Top 10 Cognac Cocktail Recipes To Make At Home

1. Tilt’s Blues Blazer

This particular Blues Blazer is one of the signatures cocktails of Tilt, a bar in Nottingham, England. Inspired by the infamous whisky-based Blue Blazer, this variation uses cognac instead.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 45 ml (1½ Oz) Cognac
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Drambuie
• Orange Peel
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Sugar

This cocktail is a little challenging to make and requires some patience. Make sure that you don’t rush as a Blues Blazer is a little dangerous and you don’t want to hurt yourself or others. However, it can be made safely if you’re careful.

Add the cognac and vanilla sugar to a non-chilled cognac snifter glass and place it at an angle on a tumbler glass. A slightly warmer glass avoids any thermal shocks, which may cause it to shatter.

Use a long match to set the cognac alight and begin rotating the snifter glass so the vanilla sugar evenly caramelises with the heat. Once you can’t see any sugar in the glass, cover it so that the flames goes out.

Add ice to the snifter glass and it should quickly cool before introducing the Drambuie and the orange peel.

Source: Tilt Bar, Nottingham

2. Cognac Old Fashioned

A celebrated Bourbon cocktail, this Old Fashioned uses cognac instead with excellent results. Otherwise, the ingredients are exactly the same:

• 50 ml (1¾ Oz) Cognac
• 15 ml (½ Oz) Simple Syrup
• 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 Orange Peel

You can simply make the syrup by combining a small drop of boiling water with a teaspoon of sugar and mix the two until it has dissolved. We often do this directly in the Old Fashioned glass as the heat dissipates quickly but also encourages the flavours to marry.

Afterwards, add bitters followed by the cognac. Stir the contents quickly before adding the ice and garnish with the orange peel. We like to twist the peel so it releases its oils into the cocktail.

3. Hennessy Aristocrat

A simple and refreshing cocktail that combines Hennessy’s V.S. sprightly youth with the sweetness of Lillet Blanc, an Aristocrat is a great option if you need to cool down in the summer.

• 45 ml (1½ Oz) Hennessy V.S. Cognac
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Lillet Blanc
• 90 ml (3 Oz) Ginger Ale
• Lemon Peel

Begin by adding ice to a tumbler glass and then introduce the ingredients starting with the Lillet Blanc and finishing with the ginger ale. Don’t feel that you have to add all 3 ounces but just include to your taste. Garnish with a lemon peel and you’re ready!

Source: Hennessy

4. Sazerac

A timeless classic that’s part of New Orlean’s cultural heritage, the Sazerac is an invigorating combination of absinthe and cognac. You’ll need the following ingredients.

• 50 ml (1¾ Oz) Cognac
• 15 ml (½ Oz) Absinthe
• 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 Lemon Peel

Add the absinthe to a tumbler glass and swirl it around until it leaves an even coating on the interior. Fill the glass with crushed ice and set it aside. Add the cognac and bitters to a second tumbler glass and stir them with ice.

Afterwards, discard the contents from the first glass as you just want the absinthe’s essence. Strain the contents of the second tumbler into the first and add a lemon peel for garnish.

5. Sidecar

An opulent and well-balanced cocktail that was invented in the Paris Ritz during the 1920s, everyone needs to sample the Sidecar at least once! It consists of just the following ingredients:

• 40 ml (1¼ Oz) Cognac
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Triple Sec / Cointreau
• 15 ml (½ Oz) Lemon Juice
• 1 Lemon Peel

Just shake the ingredients with ice and then strain the contents into a well-chilled coupe glass. You can garnish it with a lemon twist or even a whole wheel.

6. French Negroni

If you find the classic Italian Negroni to be a tad thin, using cognac instead of gin adds extra nuance and complexity to transform it into something else entirely. It consists of the following ingredients:

• 30 ml (1 Oz) Cognac
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Campari
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Vermouth
• Orange Peel

Add the ingredients to a tumbler glass a gently stir with ice until well-chilled. Finish by adding the orange peel for garnish.

7. Corpse Reviver N°1

Originally created as a hangover cure, the original Corpse Reviver is a pre-prohibition classic. You will need the following ingredients:

• 30 ml (1 Oz) Cognac
• 30 ml (1 Oz) Calvados
• 15 ml (½ Oz) Sweet Vermouth
• Orange Peel

Just stir the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass before garnishing with an orange peel.

8. Tom Collins

A classic highball cocktail that was inspired by a New York hoax in 1874 and even led onto the taller highball glass of the same name, the Tom Collins is a zesty and refreshing cocktail.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 45 ml (1½ Oz) Rémy Martin VSOP
• 40 ml (¾ Oz) Lemon Juice
• 20 ml (¾ Oz) Simple Syrup
• 90 ml (3 Oz) Club Soda
• Lemon Wheel
• Brandied Cherry

Shake the cognac, lemon juice, and syrup over ice and strain into a highball glass. Top the contents with club soda before garnishing with the lemon wheel and the cherry.

Source: Rémy Martin

9. Vieux Carré

Another New Orleans classic, the Vieux Carré is a gourmand experience that combines a variety of bitters with whiskey, vermouth, and cognac. You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 40 ml (¾ Oz) Cognac
• 40 ml (¾ Oz) Rye Whiskey
• 40 ml (¾ Oz) Sweet Vermouth
• 1 Tsp Bénédictine
• 2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Simply combine all the ingredients in a tumbler glass and stir them before adding ice.

10. Sangria

No list of cognac cocktails is complete without Sangria! A wonderfully heady punch that is synonymous with summer nights and Latin music, it’s a magnificent concoction that everybody enjoys to keep away the heat. It consists of the following ingredients:

• 100 ml (3½ Oz) Cognac
• 750 ml (25 Oz) Red Wine Bottle (Garnacha Or Pinot Noir)
• 120 ml (4 Oz) Cranberry Juice
• 1 Orange
• Orange Wheels
• Berries
• Seasonal Fruit

Chop an assortment of seasonal fruit like green apples and pears and add to a large bowl with a variety of berries. Blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries are all excellent options. Afterwards, pour in the juice from a single orange.

Feel free to add a dash of cinnamon and sugar to taste. Some people like using a small amount of maple syrup as a flavoursome sweetener. Add the cranberry juice and wine and then leave the ingredients to macerate in a fridge overnight. If you’re in a hurry, you can leave it to sit for an hour.

The following day, add ice to large pitcher and introduce the mixture. Add the cognac and stir well before dropping in a few orange wheels and potentially some mint leaves as garnish.

What Next?

Now that you have read about the best cognac cocktails, why don’t you check out some of our related spirit guides?

• What Is Cognac?
• Best Cognac Brands
• How Cognac Is Made
• What Is Grappa?
• Vermouth Guide
• Best Spirit & Liquor Glassware
• Alcoholic Spirit Homepage