Brandy (from
brandywine, derived from
Dutch brandewijn—"burnt wine")
is a
spirit produced by
distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60%
alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an
after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in
wooden casks, while some are simply coloured with
caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such aging (and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring).
Brandy is also produced from fermented fruits other than grapes, but these products are typically named
eaux-de-vie.
In some countries, fruit flavouring or some other flavouring may be added to a spirit that is called "brandy".
Beverages
Brandy may be served
neat or
on the rocks. It is added to other beverages to make several popular
cocktails; these include the
Brandy Alexander, the
Sidecar, the
Brandy Sour, and the
Brandy Old Fashioned.
Brandy is traditionally drunk
neat at room temperature in western countries from a
snifter or a tulip glass.
[2] In parts of Asia, it is usually drunk
on the rocks.
When drunk at room temperature, it is often slightly warmed by holding
the glass cupped in the palm or by gently heating it. However, excessive
heating of brandy may cause the alcohol vapour to become too strong, to
the extent that its aroma can become overpowering. Brandy connoisseurs
that like their brandy heated may ask for the glass to be warmed before
the Brandy is added.
Brandy has a more pleasant aroma at a lower temperature, e.g.,
16 °C (61 °F).
[citation needed]
This would imply that brandy should be cooled rather than heated for
maximum enjoyment. Furthermore, alcohol (which makes up 40% of a typical
brandy) becomes thin when it is heated (and more viscous when cooled).
Thus, cool brandy produces a fuller and smoother
mouthfeel and less of a "burning" sensation.
Culinary
- Flavoured brandy is added to desserts, including cake and pie toppings, to enhance their flavour.
- Flavoured brandy is commonly added to apple dishes.
- Brandy is a common deglazing liquid that is used in making pan sauces for steak and other meat.
- Brandy is used to create a more intense flavour in some soups, notably onion soup.
Medicinal
Brandy was an important ingredient in many
patent medicines such as
Daffy's Elixir.
History
The origins of brandy are clearly tied to the development of
distillation. Concentrated
alcoholic beverages were known in ancient
Greece and
Rome. Brandy, as it is known today, first began to appear in the 12th century and became generally popular in the 14th century.
Initially wine was distilled as a
preservation method and as a way to make the wine easier for
merchants
to transport. It was 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.
[3]
In addition to removing water, the distillation process leads to the
formation and decomposition of numerous aroma compounds, fundamentally
altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile
substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remain behind in the
still. As a result, the taste of the distillate may be quite unlike that
of the original source.
As described in the 1728 edition of
Cyclopaedia, the following method was used to distil brandy:
[4]
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 without
leaving any impurity behind, then the liquor was good. Another, better
test involved putting a little
gunpowder in the bottom of the spirit. If the gunpowder took fire when the spirit was consumed, then the liquor was good.
[4]
As most brandies are 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 market—and by extension their overseas empires—was
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 1880, David Saradjishvili founded his Cognac
Factory in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire) which was a
crossroads for Turkish, Central Asian, and Persian trade routes.
Armenian and Georgian brandies (always called cognacs in the era) were
considered some of the best in the world, often beating their French
competitors at the International Expositions in Paris and Brussels in
the early 1900s. The storehouses of the Romanov Court in St. Petersburg
were regarded as the largest collections of cognacs and wines in the
world—much of it from the Transcaucasus region of Georgia. During the
October Revolution of 1917, upon the storming of the Winter Palace, the
Bolshevik Revolution actually paused for a week or so as the rioters
engorged on the substantial stores of cognac and wines. The Russian
market was always a huge brandy-consuming region, and while much of it
was home-grown, much was imported. The patterns of bottles follow that
of western European norm. Throughout the Soviet era, the production of
brandy remained a source of pride for the communist regime, and they
continued to produce some excellent varieties—most famously the Jubilee
Brandies of 1967, 1977, and 1987. Remaining bottles of these productions
are highly sought after, not simply for their quality, but for their
historical significance.
Terminology and legal definitions
According to the
Encyclopaedia Britannica and general colloquial usage of the term, brandy may also be made from
pomace and from fermented fruit other than grapes.
