Louis XIII Hosts VIP Dinner at Historic Manila Hotel
Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac, the ultra-exclusive cognac brand from the House of Remy Martin recently feted cognac enthusiasts in an exclusive dinner party held at the Presidential Salon of the historic Manila Hotel. A rare luxury spirit, Louis XIII is widely considered as the "King of Cognacs" using only grapes from the Grande Champagne territory of Cognac, France. It is specially blended from 1,200 eaux-de-vie. It is further aged in tiercons, oak barrels that are several hundred years old, in its own cellar. Each and every luxurious drop of Louis XIII is placed in special crystal decanters exclusively hand-crafted by Baccarat with gold foil cork top and matching crystal stopper specific to each bottle. It is encased in a handsome bespoke presentation box.
Remy Martin for its part is the Heart of Cognac, representing almost 300 years of French wine growing and cognac making know-how, with only 17% of all cognacs coming from the heart of the Cognac region, the House of Rémy Martin offers a cognac of unique aromatic intensity. Prior to the VIP dinner, a special cocktail reception was held at the poolside of the 18th Floor and a special tour of the Presidential Suite was conducted for the VIP guests.
A sumptuous dinner followed replicating the original inaugural menu of 1912 when Manila Hotel first opened its doors. Masterfully prepared by Executive Chef Konrad Walter, the menu featured Sauteed Foie Gras, Apple-Walnut Chutney & Arugula perfectly balanced by the delightful Remy Martin VSOP. Served next, was a delectable Smoked Tomato Soup with Cheese Beignets. This was followed by Lobster in Sauce Fines Herbes and Chateau of Baby Vegetables paired with white wine. Main course was Braised Beef Short Ribs in Merlot, Whipped Potato Pureee with Truffle Oil, Shallots and Roasted French Beans complemented by Remy XO served neat. Dessert was Almond Gateau, French Vanilla Ice Cream, Strawberry Compote.
The evening's most anticipated highlight, a special sampling of Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac followed and was masterfully officiated by Mr. Christophe Bourrie - Regional Director for Louis XIII, who proffered special pointers on how to best appreciate this rare luxury cognac.
The ceremonial opening of the bottle was led by the evening's special guest and Manila Hotel President & Director, Atty. Jose "Joey" Lina. The lively dinner company had endless rounds of toasting during the course of a most convivial evening. VIP guests for the evening included Xavier Desaulles - Remy Cointreau International Managing Director; Wellington Soong - Chairman & President of Autostrada Motore, Inc.; Su Chen - Louis XIII Brand Manager; Mr. Elvin Ong - President of Wine Century Bros.; Future Trade International's top executives led by James Du Vivier - CEO; Noel Sebastian - Managing Director; Boy Tabelon - National Sales Director; Yogi Ringler - Chief Marketing Director. The evening's program was hosted by David Celdran.
Amidst the lively conversations, Joey Pineda - Commercial Manager of Remy Cointreau Brands Philippines enthused how he finds it "incredibly auspicious that Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac is meticulously blended by three generations of cellar masters taking as much as a century to perfect…literally a century in every bottle, and here we are toasting Manila Hotel on its 101st Anniversary… talk about serendipity!"