Cognac has an image problem it has been trying to shake for years: the brandy balloon, the leather armchair, the after-dinner digestif poured for someone older than you. In spring 2017 a pop-up bar in London set out to change that.
The pop-up
For several weeks in April and May 2017 the Martell cognac house ran a pop-up bar at the Mondrian London, the hotel in Sea Containers House on the South Bank. The cocktail menu was created with the hotel's acclaimed bar team and was designed to show that cognac does not have to be drunk neat. There was also a private suite offering tutored tastings of the house's older expressions for a limited number of ticket holders.
The hotel has since been renamed Sea Containers London, and its famous bar Dandelyan, named the world's best bar in 2018, was replaced by a new bar, Lyaness, in 2019. The idea the pop-up was promoting, cognac as a cocktail spirit, has only grown.
A very old house
Martell was founded in 1715 by Jean Martell, a merchant from Jersey who settled in Cognac. That makes it the oldest of the great cognac houses. Its Cordon Bleu, created in the early 20th century, remains one of the best-known cognacs in the world.
Reading a cognac label
| Grade | Minimum age of youngest brandy | Character |
|---|---|---|
| VS | 2 years in oak | Fresh, fruity, good for mixing |
| VSOP | 4 years | Rounder, more vanilla and spice |
| XO | 10 years (since 2018) | Rich, complex, for sipping |
Three ways to drink it
- Neat, in a tulip glass, rather than a giant balloon, which lets the alcohol vapours overwhelm the aroma.
- Long, with tonic or ginger ale and a slice of orange, the simplest modern serve.
- In a classic cocktail, such as a Sidecar or a Vieux Carré.
Cognac and card rooms
For two centuries cognac has been the drink of the gaming salon. It was poured in the clubs of St James's, the casinos of the Riviera and the private rooms where baccarat and chemin de fer were played for high stakes. It still turns up at high-roller tables from Macau to Mayfair, where an XO is as much a status symbol as the chips. If the mood takes you, our James Bond casino wardrobe shows how to dress the part, and casino dress codes decoded explains which salons expect a jacket and tie.
