Cognac Conversations

"Cognac tasting tonight?

Tall order, but I was ready... Okay, maybe not a tall order, I was going to start doing tasting through Flaviar and she was invited for them. We just hadn't decided on when.

So we talked, she came over, and it was grand.

But not the whole story...

Let's talk about the cognac first.

I started this all off with a bottle of Merlet VS cognac. The color of a field of golden wheat, it's an appealing bottle and the first cognac I've ever tried.

My first thought?

This is terrible.

I sipped it straight, swirled it with some ice, spritzed it with some lemon juice, nothing.

Okay, there's got to be a reason people like this!

I did my research, learned that VS cognac is traditionally a mixer, aged only a few years, and was usually put into seltzer drinks. So I bought some Izze's Peach to make some sidecars, bought some Fever-Tree ginger beer for French Mules... which I mistakenly called American mules.

Terrible -in my best french accent-

"Cognac tasting tonight?"

Armed with sidecars, French mules, and a tasting box of cognac...

Sure, what time?

The tasting box;

Louis Royer XO Cognac, Baron Otard VSOP, and Merlet VS (in order of favoritism)

Between the Louis and the Baron, the three of us were split. I preferred the Louis, thus the prominent placement in the photo, they were undecided on the two. We talked about what we tasted, hedged our bets against the flavor cards, hemmed on whether we agreed...

Ultimately, the highlight was having an excuse to experience something. A reason to connect over something shared.

Hours into the night, watching movies with the kids (Inside Out, just lovely), and having a grand time.

Hours into the night, children asleep, sharing...

Sometimes, it feels like there's no time to pause, no moments to rest, recollect. We take the time, we steal it greedily and hold on to it, hoping for the moment to share.

Hours into the night, I knew I'd call in, going in late, or going in tomorrow.

Hours spent with loved ones are worth the stolen moments.

Once a quarter is not enough, so one day in (plus another, I'll write about that later... it was different, and deserves some thought) we decided to add more to the taste testing.

Next is olive oils, and my mind drifts and wanders;

to bruschettas

to broken breads, sourdoughs, baguettes, brotchens...

to soups,

to that depth of comfort and savory wholesomeness within a simple cup.