Cocktails, as a type of alcoholic drinks, appeared about two hundred years ago in America and were originally a mixture of fairly strong alcoholic drinks. The most famous were cocktails with rum and cognac. True connoisseurs of such mixed alcoholic beverages consider cognac one of the most noble foundations for making cocktails. This noble drink begins its history in one of the French provinces - Cognac, its ancestor is Charente wine, which was distilled twice, that is, subjected to double distillation. The result is a clean, strong, soft grape spirit. It is rolled up in oak barrels and subjected to long exposure for at least 5 years.
Cognac cocktails belong to the group of digests, that is, alcoholic drinks that can be drunk at any time of the day. But it is not recommended to use them before meals or during feasts, as they have a sweet taste and dull the appetite. Connoisseurs of cocktails, which include cognac, serve them to the table after lunch or, most often, dinner, directly to the dessert. Cognac cocktails are presented in small conical glasses with a beautiful elegant leg, with a capacity of not more than 100 ml. Ice is usually put in a glass and a straw or cocktail tube is inserted.
The ideal gastronomic accents to these alcoholic drinks and cognac, as an independent element, will be coffee, chocolate, hard fruits, such as melons, apples, pears. Great nuts and cheeses, sweet crumbly cookies, biscuit, puff cakes.
Cocktails with cognac are prepared in two ways: pour its main components into layers or mix in a shaker. When preparing puff cocktails, the ingredients are selected in such a way that all of them are contrasting in color. The secret to successful preparation of drinks of this kind lies in the correct selection of all components and competent alternation of layers. Therefore, the bottom layer of the cocktail should be the most dense and the sweetest. Most often, dessert liqueurs, syrups, sweet liquors and tinctures are used for these purposes. The lightest ingredients are whiskey, vodka, milk, gin, juice and water.
Currently, in bars, visitors are offered to try a wide variety of cocktails with cognac, with many different ingredients. But you can prepare a delicious and invigorating drink at home. It's simple, you just need to choose a quality base - cognac. Gourmet cocktail recipes can easily be found on websites. Fortunately, now there are a lot of resources on the Internet that are specifically devoted to the art of creating these alcoholic drinks. I suggest trying to make the simplest cocktails with cognac, which can not fail.
"Alexander"
You will need: 1 part brandy of excellent quality, 1 part non-fat cream, 1 part Crème de Cacao liqueur, grated nutmeg.
Preparation: fill the top of the shaker with small ice cubes, add cognac, cream, liquor. Shake the shaker with a force of about 10 seconds, then pour all the contents into a cocktail glass, pre-filtering through a bar strainer. Sprinkle the grated nutmeg over the drink, which gives it an amazing flavor.
Brandy Flea
Required: 50 ml of quality cognac, 40 ml of low-fat cream, 10 ml of sweet sugar syrup, egg yolk.
Preparation: add all ingredients to the shaker, mix, pour into a glass, sprinkle nutmeg with grated powder into the powder.
"Honeymoon"
Required: 1 part brandy, 1/4 part unsweetened white wine, 1/4 part Cointreau liqueur, a circle of orange zest.
Preparation: pour all the components into the mixing glass, add ice, mix for several seconds, pour the drink into a cold glass and decorate by stringing an orange circle on the edge of the glass.
"Peach haze"
Required: 1 ripe peach, 50 ml of champagne, 25 ml of quality cognac, 25 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice
Preparation: pour cognac and juice into a mixing glass, chop the peach pulp, beat the mixture, pour into a portioned glass, and carefully add champagne.
"Cherry milk"
Required: 1 part of high-quality cognac, 1 part of milk, 1/2 part of natural cherry juice.
Preparation: mix cognac and juice in a glass, pour the mixture into a conical glass and add cold milk to it. Drink through a straw.