Cognac

Serve it neat in a small tulip-shaped glass, at around 16–20 °C, and let it sit for a few minutes so the aromas open up. You can also serve it over ice or with a splash of water.

Yes. Add a splash to a pan sauce for steak, mushrooms or chicken, or use it in a dessert such as crêpes Suzette. If you flambé it, keep your face and hands well clear of the flame; cooking does not always remove all the alcohol.

Close the bottle firmly and keep it upright in a cool, dark cupboard, away from heat and sunlight. Unlike wine, Cognac does not continue to mature in the bottle.

Its dried-fruit and spice notes pair well with dark chocolate, blue cheese, dried apricots and roasted nuts. Cognac is also used in cocktails such as the Sidecar, made with Cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice.

Yes: use the same amount of good-quality brandy in a sauce or cocktail. The flavour may be less distinctive, since Cognac is a type of brandy made in a specific region of France.

Both are French grape brandies, but they come from different regions and are made using different distillation traditions. Cognac is generally distilled twice in pot stills, while Armagnac is often distilled once in a continuous still.

The name comes from Cognac, the town and surrounding wine-growing area in western France. Only brandy produced in that defined region and made to its production rules can be called Cognac.