Merlet

Three ways with cognac

July 25, 2011 - 7:16pm | by Daniel Priseman

 

When it comes to cocktails for some reason cognac is not the first spirit that springs to mind. I suppose that’s partly due to the fact that when most people think ‘cognac’ they picture a super expensive liquid, enjoyed by the wealthy few, after a meal in a fine dining restaurant. It’s a fact that cognac is generally more expensive than most other spirits; the price point even of a VS cognac makes it one of the more expensive products in any bars speed rail, but that doesn’t mean that it’s inaccessible to the average cocktail lover.

 

Historically, cognac has been a popular base for cocktails, and without breaking the bank, offers good entry-level varieties that can be fantastic to play with in drinks. In fact in the mixing room at b&t head quarters we stock fine examples from Martell, Coirvoisier and Hennessey that all offer something different when used in cocktails. Recently I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Cognac as a guest of the Merlet family learning about both their liqueurs and their cognac, the ‘Brothers Blend’ and, after spending an hour watching Tony Conigliaro make cocktails in the sunshine, outside the family home I felt inspired to play around with this versatile and tasty ingredient myself.

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For your eyes only

March 15, 2010 - 11:11pm | by Daniel Priseman
I was looking back through some drink recipes the other day and I noticed a pattern. It seems like over the years I have tended to use the same ingredients repeatedly. I noticed that I went through a phase of using Jager in cocktails, after that I was using noilly amber a lot, then I moved on to Lillet Blanc and recently it has been merlet’s crème de poire. I seem to get caught up on what a certain ingredient bring to a drink and find myself adding it to all sorts of creations almost without realising it.
 
I guess it makes sense really. I wander into a bar and the bartender says ‘have you tried the new such-and-such from so-and-so?’ I have a taste and think ‘wow that would really work in a ….’. Next thing you know I have bought a bottle and it is worked into my drinks repertoire until the next new thing comes along.
 
When I thought about it a bit more I realised that I even associate certain ingredients with certain bartenders. Some are obvious connections. Jager will always make me think of Gregor and I can’t see Galliano in a drink without thinking of Ago from The Connaught bar. Some are less obvious though, Noilly Ambre for example makes me think of Pete Jeary who first introduced me to it and still swears by it as his secret weapon when making cocktails.
 
A quick phone around to a few bartender friends confirmed my suspicions; we all have our secret go to ingredients. It confirmed another thing too… some bartenders will put the damnedest things together in the name of using their secret ingredients, but somehow they usually pull it off!
 
This phenomenon certainly deserved further investigation (any excuse for a night out!) so I called in on Victor from LAB and he listed a few things that he is using a lot at the moment including Wray and Nephew and pimento dram. When he told me that he had a great drink up his sleeves using yellow chartreuse and cardamom bitters I decided to dodge the overproof rum bullet and try that instead.
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