Thursday, July 14, 2005

Pass the Courvoisier

First there were the wine tastings. Then the Scotch tastings. And now, cognac--specifically Courvoisier. Formerly the drink of emperors and kings, it is now the drink of choice for P. Diddy and Busta Rhymes. And also of certain Galley Slaves, particularly when it's free, as it was last night at the Courvoisier tasting at trendy Indebleu restaurant in downtown D.C. (The place is a fusion of Indian and, um, bleu?) But there was no confusion over the drinks, poured into four glasses denoting the four marks: VS (Very Special), VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale), Napoleon, and XO Imperial. Our guide was the glamorous Nina Shay, officially called an "ambassodrice" for Courvoisier. (Not that there is an embassy of Courvoisier, or a Republic of Courvoisier for that matter.) Contrary to my hero A.J. Liebling, I found these cognacs to be better than Calvados, his drink of choice. The VSOP was especially refined, with a smooth finish.

Interestingly, some of the tasters preferred the VSOP over the pricier varieties of Napoleon and XO. "They're too complex!" said Galley friend M.C., at first a skeptic who, when asked if he could smell the vanilla, chocolate, citrus, and cigar aromas from his glass, replied, "I know what I smell--bullshit!" But he eventually came around and was even named an honorary ambassadrice by some of the ladies at our table. Another issue concerned the new tagline for Courvoisier, which is "Earn It." M.C. thought a more preferable slogan would be "Sniff It."

There was no argument, however, over our final tasting of the limited edition L'Esprit de Courvoisier, which contained blends ranging from 70 and 200 years in age. "When this is gone, it's gone," said Nina Shay. And so we savored our few precious ounces, knowing that unless we're sharing bottle service with P. Diddy at Ghost Bar, this will be the last time we ever have anything like it. Each bottle runs about $5,000.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Courvoisier is good, but you need to try Remy Martin's Louis XIII. At $1,500, it's cheaper than the L'Esprit, and it's not a limited edition. Winston Churchill celebrated his election victories with Louis XIII.

As a former bartender (for 10 years), I claim that it's probably the best tasting acoholic beverage I've come across.

Anonymous said...

When I was a bartender at a college bar in New Orleans in the mid 1980's, bus drivers from the city transit would come in after work and order courvoisier and cherry coke.

Paul Hogue said...

You're leaving out the Ladies Man.

Anonymous said...

Do you think that in a blind taste test you could tell VS from VSOP?

Victorino Matus said...

Thanks to Paul Hogue for reminding me of Courvoisier's posterboy, the Ladies' Man. Now as for a blind taste test, we did just that (unofficially) and I was completely off. Courvoisier does have a formal position on the flaws of blind taste tests--sadly I can't remember what it was. Also, when asked who they thought their chief rival was, they mentioned not Remy, but rather Hennessy. (I do hope, however, to try the Louis XIII one day.)

Anonymous said...

Bar None....Li' Esprit Courvoisier is the finest spirit I have ever tasted....Former Bartender from Across the US.