Spanish brandy is mostly based on the Airén grape; a variety that can tolerate heat and drought. It is mostly grown for brandy production in La Mancha and Valdapeñas in central Spain. Palomino, a grape variety used in sherry production, is also used for producing Spanish brandy. In Penedès brandy producers use Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, the same grape varieties used to produce Spanish Cava. They also use Ugni blanc, the same grape variety used in Cognac. You probably know all about cognac, but you might not be as well-versed in its close relative Armagnac. While geography and other factors come into play, the main difference between cognac and Armagnac lies in its distillation. While cognac is distilled in pot stills, Armagnac is made using column distillation. One of the best Armagnacs to get you started on this spirit is Darroze. It’s Grand Assemblage 8 is a good start with its rich, inviting flavour profile filled with notes of leather, vanilla, dried fruits, and toffee. Brandy bodegas in Jerez are required to utilize a solera system of fractional blending. The solera consists of a series of barrels called criaderas (nurseries in Spanish). Each criadera is numbered. It can consist of one to hundreds of barrels. All the barrels in a criadera hold brandy of the same average age. A bodega may have anywhere from three to as many as 45 different criaderas. The oldest criadera is called the solera. These are the barrels from which the brandy destined for bottling is extracted. In Penedès the two major producers, Torres and Mascaró, do a double distillation in alembic pot stills and then mature their brandy in a combination of American and French Limousine oak barrels. Torres utilizes a solera system, Mascaró does not. The resulting style is lighter than Brandy de Jerez, but deeper colored and flavored than Cognac. I like my brandy with a touch of coke… I couldn’t finish it. It’s got a bitter /sharp taste to it and reminds of something from years ago, just can’t remember!

20 Best Brandy Brands to Sip Right Now | Man of Many 20 Best Brandy Brands to Sip Right Now | Man of Many

Shop at Dan Murphy’s Shop at Whisky Exchange 23rd Street Distillery ‘Not Your Nannas Brandy | Image: Supplied 12. 23rd St Distillery WARNING: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. Spirit produced from column stills has to be between 70% and 94.8% ABV, and is termed “aguardiente.” Sanchez Romate, Cardenal Mendoza, Solera Gran Reserva, Brandy de Jerez Photo, courtesy Sanchez Romate An aromatic brandy that has been aged for 10 to 12 years in butts that previously held Oloroso sherry. It offers notes of prunes, raisins and dates, along with hints of roasted nuts and old leather. The brandy is smooth, with a pronounced palate weight, with flavors of dried fruit, caramel and vanilla. There is also an 18 YO XO expression that is finished in sweet PX sherry cask and a 20 YO Oro expression matured in dry, Palo Cortado sherry casks.Chateau Tanunda is one of the most recognizable buildings in Australia. Founded in 1890, it was a wine pioneer in Barossa Valley in South Australia. While still well-known for its winemaking prowess, Chateau Tanunda also makes a well-known brandy. Known for its smooth, elegant flavours, this popular brandy is matured for a minimum of five years.

Torres 20 Old Fashioned - Mixes - Torres Brandy Torres 20 Old Fashioned - Mixes - Torres Brandy

To be called a Brandy de Jerez, the brandy needs to be matured within the sherry triangle in casks that previously held sherry and utilize a solera system for aging. It does not, however, need to be distilled in Jerez or use grapes grown there. This is similar to the Scotch whisky industry’s preoccupation a generation ago with kilts and bagpipes in marketing Scotch whisky. Spain’s brandy producers need to market their product to appeal to a more cosmopolitan buyer, while still preserving its essential Spanish character. This very limited, small-batch cognac brand is well-known for its artisanal expressions. Using traditional ingredients and techniques, this small brand was named for a familial French general and war hero. Philbert Distiller Reserve Grande Champagne Cognac, with its hints of coffee, almonds, vanilla, caramel, and dried fruits, is one of its most popular expressions.

