opera

Last week, Maison Martell welcomed the Lunar New Year at Opera House in Manhattan’s Chinatown, marking the arrival of the Year of the Horse with a celebration rooted in symbolism, craftsmanship, and cultural ritual. Opera House, the upstairs cocktail space above Chinese Tuxedo on Doyers Street, was transformed with red lanterns, silk drapery framing the walls, and red tassels along the dark wood interiors. The room was saturated in crimson, the traditional color of prosperity and renewal.

The evening opened with an open cocktails and conversation with Martell representatives and guests. At the open bar, Lunar New Year–themed cocktails showcased Martell’s portfolio. The most popular was Year of the Fire Horse, a layered blend of Martell Blue Swift cognac, Ming River baijiu, shoumei tea, lemongrass, ginger, and mandarin. The drink balanced citrus brightness with spice and depth, reflecting the energy associated with the zodiac animal. Later on, the guests were surprised with a dragon dance performance that moved directly through the crowd. Accompanied by rhythmic drums, the dragon weaved between guests who were handed red envelopes containing a dollar bill and encouraged to feed it before the dance began. The gesture carries symbolic meaning: placing money into the dragon’s mouth represents an offering of good fortune and prosperity for the year ahead.

Midway through the performance, the dragon bent low and consumed a bundle of lettuce before spitting it outward in a burst of green. The ritual, known as cai qing or “plucking the greens,” draws on a linguistic pun. In Cantonese, lettuce (sang choi) sounds like “growing wealth,” and the act of scattering the greens symbolizes the distribution of prosperity to the community. As the lettuce fell across the floor, applause followed. Inside, two mahjong tables anchored one corner of the venue, staffed by a host who guided guests through the game’s rules and rhythms, with the clicking of tiles adding a steady percussive layer to the evening. In the main event area, passed bites from Opera House reflected contemporary interpretations of Chinese comfort food. Guests sampled Mala fried chicken, golden-edged turnip cakes, and sweet sesame balls that opened into savory pork filling.

Martell’s connection to the horse extends beyond this year’s theme. When transliterated into modern Chinese, the first character of Martell, “Ma” (马), means horse. The house highlighted that resonance with two limited-edition releases created specifically for the 2026 Lunar New Year. The Martell Cordon Bleu Lunar New Year Limited Edition by Chinese contemporary artist He Datian  incorporated calligraphy into the design so that a horse emerges from the Chinese characters of the brand’s name. The dynamic brushwork evokes movement and vitality, echoing founder Jean Martell, who established the house in 1715 at age 21 and traveled on horseback throughout the Cognac region selecting eaux-de-vie. The cognac inside remains the original Cordon Bleu blend introduced in 1912, composed of more than 100 eaux-de-vie, primarily from the Borderies cru, known for richness, elegance, and a long, fruit-and-spice finish.

The centerpiece of the evening was L’Or de Jean Martell Zodiac Edition Assemblage du Cheval. Housed in a Baccarat crystal decanter shaped like a suspended drop, the edition features a deep red crystal horse-head stopper and a gold pedestal engraved with a horseshoe motif. Each bottle is individually numbered. Martell Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud selected aged Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie, including reserves drawn from previous Years of the Horse, to enrich the existing L’Or profile without altering its identity. The resulting blend carries notes of honey, candied fruit, florals, red fruit vibrancy, and extended length on the palate. Guests were invited to select Martell-branded folding fans placed throughout the venue. A small number of fans were discreetly marked with an “X.”, those who discovered the marking were invited to a private tasting of L’Or, creating an intimate moment within the larger celebration. Champagne from Perrier-Jouët flowed alongside cognac tastings as guests circulated between the bar, mahjong tables, and lounge seating.

Lunar New Year celebrations in New York often reflect a balance between heritage and evolution. The evening at Opera House demonstrated how established rituals like red envelopes, dragon dances, prosperity symbolism can be integrated into a modern, design-conscious setting without losing cultural meaning. In the Chinese zodiac, the horse represents vitality, momentum, and independence. Maison Martell’s Lunar New Year celebration positioned those qualities galloping into 2026.