During a recent cognac appreciation dinner hosted by Martell’s own brand ambassador, the charming Jacques Menier. I caught up Martell’s head chef Eric Danger, who is based at Chateau de Chanteloup in the heart of the Borderies region(Martell is one of the few Cognac houses to still have its own chateau, providing an elegant guest house for VIP visitors). He told me “Cognac is extremely versatile in the kitchen and can be added to desserts, used to flambé food or be used in marinades”. Danger likes to marinade foie gras or duck breast and game for at least 24 hours, and serve with whichever cognac it has been marinated with.

Cognac also pairs well with Asian food-appropriately enough, given its popularity in the Far East. Apparently, Malaysia is second only to China worldwide in the consumption of fine cognacs( read VSOP upwards). Pairings such as with Cantonese cuisine, sushi and even certain Thai dishes would work well with cognac. And it even adds a magical touch to a shellfish cocktail and is good with most egg dishes, but it really comes into its own with desserts. And while chocolate is too strong and sweet for most wines, it begs to be eaten with cognac.

So it was as we enjoyed a fabulous melody of dishes prepared by both chef Kuan, the chef de cuisine of Eest at the Westin and Eric Danger. Highlights were definitely the 3 Pacific Oysters in 3 styles which played wonderfully against the floral bouquet and ever so slight hints of toffee of the Cordon Bleu. So too were the pan fried sea scallops with red pepper coulis and crunchy endives but the star of the evening must have been the chocolate frenzy matched with the XO, truly a match made in heaven.

All these wonderful flavours brought me back to Cognac, where I visited a little over a year ago. On that trip to the fame Gallienne distillery, that belongs to the venerable house of Martell. I had the unique experience to visit the founder’s chai, or storage where the barrels are kept. Here I discovered cask upon cask of cognac, all of it older than me and all made exclusively for Martell. On the end of the casks the cellar hands had chalked the dates such as: 1923 and 26, 1918 Grand champagne, Borderie 1830.

Since 2003, Bruno Lemoine as cellar master has been in charge of blending. Coming from a background of wine in Bordeaux, as the technical director of the famed second growth Chateau Montrose, the art of blending is nothing new. At the cheaper end of the range, simple cognacs such as VS or VSOP may not require too much complexity, but the team still builds from a basis of some 100 blends. Whilst for the Cordon Bleu they would use in excess of 200 blends. Unlike some houses, Martell remains wedded to other branded spirits and wines; good cognac, it maintains, is the sum of its parts.

With Dominique Metoyer, a member of the Martell blending team and second to Bruno Lemoine, I tasted a truly wonderful selection of cognacs; ancient eaux-de-vie drawn from cask or bonbonnes and Martell’s top brands Dominique always looks for cleanliness. In some years there is rot, and this will only be concentrated by distillation. There should be no off notes or hints of sulphur: bad alcohol smells of dirty mops. If it smells good, a new oak barrel is used. It is a promising sign when the aromas are difficult to discern. The best eaux-de-vie is reticent at first.

A glass of simple eau-de-vie from 2000 had a pleasant aroma of pears and fresh tobacco leafs. Fin Bois gives it all from the get go and I’m told this will probably be for the VS or VSOP. Next came an 1848 from the Borderies, the heart of Martell country. It is a beautiful cognac, redolent of butterscotch, with pronounced, dried apricots and an oxidized character. There was a strong floral hint and a spicy cedar like finish. I think this is something destined for the Martell L’Or.

I was then handed an obviously ancient cognac with a butterscotch and floral nose with some very woody, almost oily notes yet surprisingly clean and clear. It certainly had charm but needed to be rounded of with something. It was still in a tight grip of power. I was told it was an 1815 Petite Champagne and still in wood after more than a century. Cognac loses two percent of its volume a year-known as “the angels share” –so from 100 barrels, there is now just one.

Last of all we tasted the new XO, aged on average for 10 to 30 years, it smells of dried fruits, bees wax and leather, then after swirling or stirring, it reveals a wide range of dried flowers and oriental spice notes and it is rounder and sweeter than the XO of old. There was huge power and concentration and on the second taste a subtle balance shines through, showing the power of Grand Champagne and the mellow elegance of the Borderies. This is perfection from the oldest of the grand cognac houses.