Cognac is a noble drink. Its use is a complex ritual, in order to understand and appreciate the cognac bouquet, it is very important to use the right utensils.
Special cognac glass
The lion's share of the pleasure of cognac is contained in its aroma. Therefore, a special glass for this drink is called a snifter. This word comes from the English verb to sniff, that is, "to sniff." This is a glass of a special shape made of smooth, colorless crystal or glass. It is a pot-bellied glass on a low leg, which tapers sharply towards the upper border. Snifters come in a variety of sizes. You can find very small versions of seventy grams, but there are also large copies of four hundred grams. Cognac is poured into such vessels to their widest part and never higher.
To appreciate the cognac, pour thirty to forty milliliters of the drink into a glass and touch the outer surface with your finger. Now look at this spot from the other side of the glass. If fingerprints are visible, this is a good cognac.
The French way of drinking cognac says that first you need to drink coffee, then enjoy the cognac, and then smoke a cigar.
Now rotate the glass and look at the traces of the drink flowing down the walls. If the characteristic elongated footprints retain their shape for about five seconds, the aging of this cognac is from five to eight to nine years, if about fifteen seconds is a twenty-year-old cognac, if the traces "hold on" for seventeen-eighteen seconds, then you have a unique fifty-year-old cognac.
The least subjective criterion for evaluating cognac is its aroma, which is why it is so important to use a sniffer. Due to its shape, this glass fully allows the unique aroma of cognac to unfold. The aroma of the drink can be divided into three waves. The first is felt at a distance of five centimeters from the edge of the sniffer - these are light and vanilla tones. At the very edge of the glass, you can feel the second wave - subtle and clear fruity and floral aromas. The highest quality cognacs have aromas of violets, roses, apricots. The concept of "third wave" includes the smell of aging. Most often these are complex tones, similar to the aroma of expensive port wine.
The right atmosphere for drinking cognac
Good cognac is drunk in an intimate atmosphere with friends, it is not customary to eat it. The Russian tradition of eating this divine drink with lemon slices was introduced by Nicholas II. Its meaning is unclear, good cognac does not require “seizing” the unpleasant aftertaste that tequila, for example, has.
Professional tasters use a glass other than a sniffer. It is much narrower and longer.
When serving, cognac should be slightly warmer than room temperature. A sniffer with brandy is warmed in the palms, holding it over a fire is indecent. Usually cognac is drunk after the end of the feast in its pure form. While eating, drinking cognac is undesirable, since food does not provide an opportunity to feel the bouquet and taste of the drink.
Young, ordinary cognacs are part of many alcoholic cocktails. Most often, cognac is added to cocktail slings, which have a tonic effect. Of course, high-quality cognacs are not added to such drinks.
