Cognac is the most prestigious sub-category of brandy — a legally protected designation that can only be applied to brandy from the Cognac appellation in southwestern France. The production is meticulously regulated. Specific grapes (95% Ugni Blanc, with small allowances for Folle Blanche and Colombard) are fermented into a high-acid, low-alcohol wine. This wine is double-distilled in copper pot stills (alembic charentais), producing a clear spirit at around 70% ABV. The eaux-de-vie is then aged in Limousin or Tronçais French oak for a minimum of two years (with most premium expressions aging significantly longer). The four major houses — Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Martell, and Courvoisier — produce the vast majority of the world's Cognac.

VS Cognac works in cocktails — Sidecar (Cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice) is the classic. VSOP is versatile — neat, on the rocks, or in elevated cocktails. XO and older expressions deserve neat tasting in a tulip glass. Don't use the oversized balloon snifter you've seen in films — the wide opening loses aromas. Warm the glass gently in your palm; body heat releases the aromatic compounds. Add a few drops of room-temperature water if the alcohol is too forward, but no ice with premium Cognac.