Tag: cognac

  • Cognac Cocktails in the Los Angeles Times Magazine

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    My first story for the LA Times Magazine is now online. It is in the Sunday, December 7, 2010 print edition.  (Photo by Bartholomew Cooke) The story is a brief airing of a pet peeve: Why are there so few cognac cocktails being served when we're supposedly in the midst of a classic cocktail renaissance?  The…

  • A Visit to Cognac Paul Giraud

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    My final visit in the Cognac region of France was to the house of Paul Giraud- quite literally his house. In my brief visit we first learned about Giraud's philsoophy: while other houses try to use blending to get a round and multi-faceted flavor profile, Giraud tries to emphasize particular flavors in each bottling.  I…

  • A Visit to Courvoisier Cognac

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    On a recent trip to France, I stopped in to Courvoisier cognac for a visit. Courvoisier is located not in the city of Cognac, but in Jarnac- one of the two other main cognac towns along with Segonzac. Jarnac appears to be a bigger city than Cognac and looks a bit more lively. I popped…

  • Cognac Pierre Ferrand Visit

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    One night on a recent visit to France, I visited Cognac Pierre Ferrand. It was awesome. Our group had the good fortune to visit Ferrand on the first day of the cognac harvest, and the bad fortune to arrive so late that we missed seeing it. Alas. Still, we had a tour of the still…

  • Cognac Frapin Visit

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    A few weeks ago I went to France to learn about cognac. One of the stops was the house of Cognac Frapin. Frapin sells only estate-grown/distilled/aged cognac, produced in the Grande Champagne delimited region of the cognac area near the town of Segonzac. Frapin is a massively impressive operation from the cellars to the blending…

  • A Visit to the House of Remy Martin Cognac

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    In France recently, I had a tour and dinner at the house of Remy Martin in Cognac. They don't allow photography in the cellar, so this post is a little light on the pictures. (Suck it up and read.) We entered the building at night so it's hard to recall exactly what the house complex…

  • Cognac Visit: Bache Gabrielsen

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    While in the Cognac region of France, I stopped in to cognac house Bache Gabrielsen for a visit. I was greeted by fourth-generation family member Herve Bache-Gabrielsen and taken to their tasting room around a wooden table in the upstairs office. Bache Gabrielsen is located on a small, nondescript street in Cognac. There are few…

  • A Day at Hennessy

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    The first stop on a big trip to Cognac, France last week was Hennessy. I met up with my host Cyrille at the Hennessy office, one of the Hennessy buildings that dominates the waterfront on the Charente River in the small city of Cognac.  First we talked a bit about sales. Hennessy sells the most…

  • All About Cognac

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    I went to Cognac last week to learn about cognac. I learned a lot. So what is cognac, anyway? Cognac is an aged brandy distilled from grapes in the Charente region of France. The Cognac region is separated into six delimited subregions based primarily on the makeup of the soil: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies,…