BRANDY

INTRODUCTION:- Brandy is a spirit distilled from grapes (wine). The spirit distilled from any other fruit
other than grapes are fruit brandies and must be named after the fruit combined with the word
`brandy`, example- cherry brandy, peach brandy, apricot brandy, etc. These fruit brandies are classified
as eaux-de-vie and also known as alcohols blancs. Brandy is produced by all the countries that produce
wine. Cognac and Armagnac are brandies from France.

COGNAC- Of all the brandies produced in the world, cognac is the most famous and prestigious. It is
made in Cognac region of France in the departments of Charente and Charente- Maritime. It is chalky
and clay soil, climate, special distillation method, maturation and blending process make cognac stand
out from the rest.

Production of Cognac- Cognac is distilled in the Cognac region of France from the base wine mostly
made from St. Emilion grapes (ugni blanc). The other grapes used in the production of Cognac are Folle
Blanche and Colombard. About 98 per cent of base wine is made from St. Emilion grapes.

Winemaking – The `must` of approved grapes is allowed to ferment naturally without any addition of
yeast or sulphur dioxide for about 7-10 days which results in dry and high acidic wine with low alcoholic
content of 8-10 per cent. This acidic unpalatable wine forms the base for excellent cognac.

Distillation – This wine is pot stilled twice in the traditional copper pot stills called Charente, under
French excise Supervision. This still is also termed as alembic. In the first distillation, the wine is heated
steadily which vapourizes the alcohol and allows the congeners of base wine to mix with the vapour. The
raising vapours are channelized to condenser through `serpentine` (coiled pipe) where it is condensed to
liquid. The resulting milky liquid contains about 26-32 per cent alcohol and has bad smell and taste. This
is known as brouillis which is subjected to second distillation. The brouillis are sent back to the still and
heated for the second distillation, which is referred as bonne chauffe. This process takes longer time
than the first distillation and calls for close supervision by the distiller. During heating, the vapours that
escape first, known as head (tete) are added to the next lot of brouillis for further distillation. The
middle part known as heart (le Coeur) is collected in condenser and cooled to liquid which has around
70 per cent alcohol. This is known as young Cognac. The last part of vapours, having low alcoholic
content, termed as tail is returned to next batch of brouillis for further distillation.

Maturing – The young cognacs which are raw, and colourless are matured in Limousin or Troncais oak
casks that are specially crafted for this purpose. It is aged at least for a period of one and half years,
though most are aged for two to four years and some are for longer periods. This process allows the
cognac assume colour from the wood. Many cognac producers use new casks for maturing young
cognac as the new wood contributes colour, tannin, and vanillin to the spirit resulting in heaven style
cognac. After a year, the spirit is transferred to a slightly older cask to prevent it from from taking on too
much wood character. Maturing in older casks producers more delicate light-bodied cognacs. Maturing
or ageing is the most important stage of the production as it contributes to the different in the
characteristics of cognac. Small amount of caramel and cane sugar may be added.
 During the ageing period, some percentage of alcohol is lost due to evaporation which is normally
around 2-3 per cent. Cognac improves only in the casks and it will not improve once it is bottled.

Blending – It is very important stage in cognac production. The end product is the result of harmonizing
of cognac. Blending is carried out to ensure consistency in quality, taste, colour and tannin. The cellar
master (maitre de chai) is responsible for blending. He/she checks the colour, taste and tannin of cognac
stored in various casks and decides on which casks should be blended.

Bottling- The alcoholic strength of cognac is brought down to 40-45 per cent abv by adding distilled
water. The colour is adjusted with a little caramel. It is then filtered, rested and bottled.

Types of Cognac- The types of cognac are as follows:-

1) Grande Champagne, Grande Fine Champagne- it is the cognac produced entirely from brandies
made from the grapes grown in the Grande Champagne region.
2) Petite Champagne, Petite Fine Champagne- made entirely from brandies produced from grapes
grown in the Petite Champagne region.
3) Fine Champagne- It is blend of brandies produced from grapes grown in Grande Champagne
and petite Champagne areas.

Label Language- The age of cognac in the casks is identified by stars and words printed on the labels.

1) Three Star- By French Law, the youngest cognac is aged at least for one and half years but many
countries to which it is exported require minimum ageing of three years in the casks. In reality,
they are usually of an average age of five years.
2) VSOP (very superior old pale)- Cognac with this term printed on the label indicates that it is
minimum 4 ½ years old.
3) Luxury Cognacs- Most manufacturers produce top quality cognac. It is blend of very old Cognac
with an average of 20 years and abv but as per law, they must be minimum of 6 ½ years old.
They have prestigious names such as VVSOP, Grande Reserve, Antique.

Cognac Brands-

1) Hennessy 2) Camus 3) Remy Martin 4) Martell 5) Hine.

ARMAGNAC- Armagnac is the world`s second best brandy produced in Armagnac region of France. The
main grape varieties used in the production of Armagnac are St. Emilion (ugni Blanc), Folle Blanche,
Colombard and Baco Blanc.

Production of Armagnac- Base wine & distillation:

The base wine made from the grapes mentioned earlier is very acidic and dry. It is then sent for
distillation, the traditional still used in the preparation of Armagnac is continuous still. The continuous
still used for Armagnac preparation is different from the continuous still used in the production of other
spirits. The still has a shorter rectifier column with few plates in it. Since the rectifying column is shorter,
the spirit produced in this still is not highly rectified like other spirit, such as vodka or grain whisky. The
spirit obtained in this still has 53 per cent abv which is lower compared to cognac and has more
congeners left. Armagnac is permitted to use Cognac pot still as well as continuous still.

Ageing & blending- After distillation the young Armagnac is matured in Monlezun oak casks. The high
level of tannin of this oak matures Armagnac very quickly and contributes colour and flavor to the
Armagnac. The Armagnac gets its characteristics after 8-10 years of ageing and is fully matured after 20
years. It derives its bouquet and colour from the distillation and ageing process. Addition of caramel or
sugar is not permitted in Armagnac production.

The terms used to indicate the age of Armagnac are the same as for Cognac but with slight
modifications.

1) Three star- Minimum one year.

Brands of Armagnac –

1) Janneau 2) Chabot 3) sempe 4) Armagnac Lapostolle .