37-459: The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans , named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combination of cognac or rye whiskey , absinthe , Peychaud's Bitters , and sugar , although bourbon whiskey is sometimes substituted for the rye and Herbsaint
74-767: A Bachelor of Arts in communications. Dickens soon moved to New York City, where she worked as a waitress, to continue her studies at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute , and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts . Dickens made her stage debut in a student production of David Mamet 's Sexual Perversity in Chicago , at Vanderbilt University . In 1995, she made her professional screen debut in Alan Taylor 's comedy film Palookaville , playing Vincent Gallo 's character's girlfriend. Dickens spent
111-477: A "purer" flavour. Hundreds of vineyards in the Cognac AOC region sell their own cognac. These are likewise blended from the eaux de vie of different years, but they are single-vineyard cognacs, varying slightly from year to year and according to the taste of the producer, hence lacking some of the predictability of the better-known commercial products. Depending on their success in marketing, small producers may sell
148-789: A common etymology . Close to 200 cognac producers exist. According to one 2008 estimate a large percentage of cognac—more than 90% for the US market—comes from only four producers: Courvoisier (owned by the Campari Group ), Hennessy ( LVMH ), Martell ( Pernod Ricard ), and Rémy Martin ( Rémy Cointreau ). Other brands meeting the AOC criteria for cognac include Bache-Gabrielsen/Dupuy , Braastad , Camus , La Fontaine de La Pouyade , Château Fontpinot, Delamain , Pierre Ferrand, Frapin , Gautier , Hine , Marcel Ragnaud, Monnet , Moyet , Otard , Meukow , and Cognac Croizet . In 2017, an agreement between
185-600: A film adaptation of the Charles Dickens 's novel, and had the female leading roles in Zero Effect and Mercury Rising . In 1999, she starred alongside Antonio Banderas in the comedy film, The White River Kid . In 2000, Dickens had co-starring roles in films Committed opposite Heather Graham , Hollow Man with Elisabeth Shue and Kevin Bacon , and The Gift starring Cate Blanchett . The following year, she played
222-550: A larger or smaller proportion of their product to individual buyers, wine dealers, bars and restaurants, the remainder being acquired by larger cognac houses for blending. According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the official quality grades of cognac are: Most names of the grades are in English because the historical cognac trade, particularly in the 18th century, significantly involved
259-454: A master taster ( maître de chai ), who is responsible for blending the spirits, so that cognac produced by a company will have a consistent house style and quality. In this respect, it is similar to the process of blending whisky or non-vintage Champagne to achieve a consistent brand flavor. A very small number of producers, such as Guillon Painturaud and Moyet , do not blend their final product from different ages of eaux de vie , so produce
296-433: Is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France . It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime . Cognac production falls under French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. Among the specified grapes, Ugni blanc , known locally as Saint-Émilion,
333-418: Is also called eau de vie . It is produced by twice distilling wine made from grapes grown in any of the designated growing regions. The white wine used in making cognac is very dry, acidic, and thin. Though it has been characterised as "virtually undrinkable", it is excellent for distillation and aging. It may be made only from a strict list of grape varieties. For it to be considered a true cru cognac,
370-411: Is also used as a flavoring in foods. Pastry dishes often pair cognac with flavors such as apple , raisin , prune , vanilla , and chocolate . "The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) is a French organization that oversees the production, promotion, and protection of Cognac. The BNIC's primary responsibilities include setting and enforcing the standards for Cognac production, ensuring
407-447: Is more volatile). This phenomenon is called locally la part des anges , or "the angels' share". When more than ten years pass in the oak barrel, the cognac's alcohol content decreases to 40% in volume. The cognac is then transferred to "large glass bottles called bonbonnes", then stored for future "blending." Since oak barrels stop contributing to flavor after four or five decades, longer aging periods may not be beneficial. The age of
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#1732855868565444-458: Is most widely used. The brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais . Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wines barrel-age, and most cognacs spend considerably longer "on the wood" than the minimum legal requirement. Cognac is a type of brandy, and after the distillation and during the aging process,
481-407: Is sometimes substituted for the absinthe. Some claim it is the oldest known American cocktail , with origins in antebellum New Orleans , although drink historian David Wondrich is among those who dispute this, and American instances of published usage of the word cocktail to describe a mixture of spirits, bitters , and sugar can be traced to the dawn of the 19th century. The defining feature of