[3]
If a beverage comes from a particular fruit (or multiple fruits) other than exclusively grapes, or from the
must
of such fruit, it may be referred to as a "fruit brandy" or "fruit
spirit" or using the name of a fruit, such as "peach brandy", rather
than just generically as "brandy". If pomace is the raw material, the
beverage may be called "
pomace brandy", "marc brandy", "grape marc", "fruit marc spirit", or "grape marc spirit". Grape pomace brandy may be designated as "
grappa" or "grappa brandy".
[5] Apple brandy may be referred to as "applejack".
[5] There is also a product called "grain brandy" that is made from grain spirits.
[6]
Within particular jurisdictions, there are specific regulatory
requirements regarding the labelling of products identified as brandy.
For example:
- In the European Union, there are regulations[7]
that require products labelled as brandy (except "grain brandy") to be
produced exclusively from the distillation or redistillation of
(grape-based) wine (or "wine fortified for distillation"), and a minimum
of six months of aging in oak is required.[8] Alcoholic beverages imported to the EU from the United States or other non-EC
states can be sold within the European Union using labels that refer to
them as "fruit brandy" or "pomace brandy", but such a label cannot be
used in the EU for products produced in an EC member state.[citation needed]
- In the United States,
brandy that has been produced in some way other than using grape wine
must be labelled with a clarifying description of the type of brandy
production (e.g., "peach brandy", "fruit brandy", "dried fruit brandy",
or "pomace brandy"), and brandy that has not been aged in oak for at
least two years must be labelled as "immature".[5]
- In Canada, the regulations regarding naming conventions for brandy are basically similar to those the United States
(provisions B.02.050–061), the minimum specified aging period is six
months in wood (although not necessarily oak, provision B.02.061.2), and
caramel, fruit, other botantical substances, flavourings, and
flavouring preparations may also be included in a product called brandy
(provisions B.02.050–059).[9]
The German term
Weinbrand is equivalent to the English term "brandy", but outside the
German-speaking countries it is used only for brandy from
Austria and
Germany.
In
Poland, brandy is sometimes called
winiak, from
wino (wine).
Types
There are three main types of brandy. The term "brandy" denotes
grape brandy if the type is not otherwise specified.
Grape brandy
Grape brandy is produced by the distillation of fermented grapes.
- Albanian grape brandy (Raki e Rushi) is the most popular and
traditional alcoholic beverage in Albania and the Albanian regions of
Eastern Montenegro.
- American grape brandy is almost always from California.[3] Popular brands include Christian Brothers and Korbel.
- Armenian brandy has been produced since the 1880s and comes from the Ararat plain in the southern part of Armenia.
It was Winston Churchill's favourite brandy. Bottles on the market are
aged anywhere from 3 to 20 years. During the International Exhibition in
Paris in 1900, the brandy received the Grand-Prix and the legal right
to be called 'cognac', not 'brandy', following a blind degustation.
- Armagnac
is made from grapes of the Armagnac region in Southwest of France
(Gers, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne). It is single-continuous distilled in a
copper still and aged in oak casks from Gascony or Limousin. Armagnac was the first distilled spirit in France. Armagnacs have a specificity: they offer vintage qualities. Popular brands are Darroze, Baron de Sigognac, Larressingle, Delord, Laubade, Gélas and Janneau.
- Metaxa,
the first alcoholic drink consumed in space, is a Greek distilled
spirit ivnented by Spyros Metaxas in 1888, continuing the tradition of
making distilled wines since the Classical antiquity. It is a blend of brandy and wine made from sun-dried Savatiano, Sultana and Black Corinth grape varieties. It is then blended with an aged Muscat wine from the Greek islands of Samos and Lemnos. In its "Twelve Stars" and "Grand Reserve" varieties, there is no addition of Muscat wine. Metaxa is made in Kifissia affluent suburb of Athens, Greece and is exported to over 60 countries.
- Cognac comes from the Cognac region in France,[3] and is double distilled using pot stills. Popular brands include Hine, Martell, Camus, Otard, Rémy Martin, Hennessy, Frapin, Delamain and Courvoisier.
