Modern Soul – Naulin X.O. Cognac
Here is another great cognac that is usually easily overlooked. The Naulin X.O. with eaux de vies aged for more than 10 years promises a lot of spice and grape flavours. Apart from that, I had some frozen coconut water on hand which I needed to mix a drink with. So, I thought I would come up with an Old-Fashioned variation, which combines both ingredients.
The Maison Boinaud makes the Naulin X.O. from ugni blanc grapes grown in the Grand and Petite Champagne region. The stills have a capacity of 25 hl and are wooden fired. Furthermore, the distillation takes place with the yeasts present to 70 % ABV. Afterwards, water is added to bring the strength down to an ABV of 65 %. The ageing takes place in 350 l oak casks with medium to heavy toasts. Further dilution is done slowly to the drinking strength of 40 % ABV.
Spices, spices, spices
Obviously, the Naulin X.O. comes with typical brandy flavours. However, what took me by surprise was the amount of spices you can find in the cognac. They remind me of cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and even allspice. On top of that, the Naulin X.O. also carries a certain red wine flavour.
Brandied coconuts
Well, I made some coconut water ice cubes for last month’s Home Bar Awards. Yet, I did not come around in time to make a cocktail with it. This did not stop me from mixing up an Old-Fashioned using the Naulin X.O. Concerning the bitters I kept it classic by choosing Angostura Bitters. Furthermore, the garnish really plays an important role here.
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
0,75 cl Coconut Blossom Syrup
Garnish: Orange Twist – Brandied Cherries;
Song: James Blake – Modern Soul;
The spice notes of the Naulin X.O. Cognac go perfectly well with the coconut water notes. Additionally, the drink is smooth and the bitters even add more spice notes. You can taste a lot of cinnamon and clove notes in it. All in all, I enjoyed this Old-Fashioned variation very much, the coconut water adds fresher notes, perfect for summer.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The cognac was provided by Ferrand Spirits.
