Brandy

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Brandy is the liquor made by distilling wine, and it once earned a standing order from Winston Churchill. At the Yalta Conference, Joseph Stalin gave him an Armenian brandy called Dvin. Churchill was so impressed that he asked for several cases to be sent to him every year. Reportedly, 400 bottles of Dvin were shipped to him annually. That is a remarkable endorsement for a drink whose story starts with merchants and the cost of moving wine. This documentary asks why anyone would distill good wine in the first place. It asks what happens inside a copper still, and why an oak barrel changes the result. It also asks why a bottle from one French region may carry a name that an identical bottle made elsewhere cannot.

  1079811

• 2. Why Distill Wine

  ›

  The 15th century is when distillation, long known from classical times, finally became a serious way to make a drink. Wine merchants distilled wine to preserve it and to make it easier to transport. It is also thought that wine was first distilled to reduce a tax charged by volume. The plan was to add back the water removed in the still shortly before drinking. Then came a surprise. Spirit stored in wooden casks turned out better than the raw distillate had been.

  In the early 16th century, French brandy took a central place in the cross-Atlantic triangle trade. It displaced the Portuguese fortified wine that had held that role. Brandy was stronger, and it was easier to ship. On the African side of the trade, canoemen and guards were generally paid in brandy. By the late 17th century, cheaper rum had replaced brandy as the exchange alcohol of choice.

  6542

• 3. Fire and Gunpowder

  ›

  The 1728 edition of the Cyclopaedia describes early brandy-making around a vessel called a cucurbit. The operator filled it halfway with the liquor to be distilled. A small fire then drove off spirit until about one-sixth had been distilled, or until what dripped into the receiver would burn completely. That single pass produced what the book calls the spirit of wine, or brandy.

  Further distillation purified the spirit, and the result was called spirit of wine rectified. The second pass took place in a balneo mariae, using a glass cucurbit, and reduced the liquor to about half its quantity. The operator kept rectifying for as long as he judged necessary.

  This routine was long and troublesome. To shorten it, a chemical instrument was invented that reduced the several distillations to a single one.

  Fire was the first purity test. A portion of the rectified spirit was ignited, and the liquor was good if the flames consumed everything without leaving any impurities. Gunpowder supplied a better test. A little powder was placed at the bottom of the spirit, and the liquor passed if the powder could still ignite after the spirit had burned away. That trial is the origin of the modern word proof for alcohol strength.

  6542

• 4. Inside the Still

  ›

  Base wine for brandy carries no more than about 20 mg/L of sulphur, which is less than regular wine. The reason is copper. Sulphur reacts with the copper in pot stills to form unwanted copper(II) sulfate. Brandy makers also use early grapes, which give more acid and less sugar than a table wine would have. Whether the yeast sediment from fermentation stays in the wine depends on the style of brandy.

  Distillation then runs in two phases. The first removes much of the water and solids, leaving a concentrated wine called low wine at 28-30% ABV. The second phase turns low wine into brandy. The spirit leaves the pot still in three parts known as the heads, the heart and the tails. The head comes off at roughly 83% alcohol, or 166 US proof, and smells unpleasant. The weak tail follows at the end. Both are set aside and generally blended into another batch of low wine to be distilled again. The heart is richest in aroma and flavour, and it is the part kept for maturing.

  The still does more than concentrate alcohol. Heat and the copper of the still set off chemical reactions. These create many new volatile aroma compounds, shift the balance of those already present, and break down esters through hydrolysis. Pigments, sugars and salts do not vaporize, so they stay behind. That is why a brandy can taste quite unlike the wine it came from.

  Ethanol, the compound behind intoxication, is only one of several key players. Esters such as ethyl acetate add fruity notes. Aldehydes such as acetaldehyde contribute to the aroma. Tannins from wood bring astringency.

  Most brandy is made in pot stills, which run in batches. A column still can instead distill continuously, producing a spirit of about 90% ABV that is less aromatic. The choice depends on the style. Cognac and South African brandy are made in batches, while many American brandies use fractional distillation in column stills.

