La part des anges
The angels' share, la part des anges, is that part of the alcohol in cognac which is evaporated as the spirit matures in its casks. I well remember our first trip to Cognac and the air seemed sweet with its aroma. The memory of that trip came scenting back on a more recent staycation in County Fermanagh. However, I wasn't expecting the angels' share to be provided by a glass warming technique that we experienced when we visited the Watermill Lodge near Lisnaskea Our very friendly and knowledgeable sommelier, Flavien, first placed a brandy glass upside down on his service table and then filled the dimple in the base with a small amount of the house XS cognac. This he then lit with a gas torch and as the flame took hold he suspended another cognac glass upside down over the rising heat. He did this twice, once for each glass, and then served us a measure of a finer cognac in the warmed glass. Other diners paused their meals to witness the spectacle....
