Cards & Quarters – Park Mizunara Cask
It really has been a long time until I got my hands on this special cognac. Mizunara oak cask ageing is en vogue right now. However, only the Maison Tessendier produces Mizunara cask finished cognacs. In this case, they took a cognac from the Borderies region and finished it in Japanese Mizunara casks for half a year. This just sounds perfect for a Vieux Carré cocktail version.
The regular Park Cognacs from the Maison Tessendier already are great. However, for their Mizunara cask finished version they used grapes harvested in the Borderies region, the smallest Cru in the Cognac region. Double distillation takes place according to the “Charentais method” on 30 hl pot stills. The cognac is aged for four years in 400 l French oak casks. Ten months of that time the brandy is aged in new oak casks and the rest in mature casks. The oak for most of the barrels comes from the Limousin forest. The final finish is done in new 500 l Mizunara oak casks for six months. The final cognac has an ABV of 43,5 %.
Excellent cognac
To make things short, the Park Mizunara Cask is one of the best cognacs I have taste so far. You get the typical brandy notes with a combination of candied violets and dried fruits. However, the Mizunara cask brings way more spices to the mix than with your typical cognac. At the same time, the cognac has floral notes and even a hint of yellow fruits. All in all, the cognac is complex and yet at the same time very approachable.
A Vieux Carré version
I do not know why, but I am rarely mixing up a Vieux Carré. Yet, I thought I come up with a version using the Mizunara cask cognac. On top of that, I also had a Yuzu eau de vie from the Tinnauer distillery on hand which seemed like a perfect fit for the Japanese inspired cognac. The eau de vie is distilled from fresh Yuzus. With its strong bitter orange and mandarin notes the eau de vie seemed perfect for the Vieux Carré variation. Apart from that, the eau de vie has additional floral and spicy notes.
2,25 cl Tinnauer Yuzu Eau de Vie
2,25 cl Starlino Rosé Aperitivo
0,75 cl Benedictine
2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Wash glass with Henri Bardouin Pastis
Stir – strain – chilled Old-Fashioned glass over ice cubes;
Garnish: Lemon Wedge;
Song: Local Natives – Cards & Quarters;
The “Cards & Quarters” definitely is more mellow than the original cocktail. Nevertheless, the drink has clear cognac and citrus eau de vie flavours. On top of that, the grapefruit notes of the Starlino Aperitivo nicely play along with the rest of the flavours. All in all, the drink is a fruity, summery Vieux Carré alternative for hotter days.
*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 Perola and the eau de vie by Tinnauer.
