In attempts to broaden its consumer base—the way rum did several years ago with the Mojito trend—the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, or BNIC, flew in bartenders from both sides of the Atlantic earlier this year to piece together a cocktail.
The mad-scientists emerged with a ginger and lemon based concoction: The Summit.
The trade group hopes the drink can emulate the success V&S Vin & Sprit AB had with the Cosmopolitan when launching Absolut Citron twenty years ago. Time will only tell of it’s a success or a dud. As Dale De Groff, president of the Museum of the American Cocktail, put it to the Wall Street Journal last month, “Brand promotional pamphlets and in-house recipe books are cemeteries of forgotten drinks.”
But that is not to disparage the prestigious brandy, which has found equal popularity within Brooks Brothers circles as Adidas. Since the early 90’s Cognac has become iconic within the hip-hop culture, contrasting the older, stodgier image usually associated with the spirit.
Nevertheless, there is a hope that The Summit will warrant new drinkers and offer accessibility to patrons who usually dismiss the particular brandy.
Notes on Cognac:
– Named after the town Cognac in France.
– Only produced in the designated region.
– It is twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged the minimum of two years in French oak.
– Distilled primarily from Ugni Blanc, which it must contain 90%.
– The Sidecar, a brandy cocktail that often calls for Cognac, made its introduction in the early 1920s.
The Short Buzz is a regular post here at the Daily Blender highlighting spirits.