What is the difference between brandy and pomace? or are they the same?

There is some confusion regarding brandy and marc. It is true that they are related. What’s more, many people use these words as synonyms when in fact they are not.

Aguardiente is an alcoholic beverage that results from the process of distilling a fermented fruit. The fruit must have been macerated and produced alcohol naturally, as for example, tequila, whiskey and cognac are three examples of brandy.

The pomace is, by definition, the skin of the grape once fermented, also called skin or bagasse. When the pomace or bagasse is distilled, it becomes brandy. This brandy is called “brandy of pomace”, but being a very long name it tends to be called pomace.

That is, Aguardiente is the generic name given to all that drink that has been distilled from a fermented fruit. And when pomace is fermented “The skins of the grape” and they are distilled to obtain what we call marc brandy.

There are many types of pomace.

These receive one name or another depending on the area. For example, in France they are known as Marc and in Italy as Grappa. In Spain they stand out the pomace of herbs and pomace of coffee liqueur.

There are also liqueurs and pomace creams. In the latter, the pomace is mixed and reduced with water, juice or milk cream to obtain the liquor. The texture is what differentiates the pomace cream from the pomace liqueur.

The pomace can be white or yellow. White pomace refers to pomace brandy, which is actually rather colorless rather than white. While the yellow pomace is what we know as pomace or herbal liqueur.

Regarding its properties, brandy is an alcoholic drink that does not contain carbohydrates, fats, proteins or sugars. However, it does contain vitamin K. Its alcoholic content varies between 29% and 60%.

There are two types of brandy, the simple and the compound.

The simple brandy

It is one to which no flavors other than those of the brandy are added. In other words, it’s the one that comes straight out of the alembic. Simple spirits include the rum, brandy, whiskey and tequila.

Compound brandy

It is the one to which flavors such as herbs, spices or anise seeds are added, among others. Within the compound spirits are absinthe, anise, benedictine and strega.

What is more, there are subgroups of compound spirits. For example, wine spirits such as brandy or cognac; grape spirits such as marc, marc y grappas; aniseed spirits such as anise; cider, fruit, agave, sugar cane or cereal spirits, among others.

As for the types of marc brandy, they are distinguished by their age or aromas. There are white or young pomace, aged pomace, flavored and mixed and aromatic pomace.

• Añejo is the one that is left to rest in oak barrels for a whole year.
• The white is packaged after being distilled and is crystalline or white in color, hence the name.
• As for the flavored pomaces, they are those to which herbs are added.
• Finally, the mixes and aromatics are those to which dairy derivatives are added to the mix of brandy.

The pomace of Galicia is the best known in Spain

This is the main ingredient of the traditional queimada and is made with grape marc from Galicia.

It also highlights the Galician herbal brandy which is made with plants such as mint, chamomile, lemon verbena, oregano, rosemary, coriander, etc.

In addition to the herbal brandy, there is herbal liqueur, and they are different. They have different alcoholic strength and contain different amounts of sugar, being the herbal liqueur it is sweeter and less alcoholic than herbal schnapps.

Finally, I would like to talk about the coffee liqueur, also typical of Galicia, it is made with pomace brandy and naturally roasted coffee.

The pomace cream is also well known, it is a softer and sweeter liquor that is usually taken cold.

As you may have already seen, there is a great variety of liqueurs, pomace and spirits; so it is not strange that sometimes some names are confused with others. However, and as I already mentioned at the beginning of this article, brandy and pomace are not the same.

The pomace is a type of brandy. The confusion comes from shortening the name “brandy with pomace”. I hope this article has been helpful. It is time for you to try some liquor or pomace after a great meal, “they say they help digestion.”

Without a doubt, both the brandy and the marc, in their proper measure, are a luxury for our palate.

Do you have any doubt? Leave a comment and we will be happy to help you. Is there a typical liquor, brandy or pomace that is not mentioned in this article?