What is the difference between brandy and cognac: short and sweet

This question can often be found on the Internet. The exhaustive proof of this is a fairly common saying that any cognac is a brandy, but not any brandy is a 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, are eligible.

Usually their strength ranges 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 undisputed references to the practice of wine distillation in Europe date back to the XII 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 this tradition, the Norman duke and future king of England, thanks to this ingenious solution, reduced the number of wine barrels loaded on his ships and thus was able to take more mercenaries with him.

When, after successfully crossing the Channel, he ordered to dilute the distillate with water to the original proportion, his soldiers, who had managed to taste the new drink, demanded that their leader leave everything as it was.

The etymology of brandy

The word "brandy", which appeared around the 16th century, is a shortened Englishized form of the Dutch "brandewijn" or German "branntwien", which means burnt (i.e., burnt).е., distilled) wine.

It was under this name that Dutch merchants offered their goods to the inhabitants of the vineyards of the northern countries.

Classification of brandy

Numerous brandy distillates can be classified based on several criteria.

First of all, we are talking about the raw materials. It is divided into 3 groups:

1. Grape wine

   Classic representatives: French armagnac and the cognac we are interested in, Spanish sherry brandy, Bulgarian mastic, factory Turkish crayfish, Greek ouzo and Metaxa, Armenian arbutus, etc.д.

2. Grape pomace

   Those that remain after juice extraction for winemaking needs (they are used to make Italian grappa, canonical Georgian chacha and South Slavic rakia, French brand, Hungarian terkelipalinka and a number of other drinks).

3. All other berries and fruits

   The most famous fruit and berry brands: apple calvados, cherry Kirschwasser, raspberry framboise, pear williams, peach eau de vie, juniper boletus and, of course, the famous plum.

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.

Based on this, drinks of this type are divided into aged and unaged:

1. Aged

   Mostly wine distillates that have been in barrels for at least six months, due to which they acquire different shades of amber-brown color, characteristic taste and aroma.

2. Unoaked

   Transparent or caramel-colored drinks of fruit and berry origin or made from grape pomace that are bottled directly after distillation.

Finally, with a certain degree of conventionality, brandies can be classified according to the principle of their distillation.

Yes, there are drinks obtained by means of a single distillation with the separation of the middle alcohol fraction.

These include: armagnac, grappa, chacha, rakia, calvados, plum, etc.

At the same time, many varieties of brandy are made by double distillation with fractional separation, which is carried out only at the second stage.

First of all, it is the same cognac, as well as drinks that use elements of cognac technology in their production: Metaxa, watermelon, Ukrainian and Moldovan cognac analogs, etc. д.д.

Distinctive features of cognac from brandy

Now, let's talk more about the cognac itself. Only brandies that meet the following characteristics can bear this proud name:

1. The drink must be produced in the French province of Charente.

2. The raw material for it should be white grape varieties grown in the same province: Uni Blanc, Colombard, Montiel or Folle Blanche.

3. Natural young wine obtained during the fermentation of grapes must be subjected to double distillation in copper stills - alambics.

4. The material for cognac barrels should be Limousin or Trondheim oak.

5. The period of aging of grape alcohol should be more than two years.

6. The strength of the drink should be 40 degrees.

7. The drink should not contain any foreign 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 in no way inferior to their famous French prototype...

Update: 28.10.2017

Category: Brandy and Cognac