Cognac Cocktails

Cognac is brandy made in a defined part of western France under rules about grape, still and cask. What that buys you in a drink is consistency: dried fruit, faint florals and a soft oak finish that does not vary much bottle to bottle.

It is the spirit the Sidecar and the Vieux Carre were written for, and the one that makes a Champagne cocktail worth the Champagne. VS is fine for mixing; VSOP is smoother and only worth it in a drink with few enough ingredients to notice.

Any decent brandy substitutes in almost every recipe here. The exceptions are the short stirred drinks where it is most of what you taste.