Brandy Basics
Anything with a Napoleon grade must be good right? Before diving into what may be the next en vogue spirit after the runs dry (which hopefully will be a long time coming) there are a few basics anyone should be aware of.
The need to transport goods efficiently is as important today as it has ever been, and that is the most popular story as to how brandy began. I was a need to reduce volume of French wine for transportation that caused the Dutch traders to begin producing (or reducing) brandy. From its beginnings as French wine brandy evolved to include other fruit based alcohols such as those made from apples. The French may lay claim to some of the most world-renowned brands in brandy, but the origins are Dutch.
Regardless of where it started from brandy, as a spirit does not have any geographic restrictions, it can be made anywhere. France, Spain, Italy and even Peru have their takes on the spirit. The definition generally mentioning fruit to be used opens the beverage up to interpretation and customization. Where the French brandies have a grape base, other brandies utilize apples, apricots, cherries or even pears. Brandy is also an aged spirit and variables such as the type of wooden casks and even the storage location of those casks can have an effect on the final product.
A brandy’s quality is set out in one of two ways; there are brandy ratings but the better-known standard is the Cognac rating system. The easiest is a star system: three or five. Beyond that you need a little bit of education to follow the ratings. On the low end there is VS, aged for a minimum of two years. VSOP is your next echelon with its contents aged a minimum of four years. Napoleon is a tricky age statement. If this bottle is from the Cognac region the youngest spirit in the bottle is four years old, if Almanac minimum requirements are six years. Beyond that there is the X.O. or extra old, which prior to 2016 was a minimum of six years but since has been upped to a ten-year minimum. Confusing yes, but something that should be introduced now, before you end up lost and confused in the brandy aisle(s) of your liquor store.
The winding road of alcohol is a long and tireless one. Armed with our introduction to Brandy hopefully it now seems a little less intimidating. There is a place for whisky; we are not trying to be trendsetters here. If by chance you are looking for something a little different, try the cask aged fruit forward flavours of brandy.