Different Types of Brandy
Here at Brandyclassics and Bunch & Bushel we sell three main types of French brandy: cognac, armagnac and calvados.
Brandy is the generic name for spirits that have been made from fruit and produced all over the world. But some brandies have very specific guidelines concerning their production. So what is the difference between our products? This can be summarised as follows:
COGNAC
- Made from specific grape varieties
- Produced in the Cognac region of France only
- The eau de vie must be distilled twice
- Distilled in copper pot Charentais stills.
ARMAGNAC
- Made from specific grape varieties
- Produced in the Armagnac region of France only
- The eau de vie is distilled just once
- Produced on a continuous Alembic still
CALVADOS
- Made from apples
- Produced in the Calvados region in Normandy
- Top cru calvados must use the double distillation method on a pot still to be labelled Pays d’Auge
- Column still distillation is mandatory to produce Calvados Domfrontais
Read more about the production of these wonderful French brandies on our Brandy Education page. Another useful article outlining the differences between 12 types of brandy can be found here.
It’s been a difficult time, financially, for everyone this year as prices increase.
We were delighted to welcome Paddy Shave from Brightwells Auction House to our offices a few weeks ago. He brought with him an imperial half gallon (2.27 litres) bottle of Massougnes 1802 Cognac which had passed through our hands almost thirty years ago. We are fortunate to have acquired a number of these large bottles over the years from the owner of the Massougnes Estate, the Comtesse de la Bourdeliere, Marie-Antoinette Pintaurd des Allees – a direct descendant of Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine. This particular bottle from 1802 in the Napoleonic era, was originally sold by us to the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, where is was on display for many years. Still unopened, it was fascinating to see it turn up for sale once more and although the estimated price of £100,000+ was not reached, it still sold for an impressive £52,000. We have sold one or two of these oversized bottles of Massougnes over the years (vintages range from 1800 to 1812) and still have 
In 1917, SS Kyros set sail for St Petersburg from France. As it approached Sweden, the cargo ship was sunk by a German submarine UC58. For decades the ship was assumed lost but in 1999 it was discovered 77 metres below sea level having been damaged by fishing trawlers and trawl boards. It took 20 years to clear the shipwrecked vessel for exploration, but it was worth the wait as hidden inside were 50 cases of cognac from De Haartman & Co. An exciting and historical find from the time when Tsar Nicholas II was Emperor of Russia. It is difficult to estimate the current condition of the cognac as this will, in part, be dependent on the bottle seals (see 
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Gifts for all the men in your life …
Yet another alcohol related special day occurs this Saturday; it is World Gin Day. According to the website its purpose is:
National Cognac Day on June 4th invites you to enjoy one of the finest alcoholic drinks available. Cognac, which originates from a town of the same name in France, is a type of brandy enjoyed because of its distilled and fine taste. Cognac begins as a white wine that has been produced in one of six designated growing regions. This definition explains the axiom ‘ all cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac’. Ironically, the white wine from which cognac starts, is considered by most wine connoisseurs to be entirely undrinkable. But once it has been distilled in an alembic still and aged in oak casks for years, it is absolutely delicious.
The first World Aperitivo Day will be rolled out on a global basis on 26 May 2022, but what exactly is an aperitivo?
World Whisky Day is an annual, global day of whisky, which invites everyone to try a dram and celebrate the water of life. (In Ireland’s Gaelic language, the word “whiskey” means “water of life.) Taking place annually on the third Saturday in May, this special occasion is celebrated by whisky lovers worldwide with tastings, events and gatherings.