Cognac and food – who knew? The people at Martell certainly did, and their innovation has won them the Regional Best Of Wine Tourism Culinary Experience, sharing this year’s award with Château de Ferrand in Saint-Émilion.
Every summer, the Indigo Rooftop Bar by Martell opens to showcase their contemporary approach to Cognac. On top of the Gâtebourse Tower, the historic home of the Martell Cognac house, it offers guests stunning 360° views across the town centre and the Charente River, the perfect place to discover new ways of enjoying Cognac.
Young at heart
Now a venerable 300 years old, Martell was created by a young man. In 1715, Jean Martell was just 21 years old when he arrived from Jersey to establish his Cognac house. This youthful energy is still present today.
A spirit of adventure
As early as the 18th century, Martell Cognac was shipped to England and Northern Europe. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the brand made its way as far as India, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Martell even found its way on board the Queen Mary, the Orient Express and Concorde.
©RemySavage_MartellCognac
This adventurous spirit is still very much part of Martell, as they create new taste experiences, not only in their range of spirits but also through creative cocktails. They have worked with Martell Master Mixologist Rémy Savage, Best European Mixologist in 2018, to create an original cocktail menu for the Indigo by Martell Rooftop Bar. Here you’ll find his new creations, and discover how he revisits classic cocktail recipes showcasing the Martell Cognac collection.
Indigo Blue
The bar takes its inspiration, name and decoration from the famous signature blue of Martell Cordon Bleu, created in 1912.
Their Conviviality by Martell programme clearly shows, directly on the cocktail menu, the units of alcohol in each drink. Guests are encouraged to switch to mocktails when they reach two units of alcohol. They won’t feel left out – there’s a wonderful array of original mocktails to choose from.
This responsible consumption initiative also includes a menu of tasty and delicate tapas-style dishes, sourced locally and designed to match perfectly with your cocktail and Cognac selection.
Immersive experiences
This food and Cognac pairing continues in-house.
Tours at Martell take you back in time, through the history of the company, cellar by cellar. These experiences are designed as an initiation into the heart of the oldest of the great Cognac houses. They offer access to ageing cellars normally off-limits to the public.
They then bring you right up to date with tasting experiences that include Martell VS Frozen, Martell VSOP, Martell Blue Swift, Martell XO and even Martell Chanteloup XXO. Cognacs are tasted alongside sweet amuse-bouches, designed to bring out each unique flavour profile.
Guests can also discover a “montre” – the 20 cl Cognac sampling bottle with a bottling or a blending workshop. They leave with their own customised “montre”, filled with their own unique blend.
Martell by night
On selected summer evenings, exceptional tours take you up to the Indigo by Martell bar to discover unique cocktails alongside the city lights.
©Martell_Cognac
From city to vine
Martell experiences are not limited to their historic town centre site. Martell at Gallienne introduces you to the Charentais landscape and of course the vines. By off-road electric scooter or on foot, explore the Borderies cru, starting from the Gallienne Distillery. This original perspective of the vineyard shares their sustainable approach to both viticulture and the art of Cognac-making.
Sustainable from grape to glass
Along with innovative distribution and consumption, Martell is embracing sustainability challenges. All the Martell vineyards are farmed under regenerative viticulture, and they support their partner vineyards to follow in their footsteps. Four years ago, they introduced a unique low-carbon solution for distillation that reduces CO2 emissions. They have also adopted cleaner transport, lighter bottles and recycled packaging materials – there is so much to discover.
Cognac and fine dining
Enthusiasts, can take Cognac and food matching to another level at the Martell Château de Chanteloup. Here, Chef Alexandre Mazzia offers an exclusive immersion into the world of Martell.
©Martell_Cognac
This unique experience embodies the union of the culinary excellence of a three-Michelin-starred chef and the living legacy of the oldest of the great cognac houses. More than just a dinner, it is a sensory, cultural, and emotional journey set in the heart of Martell’s heritage: the Château de Chanteloup. The Signature Experience offers an exclusive immersion into the world of Martell, through an offering conceived as a total art form: from the welcome at the château to the tasting of rare cognacs, everything is designed to awaken the senses and tell a story. The venue, rarely open to the public, becomes the setting for a moment suspended in time, at the intersection of gastronomy, understated luxury, and heritage.
©Martell_Cognac
The culinary experience is orchestrated by Alexandre Mazzia, a bold chef whose boundary-pushing cuisine echoes the visionary spirit of the House of Martell. Each dish is crafted to pair with a carefully curated selection of cognacs, specially created by the house’s cellar master, Christophe Valtaud, revealing unprecedented pairings between food and spirits.
This year, the Indigo by Martell is open from 20 May to 20 September 2026. Martell by Night is available on 22 May, 19 June, 24 July, 28 August and 28 September 2026.
Author: Wendy Narby for Great Wine Capitals Photos credits:©Martell_Cognac Video credits:©fakhry_nader et ©schz.Farah