pierre ferrand cognac leads the cognac

The PourPro based on PRWEB
New York, USA
March 22, 2011
PIERRE FERRAND COGNAC LEADS THE COGNAC COCKTAIL
RENAISSANCE
In Cognac today, spirits master Alexandre Gabriel and his venerable House of Cognac Ferrand
produce one of the world’s most coveted Cognacs – Pierre Ferrand Cognac. This amber elixir has
been enjoyed in many ways in its lifetime. It was first imbibed as a mixable spirit back in the 1800s
and after a bout of phylloxera, Cognac was only considered in measured amounts as an after dinner
drink. Today, in the hands of fine mixologists, Cognac has gone back to its roots as one of the finest
ingredients to make a superb cocktail and Pierre Ferrand Cognac stands as the choice at many fine
establishments. According to an article in the December 2010 issue of Market Watch, Cognacs are
now shaken and stirred in many signature drinks that are attracting young adult consume
nationwide and while Cognac sales in the U.S. decreased in 2008 and 2009, in the first quarter of
2010, Cognac sales increased 16 percent (from Impact Database). Bars around the country are
adding Cognac cocktails to their menus – including the five below – to take advantage of this
Cognac cocktail renaissance and all are using Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac.
Below, cocktail historian David Wondrich and five master mixologists –
Romee de Goriainoff from Paris, James Meehan from New York City,
Chris Bostick from Los Angeles, Bobby Heugel from Houston and Lynn
House from Chicago – share their thoughts about Cognac as a cocktail
ingredient and their Pierre Ferrand cocktail.
Alexandre Gabriel, president and owner of Cognac Ferrand and an
avid spirits researcher, takes particular pride in the fact that Pierre
Ferrand Cognac is a favorite with bartenders looking for authentic
products to use in their drink creations. “It is a wonderful thing to see
that mixologists share our passion for fine spirits,” says Gabriel. “We
make the Stradivarius Violin, and they play it.”
Noted cocktail historian, author, writer and cocktail master David
Wondrich says this about the nectar that is Cognac and Alexandre
Gabriel: “Back when the American art of the cocktail was first coming
together, no spirit was more prized by mixologists than good French
“Bars around the
country are adding
Cognac cocktails to
their menus –
including the five
below – to take
advantage of this
Cognac cocktail
renaissance and all
are using Pierre
Ferrand Ambre
Cognac”.
Cognac, and with good reason: the kind of simple, forthright drinks that the great nineteenthcentury bartenders specialized in demanded quality ingredients. Fortunately, modern bartenders are
rediscovering Cognac and modern Cognac makers are rediscovering bartenders. Nobody has been
more active in this regard than Alexandre Gabriel.”
http://www.thepourpro.com/2011/03/pierre-ferrand-cognac-leads-the-cognac-cocktail-renaissance/
The PoorPro based on PRWEB
New York, USA
March 22, 2011
COGNAC JULEP, by David Wondrich
1½ teaspoons of superfine sugar
½ oz water
6 fresh mint leaves
finely-cracked ice (wrap ice in a towel and pound
it with a mallet, skillet or rolling pin)
2½ oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
½ oz Plantation Vintage 2000 Jamaican Rum
3 or 4 sprigs of mint
Put sugar in a tall Collins glass, add water and stir until sugar
has dissolved. Add 6 fresh mint leaves, pressing them lightly
with a muddler. Fill the glass with finely-cracked ice. Add
Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac and stir well. Add additional ice
to fill glass. Float Plantation rum on top.
Insert 3 or 4 sprigs of mint and a straw. Then smile.
COGNAC COCKTAILS THEN AND NOW
Cocktails then… The most traditional of New Orleans cocktails, the Sazerac, was created by Amadie Peychaud,
who combined his original bitters with Sazerac-brand Cognac. Perhaps the most famous of Cognac cocktails is
the Sidecar, made by blending Cognac, orange Curacao and lemon juice. Those seeking a true taste of preWorld War II France need only turn to the simplest of Cognac cocktails called the Fine a l’Eau, simply Cognac
and club soda.
Cocktails now… But for every Cognac cocktail that is steeped in tradition, there’s a delicious and exciting new
take on Cognac from today’s most inventive bar chefs. Here, five superstar bartenders/bar owners from
around the world share their feelings about Cognac cocktails and their favorite Pierre Ferrand Cognac drink
recipe:
PARIS: Romee de Goriainoff, owner of Experimental Cocktail Club, Curio Parlor and Prescription
“Cognac is a key spirit in our drink offer in all of our venues: in Paris at the Experimental Cocktail Club, Curio
Parlor and Prescription and in London at the ECC Chinatown. We particularly love using Cognac in cocktails for
its versatility: amazing in strong stirred mixed drinks such as the Sazerac but also very pleasant in lighter
drinks. The array of aromas extracted from Cognac once mixed is very large – Cognac can easily express flavors
of ginger, cinnamon, leather in winter, as well as flower and fruits in summer. In the midst of the cocktail craze
it is therefore not surprising Cognac is making a strong comeback as it is a spirit of choice for drinks.”
