Why Cognac, aka 'water of life', is worthy of attention: An introduction

Not 'uisce beathe', Gaelic for whisky. Veer Arjun Singh on why you should give Cognac a try instead

Blues legend Buddy Guy calls it liquid gold in his song “Cognac”. Rappers Drake and Snoop Dogg often just call it Hennessy, the world’s best-selling brand of cognac. In his Grammy-winning song, “Humble”, Kendrick Lamar namechecks D’USSÉ, a Cognac brand part-owned by his fellow rapper Jay-Z. And singer Rihanna is just gaga about what I am delicately sipping on. 

LOUIS XIII (pronounced tres) is the Holy Grail of Cognac for many. Or so I am told by my companion for the afternoon, South African sommelier Jörg Pfützner, who is in India to talk about his favourite spirit. 

It would appear that we are talking about a spirit extraordinaire. We are. But isn’t Cognac a kind of brandy? Technically, yes. But it’s French and only distilled from wine. It is also more than what Scotch is to whisky.

The commune of Cognac is a 250,000-acre region in southwest France, divided into six terroirs: Grande-Champagne, Petite-Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires, in descending order of quality. Only a few varieties of white grape that these crus (group of vineyards) cultivate are permitted in Cognac. Ugni Blanc or St Emillion is the chief ingredient. The white wines are double distilled in copper stills to obtain what the French call eau de vie (literally, “water of life”). Mix, age in oak barrels, bottle. And you get Cognac. But it’s more complex than that.

Hennessy X.O; Price: Rs 21,540 (Delhi) and Rs 34,520 (Mumbai)

LOUIS XIII from the House of Rémy Martin, for instance, mixes up to 1,200 different kinds of eau de vie — the youngest is aged 40 and the oldest is over a century old — made from grapes only from the Grande-Champagne cru. “When Baptiste Loiseau (the current cellar master) is selecting the eau de vie, he’s really doing it for future generations,” says Pfützner, who is private client director for LOUIS XIII in South Africa. 

The experience of LOUIS XIII is something of dried roses and honeysuckle on the nose and a burst of passion fruit, silky tannin and spices such as nutmeg, saffron and even garlic, on the palate. It’s a paradox of light and complex. It takes 11 craftsmen to create the beautiful, 700ml decanter, which retails in Delhi for Rs 2.93 lakh and in Mumbai for Rs 3.7 lakh, and is available at “five-star hotels and select retail outlets”. 

That’s intimidating. Which might make it useful to know that there are other, younger and more affordable, Cognacs. Four brands sell the bulk of it: Hennessy (LVMH), Courvoisier (Beam Suntory), Rémy Martin and Martell (Pernod Ricard). Like Scotch, Cognac does have an age significance, just not a definite one: VS or “Very Special” is eau de vie aged for at least two years, VSOP or “Very Superior Old Pale” for at least four, and “XO” or Extra Old for at least six years. It still sounds like Scotch. 

‘When Baptiste Loiseau (the current cellar master) is selecting the eau de vie for LOUIS XIII, he’s really doing it for future generations’ Jorg Pfutzner, Private client director, LOUIS XIII

I sit down with Agnieszka Rozenska, head bartender at the Hong Kong Club in Delhi’s Andaz Hotel. “Cognac is my life,” she declares. “And VS, VSOP and XO are much more than age denotations.” She should know. Rozenska, or “Agni”, won the Rémy Martin Bartender Talent Academy competition in India for her cocktail called Certainly Ma’am (she mixes curd with Rémy Martin for this one). Cognac is also her go-to drink, which she was introduced to at a very early age. Almost too young to mention.

“It’s a rich, aromatic and beautiful drink like nothing else,” says Rozenska. She is talking about the Rémy Martin XO, but let’s assume she is neutral. Rozenska recommends that Cognac be had with dark chocolate or fresh Parmesan cheese. She also pours VS or VSOP in her coffee and suggests that her guests try it infused with green tea. The XO and above are best consumed without even a dash of water. It’s certainly not Scotch. 

Despite the flavour profiles and pop-culture influences, Cognac is saddled with the image of an old man’s drink best enjoyed on a cold winter day. “Don’t imagine it’s for a gentleman sitting by a fireplace, or a dead polar bear,” says Pfützner. His India mission is to make LOUIS XIII more fashionable.

Rozenska says another problem is a lack of interest and information. Countless bars have buried their two-lines on Cognac on the last pages of their menus. Many don’t even make a Sidecar, a classic Cognac cocktail made with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime. Others use their “house brandy” for it and sometimes even whisky.

The limited availability of Cognac is a problem, too. Hennessy has a bigger footprint in India (its VS 700ml is priced at Rs 4,040 in Delhi and Rs 5,857 in Mumbai), but others are available only at premium liquor stores. Travel retail stores can have some good bottles in stock, but not reliably. Courvoisier does not sell in India, yet, and Martell doesn’t tom-tom its brand here.

It’s a shame that a spirit with such a deep history — the youngest of the four major brands, Courvosier, was founded in 1809 — ranks so low in India. Fun fact: 50 cases of Cognac were recently recovered from a 1917 World War I shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, which experts suggest might be still “drinkable”. Even if we don’t participate in the auction, it’s time for us to drink and learn.