  21317143

• 5. Oak and Labels

  ›

  Brandies with a natural golden or brown colour are usually aged in oak casks, a method called single-barrel ageing. Some Spanish brandies use the solera system, in which the producer changes the barrel each year. The length of ageing depends on the style, the class and legal requirements. Afterwards the mature brandy is diluted with distilled water and bottled, generally at 35-60% ABV, or 70-120 US proof. Some producers add caramel colour and sugar to imitate barrel ageing, and others combine real ageing with colouring.

  Outside Cognac and Armagnac, the traditional age grades on a label are unregulated. V.S., short for very special, or three stars, means the youngest brandy in the blend spent at least two years in cask. V.S.O.P., very superior old pale, or five stars, raises that minimum to four years. X.O., Extra Old, now requires the youngest brandy to be at least 10 years old, a rule that took effect in April 2018. It was first scheduled for 2016 but was postponed because stocks were inadequate.

  The Napoleon designation was previously unofficial. It now marks blends of at least six years that fall short of the revised X.O. definition. Hors d'âge, meaning beyond age, is formally equal to XO for Cognac. For Armagnac it means at least ten years. In practice, producers use it to market a high-quality product beyond the official scale.

  Brandy de Jerez has its own ladder, set by the Consejo Regulador de la Denominacion Brandy de Jerez. Solera is six months old, Solera Reserva is one year, and Solera Gran Reserva is three years.

  Russian brandy, traditionally called Cognac inside Russia, and brandies from many post-Soviet states use a longer scale. Three stars means the youngest component spent at least two years in cask. Four stars means three years, and five stars means four years. KV, for Aged Cognac, matches XO or Napoleon at six years. KVVK, for Aged Cognac, Superior Quality, marks eight-year-old blends and tends to be reserved for the highest quality vintages. KS, for Old Cognac, requires ten years, and OS, for Very Old, covers blends older than 20 years.

  4344464845

• 6. Names and Law

  ›

  The word brandy is a shortening of the archaic English brandewine or brandywine. That came from the Dutch brandewijn, which grew out of gebrande wijn, literally burned wine. Its cognates include brännvin and brennivín. In Germany, Branntwein covers any distilled spirit, while Weinbrand means specifically distilled grape wine. Within the European Union, Weinbrand is legally equivalent to brandy. Outside German-speaking countries it mainly designates brandy from Austria and Germany.

  Eau de vie, French for water of life, is another name for the brandies made from pomace or from fruit other than grapes. Pomace, also called marc, is the pulp left after the juice has been pressed out. Spirit made from it may be sold as pomace brandy, marc brandy or grappa. A brandy from a single fruit usually takes that fruit's name, as in peach brandy. Apple brandy may be called applejack, although the original jacking process involved no distillation. There is also grain brandy, made from grain spirits.

  Laws on labelling differ by place. In the European Union, a product sold as brandy, except grain brandy, must come exclusively from distilling or redistilling grape wine, or grape wine fortified for distillation. It must also be aged at least six months in oak. In the United States, brandy made from anything other than grape wine needs a clarifying description, such as dried fruit brandy. Brandy that has not spent at least two years in oak must be labelled immature. Canada follows similar naming rules but requires only six months in wood, not necessarily oak. Canadian rules also allow caramel, fruit, other botanical substances and flavourings in a product called brandy.

  Cognac comes from the Cognac region of France and is double distilled in pot stills. Hine, Martell, Camus, Otard, Rémy Martin, Hennessy, Frapin, Delamain and Courvoisier are popular brands. The European Union and some other countries enforce Cognac as the exclusive name for brandy produced and distilled in that area, made with traditional techniques. Armagnac gets the same protection for brandy from the Gascony area. As protected designations of origin, these names are off limits to a brandy made elsewhere, even if it is made in an identical manner.

  Fine is a looser term for any high-quality brandy, including Fine de Bordeaux, Fine de Bourgogne and Fine de la Marne.

  Armagnac comes from the Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne areas of southwestern France. It is distilled once, continuously, in a copper still. It is then aged in oak casks from Gascony, Limousin or the renowned Tronçais Forest in Auvergne. Armagnacs are also known for offering vintage qualities. Armagnac was the first distilled spirit in France, and Vital Du Four first mentioned its use in 1310, in a book of medicine recipes.

