Cognac Park Borderies Mizunara: French Brandy Finished in Japanese Oak

Cognac is not what you expect to find at an izakaya. This one has a reason to be here.

Borderies

Cognac is divided into six crus, growing areas, and Borderies is the smallest of them.

Its chalk-and-clay soil produces cognacs known for being floral and rounded, with a violet note, and for maturing faster than the more famous Grande Champagne. Because the cru is tiny, single-Borderies bottlings are relatively uncommon; most Borderies eau-de-vie disappears into blends.

This one is 100% Ugni Blanc grown entirely in the Borderies, on the Tessendier family's own estate.

The Producer

Maison Tessendier has been producing eaux-de-vie since 1880, distilling in Jarnac.

The cognac is double distilled in Charentais copper pot stills and aged a minimum of four years in used French oak.

Then the Mizunara

Here's why it's on our shelf.

After the French oak, it's finished for six months in 500-liter casks made from mizunara, Japanese oak.

Mizunara is difficult enough that Japanese distilleries treat it as a scarce resource. A French cognac house going to the trouble of sourcing it, having 500-liter casks built from it, and using it as a finish is genuinely unusual.

What it adds is what mizunara always adds: vanilla, cocoa and spice, with the sandalwood-incense character underneath. Those richer notes sit on the lighter, floral Borderies base rather than covering it, which is the whole reason to finish a delicate cru this way instead of a heavier one.

The Other Bottle

We also pour Cognac Park VS Carte Blanche, the house's entry expression, which is a straightforward and useful cognac without the mizunara treatment.

How to Drink Them

The Borderies neat, at room temperature, in a glass that lets the aromatics gather. This is an after-dinner bottle.

The VS is more flexible and works in cocktails.

Pair Them With

The Borderies with dorayaki or matcha mochi ice cream, or on its own.

Try Them at Juraku

Both Cognac Park bottles are at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. If you've been working through our mizunara whiskies, this is the same wood on a completely different spirit, worth the comparison.