Creative Cognac.

Whether for cocktails or cooking, this spirit's versatility is unmatched.

One of the best-kept secrets of entertaining well is: Keep it simple, keep it elegant. Certainly, the easiest way to keep it simple is to serve just one magnificent spirit and show it in all its versatile glory. And a sure way to make it elegant is to choose Cognac, that grand brandy of France, as your spirit of the evening.

Few spirits can compete with Cognac for beauty and pedigree. And few can match its versatility. Cognac adapts readily to any number of tastes and temptations. Serve it neat in a crystal sniffer and let the traditionalist enjoy its warmth, depth and subtlety.

But Cognac is also one of the world's most natural mixers, as African-Americans have long understood. Some enjoy combining it with cola or mixing it in old-fashioneds, sours, stingers and highballs. Others follow their drinks with Cognac as a chaser. Now it seems the rest of the country is catching up.

One of the newer mixed Cognac drinks is the GOLDFINGER: Put 4 parts of Cognac, 2 parts of Grand Marnier, 3 parts ginger ale and 1 part green mint syrup in a container and shake well. Serve over crushed ice and decorate with a strawberry and sprig of fresh mint.

Cognac can even put a new twist on an old classic. To make a HENNESSY MARTINI: Fill a martini shaker with ice. Add 2 ounces of Hennessy VS and squeeze in one lemon wedge--about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir--don't shake--gently. Let settle and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

To mix a COGNAC CLASSIC: Shake 1 3/4 ounces of Cognac, 3/4 ounce of lemon juice and 2teaspoons of crime de cassis well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lemon peel and drop it into the glass.

To make a PRINCE OF WALES: Combine 1 1/2 ounces of Cognac, 2 1/4 ounces of brut Champagne, 2 dashes of Angostura bitters and 2 dashes of Curacao, over two ice cubes in a stemmed water glass. Stir gently.

Should your party be in winter, Cognac truly comes to the rescue. Consider mixing everyone one hot drink, such as a SPRUCE POND NOG: Beat 12 eggs with a pound of powdered sugar. Slowly stir in 2 cups of Cognac, 1 cup light rum, 6 cups milk and 2 cups of heavy cream. Heat slowly over a low flame. Serve immediately. This recipe makes 25 to 30 cups.

And never underestimate Cognac's ability to turn the simplest dish into a blaze of drama with the art of flambe. The secret of a successful flambe, or flaming, is to warm the Cognac before igniting by pouring it into a small heated metal container such as a measuring cup or a long handled ladle; ignite it with wooden or fireplace matches, never with small book matches; and hold the match over, not directly in, the Cognac to ignite the vapors. Slowly pour the flaming Cognac over food.

A few words of caution: Never pour Cognac directly from the bottle into a hot pan or over food that is already flaming; stand back when flambeing; and rehearse your flambe techniques in private before going public.

What foods take readily to flambe? Steaks, sausages, crepes stuffed with creamed crabmeat, pears in fudge sauce, bananas or cherries. In fact, just about any dish would be enhanced by 2 or 3 ounces of flaming Cognac, most of whose alcohol burns off with the flames.

To close the evening with a warming drink before guests go out into the cold winter air, serve CAFE ROYALE: pour 6 ounces of strong, hot black coffee into a warmed mug. Float 2 teaspoons of Cognac on the coffee. Put a cube of sugar in a tablespoon and add 2 more teaspoons of Cognac to the spoon. Warm the spoon over the coffee. Ignite the Cognac in the spoon and slowly lower into coffee, which will ignite the floating Cognac. Voila!

With about four dozen brands of Cognac of many ages and styles imported into the United States, American consumers have about 100 different Cognacs to choose from. Among its greatest and most reliable producers are: Bisquit, Brillet, Courvoisier, Delamain, Hard, Hennessy, Hine, Martell, Prunier and Remy Martin. All add up to creating one smashing party.