It may be suffering something of a slump when it comes to cocktail menus, but cognac still has presence in the world’s best bars.

From living a borderline homeless existence in Amsterdam and handing out leaflets while living off Burger King and cheap pints, Moe Aljaff recently opened his third venue in the hipster hotspot of Barcelona’s El Raval, making him one of the hottest properties in global bartending right now.

With convenience at its heart, the pre–mixed drink is always going to involve an element of compromise – the category will probably never be one for the purist. But that doesn’t mean it should be spared our scrutiny.