To make the most of your Cognac tasting experience, it is worth taking the time to observe its colour, aspect, and aromas, then savouring its delicious flavours. Demonstration.
TASTING COGNAC: APPEARANCE, NOSE AND PALATE
Gently rotate the glass and observe the color, clarity, viscosity, and tears of this very delicate wine spirit. This is known as making Cognac “cry”. Let the tears run down the side of the glass and reveal its limpidity: crystal clear, clear, cloudy, or hazy.
Tilt the glass and assess its viscosity: watery, syrupy, or oily. Next, look at the color, which will vary from clear to dark amber, depending on its age, origin, type of oak used, and unique character.
Gently rotate and aerate the glass to detect the Cognac’s key olfactory characteristics, otherwise known as its “second nose”. This often reveals floral or fruity notes, such as dried lime blossom, vine flowers, dried vine shoots, freshly-pressed grapes, violets, or vanilla.
As the Cognac comes into contact with your tongue and palate, its flavours will stimulate your taste buds and receptors, imbibing it with roundness, softness, richness, finesse, lightness, etc. Savour the sensations as they travel from the tip of your tongue to the back of your mouth, detecting the sweetness, saltiness, fresh acidity, and bitterness of the Cognac in its unique elegance and aromatic complexity.
Glossary
“First nose”: olfactory notes that emerge when you first raise the glass to your nose.
These aromas are fleeting, highly volatile, and extremely delicate.
