Back in the ‘summer’ we were invited to a very exclusive event hosted by Playboy Club London which was attended by some of the finest gentlemen this side of the Atlantic. The reason? The good people who run this establishment in the name of Mr Hefner wanted to show us how to enjoy the some of the finer things in life… And these particular things in question took the form of a snifter of the most exquisite cognac’s, L’Essence de Courvoisier and a Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios cigar especially selected to compliment such a fine drink.
Fans of Cut The Cap’s adventures will remember our visit to Soho Whiskey Club where we reviewed the Genios in some detail, pairing it with the Ardbeg Alligator. We’re not going to review it in totality again (even thought we really want to!) but we will tip our hat to Mr Daniel Pink from Hunters and Frankau for making such an excellent choice in pairing the Genios with the L’Essence de Courvoisier. It’s fair to say that Cohiba’s Maduro 5 range is at the very top end of cigars with the Genios being the flagship of that range. This is where we had the issue in our last review. It just didn’t seem to be worth the premium you pay. We’re big enough to say forget we ever said that because now we see the error in our ways… The lesson: pair a premium cigar with a premium drink!
The L’Essence de Courvoisier did so much more than just provide us drinking joy. The flavours on our palate’s helped open up the Genios in ways we couldn’t imagine. The cocoa flavours said pow! from the get-go. A great milky chocolate flavour to rival any Michelin-Star chef’s dessert. As much as we liked the Genios before, now we are truly sold. Coming to the L’Essence, it’s worth noting that there are only two cognac’s in this bracket of Super Brandy’s. There’s the L’Essence, and then there’s the Remy Martin Louis XIII. Both with a comparable number of blends of eaux de vie with a wide range of age’s, this is your Barcelona vs Real Madrid of Cognac’s! Looking specifically at the drink of the night, L’Essence, the decanter has been born with a modern twist on the traditional cognac decanter… it’s form takes the shape of a drop of cognac hanging in the air – a design that we’re big fans of. As for the tasting notes of the L’Essence they are in a league of their own – with a smooth and sweet honeydew & wildflower aroma which goes down oh so easily. A real joy even for those who have limited experience with cognac’s and the darker spirits.
Without delving further in to the matter, we highly recommend those with a fair few bob in their kitty this weekend to head on over to Playboy Club London and try it out for themselves. Our for those really adventurous, ask Salvatore Calabrese for the most expensive cocktail EVER!
A big thank you to Rébecca Asseline (Courvoisier Brand Ambassador) for her helpful insight into the history of the drink and the bottle.
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