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Taste the esteemed Louis XIII in five ways with an exclusive food pairing created by the brand’s house chef and cellar master.

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While cognac – with a flavour profile that includes dried fruits and sweet spices – is generally paired with desserts, the people at Louis XIII are keen to demonstrate that the prestigious spirit is capable of holding its own with a wide variety of dishes, thanks to its remarkable complexity.

Cellar master Baptiste Loiseau and house chef Philippe Saint Romas have come up with five pairings to showcase the different facets of Louis XIII – pairings that you can now try in Singapore as the experience has been replicated here at Japanese-inspired Italian restaurant 28 Wilkie.

To mark the launch of the Five Sensations of Louis XIII menu, the brand’s ambassador, and youngest active member of the family-run House of Remy Martin, Florian Heriard Dubreuil, was in town for the first time to talk about the spirit.

The 33-year-old considers the Louis XIII the “jewel of the house”, and rightly so – after all, making it is a generations-long process that requires patience and artistry. The cognac is blended from over 1,000 crus of eaux de vie, each with an age of anywhere between 40 and 100 years old, meaning that most cellar masters may never taste the final blend.

To highlight the duration in which it takes to make the cognac, the brand created the 100 Years campaign, which features a short film by John Malkovich, and a song by Pharrell Williams, each to be released to the public only in 100 years. Heriard Dubreuil shares that, for the brand, “that’s a very modern way of thinking and very innovative, and it raised a very high level of awareness (about the Louis XIII)”.

The Five Sensations pairing comes in the form of a glass of Louis XIII accompanied by five small bites served in a particular order, each to be savoured alongside a sip of the cognac. The first is caviar from a Kaluga-Japanese sturgeon hybrid, which is meant to showcase the pure flavour of the drink – the creamy caviar prepares the palate for the cognac, while the floral and dark fruit notes play very nicely with the caviar’s clean finish.

Next is a European lobster sandwich graced with lemon zest. While lobster would normally be considered too mild a pairing for a rich cognac, the finesse of the Louis XIII makes this seafood pairing surprisingly apt.

After a hibiscus and pomegranate sorbet palate cleanser that highlights the other floral, tobacco notes of the cognac, comes thinly-shaved bellota. Here, the fat and salt of the cured meat brings out all the wonderful textures of the golden liquid: silky, dense, yet almost delightfully light.

The final bite is a wagyu tartare seasoned with pommery mustard and capers, which pair with the more hefty flavours of the spirit: figs, walnuts, dried fruits.

The Five Sensations of Louis XIII is available at 28 Wilkie. #01-01, 28 Wilkie Road. Tel: 9776-2828

01 FANTASTIC FIVE
Both savoury and sweet courses pair well with the Louis XIII.
 
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02 YOUNG ONES

Brand ambassador Florian Heriard Dubreuil.

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