Cognac is not usually one of the liquids that I imbibe on a regular basis, but I have been known to throw things like cherries in a jar with some. That, is good stuff. The opportunity to learn about cognac, and spend an evening pretending to be a mixologist was a welcomed opportinity. Thanks to the good folks at Matchstick, who had invited me to the wonderful Macallan experience earlier this year, I was heading down to the Roof Salon at the Park Hyatt this past Tuesday to see what Courvoisier Exclusif was all about. Matchstick puts on great events, so I was looking forward to this one.

I took my friend Shabnam, from the Tea Emporium with me as my guest and we were ready to get our hands dirty, learn about cognac, and make some new friends along the way. These event are great social networking opportunities as there are always a lot of tweeps and bloggers present, and this was no exception. Originally, I was going to write about the food at the event, but we saw very little. Perhaps it was due to us showing up fashionably late. Let us do a quick recap of the evening, and the fabulous cocktail we mixed that ended up representing our table. 

The event was heavy on the dramatic element and they really played it up. Everyone was getting in to it and it was certain that everyone was having a great time. There were some words about cognac, specifically Exclusif and how it was developed to stand up to mixing, or would be just fine on its own in a snifter served neat. We were also provided a "Le Nez" kit to be able to smell the essence of what makes the Courvoisier brand stand out in the world of cognac. Basically, it was 6 vials that represented aromas found in Courvoisier XO and Courvoisier Exclusif such as coffee, Iris flowers, ginger cookies, and so on. We went around the table and tried to guess what they were, and Shabnam guessed most of them. Professional advantage I say! 

The highlight of the event was the mixology session. There was a bartender at each table, and we had Mike from One at The Hazelton Hotel. Good guy that Mike. We split in to pairs and started mixing for a chance to represent our table and possibly win a prize. I knew from the start that I wanted to go sweet and spicy, and that this would best compliment the delicate flavours of Exclusif. 

I present our cocktail:

"Les Etoilles de St. Moritz"

• 4 parts Courvoisier Exclusif
• 8 parts grapefruit juice
• 2 parts simple syrup
• Splash of lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons chili flakes
• pinch of rosemary
• grapefruit slice
• Ice
• Shake, add club soda, strain and garnish with a lemon twirl

Everyone really enjoyed this, the sweet/sour on the front with a nice heat on the finish. We fully nailed it on the second try, a---mazing! There was some stiff competition out there and sadly we didn't win, but we were satisfied with our efforts, the fun we had, and the friends we made. Thanks to Courvoisier and Matchstick for a great evening.

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