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Such a question can often be found in the open spaces of Runet. An exhaustive proof of this is a rather common saying that says that any cognac is brandy, but not any brandy is cognac. And so that this statement is not perceived as a beautiful paradox, let’s look at the problem in detail.
What is brandy
Under the concept of “brandy” all spirits distilled from young grape wine or pomace, as well as from fermented fruit or berry juices, fall under the category.
Usually their fortress fluctuates between 40 and 60 degrees, but there are exceptions.
In Western Europe, you can find drinks whose strength does not exceed 35-36 degrees.
The earliest indisputable references to the practice of wine distillation in Europe date back to the XNUMXth century. Wines were distilled by merchants for reasons of ease of transportation and increasing the shelf life of the gifts of the vine.
There is also a legend that connects the first experience of turning wine into alcohol with the victorious English expedition of William the Conqueror, which took place in 1066.
According to the tradition mentioned, the Norman duke and future English king, thanks to this ingenious decision, reduced the number of wine barrels loaded onto his ships and thus was able to take with him more mercenaries.
When, after successfully crossing the English Channel, he ordered the distillate to be diluted with water to the original proportion, his soldiers, who managed to taste the new drink, demanded that their leader leave everything as it was.
Etymology of brandy
The word “brandy”, which appeared around the XNUMXth century, is an abbreviated anglicized form of the Dutch “brandewijn” or the German “branntwien”, which means burnt (i.e., distilled) wine.
It was under this name that Dutch merchants offered their goods to residents of the northern countries deprived of vineyards.
Brandy classification
Numerous brandy-type distillates can be classified according to several criteria.
First of all, we are talking about the raw materials of manufacture. It is divided into 3 groups:
Grape wine
Classical representatives: French Armagnac and cognac of interest to us, Spanish sherry brandy, Bulgarian mastic, factory-made Turkish crayfish, Greek ouzo and Metaxa, Armenian arbun, etc.
Grape pomace
Remaining after extracting the juice for the needs of winemaking (they are made from: Italian grappa, canonical Georgian chacha and South Slavic rakia, French mark, Hungarian terkolipalinka and a number of other drinks).
All other berries and fruits
The most famous fruit and berry brandies are: apple calvados, cherry kirschwasser, raspberry framboise, pear williams, peach au de vie, juniper boletus and, of course, the famous slivovitz.
At the same time, if the type of raw material used is not indicated on the bottle (for example: apricot, cherry, mulberry brandy, etc.), the standard is a distillate of grape origin.
The presence or absence of aging in oak barrels can also serve as a criterion for classifying brandy.
Based on this, drinks of this type are divided into aged and unaged:
Aged
Mostly wine distillates that have been in barrels for at least six months, due to which they acquire various shades of amber-brown color, characteristic taste and aroma.
Unseasoned
Transparent or caramelized drinks of fruit and berry origin or made from grape pomace, bottled immediately after distillation.
Finally, with some degree of conventionality, brandy can be classified according to the principle of their distillation.
So, there are drinks obtained by means of a one-time distillation with the separation of the middle alcohol fraction.
These include: armagnac, grappa, chacha, rakia, calvados, slivovitz, etc.
However, many varieties of brandy are made by double distillation with fractional division, carried out only in the second stage.
First of all, this is the same cognac, as well as drinks, in whose production elements of cognac technology are used: Metaxa, arbun, Ukrainian and Moldovan cognac counterparts, etc.
Distinctive features of cognac from brandy
Now, let’s talk more specifically about the cognac itself. This proud name can only be worn by brandy that meets the following characteristics:
The drink must be produced in the French province of Charente.
The raw material for it should be white grape varieties grown in the same province: Yuny Blanc, Colombard, Montil or Folle Blanche.
Natural young wine obtained during the fermentation of grapes must be double distilled in copper stills – alambiks.
The material for the cognac barrels should be the wood of the Limousin or Tronsey oak.
The grape spirit must be aged for more than two years.
The strength of the drink should be 40 degrees.
The drink must not contain any third-party additives.
At the same time, to be completely frank, it should be noted that there are about a dozen brands of Armenian, Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan brandy made using cognac technology, which are by no means inferior to their famous French prototype.
Relevance: 28.10.2017
Tags: brandy and cognac