The origins of brandy are tied to the development of distillation. While the process was known in classical times, it was not used for significant beverage production until the 15th century. Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make it easier for merchants to transport. It is also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process led to the formation and decomposition of numerous aromatic compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remained behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate was often quite unlike that of the original source. As described in the 1728 edition of Cyclopaedia, the following method was used to distill brandy:
A cucurbit was filled half full of the liquor from which brandy was to be drawn and then raised with a little fire until about one-sixth part was distilled, or until that which falls into the receiver was entirely flammable. This liquor, distilled only once, was called spirit of wine or brandy. Purified by another distillation (or several more), this was then called spirit of wine rectified. The second distillation was made in balneo mariae and in a glass cucurbit, and the liquor was distilled to about one half the quantity. This was further rectified as long as the operator thought necessary to produce brandy.
To shorten these several distillations, which were long and troublesome, a chemical instrument was invented that reduced them to a single distillation. To test the purity of the rectified spirit of wine, a portion was ignited. If the entire contents were consumed by a fire without leaving any impurities behind, then the liquor was good. Another, better test involved putting a little gunpowder in the bottom of the spirit. If the gunpowder could ignite after the spirit was consumed by fire, then the liquor was good. As most brandies have been distilled from grapes, the regions of the world producing excellent brandies have roughly paralleled those areas producing grapes for viniculture. At the end of the 19th century, the western European markets, including by extension their overseas empires, were dominated by French and Spanish brandies and eastern Europe was dominated by brandies from the Black Sea region, including Bulgaria, the Crimea, and Georgia. In 1884, David Sarajishvili founded his brandy factory in Tbilisi, Georgia, a crossroads for Turkish, Central Asian, and Persian trade routes and a part of the Russian Empire at the time.
Here we have the grande dame of brandies, against which all others are measured. Cognac is both a type of brandy and the region in France that produces it. It's an aged, grape-based brandy that usually comes with a tremendous depth of flavor. Younger cognacs often present light fruit and oak notes, with older ones blooming into lots of dried fruit and spice. Cognac is usually bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV). By law, you can’t make cognac outside of Cognac, and even inside Cognac you must use specific grapes, and follow specific aging restrictions. Most cognac contains a blend of brandies, and is labeled according to the period of time the youngest brandy of the bunch has spent aging in oak casks. In general the average age of the blend is much older than that of the youngest brandy, with many XOs easily reaching an average age of twenty years.
The labeling scheme is: Very Special/Superior (VS) - Aged for at least two years. Very Special/Superior Old Pale (VSOP) - Aged for at least four years. Extra Old (XO) - Aged for at least six years. According to Wikipedia, citing the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, this will be raised to ten years in 2016. Brands to Try: Courvoisier, Hennessy, Remy Martin, Hine, Camus, Martell Suggested Cocktail: Cognac will work beautifully in any brandy-based cocktail, but it's especially at home in one of the most venerable of the bunch, the Old-School Sazerac.
A little harder to find than cognac, armagnac is nonetheless available at most quality liquor stores. Like Cognac, it's named after the region of France which produces it, and only brandies made there can legally be called armagnacs. Fruitier than it's cousin early on due to a different distilling process, Armagnac transitions into caramel and toffee notes as it ages and takes on more character from the wood. Armagnac is usually bottled at 92-96 proof (46-48% ABV). Also Like cognac, armagnac must adhere to certain labeling requirements, with the classification built on the age of the youngest brandy in the blend. Armagnacs designated by the year of their bottling are common, and you can find many a liquor store in France with a wide selection reaching back fifty years or more. The labeling system for armagnac is: VS - Aged for at least two years. VSOP - Aged for at least five years. XO - Aged for at least six years. Hors d age - This roughly translates to beyond age and is aged for at least ten years.
American brandy, like American wine, suffered from a bad rap for a long time. Well past the time, in fact, when it had actually gotten good. No more: people know now that you can get some amazing wines from California, Oregon, and other parts of the US ... and some of those wines are being distilled and aged in oak, just like their French cousins. The flavor profile of American brandy is usually similar to that of cognac, though because the Americans are free to use a wider variety of grapes, there is a broad range of possibilities. Like Cognac, American brandies often use the VS, VSOP, and XO classifications to denote the age and quality of the liquor within, although unlike Cognac and Armagnac, those designations are not legally enforced. Because American brandies are, shall we say, not always quite so refined as their French cousins, I recommend VSOP or better. The good news: American brandy is often a fraction of the price of Cognac or Armagnac. In fact, finding any other oak-aged liquor at these prices, whiskey or brandy or otherwise, is almost impossible. E&J XO, for example, is a terrific brandy that’s on par with many VSOP Cognacs, can be had for about $15 at many liquor stores.
