Brandy

Words by Simon Difford

Brandy image 1

Brandy is distilled from fermented fruit (not grain). The name brandy comes from northern Europe, where 'brand' means to burn, and is a reference to the heat used in distillation. Most brandies are distilled from fermented grape juice (i.e. wine). However, they can also be distilled from other fruits - notably plums, apples and cherries. Most wine-making areas also produce brandy.

Some of the better known 'fruit brandies' are not strictly brandies at all. The sweet plum, peach, cherry and apricot brandies, for example, are made by steeping fruit in grape spirit and then sweetening. This means that they are technically liqueurs. Only if fruit is distilled during the production process can a fruit 'brandy' be formally categorised as a brandy.

Like other spirits, brandy is thought to have been originally drunk for its medicinal properties - and the folk belief in brandy as a cure-all is still around in the UK, where it is administered for shock or exposure in defiance of current medical thinking. The evidence suggests that stills were in use in Jerez as early as 900AD (thanks to the rule of the Arab Moors, who knew how to distil), while brandy was being made from wine and drunk socially in both Spain and Italy as early as the 13th century.

France, thought by many to be the home of brandy, thanks to cognac and armagnac, did not start distilling it until more than 100 years later. It is believed that the start of brandy production in France was partly due to Catherine de Medici of Italy, who married the King of France, bringing her taste for brandy to the French court.

To make brandy, the raw ingredients are fermented and the resulting 'wine' distilled. Most brandies apart from cognac and some Italian brandies tend to be distilled in continuous stills. These can be single-column stills, such as those used to make Armagnac, or multi-column stills offering speed and efficiency.

Fruit brandies are rarely aged, but a good grape brandy needs time to mature and develop its full flavour potential. Brandy emerges from the still colourless; years of ageing in wooden casks give the spirit a golden colour and mellow flavour (caramel is often added to further deepen the colour). Consistency in a brand's flavour is achieved by blending different batches together.

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Avallen Calvados image

Avallen Calvados

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Courvoisier 21-Year-Old image

Courvoisier 21-Year-Old

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Pierre Ferrand Selection Des Anges image

Pierre Ferrand Selection Des Anges

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Jenssen XO Grande Champagne image

Jenssen XO Grande Champagne

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Jenssen L'Épiphanie Hors d'âge  image

Jenssen L'Épiphanie Hors d'âge

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42

Jenssen Arcana Grande Champagne Cognace Cognac image

Jenssen Arcana Grande Champagne Cognace Cognac

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42

Famille Vallein-Tercinier du Millénaire Fine image

Famille Vallein-Tercinier du Millénaire Fine

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Famille Vallein-Tercinier L'Erotique 1969 image

Famille Vallein-Tercinier L'Erotique 1969

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 54.5

Somerset Twenty Year Old (XX) Cider Brandy image

Somerset Twenty Year Old (XX) Cider Brandy

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42

Martell Cordon Bleu image

Martell Cordon Bleu

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Ragnaud-Sabourin Fontveille No.35 image

Ragnaud-Sabourin Fontveille No.35

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 43

Martell Création Grand Extra image

Martell Création Grand Extra

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42

L'Or de Jean Martell image

L'Or de Jean Martell

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

G. Miclo Poire Williams Grande Réserve image

G. Miclo Poire Williams Grande Réserve

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 43

Comte de Lauvia 1969 image

Comte de Lauvia 1969

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Terreblu Grappa Torbata image

Terreblu Grappa Torbata

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 39.5

Domaine D'Esperance Blanche Armagnac image

Domaine D'Esperance Blanche Armagnac

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42

Baron de Lustrac 1936 Folle Blanche image

Baron de Lustrac 1936 Folle Blanche

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Baron de Sigognac Domaine de Monciet 1900 image

Baron de Sigognac Domaine de Monciet 1900

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Domaine Boingneres 1985 Cepages Nobles image

Domaine Boingneres 1985 Cepages Nobles

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 49

Francis Darroze Chateau de Couzard 2000 image

Francis Darroze Chateau de Couzard 2000

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 49

Francis Darroze Chateau de Gaube 1971 image

Francis Darroze Chateau de Gaube 1971

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 42.7

Delord 1978 image

Delord 1978

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 40

Chateau de Pellehaut Folle Blanche 1992 image

Chateau de Pellehaut Folle Blanche 1992

Category: Spirits
Sub category: Brandy (eaux-de-vie, cognac, armagnac, rakia etc.)
alc./vol: 51.8

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