat to make the trip to and from work. Jarnac is a sweet little town right where the river branches around an island that looks like a nature preserve. The House of Courvoisier is a stunning five story 19 th century palace that faces east towards the town of cognac. It houses a museum as well as the distillery and aging rooms. Courvoisier has contract going back generations with a thousand growers in the cognac region for fruit and for eau de vie. Their VS is my favorite in the simple but most refreshing of all cognac mixed drinks, the brandy and soda. At the other end of the line they bottle a share that the angels wish they could get called L'Esprit De Courvoisier.
Remy Martin is in the heart of the town of Cognac . Passing through the gates to their property is like walking onto the back lot of a Hollywood studio but it's all real! From this property Remy Martin supplies 80% of the Petit and Grande Champagne cognac in the world. The Remy VSOP is benchmark and the most widely used VSOP for cocktails. Remy Martin created the luxury market in the United States when they released Louis XIII in the 1970's. We visited the 550 liter antique barrels coopered in the 19 th century where Louis XIII spends the last years before bottling.
We may not have created the perfect cognac cocktail this trip. But every bartender walked away with the aromas and the flavors that will express themselves in cocktails years from now when the memory is faded but the sensations remain.
RITZ COCKTAIL*
Dale DeGroff's tribute to the Ritz Cocktails of Paris and Madrid .
Ingredients
3/4 ounce Cognac
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/4 ounce Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
Champagne
Stir in a mixing glass all ingredients except the champagne. Strain into a martini glass and fill with champagne. Garnish with burnt orange peel.
To expedite the service of the drink for the group the staff should prepare a pitcher containing the first four ingredients. To serve an individual drink pour 2 ounces iof the prepared drink into a shaker ...shake and strain into a cocktail glass and then top with champagne ...for the passed trays just squeeze the orange peel over the drink and drop it in ...but at the public bar make sure they flame the peel in front of the guest.
SISE BY SIDE CAR
Developed by Audrey Saunders at the BNIC workshop
2 ounces Cognac
1/2 ounce Lemon Juice
3/4 ounce Cointreau
1/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
1/4 ounce Pineapple Juice
Assemble all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker glass and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.
Goncalo De Sousa Monteiro of Le Lion bar in Hamburg created this after dinner cocktail.
COGNAC ROYALE
3 cardamom seeds
2 coffee beans crushed
2 dashes orgeat
1 ounce Mozart Black Chocolate
2 ounces VSOP cognac
1 teaspoon overproof rum
Prepare a glass with a frosting of unsweetened chocolate powder. Place the crushed seeds in a bowl and roast them in a teaspoon of over proof rum. Assemble the roasted seeds the cognac, the orgeat And the Mozart in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass.
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