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.
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How Is Brandy Made?
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Paul Masson Grande Amber VS Brandy
We’ve reviewed countless special editions from iconic Cognac producer Hennessy over the years, but its core line has strangely eluded our pen. Today we begin to rectify that with a look at two stalwarts of Hennessy’s core line: VS and XO. Both are 80 proof. Hennessy VS Cognac – The entry level Hennessy is…
Entrepreneur and media personality Raj Bhakta built a hallmark whiskey brand by founding WhistlePig, and he’s using his storytelling playbook to grow another — this time eponymous — spirits bottler with Bhakta Spirits. Known for launching with 50+ year old Armagnacs, Bhakta has more recently branched out into both younger brandy blends and single vintage…
Armenia is one of the great, unsung brandy-producing regions of the world. This newly imported bottling is produced at Proshyan Distillery, one of the oldest distilleries in the country, founded in 1885. The brandy is made from the Mskhali and Kangun grapes, which come from the Ararat, Armavir, and Vayots Dzor regions. It is aged…
The Year of the Rabbit officially began on January 22, and to mark the occasion our friends at Maison Ferrand have put together a special edition of Ferrand’s 10 Generations Cognac bottling. This one — which features a dramatic, red label — undergoes a second round of aging in Port wine casks (for an undetermined…
Gonzalez Byass is one of the largest producers of sherry in Spain, and as any modern drinker knows, the demand for sherry barrels far outweighs the demand for sherry itself. Sherry barrel aging gives all manner of spirits a distinct character, and at some point, Gonzalez Byass figured out it should be making spirits of…
We’re way behind on reviewing the standard edition expressions of Cognac from Remy Martin, but today we take a step toward remedying that with a look at the iconic Remy Martin XO, once of the most widely available and consumed XO brandies on the market. Remy Martin XO Cognac Review As Cognac goes, it’s about…
La Maison & Velier is a French-Italian collaboration looking to bring an array of spirits into broader distribution, including whiskey and brandy. Today we look at the first five Armagnac bottlings from LM&V, all small production, single vintage, single cask offerings dating back to 1990 distillation dates. If you’ve heard of any of these producers…
Humboldt Distillery is bringing the spirit of California to the wider spirits world. By prioritizing local and organic ingredients, their aim is to both capture the beauty of their local community and remain ever-mindful of their environmental impact on the world. It’s a fine mission that has already produced fine results in the form of…
When they said Covid was over, we didn’t think we’d be summarily dropped into a new financial crisis to replace the one we just got out of. The good news is that the holidays have arrived just in time to provide a welcome (if brief) break from yet another year of chaos. At Drinkhacker, we…
Spanish brandy is far less common in the U.S. than its French or American counterparts. Made mostly from the airen grape, most Spanish brandy is aged in a solera style that sees younger stock constantly replenishing barrels of increasingly aged, blended spirit. While Gran Duque d’Alba makes an older, XO bottling of its brandy, this…