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The
Rational of the Cognac Bars and Restaurants Ask For a Free Quote |
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| The Cognac Restaurant and Bar Project Open to high-end restaurants
and bars around the world, the CRP aims at coaching participating restaurants/bars along
the way to become a the most prestigious Cognac Restaurant or the most talked about Cognac
Bar in town. Within the Cognac region happens, as in Scotland with whiskey, that
the very best products are made by some of the hundreds of small producers. They often
beat in quality and always in personality the Big Names of the product, but are only
present in the market through minoritarian, specialized distribution, rarely outside of
France. It is this kind of product that The Market Place of le-cognac.com wants to bring
to all Cognac Restaurants and Cognac Bars of the world, the one that already exist and the
many that are in the making all over. le-cognac.com federates 90 of those small to medium-sized Cognac Houses with over 800 different cognacs, not taking into account special millessimes and short-runs editions. It is an imposing pool of tastes and nuances to choose from and thus a good space for by some value added through knowdledgeable specialized intervention. In a joint effort with the daily Sud-Ouest from Bordeaux and the bank Crédit Agricole, we offer our services now to all the restaurants and bars around the world who would like to make excellent cognac a significant part of their personality and become Cognac Restaurants and Cognac Bars. It is clear that, more than a particular brand, we want above all to further Cognac as a product, and that provides for us being able to compose professionally weighted collections of rare and exclusive cognacs and to market them at competitive prices to every Restaurant and bar which wants to go Cognac, even over night. Through this Market Place restaurants and bars can buy their Starting Basket, selected by the staff of le-cognac.com (see below), and receive guidance for sommeliers and advice on how to get events like a Cognac Evening or a Public/Private Cognac Tasting going. The greatest plus point is that the bottles included in a Starting Basket are all different. Even the Basic Basket will allow your restaurant to boast an impressive list of 12 different and exclusive cognacs, in 6 different price levels. Once you become a Cognac Restaurant/Bar of the World, you can replenish your cave on line at any moment an receive, of course receive regularly the feed-back from other parts of the world, fresh ideas etc. The Cognac Market Place can also provide you with all sorts of Cognac paraphernalia and literature. Optionally, for an annual fee, you can subscribe to receive monthly or quarterly a set of different cognacs to develop your cave; you may want, for instance, to take advantage of special offers and opportunities for short run cognacs editions which can be bought at sensible mark downs in the upstream local spot market. le-cognac.com © le-cognac.com - 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 |
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us |
Why to become a Cognac Restaurant or a Cognac Bar (hopefully in partnership with The Cognac Market Place) As urban culture becomes more global, Cigar bars, exclusive coffee-shops and
Wine bars and restaurants have proliferated all over the world. It is only natural that
people who share the taste for the same pleasures will like to get and indulge together...
Now comes the time for the Cognac Restaurants, those places where one can really have a wide choice of the King of Spirits (or Liquor of the Angels if you prefer) beyond the usual alternative of two or three big labels. An insignificant choice when thinking that there are over 500 cognac producing houses. To become a Cognac Restaurant worth its name, you just have to offer a choice of cognacs sensibly superior to what people can find in your area, and that means often just the basics of cognac choice and knowing a little bit about the use and custom: more staying-power for a cognac after a good meat, a lighter, more fruity, less reddish, with a Colombian coffee to follow a fish dish and a sweet dessert, a Grand Reserve to drink by itself, spending a quiet evening with friends in intimate peace… In fact, a sizable share of cognacs lovers remain staunchly loyal to one or two products. Cognac Bars are the perfect places to find one’s ideal cognac, since they give us the possibility of experimenting, and if furnished through The Cognac Market Place, literally, including the best cognacs one can buy for each give price price. Restaurants would keep in mind that, a good cognac lover, disposed to go to the other side of town to indulge in her/his liking, knowing that, after some excellent food, there will be a sensible choice of his beloved brew often will decide his choice of a restaurant. From the public relations and customer’s self-image point of
view, having a cave of cognacs constitutes a touch of class and refinement much in the
same manner that having a good selection of wines started to make the difference between
high-end restaurants in America in the mid-eighties. If you have the space to have a cozy spot, well lit (but not too much) , where one can sit with two or three friends and have a relaxed chat without being disturbed by people passing by, noisy neighbors etc. you can start your Cognac Corner and make it a privileged place to discuss business or talk weather conditions. Yet, becoming a Cognac Restaurant is not for everyone. The King of Liquors doesn’t come cheap and probably fast-food joints aren’t yet the best candidates to serve it. Being a Cognac Restaurant can be for you if , without being extravagant, you are able to charge US$ 10 for a 3 c.c. glass of some very good cognac, if your restaurant’s food is on the higher fourth of the scale and assuming that you have managed to educate your customer to pay a reasonable price for the pleasure of your table. Not a difficult task in this case, since you will be offering them cognacs very difficult if not impossible to find outside the local market in the city of Cognac.
