Raising Spirits: Cognac is back

Related tags Cognac

Adam Withrington asks are you making the most of cognac in your pub?In 2003 my predecessor Ben McFarland embarked on "a crusade to raise the profile...

Adam Withrington asks are you making the most of cognac in your pub?

In 2003 my predecessor Ben McFarland embarked on "a crusade to raise the profile and profits of spirits in UK pubs and bars". Over a year has passed and it really is time to reinforce the messages Ben sought to get across in his "Raising Spirits" features.

But while he was, in his words, "less anorak and more smoking jacket" in his approach, I want to break through a lot of the mystery surrounding spirits and take a more basic perspective. To look at the whys, the wheres and the hows of spirits. The more you understand about a spirit, the more confident you can be about approaching your customers with them - to try different varieties and brands. The more you know the more confidence your customer will have in you.

I will first look at cognac and in the following months size up whisky, gin, vodka, rum and anything else that you, the licensee, think is important. If there are areas of the spirits sector you want me to explore then email me at: nqnzj@gurchoyvpna.pbz​.

Cognac is basically a regional brandy - a brandy made in the Cognac region of France. Brandy itself is in essence a distilled and aged wine. The difference is that cognac is of a much greater quality and flavour than your average brandy, because it is made under sticter controls and parameters. As the old saying goes "all cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac".

Near La Rochelle on the south west coast, Cognac is the third largest vineyard area in France (approximately 73,000 hectares). Most of this is not owned by the brand owners (such as UK market leaders Courvoisier, Hennessy and Martell) however, it is owned by individual winemakers who then sell it on to the brand owners. Martell, for instance buys 95 per cent of its wine from outside sources.

How is cognac made?

Wine:​ White wines are grown in the region and then sold on to the cognac producer. The harvesting period takes place between September and October.

The regions:​ There are six areas in cognac: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderis, Bons Bois, Fins Bois, Bois Communs/Ordinaires.

The Champagne regions have nothing to do with champagne as we know it but they do share a similar soil variety - very chalky, rough soil. This is very good for the distillation process. Cognacs labelled Fine Champagnes are a blend of Grande and Petite Champagnes.

Distillation:​ Each distillation takes three weeks and producers only use wine from the current year's crop. The wine is distilled twice to produce a clear liquid called "eau de vie" which is then tapped off into big casks and pumped into tanks.

The distillation process goes on between November and March. If production goes over the end of March then the product is automatically downgraded - it cannot qualify as a cognac as the quality will not be good enough.

Ageing:​ The eau-de-vie is then put into oak casks for ageing. When it goes in it is completely clear and it gets all its colour, flavour and character from the barrels.

According to Jean-Marc Olivier, general manager at Courvoisier, this is the most important part of the production process. "Ageing is the key to the making of cognac. Ageing gives it taste, colour and character," he said.

Blending:​ The master blender holds the key to making cognac, blending eaux-de-vie of different ages and crus to produce each particular cognac.

Most of Courvoisier's cognacs are produced by blending varying degrees of eaux-de-vie from the Grande and Petit Champagnes regions.

However, blending more from different regions will change the character of the product. For example adding eau-de-vie from the Borderis region can give a cognac more spiciness.

What do the initials stand for?

  • VS (Very Special) or Three Stars:​ For cognacs in which the eau-de-vie (ie the aged distilled wine) is at least two years old. VSs are entry-level cognacs and are great for mixing with cola, lemonade or ginger ale.
  • VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) or Reserve:​ The description given to cognacs in which the youngest eau-de-vie is at least four years old. Mixing should be reserved for top-notch cocktails. Reputed to have been invented by Richard Hennessy in 1817 when future King George IV asked him for a "very superior, old, pale cognac".
  • XO or Napoleaon or Hors d'Age:​ Descriptors for cognacs in which the youngest eau-de-vie is at least six years old. Many will frown upon the idea of mixing this with anything.

The view of cognac today

Cognac is a spirit that received an unexpected shot in the arm two to three years ago when a number of US hip-hop artists decided to make it their weapon of choice, name-checking it on their albums and drinking it at parties.

Brand owners could not believe their luck, while it was a gift for drinks journalists, with some trade magazine editors even known to quote lines from "Pass the Courvoisier" by Busta Rhymes in leader columns.

While Cognac has not taken hold in the way that many people might have thought, it is doing well. After all data from consumer research companies, such as TGI shows that 25-44-year-olds in the UK are drinking cognac - it is a sector in growth.

However, the surge in popularity in cognac that has been seen in the US has simply not happened here. Part of the reason for this is that the much of the hip-hop community in Britain are not exactly flush with cash - a night out on cognac is not exactly top of their list of priorities.

However, a spokesman for Courvoisier says the brand can still take advantage of this hip-hop association. "The Busta Rhymes thing has given the Courvoisier brand energy. The hip-hop community in Britain is young and does not have a huge income. Therefore we are saying let's use this energy and appeal to top-end consumers who demand that badge of quality in a drink," he says.

While there will always be a big market for the top of the range cognacs for the seriously discerning consumer, the big brand owners realise this is not a volume-shifting market. Therefore bigger and larger noises are coming out of cognac regarding mixing and cognac cocktails. And this is looked at in greater detail elsewhere in the feature.

Brands

  • Courvoisier

The cognac of Napoleon is known as such following the legendary stories that the former French emperor has barrels of cognac made by Felix Courvoisier loaded onto his boat before he was taken off to exile to the island of St Helena. Napoleon III bestowed the title of "Official Supplier for the Imperial Court" on Courvoisier in 1869.

Hennessy

Founded in 1765 by Irish army officer Richard Hennessy who left Co Cork in Ireland at the age of 20 to serve Louis XV within the Irish Brigade.

The Irish ties of its founder were to serve as a basis for what was very quickly the largest export market for Hennessy - England.

A spokesman for Hennessy offered this advice for serving the brand in pubs: "For Hennessy VS simple mixes such as coke and ginger ale are a perfect accompaniment. Hennessy Fine de Cognac's lighter floral and fruity style lend the brand to versatility from being drunk, neat, on ice or in cocktails.

"Hennessy XO is the benchmark in the industry, and we are looking at ways to increase its accessibility through serving Hennessy XO o

Related topics Spirits & Cocktails

Property of the week

Follow us

Pub Trade Guides

View more