The essence of the essence! the king of effervescence!

relief sculpture by Gustave Navlet in the Veuve Clicquot cellar (19th c)

The good ole boys in the US (I may start referring them as GOBs, just because) played with creepy cocktails this weekend. I went to Reims, where they used to crown all the kings back in the day, to learn something about champagne. Since my trip was subsidized, I didn't do much ordering of beverages, but here is an almost complete list of what we sampled (most are non-vintage/not cuvée unless noted):

Bollinger (x3)

Billecart-Simon

Veuve Clicquot (2002 reserve and La Grande Dame 1998)

Pommery, (cuvée Louis and nonvintage)

Moët & Chandon

Vranken Diamant

I know I'm missing some here, but at a point on Saturday, I lost track of what was handed to or ordered for me. I think my favorite of the weekend was the Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, which had this incredible tart flavor that just rolled out slowly, like a lady in her finery taking a luxurious afternoon constitutional on your tongue. The Pommery cuvée Louis also made an impression on me. Of course, we didn't have a bad glass all weekend, so it's hard to play favorites.

The other surprise of the weekend was the bottle of French whiskey my friend's husband bought. It's from a distillery that was founded in 1998 in the woods of the champagne region called Guillon. It's definitely a French twist on the drink, with a lot of vanilla flavors that recall the other famous spirit from the region, cognac. I don't know if it's worth hunting down with large quantities of effort but if you saw it lying around and had the cash, it's a fun drink.

Now I'm home, nursing the kind of hangover and cold that can only come from a weekend of champagne, foie gras and oysters. I'm sort of wishing I hadn't needed to come back. And had more disposable income.

bisous,

plenty