Cognac

Last minute gift guide: Spirited presents

December 7, 2019 No Comments

Need something to tuck under the tree? From vodka to bitters, we’ve got you covered with these holiday bottles

Need something special for your dinner party host, your boss or your impossible-to-buy-for brother-in-law. Here are the spirits we’d like to find under our own Christmas trees. (For whiskies, see Last minute gift guide part 1: Warming whiskeys.)

Bar Bites

Cool Cognac: Felipe Pantone x Hennessy V.S.

November 11, 2019 No Comments

If you like someone very much (especially if it’s yourself), this holiday season consider gifting them the latest of Hennessy’s famed artist collaborations, the Felipe Pantone x Hennessy V.S.

The limited-edition Cognac release is the ninth in in the Hennessy artist series—previous installations featured works by Vhils, KAWS and Futura, among others.

Features, Recipes

TIKI BAR Punch Bowl

April 15, 2019 No Comments

The punch bowls at the revived TIKI BAR at The Waldorf are alight with excitement. Jennifer Gauthier photo

• 5 oz aged rum
• 2 oz cognac
• 6 oz falernum
• 6 oz oleo saccharum (see note)
• 3 oz pineapple juice
• 8 oz sparkling wine

Features, Recipes

Sazerac

January 31, 2019 No Comments

A great classic that belongs in every barkeep’s repertoire.

• 1 tsp (approximately) absinthe or pastis
• 1 cube sugar or 1 tsp simple syrup
• 3 or 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 2 oz Cognac, rye whisky, or a mix of both
• Lemon peel for garnish

Home Bar, Recipes

Cognac & Pear Brulée

December 6, 2018 No Comments

• 1.5 oz. Remy Martin VS Cognac
• 0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.75 oz pasteurized liquid egg white
• 1 oz caramelized pear purée (see note)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 tsp cinnamon sugar

Bar Bites, Recipes

Home Team

August 2, 2018 No Comments

Chris Enns prepared this cocktail for the World Class Canada 2018 national finals. “This drink came from the Wanderlust challenge where we came up with a cocktail inspired by both home and an away location,” he recalls. A twist on the Sazerac cocktail, the Home Team is inspired by the feeling of “home” he found at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, as well the home-team support among the World Class bartenders. Here it is served in a Scottish quaich cup; however, a chilled Old Fashioned or Sazerac-style glass would be fine.

The Alchemist

EAT! Vancouver returns with luxe all-new cognac tasting

June 20, 2018 No Comments

It might be called EAT! Vancouver, but we’re here for the drinks.

Which is why we were thrilled to discover that the annual foodie festival is returning to Vancouver Nov. 5-10 with more than 37 acclaimed chefs and 18 events, including a luxurious all-new cognac event.

Features

Smooth Operator

January 29, 2018 No Comments

The Sidecar cocktail is a sophisticated, classy concoction, so why is it so often overlooked?

Ritz Paris bartender Frank Meier may have invented the Sidecar in 1923. Ritz Paris photo.

The Sidecar is one of the great Prohibition-era classics, a boozy-but-vibrant three-ingredient cocktail that fulfills our desire for both the depth of brown spirits and the bright acidity of citrus. It should be a rock star among cocktails, yet where Old Fashioneds, tiki drinks and even the horrible Gimlet have made their comebacks, the Sidecar has somehow eluded its just recognition amid the modern cocktail revival.

It’s time for that to change.

Recipes