The Cocktail Napkin -- Cognac

By Jo Petteruti, Mixologist and Owner, Jo's Stillwater Tea Room Let's talk Cognac from The Cocktail Napkin today. First, a little history about Cognac... According to IntoWine.com, the origin of Cognac dates back to the 16th century when Dutch settlers came to the French region of Cognac to purchase salt, wood, and wine. However, the journey back home made preserving the wine difficult and they needed to find a better way to conserve it. They eventually realized a second distillation made for an even finer, more elegant and pleasant product. This was essentially the birth of brandy. In fact, the word “brandy” comes from the Dutch word “brandewijn” which means burnt wine. Brandy is made all over the world, but only brandy made in the Cognac region of France, and under the strictest guidelines, can be called “Cognac”. Over the past two decades, Cognac has become the new rising star in cocktails. It's elegant, tasteful and classy, and it is no longer confined to just being sipped from a snifter. The national sales numbers further prove its increasing popularity. Consumption has grown from just under 2.5 million cases per year to over 6 million cases per year during that time frame. Here in Fallon, we probably don't consume quite that much. But we do serve a very nice Cognac cocktail called the Sidecar at the Tea Room. Here's our recipe: Ingredients: • 2 oz. Hennesey Cognac • 1 oz. Cointreau • 1 oz. Lemon Juice • Sugared rim & lemon slice garnish Preparation: • Run a slice of lemon around the rim of a coupe glass, then dip the rim in white sugar. • Add a good scoop of ice to a cocktail shaker, pour in liquid ingredients, cover and shake well until icy cold. • Strain the shaker's ingredients into the glass, and garnish with the lemon slice.