- Brandy de Jerez is a brandy that originates from vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain.[10] It is used in some sherries and is also available as a separate product. It has a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). The traditional production method has three characteristics:
- Pisco is a strong, colorless brandy that comes from Ica Region in Peru[12] made of aromatic and non-aromatic grapes.[13] Chile produces Chilean Pisco[14] which is yellowish-to-amber colored brandy.
- Portugal: Lourinhã,
located in western Portugal, is one of the few brandy-making areas,
besides Cognac, Armagnac and Jerez, that have received appellation
status.[citation needed]
- South African grape brandies are, by law, made almost exactly as in Cognac, using a double-distillation process in copper pot stills
followed by aging in oak barrels for a minimum of three years. Because
of this, South African brandies are of a very high quality.[15]
- Cyprus brandy differs from other varieties in that its alcohol concentration is only 32% ABV.[citation needed]
- Bejois Brandy is a make of grape brandy produced in India and most popular in the southern states.
- Other countries: Grape brandy is also produced in many other countries, including Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.[citation needed]
The
European Union and some other countries legally enforce the use of the name
Cognac as the exclusive name for brandy produced and distilled in the
Cognac area of
France and the name
Armagnac for brandy from the Gascony area of France, made using traditional techniques. Since these are considered
PDO,
they refer not just to styles of brandy but brandies from a specific
region, i.e. a brandy made in California in a manner identical to the
method used to make Cognac and which tastes similar to Cognac, cannot be
called Cognac in places that restrict the use of that term to products
made in the Cognac region of France (such places include Europe, the
United States and Canada).
Fruit brandy
Fruit brandies are distilled from fruits other than grapes. Apples,
peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, elderberries, raspberries, and
blackberries, are the most commonly used fruits. Fruit brandy usually
contains 40% to 45%
ABV. It is usually colourless and is customarily drunk chilled or over ice.
- Applejack is an American apple brandy, made from the distillation of hard cider. It was once made by fractional freezing, which would disqualify it as a proper brandy.
- Buchu brandy is South African and flavoured with extracts from Agathosma species.
- Calvados is an apple brandy from the French region of Lower Normandy.[3] It is double distilled from fermented apples.
- Damassine is a prune (the fruit of the Damassinier tree) brandy from the Jura Mountains of Switzerland
- Coconut brandy is a brandy made from the sap of coconut flowers.
- Eau-de-vie is a general French term for fruit brandy (or even grape brandy that is not qualified as Armagnac or Cognac, including pomace brandy).
- German Schnaps is fruit brandy produced in Germany or Austria.
- Kirschwasser is a fruit brandy made from cherries.[3]
- Kukumakranka brandy is South African and flavoured with the ripe fruit of the Kukumakranka.
- Pálenka
or "Pálené" made with and fruit whose native name ends in -ica, is a
common traditional description for Slovak brandy. It only can be
distilled from fruits (wild or domestic) from Slovakia.
- Pálinka is a traditional Hungarian fruit brandy.[3] It can only be made of fruits from Hungary, such as plums, apricots, peaches, elderberries, pears, apples or cherries.
- Poire Williams (Williamine) is made from Bartlett pears (also known as Williams pears).
- Rakia
is a type of fruit brandy produced in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia; it may be made from plums,
apples, quinces, pears, apricots, cherries, mulberries, grapes, or
walnuts.
- Slivovice
is a strong fruit brandy made from plums. It is produced in Croatia,
Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovakia,
the Czech Republic, and Poland.
- Țuică is a clear Romanian fruit brandy made from plums, apples, pears, apricots, mulberries, peaches, quinces, or mixtures of these. Romania and Moldova also produce a grape brandy called vin ars (burnt wine) or divin.
Pomace brandy
Pomace brandy (also called
marc in both English and
French) is produced by fermentation and distillation of the grape skins,
seeds, and stems that remain after grapes have been pressed to extract
their juice (which is then used to make wine). Most pomace brandies are
neither aged nor coloured.
