For those who love brandy, it’s known as an obsession-worthy spirit. If you’re unfamiliar with this venerated beverage, however, you may view it as mysteriously redolent of Old Hollywood glamour, or as too “high-falutin” or stuffy. In reality, brandy is among the most diverse and accessible categories of liquor out there, boasting a staggering array of flavors and aromas to explore. It has been prized the world over for the tradition of craftsmanship that is baked into its very DNA. But the rich history of brandy is no closed book—it’s still in the making.
In fact, brandy’s newer fanbase is growing rapidly around the world. People are drawn to the wide and dynamic variety of flavors the category has to offer — whether it’s the fresh brightness of pisco, the subtleties of an old-world Cognac, the boldness of new American expressions, or all of the above.
And for centuries brandy has been serving up in abundance something that is so hot right now: hyper-local ingredients. After all, that very old concept terroir, region plus soil, is a locavore’s dream.
There’s a whole world of brandy out there to explore, and it’s anything but stuffy. Read on for a deep dive into this most storied spirit.
The story of brandy
Brandy is one of the oldest distilled spirits on the books, and has certainly earned its revered reputation. In countries such as France, Peru, Spain, Hungary, and Germany, the brandy-making tradition is hundreds of years.
But, in this case, tradition means anything but stilted. You can sip fine brandy neat in a most refined manner — and it’s a wonderful experience. But you can also whip up delicious contemporary brandy cocktails that are perfect for a tailgate, a summer dinner party, or for enjoying around a fall bonfire with friends.
This beloved spirit boasts quite a history. It’s been distilled in France since the middle ages, first used primarily for medicinal purposes.
The word brandy is a shortened form of brandywine, which comes from the Dutch word meaning “burnt wine,” or brandewijn. “Burnt” has to do with resourceful 16th-century Dutch sailors, who discovered that they could lighten a ship’s load by boiling down barrels of French wine, thereby reducing it to what they realized (and the French already knew) was an excellent drink.
Demand for brandy skyrocketed, and it was the spirit of choice across Europe for hundreds of years. Brandy’s popularity followed it to the American colonies, too, where farmers would distill the spirit from the local fruits they grew or foraged, including apples, peaches, pears, wild grapes, and more.
The fascinating history of brandy is also closely tied to the rise of the spirits industry around the world.
In fact, the popularity of brandy played a significant role in transforming spirits from largely medicinal products into the beverages we know today. Gin, rum, and whiskey all owe the origins of their industries to the brandy trade.
For example, the booming city of London, which was the greatest commercial hub in Europe by 1700, and the growth of the British navy resulted in an extraordinary demand for brandy. When war or disease stopped the British from importing brandy they had to look elsewhere for their spirits, helping to give rise to the modern gin and whiskey industries.
What defines brandy?
Brandy is a spirit distilled from fermented fruit juice or mash (wine, in other words). The resulting drink, however, defies such simple explanations; this is only where the story begins.
Most brandies are distilled from grape wine, like the high-profile varieties Cognac and Armagnac. But don’t forget about the huge selection of apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, cherry, and berry brandies made around the world!
The base juice, from grapes or other fruits, can be fermented for days, weeks, or even months to allow the sugars and yeasts to produce alcohol. The next step in the process is either a single or double distillation of the fermented liquid in a copper pot still or column still. Distillation results in a clear, aromatic spirit called eau de vie that is then typically aged for a number of years, often in French oak barrels. (Peruvian Pisco is a major exception; by law it cannot be aged.)
The vast majority of French brandy is Cognac, followed by Armagnac and the many brandies undesignated by region. Calvados is an apple brandy from Normandy with a devoted following, but for perspective, exports of Calvados number around 200,000 bottles annually, compared to Cognac’s 40 million or more...
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