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I was vacationing with friends at a ski resort, and at dinner our conversation touched on the topic of alcoholic beverages, in particular brandy. Almost like a joke, one comrade claimed that Armenian cognac is the leader among strong alcohol.
Another friend was from Crimea and said that his native Crimean cognac was the best, because it was prepared with soul.
I often traveled for work and visited different countries. Last year I was lucky, and I got an internship in Paris, where I tried real French cognac. I told my friends that it cannot be compared to anything. All these brandies from other regions didn’t even stand next to each other.
What is French cognac, how is it made and how much does it cost
My friends and I decided to delve into history and find out how cognac production began in France. French cognac is a unique drink and is in demand all over the world. Specialists working at factories in France produce blends that have no analogues.
The manufacturer manages to achieve this taste through the use of selected raw materials. In the process of creating cognac, spring water is used. Raw materials are grown in special conditions using technologies that have been tested over the years and have become traditional.
The birthplace of the French skate is the city of Cognac. Locals often tell a story that has become a local legend. Chevalier Jacques de la Croix was a winemaker, and in a dream he saw that otherworldly forces threw him into boiling water, and twice.
Upon waking up, the winemaker decided to try boiling the wine twice and see if the quality improved. Jacques de la Croix made two barrels of wine after boiling, one he drank with the monks, and the other was opened 15 years later. The drink partially evaporated, and the remaining liquid had an unusual rich taste.
Modern historians believe that cognac appeared in France in XVII century, after the re-distillation of grape spirit. It is worth noting that the procedure for making cognac has not changed much since then.
We called my friend, whose uncle works at a cognac factory in France, and asked him to tell me how the process of creating authentic cognac takes place.
And it turned out that special equipment is used for production, namely distillation cubes, which have been used for more than 400 years. Modern specialists have only equipped the equipment with an alcoholometer.
Manufacturers make sure that all parts of the distillation apparatus that may come into contact with cognac are made of copper. Copper is a heat-conducting alloy and does not oxidize, which preserves the exquisite taste of the drink.
For the production of cognac you need:
- squeeze grape juice and start the fermentation process;
- get wine with the same 9 percent alcohol;
- wine must be sent for distillation (distillation); ethyl alcohol evaporates and passes into the cooler, where it condenses, again turning into a liquid. There is still water in the boiler that needs to be drained. The distillation process is repeated twice;
- the resulting cognac spirit is sent for aging in special oak barrels.
Cognac alcohol is obtained from the middle distillate, the strength of which is 69-72 percent. The whole process of creating alcohol takes no more than a day.
For cognac aging, special barrels are needed, made of natural oak wood – the age of suitable trees is from 150 years. I wonder what will happen when all the old trees in the area are cut down?
First, alcohol is placed in barrels that have been used twice. After a few months of storage, the liquid is transferred to old barrels. Cognac spirit must mature, in the process of aging the substances contained in the wood are absorbed into the cognac.
After a year, alcohol becomes light golden in color and takes in tannins. After 3-4 years of aging, the alcohol has a new taste and a specific aroma with notes of vanilla and fruit plume. The taste of cognac softens with aging, after 10 years honey shades and tobacco notes appear.
By the way, the barrels in which cognac is aged are taken out of production after some time and … sold to smaller factories!
The price of French cognac depends on its aging and starts from 1800 rubles per bottle. For us, the cost is strongly tied to the exchange rate, so in Russia the prices for a regular 5-year-old French cognac can reach up to 5-6 thousand rubles.
What is Armenian cognac, how is it made and how much does it cost
My friend, who is a lover of Armenian brandy, has been to Armenia and Georgia more than once and told how the local brandy is created and its history. Armenian cognac is called brandy created in Armenia. He has long gained fame in Russia and in Europe.
By the way, all drinks that are created by the type of cognac do not have the right to be called it. In fact, “cognac” is the name of only French grape spirits that were produced in the respective locality. All other strong alcohol made using a similar technology is brandy.
Thus, my friend summed up, brandy can be no worse than cognac and it is impossible to focus only on the name and label in this case.
Cognac production began in the 1899th century, the creator of the drink was Nerses Tairov. By XNUMX, there were already several cognac factories in Armenia.
The famous cognac “ArArAt” has become a symbol of Armenia since 1953. Now it is produced on updated equipment and using modern technologies. To create it, only endemic grape varieties are used.
Cognac is produced by analogy with the French methods of double distillation. Some factories use a less expensive technology, which nevertheless makes it possible to produce quality brandy with grape aroma and authentic taste.
Cognac is aged in oak barrels created at the factory. As a raw material for containers, they take Caucasian oak growing in Armenia. After aging, the cognac acquires the taste of dried fruits, vanilla and notes of chocolate.
The price of Armenian cognac depends on the category, aging period and bottle design. Collection and vintage cognacs are more expensive, the layman can distinguish them from ordinary ones by the stars on the bottles (at least 5). The minimum cost of Armenian brandy in Russia is 700 rubles per bottle.
What is Crimean cognac, how is it made and how much does it cost
A lover of Crimean wines and cognacs, our third friend, said that he associates the taste of cognac with a vacation on the sea coast and the beauty of Crimea. Once he even went on an excursion to the cognac factory and told about what he had learned.
Crimean cognac is a brandy that has been aged in barrels for at least four years, so it has a rich taste and pleasant aroma.
The prerequisites for the creation of cognac in the Crimea was winemaking, and the first attempts to produce brandy were made a long time ago.
Local winemakers pressed the grapes in such a way that the seeds remained intact and controlled fermentation. The first Crimean brandy was officially released in 1961.
Cognac is created by distilling grape must. Specialists use local grape varieties. After distillation, the future cognac is placed in oak barrels and insisted for at least four years. In the process of distilling wine, a liter of cognac spirit is obtained from about 10 liters of wine.
Cognac alcohol is aged in oak barrels for 4 years or more. Barrels are made by ourselves and partially purchased. The extract results in:
- single cognac;
- vintage;
- collectible cognac.
Specialists blend spirits from different years and bottle cognac.
The price of a Crimean drink 6-year-old starts from 1500 rubles. Depending on the classification of cognac, the price may increase. The most expensive will, of course, collectible.
Which cognac is better, my opinion
I think that French cognac is definitely better than its competitors, as it has a rich taste and exquisite aroma. My top brands:
- Hennessy, most often I buy Very Special, which contains more than 40 cognac spirits. On the palate there is a blend of the highest quality. It is recognized by its special aroma. A bottle costs from 2 to 2,4 thousand rubles. Most of all I like to buy cognac in Duty Free when traveling abroad.
- I tried Martell Noblige at a friend’s birthday, and since then the soft pleasant taste and fruity aroma of the drink has become one of my favorites. I buy on holidays and spend up to 2,5 thousand rubles on a bottle.
- Remy Martin was given to me by colleagues for my anniversary. I remember the velvety taste with hints of cinnamon. The price of cognac VSOP 0,7 liters is 4352 rubles.
French cognac is not a shame to give to friends, colleagues and relatives. I think that this is a solid gift that will come in handy for any holiday. What cognac do you prefer and why?
*Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health!