Tasting Britain
TastingBritain.co.uk - Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Launch @ Le Cellar, Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, Baker Street, London
Grand Marnier - probably one of those bottles youâll have seen a hundred or a thousand times, in bars all over the world. Iâd never really given a second thought to it until I was given the chance to come and meet some of the people behind the brand a few months ago at Bistrot de Luxe on Baker Street (the first restaurant to have been opened by the 'Michelin Starredâ Galvin brothers).
Anyway, I was there for the launch of their Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge limited edition bottle, Le Café Parisien...
Grand Marnier has quite a history behind it. The recipe for Cordon Rouge (âred ribbonâ) dates back to around 1880, when an enterprising chap named Louis-Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle decided to combine Cognac brandy, distilled essence of bitter orange (Citrus Bigaradia), and sugar. Iâm not sure how many revisions the recipe took originally but he clearly got something right, as I donât think theyâve changed much (asides from the bottle designâ¦) since then. That said, they are now owned by Diageo (but is that a surprise?)
More about that bottle. The first limited edition bottle was released in 1927. They stopped for a while, before reviving the tradition in 2003 - releasing a bottle every year since then. This is the latest (and the thirteenth) - and they seem to be going for an Art Deco (or Art Nouvelle?) aesthetic with the red and gold pattern. I have been told that the inspiration for this one came from Parisian cafe scene of the early 1900s (hence the name). RRP is £18 for 50cl.
Early 1900s France has had a big effect on the food we eat and the cocktails we drink today. Around about then the Cosmopolitan was invented (which makes use of the orange flavours in Grand Marnier) - it was also when the legendary Auguste Escoffier was at his peak, a man with culinary talents that set a new standard for gastronomic excess. Asides from cocktails, some people use Grand Marnier in cooking - for example, the Crepes Suzette (origins disputed) which is essentially a crepe with a sauce of caramelised sugar, butter, citrus flavours and Grand Marnier as the topping. According to Wikipedia: "The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) over a freshly-cooked crêpe with sugar and ignite it.â Hah!
TastingBritain.co.uk - Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Launch @ Le Cellar, Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, Baker Street, London
Grand Marnier - probably one of those bottles youâll have seen a hundred or a thousand times, in bars all over the world. Iâd never really given a second thought to it until I was given the chance to come and meet some of the people behind the brand a few months ago at Bistrot de Luxe on Baker Street (the first restaurant to have been opened by the 'Michelin Starredâ Galvin brothers).
Anyway, I was there for the launch of their Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge limited edition bottle, Le Café Parisien...
Grand Marnier has quite a history behind it. The recipe for Cordon Rouge (âred ribbonâ) dates back to around 1880, when an enterprising chap named Louis-Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle decided to combine Cognac brandy, distilled essence of bitter orange (Citrus Bigaradia), and sugar. Iâm not sure how many revisions the recipe took originally but he clearly got something right, as I donât think theyâve changed much (asides from the bottle designâ¦) since then. That said, they are now owned by Diageo (but is that a surprise?)
More about that bottle. The first limited edition bottle was released in 1927. They stopped for a while, before reviving the tradition in 2003 - releasing a bottle every year since then. This is the latest (and the thirteenth) - and they seem to be going for an Art Deco (or Art Nouvelle?) aesthetic with the red and gold pattern. I have been told that the inspiration for this one came from Parisian cafe scene of the early 1900s (hence the name). RRP is £18 for 50cl.
Early 1900s France has had a big effect on the food we eat and the cocktails we drink today. Around about then the Cosmopolitan was invented (which makes use of the orange flavours in Grand Marnier) - it was also when the legendary Auguste Escoffier was at his peak, a man with culinary talents that set a new standard for gastronomic excess. Asides from cocktails, some people use Grand Marnier in cooking - for example, the Crepes Suzette (origins disputed) which is essentially a crepe with a sauce of caramelised sugar, butter, citrus flavours and Grand Marnier as the topping. According to Wikipedia: "The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) over a freshly-cooked crêpe with sugar and ignite it.â Hah!