518-631: Is unavailable. In New Orleans, Herbsaint is most commonly used due to the absence of absinthe in the U.S. market from 1912 until 2007. Around 1850, Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, the Merchants Exchange Coffee House, to become an importer of spirits, and he began to import a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils . Meanwhile, Aaron Bird assumed proprietorship of the Merchants Exchange and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House. Legend has it that Bird began serving
555-474: The "Sazerac Cocktail", made with Sazerac cognac imported by Taylor, and allegedly with bitters being made by the local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The Sazerac Coffee House subsequently changed hands several times, until around 1870 Thomas Handy became its proprietor. It is around this time that the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey, due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated
592-888: The 2000s, Dickens mostly worked on television, playing Joanie Stubbs, the madam , in the HBO western Deadwood from 2004 to 2006. She was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2007 for this role. She was a regular cast member in the unaired HBO comedy series, 12 Miles of Bad Road starring Lily Tomlin and Mary Kay Place . She had recurring roles on Lost and Friday Night Lights . In film, Dickens co-starred in House of Sand and Fog (2003) with Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley , Thank You for Smoking (2005), Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006), Red (2008) and The Blind Side (2009). From 2010 to 2013, Dickens
629-527: The 2021 film Land . In December 2021, it was announced on Talking Dead that Dickens would be returning to Fear the Walking Dead in the seventh season and would be a series regular in its eighth season . Dickens herself made a surprise guest appearance on the show to make the announcement to fans personally. Dickens moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s. She is currently in a relationship with musician and actress Leisha Hailey , known for being
666-499: The British. Cognac is also classified by crus , tightly defined geographic denominations where the grapes are grown. Their distinctive soils and microclimates produce eaux de vie with characteristics particular to their specific location. The cognac-producing regions called Champagne should not be confused with the northeastern region of Champagne , a wine region that produces sparkling wine by that name , although they do share
703-534: The European Union and Armenia was signed, whereby Armenian producers will abandon the usage of the protected geographic name "cognac" from 2043. The name "cognac" will be prohibited for the domestic Armenian market from 2032. Cocktails marked with "IBA" are designated as IBA official cocktails by the International Bartenders Association . In addition to being drunk as a beverage, cognac
740-605: The Sazerac as New Orleans' official cocktail. In 2011, as a writer for the HBO TV series Treme , Anthony Bourdain penned a scene in which chef Janette Desautel (played by Kim Dickens ) tosses one in the face of restaurant critic and food writer Alan Richman (appearing as himself). Richman had angered many New Orleanians in 2006 with an article in the magazine GQ , in which he criticized New Orleans' food culture post- Hurricane Katrina . Despite reservations, he agreed to participate in
777-415: The Sazerac is its method of preparation, which commonly involves two chilled old-fashioned glasses . The first glass is swirled with a wash of absinthe for its flavor and strong scent. The second glass is used to combine the remaining ingredients, which are stirred with ice, then strained into the first glass. Various anisettes such as pastis , Pernod , or Herbsaint are common substitutes when absinthe
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#1732855868565814-614: The Sazerac, but called for bourbon (and not rye) instead of cognac. Later versions of the drink were spelled Zazarac and added rum, and are thought by some to be a variant of the Sazerac, although it might have originated completely independently of the more famous drink. Sazerac is also a brand of rye whiskey produced by the Sazerac Company . Cognac Cognac ( / ˈ k ɒ n . j æ k / KON -yak , also US : / ˈ k oʊ n -, ˈ k ɔː n -/ KOHN -, KAWN - , French: [kɔɲak] )
851-708: The authenticity and quality of the product, and promoting the brand on a global scale." Kim Dickens Kim Dickens is an American actress. Her film debut was in the 1995 comedy film Palookaville . Dickens played lead roles in the films Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997), Zero Effect (1998) and Mercury Rising (1998). Her other films include Great Expectations (1998), Hollow Man (2000), House of Sand and Fog (2003), Thank You for Smoking (2005), The Blind Side (2009), Gone Girl (2014), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), Lizzie (2018), Land (2021), and The Good Nurse (2022). On television, Dickens had regular roles in
888-399: The cognac is calculated as that of the youngest component used in the blend. The blend is usually of different ages and (in the case of the larger and more commercial producers) from different local areas. This blending, or marriage , of different eaux de vie is important to obtain a complexity of flavours absent from an eau de vie from a single distillery or vineyard. Each cognac house has
