"No, Sir, claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero (smiling) must drink brandy. In the first place, brandy is most grateful to the palate; and then brandy will do soonest for a man what drinking can do for him. There are, indeed, few who are able to drink brandy. That is a power rather to be wished for than attained." Samuel Johnson Good evening and welcome to the bar... In the second of my series on the history of spirits I've chosen to investigate brandy. Typically drunk as an after-dinner digestif, brandy is a spirit produced, traditionally, by distilling wine. ## The Beginning of Distillation The basics of distillation have been with us for a very long time but it wasn't until the 9th Century that it was described in the manner we know today. Eventually it spread to Italy and the rest of the continent of Europe. By the 15th century it began to be used en masse to distil a variety of bases into spirits and various national drinks from vodka to whisky developed. ## Brandy It's not entirely clear why wine began being fortified into brandy. In some jurisdictions wine was taxed by volume and by distilling the wine into brandy it was possible to avoid tax and mix it with water afterwards. Higher alcohol content also made the wine travel better on long voyages and was therefore used as a method of preservation. As anyone who has visited a distiller can tell you, aging in wooden casks can have a significant effect on the taste of a distilled drink - with the aroma of the casks being drawn out by the alcohol over time. The name brandy comes from the Dutch word brandewijn, meaning "burnt wine." The name is apt as most brandies are made by applying heat, originally from open flames, to wine. While brandies are usually made from wine or other fermented fruit juices, it can acually be distilled from any liquid that contains sugar. All that’s required is that the liquid be allowed to ferment and that it should be heated past the boiling point of water. Almost every country has their own national brandy, many of which are not made from wine: grappa in Italy is made from grape skins, slivivitz in Poland is made from plums, shochu in Japan is made from rice, and bourbon in the United States is made from corn. Beer brandy is better known as Scotch whiskey. ## Brandy Types However, the vast majority of brandies are traditionally made from wine. It is not strange, therefore, that the best and most famous brandies tend to be associated with well known and well respected wine regions. ### Armagnac & Cognac The Armagnac and Cognac regions are among the most famous brandy producers. Armagnac is the oldest brandy distilled in France; and, in the past, was consumed for its therapeutic benefits. In the 14th century, Prior Vital Du Four, a cardinal, wrote that it had 40 virtues: “It enlivens the spirit, if taken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and delays senility." Cognac exhibits an abundance of qualities: fruit, subtle aromas, warmth, intensity and – above all – complexity, with thousands of flavours all stemming from predominantly just one grape variety. While you will likely of heard of a few major brands such as Remy Martin, it is the variety and the small families that have been distilling with secrets passed down through the generations, that make these spirits so interesting. Afficionadas flock to the regions to obtain different vintages from a wide range of distillers who each have their own unqiue family history. ### Cherry Brandy Cherry brandy is not, as the name might suggest, a fruit brandy obtained by distillation, referred to in France as an eaux-de-vie. Rather, most cherry brandies are in fact liqueurs, with most producers macerating their own choice of cherries with the base spirit of vodka before the addition of other enhancing flavours. ## Modern Brandy Unlike with gin, where a lot of innovation in recent years has lead to a boom in the market, brandy brands pride themselves on the tradition of the drink. However, brandy is still trying to align itself with younger drinkers as, in some ways, their previous marketing has set them up as a drink for the sophisticated and older drinker. This has lead to the majority of the brandy drinkers being in their 50, 60s or older. Brandy is being positioned now with a view to find it's way into the glasses of people in their 30s who likely don't have a decanter sat at home and might not have considered the drink before. Spanish brandy is well placed in this regard as not only does it often sell for a lower price than the more venerable Franch brands but it has already started to innovate. Torres has begun to expand into flavoured and spiced varieties that are designed to appeal more to younger palates. Brandy is also being positioned as a more common cocktail ingredient. With multiple brand focussed cocktail competitions being set up by brandy producers worldwide you may well see some new and interesting cocktails based on the spirit in the next few years. ## The Brandy Cocktail If you want to showcase your favourite brandy you can take a scant few ingredients and whip up The Classic Brandy Cocktail. A mixture of brandy, curacao and bitters this is very close to the original cocktail. It's not far away from the Old Fashioned either and is an excellent way to showcase this particular spirit. Next time I'll be mixing you the Unforgettable Brandy Alexander... _Dr Wilko's Campaign for Better Beverages is a production of Tinker Tailor Soldier Sponge Productions. It was researched, written and produced by Dr Wilko. The cocktails were mixed by Dr Wilko...and drunk by Dr Wilko. The music was George Street Shuffle Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 by Kevin MacLeod of Incomptech.com._ _You can support this podcast on Patreon via the Shownotes and the website, drwilko.org/patreon ... Afterall someone's got to keep my decanter full..._