There’s no set rule for the perfect serving temperature of cognac.
Wine is straightforward, of course, as are cocktails. But when it comes to spirits, it is usually down to personal preference. Except Louis XIII is putting forward its own suggestion – releasing a bottle of cognac that comes with its own cooling cellar.
The house has unveiled Black Pearl: Tribute To The Birthplace Of Louis XIII, the latest addition to its Black Pearl collection. Limited to 398 decanters, the release takes its inspiration from Le Grollet, the historic cellar in Cognac where Louis XIII was first created, and generations of cellar masters have continued crafting its eaux-de-vie.
The unusual part is not simply the spirit inside the bottle, but what happens to it once the bottle is opened. Each decanter comes in an individual cooling cellar designed to keep the cognac at a minimum of 55.4°F (13°C). The house then recommends pouring and leaving it to warm naturally in the glass, its character changing as it does: at cooler temperatures, you’ll taste beeswax, honey, precious wood, and patchouli, while warmer temperatures bring out spice, rancio, nutmeg, and chocolate.
The idea comes directly from Le Grollet, where the house says the cellar’s particular conditions influence the way its eaux-de-vie are experienced. “Each tasting in Le Grollet is a deeply moving sensory experience,” says cellar master Baptiste Loiseau. He attributes part of its distinctive character to the cellar itself – its “ethereal humidity, cool temperature, and enveloping half-light in winter” – which he says reveals hidden facets of Louis XIII.
Rather than prescribing a single “correct” way to drink it, the house has made the warming process part of the experience.
Loiseau identified a single eau-de-vie in the house’s historic collection of demijohn bottles that carried what he describes as the unmistakable character of Le Grollet. He selected it and infused it into a single tierçon – the extra-large traditional wooden cask used exclusively by the house – to create the new blend. The result is presented in a reworked version of the familiar Louis XIII decanter, this time with midnight-blue reflections inspired by the darkness of Le Grollet.
The house is attempting to recreate something of the conditions in which its cellar master experiences the spirit, rather than simply reproducing a historic blend. “For the first time, we brought the experience of the cellar beyond its walls,” says Ludovic du Plessis, director of Rémy Cointreau’s Prestige Division, referring to the temperature-driven ritual.
Whether temperature can really transform the way a spirit tastes is, of course, something that is better tested than described. The release will initially be available by the glass at selected destinations in Paris, London, New York, Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur. For anyone tempted to skip the glass and go straight for the decanter, the 398 bottles are available through Louis XIII’s private client directors for $28,000 apiece.
