Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending. Matthew Benevoli photo

Make this cocktail at home by smoking it in a decanter. 

1 oz Courvoisier or other VSOP Cognac

1 oz Arbutus Distillery Birch Liqueur

0.5 oz medium sherry

1 tsp grapefruit oleo saccharum (see note)

2 drops saline solution (1:5 sea salt to warm water)

Hickory smoke

Garnish: dehydrated orange wheel

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Vieux Carré

Vieux Carré. Getty Images photo

The classic, invented at the Monteleone Hotel in 1930s New Orleans.

0.75 oz rye whisky

0.75 oz Cognac

0.75 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Garnish: lemon twist

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Sidecar

Sidecar. Getty Images photo

The proportions for this drink have changed since it was invented in the 1920s, so feel free to adjust them to your liking.

• 2 oz Cognac (or brandy, if you’re on a budget)

• 1 oz Cointreau

• 1 oz lemon juice

• Garnish: Optional sugar rim; lemon or orange twist

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Champagne cocktail

A classic Champagne Cocktail. Getty Images photo

One of the world’s oldest cocktails, this dates back to the mid-1800s. This recipe is part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know. 

• 1 sugar cube, preferably cane and brown
• 1 to 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Splash of Cognac
• 3 oz Champagne or sparkling wine
• Garnish: lemon zest (optional)

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Cool Cognac: Felipe Pantone x Hennessy V.S.

Supplied photo

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.

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Sazerac

Sazerac. Dan Toulgoet photo

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

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Cognac & Pear Brulée

Justin Taylor’s Cognac & Pear Brulée. Dan Toulgoet photo

• 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

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Home Team

Home Team cocktail. Photo courtesy of Chris Enns.

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.

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