Here’s How Ghetto Gastro Does a Tasting Trip to Cognac Inline
Photo: Joshua Woods1/7“Me, Pierre, and Lester [from left to right] mobbing on the streets of Cognac. It’s a very small town and everyone is in the same business. Martell is the oldest cognac house, so it was surprising to see that a lot of folks from the Martell family and the Hennessy family intermarried. It’s a small town but with a global footprint.”
Photo: Joshua Woods2/7“The grand lobby of our cognac casa, aka Château de Chanteloup. This was such a dope spot. We turned the steps into a gambling spot, where we played the dice game Cee-lo.”
Photo: Joshua Woods3/7“Me and Pierre plotting a master plan in the living room before dinner. During our meal, we sipped a fair amount of cognac which paired really well with the seared scallops and local truffles that the chef prepared for us. It was also delicious with the smoked Iberian pork shoulder and chips fried in duck fat. The vanilla and candied fruit notes in the cognac worked wonders when paired with these dishes.”
Photo: Joshua Woods4/7“The oak barrels being prepped for the aging process at the cooperage. We learned so much about the different grape varieties in the region, like how you can tell whether or not the soil they were grown in was clay soil and how that affects the notes of the brandy.”
Photo: Joshua Woods5/7“Different eaux-de-vie at the Martell distillery ready for matrimony, which is how they refer to blending. The marriage of different vintages gives the cognac a range of depth and complexity. We blended a few variations ourselves and even tasted the clear eau-de-vie—cognac before it’s aged.”
