• The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, March 27, 2008 11:47 AM

For four days in January, 17 top bartenders from as far away as New York, London and Munich descended on tiny Cognac in eastern France and attempted to create a trendy cocktail that will make the liquor's popularity soar. The result was a Cognac, ginger and lemonade-based drink called the Summit.

Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, the Cognac trade group, concedes that the Summit might be a long shot--and that if it doesn't catch on, the group may have to try again with a new drink. So far, the best-known Cognac-based cocktail is the Sidecar, which arrived in bars in the 1920s.

Sales growth of Cognac's youngest and cheapest variety, VS--the type you might mix with cola--has been slowing lately. But thanks to slick marketing campaigns, Cognac's big players--such as Courvoisier and Hennessy--have succeeded in capturing a market segment stretching from hip-hop fans to brandy connoisseurs. Sales have been increasing for six consecutive years.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »