Cognac

Cognac is a geographically specific Brandy, named after the commune Cognac, France. Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in the south-west of France.

Cognac production is regulated by the French Appellation d'origine with specific methods of production and specific grapes from designated regions to be used to meet the legal requirement to be declared a Cognac.

Methods include a double distillation in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Troncais. Cognac is also an eau de vie.

Cognac has a fascinating history and it's association with Napoleon Bonaparte, specifically the Emperor's association with the Courvoisier cognac has made Cognac one of the most celebrated and sought after alcoholic beverage ever.


Napoleon Bonaparte visited Bercy in 1811 as documented in a historic painting by Etienne Bouhot and later was credited with saying he wanted his artillery companies to have a ration of cognac during the Napoleonic Wars - Wikipedia
The current legally defined categories of Cognac are
V.S.: Eau de vies with a minimum age of two years. Also known as Very Special or Three Stars.
V.S.O.P.: Eau de vies with a minimum age of four years. Also known as Very Special Old Pale or Reserve.
X.O.: Eau de vies with a minimum age of six years

Hot Black Coffee

Coffee or roasted coffee beans brewed in hot water, is the most popular drink that probably competes only with tea in the non-alocholic beverages category. Coffee being a rich source of caffeine it can help the human body overcome fatigue and improve physical performance and also lower risks of several conditions like Type II Diabetes, Cancer and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Coffee liqueur is a popular and brands like Kahlua and Tia Maria are regulars in cocktails, but often brewed non alcoholic coffee is used in cocktails too, hot black coffee with Rum and whipped cream is what makes a Troical Coffee Cocktail for you, and being a caffeine rich liquid, it is a strange combination with alcohol since it tends to interact with the body and do just the opposite of what alcohol does, that it, tries to keep you alert and awake.

Whipped Cream

Whipped cream is a liquid heavy cream that has been whipped by a whisk or in a mixer until a light fluffy cream that holds its shape. The whipping makes the water and cream form a colloid and often dissolved gas is used which on expansion forms a firm colloid. Whipped cream is also called Chantilly cream.
Whipped cream sold in aerosol cans, where the cream is instantly whipped by the expanding gas, is a ready to use whipped cream, and its known by several names like Squirty Cream, Spray Cream or Aerosol Cream, in Scotland it’s called Skooshy Cream. A common Squirty Cream brand in the United States is Reddi-Wip.

Sugar

Brown Sugar is a sucrose sugar with a distinctive brown colour from the presence of molasses, it is a partially refined or unrefined sugar containing sugar crystals and residual molasses giving it a distinctive taste and flavour of crystallised molasses or toffee. The taste of dark brown sugar is described as a caramel taste with a deep molasses flavour.
Brown sugar is used in cocktails where a caramel candy or toffee flavour is expected.

Caster Sugar is finely ground granulated sugar. It is not as fine a powdered confectioners' sugar and has a little grit to it. It is somewhere between confectioners' sugar and granulated sugar, and melts in mouth with a mild spicy feel to the tongue

Vanilla Sugar is the regular granulated sugar infused with vanilla flavour, by using vanilla pods and seeds to flavour the sugar. A home made alternative is to use vanilla sticks or pods in a jar of sugar and leave it sealed for 4 weeks to allow the vanilla flavour to infuse. Or to use granulated sugar and vanilla extract and blend in a mixer, although this ends up in powdered sugar.