Taken to Cask

Taken to Cask

To the world, Cognac is not a place but a drink. That's cool with the locals of Cognac, who are perfectly content to take a back seat to the liquor that is lovingly aged in their cellar casks and pumps their economy.

A trip 49 km (56 mi) northwest of Brantôme makes a fitting finale to a tour of the Dordogne's countryside. Heading up into the Poitou-Charentes region, the black-wall town of Cognac seems an unlikely home for one of the world's most celebrated drinks.

Cognac owed its development to the transport of salt and wine along the Charente River. When 16th-century Dutch merchants discovered that the local wine was both tastier and easier to transport when distilled, the town became the heart of the brandy industry. From April to September most cognac houses organize visits of their premises and chais,the local name for cognac warehouses. Otard wins the history prize for being housed in the Château de Cognac, where King François I was born in 1494. Wherever you decide to go, you'll be inhaling the atmosphere of cognac: 3% of the cask-bound liquid evaporates every year. It's known as la part des anges,the angels' share.