A pint of cognac and a packet of crisps, please

A while ago, we brought to your attention the existence of a Coca-Cola product called Georgia Coffee, made in Ireland for sale in Japan. Here's another product whose marketing will have to be carefully region-specific. The French company that makes Grand Marnier has developed another cognac for distribution in the US by luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (itself a sort of an Irish descendant, via that H). The aim is to capitalise on the premium liquor/hip-hop synergy that has proven so lucrative for the liquor companies. So far so good.

Now the name of this new product, soon to be featured (it is hoped) in countless videos MTV Jams: Navan. On this basis we're guessing that the Irish roll-out of the drink, if it ever occurs, will be somewhat different, with Navan being the heartland of County Meath and despite the cachet of being Pierce Brosnan's hometown, is often known in Ireland and Britain through the comic character Navan Man (a sort of a Jeff Foxworthy analog, to place it for our vast American readership). In that light, we had to laugh at reading the Pseud's Corner-esque vision of Navan cognac:

The brand is named for Navana, a town in Madagascar where the recipe's vanilla is harvested. Take away the final "a," and the word becomes a palindrome. A spokeswoman for Schieffelin [importer] says palindromes "are found in many cultures, always with mystical associations, and often with hidden meanings."

Mr. Luttmann added that even Navan's taste, a balance between sweet and pungent, was intended to be "a very good metaphor for the consumers we want to reach."

"You can't put these transcultural consumers in a box, and you can't put Navan in a box," he said.

The last claim at least has the virtue, given that cognac is a liquid, of being literally true.