Q&A: The heart of Cognac

Do you think the trade lacks knowledge about cognac? How can awareness be raised?

There is certainly a lack of knowledge about cognac. People find it quite complex. But we are looking at revitalising the category to make it more accessible to consumers.

It is our duty to educate the trade too. In order to do that, we have put together a training programme called Heart of Cognac. This will start in the autumn and involves three days at the House of Remy Martin, studying everything from the soil of the region to the ageing process to the pleasure of tasting the product with our cellar master.

What are the essentials about cognac that publicans need to know?​

When presented a cognac, always look for three things: harmony, opulence and length. Harmony is the fact that it coats all your tongue because the tongue is divided into three areas that detect sweet, sour, bitter and salted. So you need to cover all the tongue. Opulence is how much space it takes in your mouth. Length is how long it lasts on your palette.

If you've got a product which hits the spot in the three categories, then you have a great quality cognac in front of you.

Of course, the more you know about the product like this, the better you are able to recommend it to people and get them to try something different.

There has been a lot of marketing activity in recent years by Martell to promote cognac as an after-dinner drink. How does Remy Martin differ?​

Cognac is obviously a good drink to help digestion after a good meal, but we are trying to get away from the cliché of mature men with big cigars. There is far more to it.

There are some simple food and cognac pairings which work very well. For example, frozen VSOP, left in the freezer over night, with a starter of Scottish smoked salmon is just fantastic. The textures work very well together.

What kind of serves would you recommend to convert drinkers in the on-trade to cognac?​

There are a number of simple serves which we recommend to pubs, like Remy VSOP and dry ginger. Use a tumbler, lots of ice, a bit of angostura bitters - fantastic. That's a signature drink.

Remy Martin seems to have chosen to focus exclusively at the premium end of the market, compared to Martell and Hennessy. Why?​

Since 1724, when Remy Martin, the wine grower created the company, it has been dedicated to capturing the best of what the cognac region has to offer. Today we still work from that region. We age our cognac in Limousine oak barrels. It is all about the respect of the family tradition.

It was a strategic plan of a visionary called Andre Renaud. This man was Remy Martin the sixth. In 1927, he understood that we were just a small cognac house at this time and that we were too small to fight against our competitors in VS or 3 stars, which are the basic cognac categories, and he said 'we are going to produce a VSOP, a higher quality cognac, coming from the heart of the cognac region. Since that day, our VSOP has been the number one in the world.

All good pubs around the country have Remy VSOP on their back bar. For pubs, we are recommending simple serves, like with dry ginger, because it's easy to do and creates more margin.

Tell me about the Rémy Martin Bartender Style Masters​

It's an international bartender competition, which takes place every year in Cognac, which is pushing the limits of the quality of professional bartenders. This year, there were 28 countries represented. We asked them to make a mixed drink and a perfect serve. Jamie Stephenson from the UK won the title, so everyone was really pleased.

His mixed drink was a shot of Remy VSOP, fresh apple juice, topped with cream soda. That would work perfectly in pubs as a refreshing drink.

The London bar scene is more than ever a window for the rest of the world, and a place where all the trends are being set.

It's The Publican's​ round. What are you drinking?​

Because you're buying, I thought we could share one glass of Louis XIII Black Pearl, which is a limited edition cognac. It costs £5,000 a decanter, but there are only 786 in the world. It's got to be worth it.

CV

2007 - Appointed Remy Martin brand ambassador​

2005 - Finished in 3rd place in the Remy Martin Bartenders Style Masters​

2003 - After undergoing Remy Martin training at County Hall Marriott, invited to Cognac, where he "fell in love with the brand"​

2002 - Bar supervisor at County Hall Marriott hotel, London; soon promoted to bar manager​

2000 - Worked as a cocktail bartender on board a cruise liner​

1999 - Graduated in hotel management​