Home LIFESTYLE Bespoke Cognac, Cocktails and Gastronomy

Bespoke Cognac, Cocktails and Gastronomy

07/16/2025

Cognac is a luxury drink and wants to be a bespoke luxury destination.

The House of Rémy Martin was founded in 1724, Hine in 1763, Maison Hennessy in 1795, and Delamain, the oldest family-run cognac house, in 1762. The oldest is Martell, founded by Jean Martell from Jersey in the Channel Islands in 1715.

Pernod Ricard-owned Martell’s HQ, the sixteenth-century Château de Chanteloup, said to be acquired by the Martell family in 1838, has opened its grand country house doors to a select few who can afford “the highest level of prestige’

Guests can choose from experiences including a tour of Martell’s 300-year-old cellars, a blending workshop guided by cellar master Christophe Valtaud, and the US$556 per person Signature Martell par Alexandre Mazzia (the chef of Marseille’s three Michelin-starred AM), a private and exclusively bespoke Cognac-and-cuisine pairing for six guests in the Château de Chanteloup.

Says Valtaud: “Beyond the setting and intimacy, we offer the opportunity to enrich the tasting with rare vintages, hand-selected by me, which provides an additional layer of refinement and bespoke value for the guests.

“It is essential that we maintain the element of exclusivity by limiting the experience to just six guests, we ensure an intimate and personalised culinary adventure that is truly unforgettable and appeals to a discerning clientele who appreciate intimacy and personalised attention.”

Prepared by Mazzia’s sous chef at AM, Oli Williamson and his team, a 20-course menu is paired with Martell Cognacs. Guests can enjoy Brittany scallops and sea spider crab paired with Martell Odyssée expression. The final course, a maraîchère-inspired dessert with bergamot, is paired with the Martell Epilogue Cognac, which is served chilled.

Adds Valtaud: “The Epilogue is about stepping away from the usual codes of Cognac. I worked with a Cognac from the Borderies cru, adjusting the alcohol level and serving temperature to push the boundaries and reach a new climax in pairing. It’s an unexpected, bold finale that truly elevates the whole experience.

“Our goal is to highlight Cognac’s adaptability and relevance in today’s drinking culture, moving beyond traditional perceptions and unlocking its potential to create distinctive experiences, thereby cultivating a new generation of enthusiasts.”

Cognac cocktails are at the center of this drive.

Jean Martell began his business at the Gatebourse in Cognac on the banks of the Charente. Throughout the summer until October 4th, Indigo by Martell rooftop bar will be offering mixologist Remy Sauvage’s house cocktails like La Sorbonne.

-1.5 parts Martell VSOP
-2 dashes red aromatic bitters
-2 parts Pineau des Charentes
-3 parts lemon zest
-2 parts Amer Picon – caramel-coloured gentian and Cinchona bitters invented by a French cavalry sergeant in Algeria.

Cognac is shedding its old fogey image. Rémy Martin created a bottle that celebrates its VSOP with a mixtape music culture of the 1980s. De Fussigny, whose distillery dates back to 1814, introduced a Pure Organic range, which includes VS, VSOP, and XO bottlings. Corks are compostable, and the labels are made from recycled paper.

Cognac is becoming more relevant. St-Remy XO and VSOP are now made with recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate plastic), which never sounds like it should go with quality cognac.

Young drinkers are being encouraged to become cognac connoisseurs and are being converted by cocktail mixes. They are being wooed over by hybrid premium mixing cognacs and Cognac cocktails

St. Remy suggests a Banana Bliss with crème de Banane and 40ml of XO.

Its Signature Rose comprises 60ml of Signature, 20ml lemon, 7.5ml grenadine syrup, 7.5ml hibiscus syrup, and one egg white. All to be shaken hard for thirty seconds and doubled-strained into a footed Libby Embassy Georgian glass.

Tin Train features Italian bitters and amaro. So some cognacs are allowed in cocktails. The inferior ones.

Larsen, Frapin VSOP Grand Champagne, and Maxime Trijiol must all be spared from anything that curdles. If you want rye whisky in your cognac, that’s what an American cognac like Bache Gabrielson is for. If you really need to set your cognac on fire, make sure it’s an American cognac. Never light up a European cognac.

Xanthe is a liqueur made from cognac and Belgian pears. It can be splashed in Prosecco or in a highball with lemon and lime soda, making a seasonal Super Sleigh cocktail. You aren’t being cruel to a supermarket Courvoisier if you make a sangria with it.

Inarguably – to certain supposedly refined “old school” palates- adulterating quality cognacs is sacrilege. But cognac sidecars aren’t scandalous. Ginger ale doesn’t poison a good cognac. Of course, some conventions remain.

If you really must order a Corpse Reviver, spurn the £21000 Remy Martin Louis X11I and Rumanian Brancovena XO and opt for Eric Forget’s H by Hine, which also makes the perfect Horse’s Neck.

You can make a Vieux Carre with Martell VSOP cognac.

And a Martell Harvard:

-50ml Martell Blue Swift
-25ml sweet vermouth
-5ml simple syrup
-One dash Angostura bitters

To build cognac cocktails, Christopher Valtaud suggests Cordon Bleu and Blue Swift, the first spirit drink made with VSOP aged in bourbon barrels, as excellent cocktail bases. The Martell website has plenty of cocktail recipes.

Valtaud recommends cognac with ginger beer/ale or with pineapple juice, Martellémonade, and even a FrozenMart.

And a Penicillin Noir:

-50ml Martell Noblige Noir
-20ml honey
-15ml lime
-10ml ginger juice
-30ml lapsang souchong tea

However, Maxim Trijol must not have been seen anywhere near a Boston shaker, and coffee beans must be kept away from Baron Otard. Coffee beans added to a good cognac is called a “Moral Collapse”, not an “Espresso Martini.”

Seignette is another modern cognac-based cocktail made expressly to complement the classic Sazerac cocktail. The family traded in salt and cognac in La Rochelle. Its coat of arms is a swan, recalling the banks of the Charente River. The swa is a symbol of power, grace, elegance, and an excellent spritz. Revise history. Don’t spoil it.

Start with 40mls of thirty quid Seignette VS and add Cremant. Bitters are ill-mannered. Serving with champagne and lemon juice will make your flute sing even more. Even the puritanical old stuck-in-their-velveteen-smoking-jacket and wingback leather armchair fogies would agree.