The name says it all, Green Forest, Grunewald in southwestern Berlin, is a haven of soft lacy foliage branching out from beautiful old trees. A mish mash of old charming residences from the renaissance or the turn of the century stand side by side Miami style post-World War II edifices and graceful white contemporary buildings, clean lines and minimalist landscaping. The light makes pretty patterns as it falls into streets with romantic musical names… Brahmstrasse. You can almost hear the flow of endless piano notes harmonizing with the soft rustling of the leaves.
It was an old castle filled with fairytales. A sense of romance and slowness lingering in the air. Large trees grown knobby with age and the wisdom of witnessing history unravel. Ornate carved wooden walls and lavish textiles seem to whisper stories of days gone by when nobility was not about who wore the heavier crown but was a true sense of honor and virtue. It reminded me of a time when people appreciated details and that there was no devil in the details but only pure heaven and pleasure.
Alma Schlosshotel in Grunewald, Berlin is a gem. A place to escape and to relive the simple joy in just being. Far from Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness… this was a place to get lost in every moment. Having a cold draft beer on the terrace overlooking an elegant garden, listening pensively to live jazz music as you sip a whiskey sour, enjoying a memorable glass of cognac with a fragrant cigar and some handmade dark chocolate sprinkled with lava salt in one of the most beautiful bars I’ve ever been to.
This was my first encounter with the golden nectar. A pleasant mélange of modern sexy lounge music and the crackling of a gentle fire; the painting of the voluptuous woman languidly strewn across plush velvet, firelight making her skin even more creamy; glinting bottles of liquor lined up like handsome little soldiers with polished brass; the discreet scent of leather and the occasional celebratory clink of glasses… it couldn’t have been a better setting.
The name intrigued me and the precious price indicated something special but apart from that I had never really encountered it before. The bartender treated the bottle with such grace and respect, the elegant curves of glass highlighted the amber liquid. After raising our glasses to celebrate this pure moment of romance we gently inhaled and took it all in.
Notes of caramel, honey and vanilla. There was a touch of cinnamon and at moments ginger; there was tobacco flowers and fields of delight that I wanted to roll myself in. The scent alone was intoxicating enough. I took a sip. I sighed. It was a precious kiss from the wine gods — velvety, with all the finesse of a 19th century nobleman offering a gentle kiss on a lady’s white gloved-hand. I caught myself blushing then smiling. We were both silent and happy.
Hennessy Paradis is a blend of over 100 very old eaux de vie from the Cognac region. Each bottle can contain eaux de vies that are up to 130 years old. Created in 1979 by Maurice Fillioux who had chosen to blend a variety of eaux de vies selected by his grandfather. Today, the seventh generation of master blenders, Yann Fillioux still chooses the different blends to be used by the coming generation. Each bottle is a gift from an earlier generation. A precious time capsule of excellence and passion.
When I think back on that moment in Berlin, we were drinking a piece of history. Something that was created the same time the castle was vibrant with its old tenants. Formerly owned by the lawyer of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the home was often used by the Prussian Emperor as a weekend escape. To think they could have drunk out of the same barrels of cognac that I was enjoying is rather thrilling.
A few days ago, I could not pass up the generous invitation of the Moet-Hennessy group to a cognac tasting dinner. It was a rather unusual yet successful pairing of Chinese cuisine at Summer Palace in EDSA Shangri-La. The delicate and rich steamed sea bass played extremely well with the spiced Hennessy XO but the true star of the evening was that bottle of Paradis. Generously poured throughout the evening, I could not bring myself to gulp that ample amber nectar down. I nursed my glass, with every sip reveling about my castle moments amid the stark contrast of live Chinese music and bright feng shui ambience lights.
Like a magic potion it transports you. It makes you fall in love. My nose lingers in the glass oblivious to my surroundings thinking of the hands that prepared them. The old man blending to the best of his abilities amber liquids left by his predecessors. With each sip I honor those today who are harvesting and fermenting beautiful cognac grapes, not being able to enjoy the fruits of their own labor, all their hard work a legacy.