  2224252127

• 7. Around the World

  ›

  In 1877, the Ararat brandy brand was established in Yerevan, Armenia. It comes from the Ararat plain in the south of the country, and bottles on the market are aged anywhere from 3 to 20 years. In 1884, David Sarajishvili founded a brandy factory in Tbilisi, Georgia. The city was a crossroads for Turkish, Central Asian and Persian trade routes, and part of the Russian Empire at the time. By the end of the 19th century, French and Spanish brandies dominated western European markets and their overseas empires. Eastern Europe was dominated by brandies from the Black Sea region, including Bulgaria, the Crimea, Georgia and Armenia.

  In Russia, the Kizlyar Brandy Factory first produced brandy in 1885, using a recipe brought from France. Its brandy follows the classic cognac technology and is one of the most popular beverages in Russia. In 2008, the factory restored the status of the Kremlin Suppliers Guild. In Moldova and Romania, grape brandy is colloquially called coniac, but it is officially named Divin in Moldova and Vinars in Romania. After double distillation, it is usually aged in oak and labelled by age. VS is a minimum of 3 years old, VSOP a minimum of 5, XO a minimum of 7, and XXO a minimum of 20.

  Around the Mediterranean, the styles vary widely. Cyprus brandy is unusual because it is only 32% ABV, or 64 US proof. Greek brandy is distilled from Muscat wine. Its mature distillates come from sun-dried Savatiano, Sultana and Black Corinth grapes, blended with an aged Muscat wine. Turkey makes kanyak, or konyak, a name that varies cognac and means burn blood in Turkish, a reference to its use in cold weather. Brandy de Jerez comes from vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. It is used in some sherries and is also sold on its own, with a protected designation of origin. The Lourinhã region of Portugal, just north of Lisbon, is one of the few European protected designations producing only brandy, alongside Cognac, Armagnac and Jerez.

  South African brandies are, by law, made almost exactly as Cognac is. They are double distilled in copper pot stills and aged in oak barrels for a minimum of three years, which is why they are considered very high quality. Most American grape brandy is made in California. Popular brands include Christian Brothers, E&J Gallo, Korbel and Paul Masson.

  Italy has produced brandy since the 1700s, especially in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Producers use popular wine grapes such as Sangiovese and Grignolino. The colour, texture and finish resemble those of French and Spanish counterparts. Northern Italy has also been noted since the Middle Ages for grappa, a pomace brandy that is generally colourless. Its top-shelf barrique varieties are aged in oak casks and reach the same caramel colour as regular brandies. Italy has more than 600 large, medium and small distilleries making brandies and grappas. Ticino, in Italian-speaking Switzerland, is also allowed to produce pomace brandy designated as grappa.

  1235404130

• 8. Beyond the Glass

  ›

  A snifter, a wine glass or a tulip glass is the traditional vessel for brandy, served neat at room temperature. Brandy is typically drunk after dinner as a digestif. Many drinkers cup the glass in the palm to warm the spirit slightly, or gently heat it. Too much heat makes the alcohol vapour strong enough to overpower the aroma. Drinkers who like it warm can ask for the glass to be heated before the pour.

  Brandy also goes into popular cocktails, including the Brandy Sour, the Brandy Alexander, the Sidecar, the Brandy Daisy and the Brandy Old Fashioned. Anglo-Indian usage has the term brandy-pawnee, meaning brandy with water.

  In the 19th century, brandy was often prescribed as a medical treatment because of its supposed stimulating qualities. Many European explorers of tropical Africa suggested that regular, moderate doses might help a traveller cope with fever, depression and stress. These views fell out of favour in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Critics suggested people were using the medical claims as an excuse for social drinking.

  In the kitchen, brandy is a common deglazing liquid for pan sauces made with steak and other meat. It intensifies the flavour of some soups, notably onion soup. In English Christmas cooking, it flavours Christmas cake, brandy butter and Christmas pudding. It also appears in festive drinks such as mulled wine and eggnog. Brandy is used to flambé dishes such as crêpe Suzette and cherries jubilee at the table. The traditional Christmas pudding is doused in brandy and set alight before serving, yet a flambé can retain as much as 75% of the alcohol.

  17181620