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Brandy Basics

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Brandy Drink Recipes from the Four Seasons Restaurant

Types of Brandy

In broadest terms, brandies are categorized as grape brandy and fruit brandy.

Grape Brandy

Grape brandy is made only from the juice of white grapes. It differs from pomace brandy, which is made not directly from whole white grapes but rather from the leftover grape pulp, skin, stems, and sometimes lees (the dregs of barrel-aged wine). Pomace brandies include grappa (Italy), marc (France), and pisco (Chile and Peru).

Grape brandies are often marked with initials—a grading system that originated with cognac but is now used on brandies of any type. The grades run from youngest and least expensive to oldest and priciest:

V.S. (very special): Aged 3 years minimum; average 4–5 years
V.S.O.P. (very special old pale): Aged 5 years minimum; average 10–15 years
X.O. (extra old): Aged 6 years minimum; average 20 years or more

Among the many grape brandies on the market, the finest and best known are cognac and armagnac. Most other grape brandies are described based on their region of origin.

Cognac

Since the 1600s, the Cognac region of western France has been home to what is considered the world’s finest brandy. The region is separated into six growing zones, each of which produces varying qualities of cognac. For this reason, a cognac’s growing zone is often printed on its bottle, particularly if the cognac is from one of the two finest growing zones. The growing zones, in order from highest to lowest quality, are:

Grand Champagne and Petite Champagne
Fins Bois
Bons Bois
Borderies
Bois Ordinaires

By French law, the white grapes Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Folle Blanche must account for at least 90% of a cognac’s grapes. Cognacs can range widely in price, depend-ing on the brand and the length of time they’ve been aged. A 750ml bottle of V.S. cognac usually runs about $25 but can cost as little as $10. V.S.O.P. cognacs average around $40, while X.O. cognacs average about $100. (Some special reserve cognacs are extremely expensive: Hennessy’s Richards Reserve sells for $1,700.) Cognac brands include:

High-end: Hennessy, Lheraud, Rémy Martin
Middle range: Camus, Courvoisier, Martell
Value-for-money: François de Lyon, Gautier

Armagnac

Armagnac, made in the Gascony region of southwestern France, is France’s oldest spirit, predating cognac by at least a century. Though the dominant grapes used to make it are the same as cognac’s, the brandy is distilled in a unique still—a cross between a pot still and a column still. This, combined with aging in barrels made from sap-rich Monzelun oak (which grows in the Armagnac region’s Monezlun forest), gives armagnac a more pronounced flavor.

The earlier a vintage noted on the label, the more expensive the armagnac. For example, a 750ml bottle of Chateau de Laubade V.S.O.P. sells for around $20, while the same producer’s 1982 vintage sells for around $120, and its 1953 vintage for $300. Producers who include quality lower-priced armagnacs in their product line include Cerbois, Dartigalongue, Domaine Le Basque, and Marie Duffau.

Other Grape Brandies

Outside of France, the major brandy-producing regions include Armenia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, and South Africa. Two regions in particular stand out—Spain and California.

Spanish Brandy

Brandy de Jerez, made from the Spanish Airén grape, is the product of sherry houses in and around the Andalusian town of Jerez. And, like sherry, brandy de jerez is aged and blended in a solera—a set of barrels arranged in stacked rows. Solera-style blending involves taking brandy for bottling from the oldest barrel, replenishing what’s left in the barrel with brandy from the next-oldest barrel, and so on down the line. The result is a fragrant, sweetish brandy of multiple vintages, some of which may be more than 100 years old.

A 750ml bottle of brandy de Jerez from Fundador retails for $15–20, compared to $40–60 for bottlings from such high-end producers as Cardenal Mendoza, Carlos I, and Gran Duque d’Alba.

California Brandy

Almost all American brandy comes from California, the largest wine-producing state in the United States. Typical California brandy is made with the Thompson, Tokay, and Emperor table grapes and is generally lighter and cleaner-tasting than its European counterparts. Some California brandies also forgo the European V.S., V.S.O.P., and X.O. designations.

Brands such as Christian Brothers and Paul Masson sell in the $10–20 range—as do some versions of pot-distilled Korbel brandy, made from the three major Cognac grapes: Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Folle Blanche. Artisanal California brandies such as Osocalis and Germain-Robin cost anywhere from $40 to well over $100.

Fruit Brandy

In addition to brandy made from grapes, brandy can also be made from a wide range of other fruits. True fruit brandies are distilled from fruit juice, whereas cheaper fruit-flavored brandies are grape brandies mixed with the extract from another fruit. A vast range of fruit brandies are available on the market, but the best known are calvados and eau-de-vie.

Calvados

Like grape-based cognac and armagnac, apple-based calvados is named for its place of origin—the Calvados region of Lower Normandy in France. This most famous fruit brandy is made from apples grown in the Pays d’Auge area. The juices of several carefully chosen varieties are mixed and left to ferment naturally into apple cider with an ideal balance of sweetness and acidity. The cider is double-distilled, then left to age in oak barrels.

Five-year-old calvados costs as little as $20, while 20-year-old calvados jumps to around $100. Premium versions aged for 25–30 years can cost several hundred dollars. Calvados brands of note include Coeur de Lion, Daron, Dupont, Lecompte, and Roger Groult.

Eau-de-Vie

Colorless eau-de-vie, also called aqua vitae (both terms mean “water of life”), is either drunk neat as a digestif after a meal—in which case it is served ice-cold—or used as an ingredient in cocktails. Eaux-de-vie are distilled from a variety of fruits. Among the best-selling eaux-de-vie are fraise (strawberry), framboise (raspberry), kirschwasser (cherry), and poire William (pear). Eaux-de-vie are generally 80 proof or stronger. Producers include:

Stroh (Austria)
Massenez, Trimbach (France)
Schladerer, Ziegler (Germany)
Moletto (Italy)
Etter (Switzerland)
Bonny Doon, Clear Creek, St. George (United States)

Eaux-de-vie are expensive, with 750ml bottles costing $30–60. A more affordable option is the potent eastern European specialty Slivovitz ($15–20), made from the slightly bitter slivovitz plum. Producers of Slivovitz include Jelinek (Czech Republic) and Maraska (Croatia).

Other Fruit Brandies

Not all fruit-based brandies are clear eaux-de-vie. Applejack, which dates from the American colonial period, is distilled from hard apple cider and then aged for at least two years. The golden, slightly sweet brandy is bottled at 30–40% alcohol by volume (60–80 proof). Apricots and peaches are also distilled to make brandy aged in barrels.

Fruit-Flavored Brandies

Fruit-flavored brandies are made by flavoring grape brandy with other fruit extracts. Producers marketing brandies flavored with apricot, blackberry, peach, plum, or even coffee include Bols, DeKuyper, and Hiram Walker. A 750ml bottle of fruit-flavored brandy usually costs $13–15.

Acknowledgments & Disclaimer

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Brandy Basics

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Brandy Drink Recipes from the Four Seasons Restaurant

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