How to Drink a Super Spirit

Super Spirits should be consumed a little differently from ordinary spirits, largely because these products are made to accentuate flavor. Blending away its character with a soda or mixer destroys that flavor. Therefore, most of the Super Spirits are consumed neat, in a snifter without ice or mixers.

This is particularly true of Cognac. Single-malt Scotch drinkers follow the same policy, though a growing trend has been to add a dash of spring water to cut the potency of the product and allow it to last a bit longer. Some of the stronger, more peat-scented single malts are also good over ice.

When sipping any Super Spirit out of a snifter, it’s best not to stick your nose into the glass for a whiff of the aroma. Putting nose into glass merely accentuates the aroma of the alcohol, and the subtlety of the beverage is lost. Connoisseurs suggest swirling the bowl and then sniffing over the top of the bowl, allowing the aroma to mix with the air.

It’s been said that, unlike a bottle of wine, a bottle of distilled spirits lasts indefinitely after opening, but that’s not strictly true. Any spirit will change once opened, however slightly. Scotch and Cognac, which are aged in barrels, will slowly oxidize and thus have a shorter life than grappa and eau-de-vie . Darrel Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento recommends finishing a spirit in a reasonable amount of time before the deterioration is evident.

Though some products (notably vodka) are often kept as cold as possible, it’s not necessary to serve the Super Spirits that cold. Cool room temperature, about 62 degrees, is fine for most.