How to drink brandy?

French playwright Jean-Claude Briswil wrote the play “Dinner”, where Talleyrand teaches Minister Fouche to drink cognac. There is a very curious scene: “With your permission, they do not drink cognac like that,” the diplomat said. – Take a look, please. You take a glass, warm in the palm of your hand, rotate slightly, so that the moisture exudes aroma. Then bring it to your lips, inhale … ”Fouche raises her eyebrows:“ And then? ”Talleyrand wonders:“ Next? Put it on the table. And this is not a joke, but rather a manual for beginners. Continue reading →