Category: News

More than 1000 people have paid $100 for a ‘Dragon Dog’, the world’s most expensive hot dog.  At the Vancouver restaurant ‘Dougie Dog’, the bratwurst is served soaked in $2000-a-bottle cognac, fried in truffle oil and topped with Kobe beef and fresh lobster.  The idea behind the 12″ hot dog was to provide “something super tasty but also high-end” and customers who have been tempted have all absolutely loved it.  Hot dogs are normally classed as Fast Food –  quick and cheap – but this one can profess to be neither.  It must be ordered 12 hours in advance and with no change out of a $100 bill its consumption would take a bit of planning – but at least then you could order a take away and choose somewhere truly delicious to eat it!

Not sure that we would pour our $2000 cognac, Hermitage 1903 Ambleville over a hot dog, it’s much too precious and tasty for that!

According to market analysts, 25% of European spirits imports in some Asian countries  are counterfeit. The refilling of empty high-end bottles is now the gold standard for counterfeiters, especially in China.  So, it is particularly good news to see the launch of ‘Capseal’, a device which prevents bottles from being refilled fraudulently.  A chip is connected to an antenna which is inserted on the neck of the bottle, just above the cork. When the cap is removed, the tag is mechanically deactivated.  By using a smartphone or NFC device to scan the chip embedded in the tag, anyone can easily verify the authenticity of the bottle, confirming that it has not been previously opened. This technological breakthrough provides the wine and spirits industry with a unique and secure solution to solve counterfeiting and refilling problems.  It is compliant with existing bottle caps allowing producers to incorporate it easily into current production systems. Let’s hope that this most effective anti-counterfeiting solution is welcomed by the industry so that confidence in brand quality can be restored in the Asian market.  Provenance is key to the selling of luxury cognac which is why our latest range is called exactly that – Hermitage Provenance Cognacs.

There was great excitement in Bradford on Avon on Friday morning as the Tour of Britain came through our small, Wiltshire town for the first time.  Even more excitement ensued when we found that the cyclists would be racing straight past our front door with Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish among them.  The Tour of Britain, which was revived in 2004, is now Britain’s biggest professional cycle race so, to celebrate its success over the last 10 years and cheer the riders on, we joined our neighbours with a toast of Hermitage 10 year old Grande Champagne Cognac – Award winning cognac for award winning cyclists.

On Monday, 225 years ago, the Storming of Bastille took place.  The medieval fortress and prison in Paris, known as the Bastille, represented royal authority in the centre of the city. The prison only contained seven inmates at the time but the storming was a symbol of the abuses of the monarchy and its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

It’s a very special day in France so how about something equally special to drink on 14 July?  This bottle of Jules Robin Cognac was distilled the very same year of the conflict, 225 years ago.

The environment in which you experience a wine has a profound effect on how you will perceive it to taste, according to Charles Spence, an Oxford University professor. His research proves that lighting and music can act as digital seasoning for food and wine.  A red room helps to bring out the fruity notes in the wine whilst in a green room the fruit profile disappears and the wine appears closed.  Although music has less of an effect on taste perception than colour, Spence is convinced that different types of music influence our taste buds – colourblind tasters experience huge changes in flavour perception when different kinds of music are played.  Interestingly wine and spirits are described in a similar way to music, as having different ‘notes’. Citrus flavours are seen as high notes, while wood and chocolate are low notes.  The Professor has worked with Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen for the last 12 years and dining there is now a complete experience that takes colour, sound and environment into account.  He is now hoping this will inspire others to do the same.

A classic cognac with citrus ‘notes’ is Hermitage 1989 and Hermitage 30 year old is our most popular cognac with chocolate ‘notes’.