Spanish brandy, like Spanish wine (both normal and fortified) is often overlooked. You just don't hear as much about Brandy de Jerez as you do about French and American brandies. That's too bad, because the Spanish brandy-making tradition is robust and produces some unique entries, many with subtle flavors of nuts and dried fruit. You may have heard of Jerez before - it's the region of S pain responsible for giving sherry, a fortified wine similar to port, its name. Brandy de Jerez is made using many of the same grapes and techniques that produce sherry, including the Solera technique, in which older liquids are blended continuously with newer batches to create the final product. Like other brandies, Brandy de Jerez has a classification system. Solera has an average age of one year and is light and fruity. Solera Reserva has an average age of three years and displays more oak characteristics. Solera Gran Reserva has an average age of ten years and brings lots of dried fruits, roasted nuts, and other notes traditional in liquors long-aged in oak.
Calvados is a delicious French brandy distilled from fresh apples. It has a significant apple scent, but in flavor is delicate, with apple notes that combine very well with the traditional wood and caramel flavors that come from oak aging. It's produced in the lower part of the Normandy region, in the north of the country, and its production dates back at least to the mid-sixteenth century. To qualify as Calvados, rather than eau-de-vie, the distillate must be aged in oak for a minimum of two years. Much like seemingly everything else in France, there are many laws dictating exactly how Calvados can be labeled. In addition to certain location designations, Calvados uses age indicators similar to Cognac and Armagnac. The age on the bottle always refers to the youngest brandy in the blend, and is labeled as follows - two years: Fine, Trois e toiles, 3 Star, or Trois Pommes. Three years: Vieux or Reserve. Four years: VO, VSOP, or Vielle Reserve. Six or more years: Extra, XO, Napoleon, Hors d'Age, or Age Inconnu.
This is Calvados's wild, unrefined, American cousin. Originally made by repeatedly freezing hard apple cider and skimming the ice from the top, thus slowly increasing the alcohol content, it's now most typically distilled and stored in the same manner as Calvados. Generally speaking, apple brandies (and applejack in particular) have a heartier apple flavor than French entries, and are a little rougher around the edges, owing in part to the fact that there's no clear-cut grading system established.
Pisco is a South American pomace brandy made in Chile and Peru that is often clear and occasionally light yellow. As many varieties of grape can be used in its production, and as the two countries that produce it have very different methods of doing so, Pisco has a wide range of flavors, though the majority of them have a fresh grape scent at the forefront. Peruvian pisco is aged for as little as three months in chemically inert vessels (i.e.: glass, metal, etc), and thus has none of the flavors associated with oak aging. It cannot contain additives of any kind. It is bottled at distillation strength, without dilution. At its base, Peruvian Pisco resembles strong, slightly grape-scented vodka. However, some methods of creation are specifically designed to retain more flavors from the fermenting grape mash, giving the alcohol much more character.
Chilean pisco is aged in oak and can be diluted to various strengths before bottling. At the lower end of the spectrum, Chilean pisco resembles low-strength white rum, but the older and higher-alcohol variants have a great deal of flavor. The longer it's aged, the more wood flavors it picks up, with long-aged variants coming to resemble French and American brandies, albeit with a much stronger grape flavor due to the use of grape must in the distillation. Don't let that frighten you, though. Applejack is inexpensive and delicious, and many American apple brandies are just as fine as Calvados.
If you start with fruit as a base, distill it, and bottle the result without aging it in wood for any extended period, you've got eaux-de-vie. These typically clear (but sometimes colored) liquors resemble vodka with subtle fruit notes, and are often served chilled in small glasses as digestifs. Common fruits used in making eaux-de-vie include pears, apples, plums, and peaches, but other fruits may also show up. In Germany, this type of liquor is called Schnaps, but don't confuse that with the syrupy-sweet, heavily-flavored stuff that gets labeled Schnapps in America. They’re effectively unrelated. German Schnaps, like all other Eaux-de-Vie, are sugarless, high-proof liquors like the rest of the brandies on this list. Brands to Try: Clear Creek, Harvest Spirits, and dozens of European brands. Suggested Cocktail: Believe it or not, there really aren't any classic Eau de Vie cocktails out there. I recommend giving the Poire Bomb, created by Dan Chadwick, a shot:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice and shake thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a pear slice.