925-667: The drama series Deadwood (2004–2006; 2019 ), Treme (2010–2013), and House of Cards (2015–2017). She starred as Madison Clark in the AMC horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2018; 2022–2023). Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama , to Pam (Clark) Howell and Justin Dickens, a country-western singer. She graduated from that city's Lee High School and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee , where she earned
962-525: The following year playing supporting roles in the made-for-television films Voice from the Grave and Two Mothers for Zachary . In 1997, Dickens returned to film, playing the female leading role opposite Vincent Gallo again in neo-noir thriller Truth or Consequences, N.M. , directed by Kiefer Sutherland . The film received negative reviews from critics. In 1998, she appeared in Great Expectations ,
999-443: The grapes are pressed , the juice is left to ferment for 2–3 weeks, with the region's native wild yeast converting the fruit sugars into alcohol ; neither sugar nor sulphur may be added. At this point, the resulting wine is about 7 to 8% alcohol. Distillation takes place in traditionally shaped Charentais copper alembic stills , the design and dimensions of which are also legally controlled. Two distillations must be carried out;
1036-518: The lead in the independent film, Things Behind the Sun . Dickens received critical acclaim for her performance, and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead nomination. Later in 2001, Dickens was a regular cast member in the short-lived CBS police drama series, Big Apple . In 2003, she co-starred opposite Felicity Huffman and Eric Stoltz in the Showtime miniseries Out of Order . During
1073-519: The locally produced Herbsaint, which first appeared in 1934. By the early 20th century, simple cocktails like the Sazerac had become rare, which eventually rekindled their popularity. The creation of the Sazerac has also been credited to Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary who emigrated to New Orleans from the West Indies and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early 19th century. He
1110-596: The psychological thriller film Gone Girl , directed by David Fincher , and in 2016, co-starred as the lead character's mother in Tim Burton 's film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children . In August 2015, Dickens began playing Madison Clark in The Walking Dead companion series, Fear the Walking Dead , on AMC . Dickens left the series in June 2018. She returned to the series in 2022. Dickens appeared in
1147-508: The resulting eau de vie is a colourless spirit of about 70% alcohol. Once distillation is complete, it must be aged in Limousin oak casks for at least two years before it can be sold to the public. It is typically put into casks at an alcohol by volume strength around 70%. As the cognac interacts with the oak barrel and the air, it evaporates at the rate of about 3% each year, slowly losing both alcohol and water (the former more rapidly, as it
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1184-512: The scene and called Sazerac "a good choice of weaponry, because it symbolizes the city", despite a running feud with Bourdain over, among other things, the review. A cocktail named the Zazarack was included in the 1910 version of Jack's Manual , an early bartender's reference written by Jacob "Jack" Grohusko, the head bartender at Baracca's restaurant in New York. It is essentially the same cocktail as
1221-530: The vineyards of France. At some point before his death in 1889, Handy recorded the recipe for the cocktail, which made its first printed appearance in William T. "Cocktail Bill" Boothby's The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them (1908), although his recipe calls for Selner Bitters, not Peychaud's. After absinthe was banned in the United States in 1912, it was replaced by various anise -flavored liqueurs, most notably
1258-579: The white wine must be made from at least 90% Ugni blanc (known in Italy as Trebbiano ), Folle blanche and Colombard , while up to 10% of the grapes used can be Folignan, Jurançon blanc , Meslier St-François (also called Blanc Ramé), Sélect, Montils , or Sémillon . Cognacs that are not to carry the name of a cru are freer in the allowed grape varieties, needing at least 90% Colombard, Folle blanche, Jurançon blanc, Meslier Saint-François, Montils, Sémillon, or Ugni blanc, and up to 10% Folignan or Sélect. After
1295-615: Was a regular on the HBO ensemble drama series, Treme , as chef Janette Desautel. From 2013 to 2014, she had a recurring role as Colette Jane in the FX crime drama, Sons of Anarchy . In 2015, she had a recurring role in the Netflix political drama House of Cards . In film, she co-starred in Footloose (2011) and At Any Price (2012). In 2014, she had a major supporting role as Detective Rhonda Boney in
1332-477: Was defined in print in 1806 as, "a mixture of spirits of any kind, water, sugar and bitters, vulgarly called a bittered sling". In March 2008, Louisiana state senator Edwin R. Murray (D-New Orleans) filed Senate Bill 6 designating the Sazerac as Louisiana's official state cocktail. The bill was defeated on April 8, 2008. After further debate, on June 23, 2008, the Louisiana Legislature agreed to proclaim
1369-480: Was known to dispense a proprietary mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe. According to popular myth, he served his drink in the large end of an egg cup that was called a coquetier in French, and the Americanized mispronunciation resulted in the name cocktail . This belief was debunked when people discovered that the term "cocktail" as a type of drink first appeared in print at least as far back as 1803—and
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