Examples of pomace brandy are:
Distillation
A batch distillation typically works as follows:
Wine with an alcohol concentration of 8% to 12%
ABV and high acidity is boiled in a
pot still.
Vapours of
alcohol, water, and numerous
aromatic components rise and are collected in a condenser coil, where they become a liquid again. Because
alcohol and the
aromatic components vaporise at a lower temperature than water, the concentration of alcohol in the condensed liquid (the
distillate) is higher than in the original wine.
After one distillation, the
distillate,
called "low wine," will contain roughly 30% alcohol (ethanol) by
volume. The low wine is then distilled a second time. The first 1% or so
of distillate that is produced, called the "head," has an alcohol
concentration of about 83% and an unpleasant odour, so it is discarded
(generally, mixed with another batch of low wine, thereby entering the
distillation cycle again). The distillation process continues, yielding a
distillate of approximately 70% alcohol (called the "heart"), which is
what will be consumed as brandy. The portion of low wine that remains
after distillation, called the "tail," will be mixed into another batch
of low wine (so that the tail enters the distillation cycle again, as
does the head).
Distillation does not simply enhance the alcohol content of wine. The
heat under which the product is distilled and the material of the still
(usually
copper) cause
chemical reactions to take place during distillation. This leads to the formation of numerous new
volatile aroma components, changes in relative amounts of aroma components in the wine, and the
hydrolysis of components such as esters.
Aging
Brandy is produced using one of three aging methods:
- No aging: Most pomace brandy and some fruit brandy is not aged before bottling. The resulting product is typically clear and colourless.
- Single barrel aging: Brandies with a natural golden or brown colour are aged in oak casks. Some brandies have caramel colour added to simulate the appearance of barrel aging.
- Solera process: Some brandies, particularly those from Spain, are aged using the solera system.
Labelling
Brandy has a traditional quality rating system, although its use is unregulated outside of
Cognac and
Armagnac. These indicators can usually be found on the label near the brand name:
- A.C.: aged two years in wood.
- V.S.: "Very Special" or 3-Star, aged at least three years in wood.
- V.S.O.P.: "Very Superior Old Pale" or 5-Star, aged at least five years in wood.
- X.O.: "Extra Old", Napoleon or Vieille Reserve, aged at least six years, Napoleon at least four years.
- Vintage: Stored in the cask until the time it is bottled with the label showing the vintage date.
- Hors d'age: These are too old to determine the age, although ten years plus is typical, and are usually of great quality.
In the case of
Brandy de Jerez, the Consejo Regulador de la Denominacion Brandy de Jerez classifies it according to:
- Brandy de Jerez Solera – one year old.
- Brandy de Jerez Solera Reserva – three years old.
- Brandy de Jerez Solera Gran Reserva – ten years old.
Pot stills vs. tower stills
Cognac and South African pot still brandy are examples of brandy produced in batches using
pot stills (batch distillation). Many American brandies use
fractional distillation in tower stills to perform their distillation.
Special pot stills with a fractionating section on top are used for
Armagnac.
from: http://www.wikipedia.com
By
Andrew O’ Gorman, Head of Department Bar and Meat Management, Dublin
Institute of Technology, Honorary Life Member The Irish Guild of
Sommeliers, Honorary Life Member Bartenders Association of Ireland.
The
Bartender's first verbal contact with the customer is most important.
Make him/her feel comfortable by using a pleasant and courteous voice,
the greeting should be friendly and dignified.
It
is an excellent habit to report for work 15-20 minutes prior to your
scheduled time, to enable you to check your bar and be prepared. Your
supervisor will check your appearance and uniform before service will
begin. Check the posted schedules to be sure you know when and where to
report for work.
It
will take some time and training until new bar staff are able to
perform their job with confidence and have pride in their ability to
cope with all of the situations and problems of quality service. During
these first weeks the bar manager and head bartenders will check with
new bar staff daily to answer all questions and provide them with the
proper answers, procedures and tools to learn their job.
These
days it can get pretty confusing with all the terminology there is
surrounding the bar. Working in a bar environment it is essential that
you are aware of the most common terminology and what they mean to make
it easier to carry out your job.