BLIND DATE IN CHELSEA
Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
Fresh Strawberries and Raspberries
Summer Fruit Cordial
Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Hayman’s Sloe Gin
Muddle fresh strawberries and
raspberries in a mixing glass. Add ice
and other ingredients, shake and
strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
NEW
YORK
CITY: Jim
Meehan,
owner
PDT
“The Petite Sidecar is a variation on one of my favorite
drinks: the Ti-Punch, a Martinique rhum-based Daiquiri/Old
Fashioned hybrid, composed of a slug of rhum, a bar spoon
of sugar cane syrup and a lime disc. I created this Cognac
based Ti-Punch, which has all the elements of a Sidecar, to
mix with my favorite old Cognacs. I tend to reserve my best
Cognacs for sipping, which is why many of them collect dust
on the shelf. If you’ve got it, mix it!”
http://www.thepourpro.com/2011/03/pierre-ferrand-cognac-leads-the-cognac-cocktail-renaissance/
The PoorPro based on PRWEB
New York, USA
March 22, 2011
PETITE SIDECAR
2 oz Pierre Ferrand Sélection des Anges
½ oz Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb
1 Lemon Disc (silver dollar-size twist cut straight off the
side of a lemon to retain flesh with the peel)
Squeeze the lemon disc on both sides (to express the
oil from the peel and juice from the flesh) into a
chilled rocks glass. Add the rest of the ingredients
and top with pebble ice. Swizzle, then top with more
pebble ice and swizzle again. No garnish.
THE TWO-WAY MIRROR
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre
1 oz Cadenheads Green Label Rum
1 Demerara Sugar Cube
3 Healthy Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Orange Peel for Garnish
In a rocks glass, add bitters, sugar and a bar spoon
of soda water. Gently smash sugar cube and lightly
muddle to create paste. Add Cognac and rum
followed by large cube of ice and stir. Spray oils
from orange peel onto surface and place in cocktail.
EL TIGRE
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
½ oz Luxardo Bitter Liqueur
½ oz Simple Syrup (1:1 Sugar to Water)
4 Dashes Fee Brothers Barrel-Aged Bitters
2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail
glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
LOS ANGELES: Chris Bostick, General Manager at
The
Varnish
“Cognac in cocktails for us is a no brainer, not only
due to its historical significance, but also the depth
of character it lends to classic and modern recipes.
Much as the producers of fine Cognacs, for
example Pierre Ferrand, have mastered the art of
blending, we too strive to create balance and
intrigue with our Cognac cocktails.”
HOUSTON: Bobby Heugel, owner/bartender of
Anvil
Bar
&
Refuge
“No spirit in the world is as meticulously crafted as
Cognac. Pierre Ferrand’s ongoing devotion to this
perspective allows those of us who craft cocktails
to incorporate the uncompromising traditions of
Cognac into our cocktails.”
CHICAGO: Lynn House, head mixologist at Blackbird
Restaurant
“Cognac is one of the sexiest spirits out there. It is
surrounded by history and romance. I find it amazing
to work with a spirit in which its creator may have
never had the opportunity to experience it. Many of
our original cocktails are made with Cognac. It adds
depth, luxury, and amazing texture to a drink.”
http://www.thepourpro.com/2011/03/pierre-ferrand-cognac-leads-the-cognac-cocktail-renaissance/
The PoorPro based on PRWEB
New York, USA
March 22, 2011
THE OZ
1½ oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
1½ oz Plum Wine
1½ oz Gruet Blanc de Noir
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Apple Cider Vinegar Gastrique (see below)
Combine all ingredients except Gruet in a mixing glass, add ice
and shake until well chilled. Serve in a coup and float Gruet on
top. Garnish with a lemon twist.
To make the gastrique: Combine 3 cups apple cider vinegar and
7 cups of sugar in a saucepan; simmer until reduced by half.
Cool before using.
NOTES ABOUT COGNAC AND PIERRE FERRAND COGNAC
Hundreds of years ago, Cognac was considered the vodka of Europe. While its finest eau-de-vies were
sipped in snifters at the end of a meal, Cognac also flowed freely in the cocktails of the day. But the
phylloxera plague of the late 19th century wiped out most of France’s vineyards. Without vineyards, there
could be no wine, and without wine there could be no Cognac. What was once a plentiful and widely used
spirit became rare and prohibitively expensive. Cognac became as scarce as hen’s teeth, and drinks made
with Cognac became rare indeed.
Flash forward to the modern day. Good Cognac once again is widely available, and today, bar owners and
mixologists are eager to use Cognac in their cocktails – whether the drinks are their own creations or
reinterpretations of classics. Cognac has the subtle essence of grapes and the freshness of fruit, and aging
concentrates the flavor and adds balance, making Cognac the perfect partner for a cocktail. This unequalled
flavor profile is the reason it was used in the drinks of the nineteenth century, and why today’s most
informed mixologists are reaching for it now.
Why are mixologists choosing Pierre Ferrand Cognac? Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac is the Cognac of choice
for bartenders because of its high quality and affordable price. The quality of Cognac was the reason it was
chosen over any other brandies back in the 1800s. This is why Pierre Ferrand adheres to the authentic ways
of making their Cognac – by using only the finest grapes from the “Golden Triangle” of the Grande
Champagne region, the most sought after terroir in Cognac, which gives the spirit greater elegance,
structure and an unparalleled mouthfeel. Ferrand distills “on the lees” leaving skins, stems and some fleshy
fruit which contributes both body and bouquet. Ferrand double distills in tiny copper pot stills which adds
texture while reducing harshness. And then Ferrand very carefully ages its spirit in Limousin oak allowing the
lush grape character to remain without tasting like oak.
At retail, a 750m bottle of Ambre is approximately $45.00 making it a reasonably priced choice for at home
bar chefs who want to serve their guests a special cocktail or an excellent sipping Cognac. Pierre Ferrand
also offers older cognacs, for sipping or cocktailing, like Reserve ($65) and Selection des Anges ($145; for
that really high-end cocktail!). Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac is available at fine retailers nationwide. Pierre
Ferrand Cognac is imported to the United States by W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd.
http://www.thepourpro.com/2011/03/pierre-ferrand-cognac-leads-the-cognac-cocktail-renaissance/