Cognac night

When i got to know that the wine club at work was organizing a Cognac tasting night, it was an immediate merci beaucoup. Now i know i'm not too refined when it comes to my booze, but its never too late to culture oneself innit? I never really liked brandies and Cognac, so i thought this will be a good opportunity to learn something new and taste some of the most elegant drinks around... for a fraction of the price.

The event was really well-organized, with a number of small tables with ready-filled cognac glasses and fresh French bread. Cognac guru Thierry Giraud, straight from Martell in France, came to educate us in the art of cognac. He quickly took us through the history of Martell, the oldest Cognac house in France, as well as the ingredients, process and different qualities of Cognac. We also got to taste some eaux-de-vie (water of life) which is a 70% bullet through the head, and is the product of distilling the wine and the main ingredient which the cognac "Cellarmaster" will mix to make the perfect Cognac before shoving it into the warehouse to age for a number of years. We got to taste most of Martell's range, some of which i must admit were really really good, even though Thierry didn't bring out the top of the range stuff which comes in designer 24-carat gold/glass decanters and costing as much as 2000EUR.

I am now a convert and will start ordering Cognac at any posh event. I also found out that i am an X.O. man. More of le X.O. garcon... The evening ended with a French snack of bread, cheeses, veggies and hams. Parfait.