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C yril explained, "One thing that sets us apart, especially with Camus VSOP Borderies, is it's all coming from our own vineyards. We start right from the soil. We run the vineyards to maximize the aromatic potential. We even have our own weather station to help with segmentation and harvesting. During distillation, we are tasting every single liter. There's always one liter in every 20 or so that has amazing aromatic density. This is what we want to find. It's completely manual work, but every step of the process, we are focusing on improving aromatic profiles." In order for cognac to be considered cognac, the grapes have to be grown and fermented into wine in the Cognac region of France. While it can be aged elsewhere, in practice, it's aged in oak barrels in cognac as well. And while Camus remains true to its traditional roots in practice, they also cling to their ideologies. "Cognac is a very traditionally imbued product. We don't change many things, there's a respect for tradition in many things. Camus always tastes the same, very floral, very aromatic cognacs. We actually learn from every generation. Taking in current technology and science and finding ways to improve, but always the same style. As a house, we're not changing. Consumers tastes might evolve, but we don't take this approach. What we change is how we communicate about it, how we package our product, how we display them. The way to convey elegance, ultimately changes. It's the same with fashion. How we showcase our product changes, but what's inside the bottle, stays the same—the personality stays the same. It's very important to us." Cognac itself has always had a status as a higher quality spirit, which is one of the things that helped create the stigma for myself and so many other drinkers over the years. "It became a little bit too unapproachable," Cyril mentioned as I told him about my past experiences with the spirit. "It's starting to become more popular in the right sort of way where people are not as afraid of it. There's multiple ways of drinking it. Not just neat after a meal. Not just as a digestif." Outside of nightlife and restaurants, more people are also promoting the consumption of cognac on the rocks. The right cognac is super flavorful, more approachable in that sense. This has begun more so in Europe and Asia, but with cognac on the rise in The States, we may see more of this soon. All of these different ways of drinking the spirit contribute to what is bringing cognac back into the consumer's usual repertoire in a big way. For brands like Camus, it's the call for quality spirits that is ultimately bringing the brand into the U.S. market. "Cognac is for people who have the confidence to choose what they want to drink not just follow what others are doing. The movement has started." VUE ON DINING V U E N J . C O M 98

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