Kelt
Cognac
If
you've sipped a few cognacs over the years, you'll immediately
notice a difference when tasting Kelt. This liquor is crafted
for flavor, not batch processed for maximum output. Not only
does Kelt use grapes exclusively from the chalky soils France's
Grande Champagne region, but every oak cask completes the
aging process by going on a 3 month round-the-world Tour du
Monde ocean voyage .
This
is Kelt's signature ocean maturation, a process dating back
to the 18th century when the only mode of transit for spirits
of any kind to different continents was by ship on the high
seas. As tipplers soon discovered, cognac developed a flavoring
much different than those directly from a glass bottle during
these long sea voyages.
There's
a reason for this flavor advantage. At sea, the cognac oak
casks filled only to 70% capacity rock and roll constantly
with the ship. This way, every molecule is repeatedly in contact
with the oak wood each day. There are huge variations in temperature
on board and extreme periods of heat naturally release the
wood's finest lignin into the liquor. The constant changes
in temperature and air pressure also enable oxygenation via
the expanding and contracting wood. This is when the cognac
mellows developing a more subtle character.
Mr.
Kelt, a Scandanavian who owns and operates Kelt Distillery,
is no stranger to ocean maturation. The Norweigan spirit Linie
Aquavit is also transported in aged oak casks from Norway
to the Equator and back again. To the same level of success,
Kelt adopted the same process in 1990 for his line of cognac.
Kelt's
Tour du Monde always charts east to west. Believe it or not,
the direction traveled has an impact on flavor. For some unexplained
reason, a westbound Tour du Monde does not produce as good
an effect as going eastbound.
After
leaving LeHavre, France, the ships takes the cognac to a few
Northern European ports, then heads south into the Mediterranean,
through the Suez Canal into the Arabian Sea and from there
on to Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan
and across the Pacific to the United States and Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles, the booty passes through the Panama canal
and then North again following the east coast of the US to
New York before returning across the Atlantic Ocean back to
LeHavre. The casks are then allowed a 3-5 month resting period
in stone chais before bottling.
I'm
hoping Kelt will offer fans the opportunity to join them on
board a promotional voyage....vintage ship and all! Perhaps
prize promotions are in the works?
Photo
and article courtesy of Steve Mirsky