Rémy Martin share their Christmas Cognac Cocktails

We had the absolute pleasure of partnering with Rémy Martin for a Cognac Cocktail Masterclass at The Conran Shop, Chelsea. We're so pleased to be able to share the recipes for each of these delicious cocktails, which were brought to us by the one and only Jack Charlton, Rémy's UK brand ambassador and expert mixologist.

We can promise you that these will make for the most surprisingly delightful, festive Christmas cocktails! 

1. Rémy Grand Tonic

A French twist on a British Classic, this gives our beloved Gin and Tonic a run for its money: it's just as simple to make but arguably more impressive to serve.

Take your Jancis Robinson wine glass, pour 50ml / 1.7 fl oz of Rémy Martin VSOP over lots of ice, top with Tonic Water and then garnish with a wedge of lime.

And there you have it - your Christmas apéritif sorted!

 2. The Sidecar

We are told that the Sidecar was named after a certain US army captain whose preferred form of transport when out drinking in Paris was... a sidecar. One-third Cognac, one-third Cointreau, one-third freshly squeezed lemon juice, ice, shake and serve. The citrusy character of the Sidecar displays the depth and versatility of Cognac as well as any cocktail ever created.

For this you'll need: 35ml / 1.2 fl oz Rémy Martin 1739 Accord Royal, 30ml / 1 fl oz Cointreau, 15ml / 0.5 fl oz fresh lemon juice, and Fluted Small Coupe.

We like to garnish with a lemon zest twirl, once you've run the lemon juice oils around the rim of your glass.

3. Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned is one of the original and most traditional cocktails, existing long before cocktails involved syrups and multiple spirits. 

Although seemingly simple, there are some really important steps you need to take to ensure yours is the best Old Fashioned around:

1. Take your Fluted Old Fashioned glass (clearly the only suitable glass for this one!)

2. Pop a brown sugar cube (Muscavado sugar if you want a really deep flavour) at the bottom of your glass and add in a couple of dashes of bitter. For ease, some would replace the sugar cube with syrup, but we wouldn't recommend this as can often lead to a synthetic aftertaste. The bitters will give the cocktail lovely notes of herbs and spices.

3. Pour in 50ml / 1.7 fl oz of Rémy Martin XO and add an ice cube. Stir away, and as these start to melt, add in up to 4 more ice cubes, one at a time. This is the key to a balanced Old Fashioned. Once a couple of the ice cubes have melted after a couple of minutes of stirring, it's time to add your garnish. Take an orange peel and rub around the edge of the glass before adding to your drink; doing this will increase that intense orange zest aroma when drinking. 

Et Voilà!