#cognacplease

Diana

I know I did this drink back in December, but a recent search for it turned up empty. I found it on one of my Instagram posts, however, and tracked it down from there. The Diana really is a tingly and strong mint drink that is very suited to winter drinking like when I first tried it. I remember the experience well. It is all about the mint and crushed ice. The cognac float comes through as well. The whole experience is like a snow globe, which I think is the intention. Frosty on the glass, round, and very minty. I don't have white creme de menthe, but a cheap substitute (especially when cheap white creme de menthe is concerned) is peppermint schnapps. The point is that the drink can't be green.

Bosom Caresser

A nice bosomy wine glass is perfect for this rich egg, Madiera and brandy cocktail. The impression you get from a sip of the Bosom Caresser is a warm and silky drink with lots of candied grape and orange flavors. This is definitely a dessert drink. Use brandy or cognac, but don't skip out on the Madiera, it adds the needed wine component.

Classic Cocktail

You read the name right: this is the original classic cocktail. Well, at least it purports to be classic. If you think about it, this drinks is somewhat modern. It brings together liqueurs and brandy in ways that taste familiar to brandy cocktail drinkers of the 19th century. Lemon and lemon zest keep it tart while a sugar rim means you can choose how sweet each sip will be. The look and feel of the drink are certainly classic; the crust of sugar and three parts of lemon (the juice, the wedge and the peel) reminds me of last century architecture that possesses such ornate beauty for no other reason than appearing beautiful or prestigious. That's this drinks to a tee. So I did a few unusual things with my liquor choices here. First, cognac please. You don't use ordinary brandy when you are making a classic drink. Use cognac. Next, I thought a half ounce of maraschino liqueur (which tastes like bitter marzipan) would be too intense, so I cut the proportion of it in the drink down and replaced that portion with Cherry Heering, which darkened the drink and made it sweeter with a more rich dark cherry flavor. Finally I chose Vitae orange liqueur because of its rum base. It is much closer to real Curacao, which is rum based, than cheap triple sec.

Cafe Royale

I really like the wake-up kick and rich brulee cognac flavor of the Cafe Royale! This drink requires the slightly risky step of flaming sugar cubes covered in brandy over a hot cup of coffee. 

The coffee has to be pretty hot and you need to leave the cognac and sugar cubes balanced above the coffee on the rim of the mug so that the alcohol begins to evaporate. Wait about 2 minutes before igniting. It is pretty and rich and just makes you swoon!

Depth Bomb

This sounds like one of those beer cocktails that you drop a shot into. It's not. It's actually way better than that. Think a whole bunch of brandy that's flavored and sweetened. And you sip it on the rocks while it gets diluted to the point that the richness abates enough to really enjoy it. So I think that the depth in Depth Bomb refers to this drinks flavor and alcoholic potency as you try to take on this much brandy in one cocktail.

D’USSÉ VSOP cognac: D’USSÉ is a new cognac with an artfully designed bottle. The brass double cross is both very modern looking and a nod to France's long history of making excellent cognac. The spirit itself is very well balanced, with round oak and fruit notes. There's some spice, but it doesn't overwhelm. It is smoother than some of the Remy Martin products I've tried, a little less pronounced, but that is not a detraction. I mean that the finish is very long if you look for it, but it doesn't force itself on you. After tasting a lot of cognacs lately, I find it is rare that a cognac doesn't have an excessively sweet taste or an overly fractious bitterness in the mid sip that just breaks up the pleasurable experience of drinking it. D’USSÉ has few flaws (none of the above) and is sure to be a lure for new brandy drinkers and mixologists.

Cafe Diablo

The Devil's coffee is fiery, spicy and black. That's the point of the Cafe Diablo. It is a punch that serves four people and should be made in a medium sized punch bowl. Warming the brandy, curacao and Cointreau a little and lighting it on fire to scorch the cinnamon, cloves and coffee beans before adding the hot coffee will excite your guests and possibly start a fire in your dining room. But oh, well! That's the price you pay for messing with the Devil. The other point is to achieve an orange-like aroma in a black coffee drink that is pleasing if not too strong on liqueur. You don't even need fresh fruit. The burned liqueurs do all the work. Besides the fire issue, you may also have trouble finding four people who can agree to drink the same drink. These days, everyone wants to be the man out. Between arguments over decaf versus regular, and hot and cold punches, you're probably better off just using 1/2 oz. of brandy and 1 oz. of orange liqueurs, reduce the number of cloves and cinnamon sticks significantly, and make a single cup of coffee. Here's to drinking your hot drink alone.

Frozen Brandy And Rum

The drink needs a more creative name. This is a really good dessert drink that goes down like a custard. There's lots of raisin flavor from brandy. I chose Martell Single Distillery VS, however because it is dry and not overly fruity. There's some citrus and oak, but it's not a fruit bomb like American brandy. I also used Buzzard Point rum for its toasted marshmallow flavor. Then an egg white and some lemon juice just turn this cocktail into a blended creme brulee.