Brandy
Brandy is a spirit mostly made by distilling wine. The name comes from a Dutch word, brandewijn, which means “burned wine.” Two of the best-known and indeed best types of brandy, whose production is governed by strict rules, are Cognac and Armagnac, both from France. So, all Cognac is brandy but not all brandy is Cognac. Many wine-growing regions of the world also produce brandy, and the flavors vary according to both the types of grape used for the wine and the differing production processes. Most U.S. brandy comes from California. Brandy is also used as an ingredient in spirits such as Metaxa, a Greek spirit. A distinct type of brandy is fruit brandy, which is made from fruit juice, wine, or pulp from fruit other than grapes. Grappa, common in Italy, and the South American spirit called pisco are also types of brandy.
Top Brandy Posts:
How Is Brandy Made?
Hine Rare, Homage, Antique, and H by Hine
Paul Masson Grande Amber VS Brandy
Bhakta Spirits, known for its rare whiskeys and Armagnacs, is moving into another spirits category, and this one’s a curious choice: Calvados, aka French apple brandy. Its inaugural bottling of Bhakta 1989 Pays d’Auge Calvados is its first-ever single varietal Calvados offering. Only 3 barrels are being turned out. Some details: Distilled in Normandy’s prestigious…
Founded in 2017 by Ilio Mavlyanov, Sauvage Distillery is located in the quiet hills of Charlotteville, New York — right in the heart of apple country. Upstate New York is world-renowned for its apples, thanks to a cool climate, fertile soils, and a long growing season that make it an orchard paradise. Sauvage embraces this…
We’ve covered many of Martell‘s Cognacs over the years, but its most foundational bottle has eluded us: Martell VS. Note that this is different from Martell VS Single Distillery: Most Cognac is a a blend of eaux-de-vie from dozens of tiny distilleries around the region, but Single Distillery was from one source. This VS is…
Maison Ferrand‘s S.D.A. — Selection des Anges, the angels’ selection — is not a new expression, but the brand has recently retooled it, creating new packaging and upping the proof slightly from 80 to 83.6. We never reviewed the expression in its pre-Covid incarnation, but we’re digging in to a 2021 bottling all the same. It’s…
Hardy is a reliable Cognac producer with some extremely expensive bottlings on the market. Today we’re looking at some more affordable fare, both of which you should find widely and readily available. Both are 80 proof. Hardy VSOP Organic Cognac Review Hardy has had this organic VSOP on the market for years, but we’ve never…
Raj Bhakta is one of the most colorful personalities in the spirits world. And I know this from personal experience. I hung out with him for a few days at his brand campus/booze camp in Vermont, Bhakta-Griswold. Part of my time spent there involved a deep dive on this newest offering, Hogsworth. As the founder…
Germain-Robin is unquestionably the most exciting and impactful brandy producer in the U.S., and its 7 year old Alambic Brandy is arguably the archetype against which all other American brandies are measured. Stepping up the price and quality tier you’ll find Germain-Robin XO, which is distilled exclusively in Pruhlo Charentais pot stills and aged in…
Back in 2023, David was one of the first journalists to visit Bhakta-Griswold, the brand campus-cum-booze camp owned by the notorious spirit innovator Raj Bhakta. The stories he recounted of this former Vermont college that now houses and showcases one of the largest vintage spirits collections in the country were, in a word, unusual. It…
Cognac producer Hine recently released a new expression that is a twist on its previous XO releases: Hine XO 1er Cru — aka Hine XO Premier Cru. The concept is simple: The brandy is a blend of 100% Grand Champagne eaux-de-vie aged for a minimum of 10 years. (Other Hine XO releases have had different…
If you’re a fan of pre-Prohibition cocktails, you’ll see a vast number of recipes that contain either brandy or Cognac. Before whiskey became the common base spirit, people often made their Old Fashioneds with brandy. This drink included a spirit of any kind, a sweetener, and bitters. And with the famous French 75, there is…