The brandy is very smooth, dry and delicate, offering notes of caramel, almonds and vanilla. There is also a version finished in dry oloroso casks, Lepanto Oloroso Viejo, and a version finished in Pedro Ximenez casks, Lepanto Pedro Ximenez. The latter is sweeter. Cardinal Mendoza is aged for an average of 15 years in a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The brandy is named for Cardinal Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza. The cardinal was an advisor to Ferdinand II and Isabel I, and was instrumental in persuading the Spanish monarchs to support Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the new world. Lepanto is the only brandy distilled in the city of Jerez from locally grown Palomino grapes, the same variety used to produce sherry. The brandy is double distilled in Charentais pot stills, originally from Cognac, and is aged in solera for an average of 12 years. The first nine years in barrels that previously contained Tío Pepe and a further three years in casks that previously held 30 YO sweetOlorosoMatusalem sherry.

Classic Brandy Cocktails You Should Know - The Spruce Eats 24 Classic Brandy Cocktails You Should Know - The Spruce Eats

Chosen for several years as the Best Brandy in the World at contests like the International Wine &Spirit Competition. One of the “big four” cognac houses, Remy Martin has been producing award-winning cognacs since its inception in 1724. Cognacs produced by Remy Martin have a Cognac Fine Champagne appellation. This means that they only use eau de vie made from Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne crus. While the brand has a whole line of cognacs, one of its most popular is its VSOP. Known for its flavours of licorice, dried fruits, vanilla, and caramel, it’s a must-try cognac. This family-owned spirits and liqueur brand is produced in Angers, France. Founded in 1885 by Emilie Giffard, it makes countless products like Coconut Liqueur, Crème de menthe, Marschino Liqueur, and others. But it also makes a few fruit brandies. These include apricot, cherry, and others. While the brand doesn’t make cognac, you’d be hard-pressed to find a brand that makes more exciting, flavourful expressions than Giffard. To many, the best brandy feels like a spirit of a bygone era. Something your grandparents drank or at most something that was prescribed by a doctor to fight a cold decades ago. It feels like there’s no place for brandy in the contemporary spirits world, but the spirits experts at Man of Many are here to show you why that’s not the case. While the spirit produced from distillation is simply called eau de vie (which translates from French to English as “water of life”), it’s clear and only has the simple flavours imparted by the distillation process. To give it the amber, copper, caramel, or dark brown colours many drinkers associate with cognac and other brandies, it needs to be matured in wooden barrels similar to whisk(e)y.One of the first innovators in the California wine world, Paul Massin emigrated to the US from France in the late 1800s. He made many wines (including the first sparkling wine in America) but is today well-known for his brandy. It’s still made the same way over 100 years later. The most well-known expression is Paul Masson VS. Made the traditional way and aged in oak, it carries notes of caramel, vanilla, dried fruits, and rich oak. Pot still produced spirit must have an alcohol content (ABV) of between 40% and 70%. This spirit is known in the brandy trade as “holandas.” It is only distilled once, although there are a few producers who double distill. It’s a shame as I was full of hope. I guess in my head it would be comparable to a wine connoisseur drinking a bottle of vinegar. Spanish brandy sales don’t have much traction outside of Spain and a handful of export markets in former Spanish possessions. In the US, it has a small but dedicated following. That’s unfortunate, because it really is an excellent product. On the nose, there is an intense sherry cask aroma of raisin, prune and sweet almond. The palate features a pronounced weight with dried fruit, along with some coffee notes, orange zest and cinnamon. The finish, which is very rich and satiny smooth, emphasizes sweet almond notes, with a hint of bitterness on the end.

Torres 20 | ReserveBar Torres 20 | ReserveBar

Today, Spain produces about 80 million bottles of brandy. Three-quarters is consumed domestically, the balance is exported around the world. Mexico and the Philippines are the largest foreign consumers of Spanish brandy. The larger brands of Spanish brandy are generally available in the US, but unknown to most consumers. It’s a pity, as Spanish brandy represents exceptional values and quality. While brandy can be made anywhere in the world (and is), it’s difficult to dispute the level of cognac made in France. There’s a reason even novice drinkers know the names Martell, Hennessy, Courvoisier, and Remy Martin. If you only try one type of brandy in the world, make it cognac. You won’t be disappointed. To help you in this endeavour, we decided to list our favourite brandy brands. From brandy to cognac, Armagnac, and even apple brandy, you’ll find everything you need to start your brandy journey below. Our list of the best Brand goes like this.Normally drink VSOP brandy but got this as a gift. It’s brandy, right, so should be good. It has a high note aroma that reminds me of something medicinal. An aged brandy distilled from the Parellada and Ugni Blanc grape varieties. Both varieties are distilled separately twice in traditional stills.