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us |
| The cost The investment to offer a realistic choice of cognacs that sets you ahead of competitors will vary, depending perhaps mainly on your location. A mere Cognac List of 12 judiciously chosen exclusive products will make your place The Cognac Place in the vast majority of the areas, and that at an initial cost of just US$ 800. For US$ 3,000 you can aspire to achieve the same in places like Saint Louis, Seattle or Boulder. To be in the big leagues, you'll need at least US$ 6,000 if you are located in places like Las Vegas, San Francisco or Rome. An then, even if our high-end offer, the Expert Basket, always includes at least one quite expensive cognac (over the US$ 500 a bottle mark), but having at least one or two US$ 1,000+ bottle isn’t far-fetched if your restaurant is a big capital like New York, Tokyo, Paris, etc. Of course, in less glamorous places, the Basic or the Advanced starting baskets may be more than enough to beat the competition.
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us | |
 Products And Services
Remember, the best cognacs aren’t necessarily made by the biggest makers; in fact, some of the best stuff is made by people who may produce as little as 5,000-10,10,000 bottles a year. The cognacs that are included in our selections are exclusive, all of them made by small to medium-sized Houses, but they share, beyond the differences in price and rareness, the absolutely best ratio quality/price in the market. Nowhere outside of the city of Cognac can such fine products be bought at so competitive prices. When buying a Starting Basket you enjoy a 12% mark down on the retail prices. Subscribers to the Monthly or Quarterly Baskets will have the price they pay lowered by 18% and 22% respectively. A Starting Basket can be tailored to your needs. The baskets come with an accompanying booklet with tasting notes for the cave’s selection and cognac related features. The baskets below correspond to three well balanced choices that we have made . is in the level, although it may vary according to your specifications. A good reserve cognac can be bought from 60-70 US$, but some will fetch $ 1,000 or more… The difference in the final price to the restaurant’s customer can be dramatic. There are three levels:
As you might see, these are not far-fetched costs to become the one restaurant offering the absolutely best choice of the King of Liquors in your city. Besides, to acknowledge that happy fact to your visitors, you will receive a complimentary stylish (6”x6”) Cognac Restaurant board (counter and wall versions available) signed by the Cognac Restaurants of the World. Replenishing When you need to replace a happily empty bottle, you may do so on line and retain the same 12% discount of the Starting Basket. Co-labeling Restaurants, clubs, hotels or even a corporation will be able to request quotes from over 90 houses of cognac for co-labeling.
Prices vary with quantity and the option selected. To give you an idea: an acceptable XO with just the customer's level can be tailor-made for as little as US$ 6,000 for a 100 bottles lot. Nonetheless, to get a good blend at a reasonable price, one must know the market and have the time to wait for some very special product or a bargain. We can scout the professional market for you and help you to manage a Cognac of the House dinasty of your own. Some people like to have a choice of generic crues labeled as Cognacs of the House, like "Cognac of NN - Le Borderies XO". 50 bottles of very good VSOP from each of the producing regions of Cognac (300 bottles in all), with your own label, can be had for around US$ 7,000.
