Spirit Mastery
Brandy & Cognac: Grape to Glass
Brandy — distilled wine — has been produced for over 500 years. From France's Cognac and Armagnac to Spain's Brandy de Jerez, American craft brandy, and South America's Pisco, the category's range is extraordinary and largely underexplored.
Distilled Wine: The First Luxury Spirit
Brandy — from the Dutch "brandewijn," meaning burned wine — is simply wine that has been distilled and (usually) aged. The logic of its creation was practical: concentrating wine reduced shipping volume and prevented spoilage during long voyages. The surprising discovery was that the resulting spirit, aged in oak barrels, became something far more interesting than concentrated wine.
France's Cognac region stumbled onto this transformation through a combination of geography (limestone-rich Charentais soils producing thin, acidic wine ideal for distillation), history (Dutch traders providing the commercial demand and market access), and time (the discovery that aging in Limousin or Tronçais oak transformed the harsh young spirit into something extraordinary).
Cognac is the most famous expression, but brandy traditions exist globally: Armagnac in Gascony, Brandy de Jerez in Andalusia, Pisco in Peru and Chile, American brandy from California and craft distillers, and brandy traditions across Eastern Europe, South Africa, and Australia.
Cognac: The Benchmark
The Appellation
Cognac comes from a strictly defined region in western France, centered on the town of Cognac on the Charente River. Six sub-regions — known as crus — produce cognac, with Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne (the names refer to chalk soils, not the sparkling wine region) being the most prized.
The Ugni Blanc grape (Trebbiano in Italy) dominates production: thin, high-acid, low-alcohol wine that distills beautifully. It's essentially undrinkable as wine but produces exceptional brandy.
The Houses and the Grapes
Cognac is dominated by four large houses — Hennessy (Moët Hennessy group), Martell, Rémy Martin, and Courvoisier — who together account for the vast majority of global sales. These houses source grapes from contract farmers, produce cognac at their own facilities, and hold extensive stocks for blending.
Smaller houses and independent producers — Hine, Delamain, Pierre Ferrand, Frapin, and many others — offer single-cru, single-estate, and vintage expressions that show cognac's terroir variation more clearly than blended non-vintage offerings.
VS/VSOP/XO: Reading the Label
VS (Very Special): Youngest cognac in the blend is minimum 2 years old. Light, fresh, suitable for cocktails where spirit cost matters.
VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale): Minimum 4 years. The sweet spot for cocktails — enough aging to add complexity, affordable enough to use freely. Pierre Ferrand Ambre VSOP and Hine H VSOP are cocktail benchmarks.
XO (Extra Old): Minimum 10 years (raised from 6 in 2018). Rich, complex, oak-forward. Rémy Martin XO, Hennessy XO, and Delamain Pale & Dry XO are exceptional neat sippers.
Beyond XO: Hors d'Age, Extra, Vintage designations indicate even older or single-vintage expressions. Prices scale accordingly; the rarest cognacs command wine-cellar prices.
Armagnac: Cognac's Rural Cousin
Armagnac, produced in Gascony (southwest France), predates Cognac's fame but operates at a fraction of the scale. Where Cognac is largely dominated by large blending houses, Armagnac is a farmer's spirit — smaller producers, more direct grape-to-bottle relationships, and vintage expressions that cognac almost never offers.
Armagnac uses a different still — the alambic armagnacais, a continuous column still with pot-still characteristics — producing heavier, more rustic spirit than cognac's Charentais pot stills. The result: more robust, earthier, less polished than cognac. Aged in Gascon black oak (Monlezun), Armagnac develops prune, fig, leather, and tobacco notes over time.
Best introduction: Castarède 10-Year, Darroze Blanche (unaged), Delord 15-Year.
Brandy de Jerez and Other European Brandies
Spain's Brandy de Jerez ages in the solera system — the same fractional blending method used for sherry production in Jerez. Using sherry casks (fino, oloroso, Pedro Ximénez), the brandy absorbs raisins, dried fruit, and nutty sherry character. Cardenal Mendoza and Gran Duque d'Alba are flagship examples, rich and complex.
Grappa (Italy) distills pomace — the skins, seeds, and stems remaining after pressing grapes for wine. Unaged grappa is fiery and aromatic; aged grappa develops wood character and becomes more approachable. Nonino Riserva and Marolo expressions demonstrate quality grappa's potential.
Pisco: South America's Spirit
Pisco — produced in Peru and Chile with persistent dispute about which country originated it — is distilled from specific grape varieties in defined coastal regions.
Peruvian Pisco: Distilled once to proof, never diluted or aged in wood. Must be made from eight specified grape varieties. The result: a direct, unmodified expression of the grape. Quebranta (earthy, neutral), Torontel (floral), Italia (muscaty), and Mosto Verde (made from partially fermented must) are key varieties.
Chilean Pisco: Allows dilution with water and some wood aging. Lighter style, typically less intensely aromatic than Peruvian.
The Pisco Sour — pisco, fresh lime, simple syrup, egg white, Angostura bitters — is Peru's national cocktail and one of the great Sour template applications. The Dry Shake followed by shake with ice creates extraordinary foam; the bitters dash on top adds aromatic complexity.
Essential Brandy Cocktails
Sidecar: Cognac, triple sec, fresh lemon juice. Shake (Shaking) over ice, strain into a sugar-rimmed coupe. Use a VSOP cognac — VS is too light, XO is wasted. The ratio (2:1:1 or 3:2:1 cognac-heavy) determines whether the spirit or the citrus leads.
Brandy Old Fashioned: Replace whiskey with VSOP cognac. Cognac's dried fruit and oak against Angostura's spice. Stirring over large ice, expressed orange peel (Expressing).
B-52: Kahlúa, Bailey's Irish Cream, Grand Marnier (orange cognac liqueur). Layered (Layering) carefully using a spoon over each layer. A visual showpiece often completed with a flaming top (Flaming).
Horse's Neck: Cognac (or bourbon), ginger ale, Angostura bitters, lemon peel spiral. A Highball where cognac's fruit plays against ginger's spice.
Buying Guide
Cocktail workhorse: Pierre Ferrand 1840 (designed for cocktail use, specifically the Sidecar), Hine H VSOP, Courvoisier VSOP.
Sipping: Rémy Martin VSOP, Hennessy XO, Delamain XO.
Exploration: Darroze Armagnac (vintage expressions), Cardenal Mendoza (Jerez), Don Cesar Pisco Quebranta (for pisco sours).
Brandy's tragedy is being underestimated as an old person's drink while bourbon and whisky capture younger drinkers. The Sidecar alone — properly made with quality cognac — should convert any skeptic.