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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/580366
www.cheersonline.com 15 October 2015 • grenadine and absinthe; and a Calvados Negroni. All cocktails are priced at $12. PISCO POISED TO CONQUER One trend in the imported brandy sector is the increasing popularity of pisco. Although both Chile and Peru make the grape spirit, more Peruvian pisco is exported to the U.S. Most craft cocktail lounges have a bottle or two on the backbar. But the average consumer still doesn't know much about pisco—including that it is a member of the brandy family. More education is needed, say proponents. "It's been a crusade of ours, teaching our customers about pisco and getting them to try cocktails," says Nathan Dalton, bar director of Felipe's Taqueria, a casual- dining Mexican concept in New Orleans. "We are converting one person at a time." When the fi rst Felipe's Taqueria opened in 2008, no one in the New Orleans area was offering much in the way of Latin American spirits. After some research, the owners decided to focus the beverage program on that underserved niche. Although Felipe's, which now includes fi ve units and one Tiki Tolteca bar, offers tequila, mezcal, cachaça and other Latin spirits, pisco is the star. Felipe's restaurants carry all the piscos Dalton can get his hands on; about 15 different kinds, made from different grapes and in several styles, including both Peruvian and Chilean. Most of the consumption is via cocktails, of which the most popular is the iconic Pisco Sour. "A few years ago, all bartenders knew how to make was a Pisco Sour," Dalton says. "Now there is more experimentation." Cocktails at Felipe's, priced from $7 to $13, are served in colorful, hand-blown Mexican glassware. A good starting point for newcomers is the Chilcano ($9), a refreshing mix of house-made ginger beer, pisco and lime juice. Other popular calls are Pisco Punch ($13), made with Italia Mosto Verde pisco, house pineapple-infused gum syrup and Key lime juice; and El Capitaine ($9), a pisco Martini with sweet French vermouth. NIFTY SNIFTERS Backbar carries about 10 different brandies on its backbar, mostly Cognac, an Armagnac, a Spanish brandy and a few piscos. Of these, the most popular is Cognac Pierre Ferrand Ambre. The most unusual is Camus Ile de Re from an island in the Cognac region. "It gets super salty and funky from being on the coast," says Treadway. Those guests curious about brandy's range can order The Really Damn Good Flight ($30), tastes of Pisco Porton, Lepanto Brandy de Jerez and Pierre Ferrand. Cognac is the main brandy choice at Celeste, along with a few Armagnacs and Calvados. "There are also a couple of American-style brandies for people who want to tiptoe into the category," says Horocki. Prices range from $10 to a few hundred bucks a glass. Instead of snifters, neat pours are served in Glencairn whisky glasses, which "surprises guests who are expecting a fi shbowl," says the bar manager. He points out that the glass brings out the aromatics of all brown spirits. The Cognac Room also lists brandies available for sipping, arranged by subcategories and ranging in price from $12 up to $150 a snifter. To further exploration, the bar offers more than half a dozen brandy fl ights, ranging from $18 to $230 for a trio of Hennessy Cognac expressions, including Paradis. The brandy category is growing faster than the overall spirits market. And while the spotlight may be elsewhere right now, brandy continues to thrive among savvy operators who are fi nding new ways to introduce customers to this venerable spirit. "Nobody wants to drink what their grandpa drank, but now it's coming around full circle again," says Horocki. "Once it was whiskey, then Cognac, and gin, and for a while vodka was king, now it's back to whiskey. With brown spirits taking off, I think brandy will start coming back." Thomas Henry Strenk is a freelance writer in Brooklyn specializing in all things drinkable. BRINGING UP BRANDY Sidecar ¾ oz. Cointreau ¾ oz. Lemon juice 1 ½ oz. Cognac Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker fi lled with ice. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass/coupe with a sugared glass rim. Garnish with a lemon peel. Recipe courtesy of The Deco Room at Celeste in Chicago. PHOTO CREDIT: HILARY HIGGINS Drinks at the Cognac Room in San Francisco restaurant Gaspar Brasserie from left: Armagnac Crusta (Armagnac, Cointreau, lemon, maraschino liqueur, Angostura bitters); Depth Bomb (Calvados, Cognac, grenadine, Demerara syrup, lemon bitters); Sahara Glowing Heart (Citadelle gin, apricot eau de vie, grena- dine, absinthe); and Pimm's No. 3 Cup (Pimm's No. 1, brandy, lemon, ginger, cucumber, mint and seltzer).