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us |
| Hints for the Cognac Event organizer Cognac is the kind of liking that bring people together. Some say that cognac lovers are a particular kind of people who often like quiet undisturbed moments, propitious to contemplation, to gentle chat or to the plain, sensuous, sheer pleasure of drinking it. So, they often like to indulge in their contentment with their like-minded. A Cognac Restaurant has a clear interest in promoting cognac-related social events since they are very rewarding in terms of image and of scouting new prospective clients. We present here three well proven Cognac events with different levels of organizational complexity. The Cognac Evening A Cognac Evening is the easiest event to organize, specially if you have a cozy, stylish bar room. If on top of that we have comfortable seating, ideally armchairs, the cadre is perfect. Lightning and sound A most important detail is lightning: definitely more on the dim than on the bright, rather low than from the ceiling. Yet people need to have enough light to appreciate the color and the shades of what they are drinking. A sensible solution is to put a small lamp on each table… Now, to the sound. A discreet music in the background does much to enhance the atmosphere of a Cognac Evening. A badly chosen music, too noisy or too intrusive may ruin it. Techno music probably is a bad choice; go for slow, melodic tunes or, try it, classical music: opera, baroque, a good symphony. Having a piece of show, say piano or even a singer is a good idea. Now, remember, the music must be suitable to the relaxed, sensuous drink that is cognac. In most urban areas you will be able to find good level classical performers and an acceptable tenor may be less expensive than even the run-of-the-mill pop singer…You may also find small chamber music ensembles, a music that many cognac lovers love. Glassware and serving You should offer your visitors the choice of balloon glass or the more classical tulip type. Remember that the price of some cognacs makes it unwise to serve them without measuring; you must in any event have the equipment to serve the standard 3 c.c. We can provide you with the adequate glassware (count between US$2-US$5 per kit). Some cognac drinkers like to have water handy to rinse their mouths. A good assortment should be available. Dressing Cognac Evenings are mostly assimilated to cocktail parties in this respect, although some after-dinner events would in many countries call for a more formal dress. Freedom as to the use of a tie should be the rule in warmer climates, where following the custom for a not too formal dinner could be a good bet, and open air Cognac Evenings can be very successful as a pre-dinner activity. The Public Tasting A Public Tasting of cognac is fun and makes a good show for a little ambitious Cognac Evening. Basically it consists of a possibility of tasting several cognac “in the blind” and note your impressions and a score 1-20 for the different qualities, texture, perfume, staying-power… You should get special colored (usually blue) glassware for the blind tasting, where the tasters aren’t supposed to be influenced by the color of the brew. For some US$ 700 per day plus traveling and lodging expenses you may have a professional degustateur from Cognac to advise the participants and teach them the fine art of cognac tasting. The CCC (Cognac-Cigar-Coffee) Jamboree Now, talk about sinful characters. For some people, happiness is being there, puffing without remorse and shame on a true Havana, sipping the best cognac along with several cups of the finest coffee in the world. Some are so wicked that they insist to do so after an excellent meal and a tremendous Chateau. All in all, possible from a flat-rate of US$ 150 in the United States and perhaps a little less in Europe. Prices, depending of If you are tempted by the CCC idea, you should consider the possibility of offering a single menu meal, followed by up to three servings of Cognac (a total of 9 c.c., nothing to get anybody dancing on the tables), and coffee to their heart’s content. Some organizers offer participants to pass command of bottles of the cognac they like best etc. to receive them later via UPS or similar service. We would gladly send the goods to your clients and credit you with a 15% commission. Periodicity Demand will tell you how-often is the ideal to organize cognac events. In rural areas and small towns, once or twice a year may be the limit of the market, while in urban areas a monthly Cognac Evening seem to find a market. In fact, in metro areas the concentration of cognac lovers would authorize for even more frequent events, weekly or alternate weeks. 5 |
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us |
| Price Policy and the Cognac Restaurant / Bar The thumb rule of cognac pricing, as with many luxury, expensive, products is to offer the best relation quality/price, looking rather for creating a wide pool of customers than for cashing in at perhaps punitive prices. Talking in the frame of mind of American prices, offering for under twenty dollars a glass of a cognac that costs US$300 a bottle is the kind of policy that will widen your pool of customers beyond the very affluent and very exquisite. The fair price to the final customer Using the French 3 c.c. standard for cognac served by the glass, you are theoretically able to get some 250 servings from a bottle, although 220 is perhaps a more realistic figure, due to handling, broken/spilled glassed, etc. To calculate the fair minimum price for the serving to the restaurant’s customer you should multiply by three what you paid for the bottle and divide the result by 220. For a Grand Reserve at US$ 300 the bottle, that means a US$ 4 per a bare-bones serving. To that you may want to add some concurring expenses like the time a qualified person may spend giving Advice on Events to the client and so on. At a pre-tax price of say US$ 10 a serving, you will typically be making a final margin of some US$ 3 to US$ 4, i.e. some US$ 880 per bottle. Within the same reasoning, for a bottle worth US$ 1,000 would give a fair minimum price of US$ 14 and a suggested serving price of US$ 35, with a final margin of ca. US$ 19 per serving, US$ 4.180 per bottle. Note that an expensive Grande Reserve, if your general level of prices allows for it, may make a more performing investment than a the same sum worth of some less valuable cognac. In any event, to run a successful Cognac Restaurant, the bottom line is being able to charge at least US$ 10 per serving of a $200-US$ 300 cognac , which may not be so easy in some countries… but it is quite reasonable in many others! Of course, the above calculations are merely for orientation. The final pricing of your cognac will be tied, above all other considerations, to your menu’s price level. Then also, running a restaurant in a city like London or New York costs a lot more than in a medium-size town… |
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| Our Offer | Why Cognac | The Cost | Products & Services | Advice on Events | Pricing Cognac | About Us |
Market Place of le-cognac.com
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