Category: Brandy Education

The big cognac houses are well aware of the similarity of their products so the need to spice up their ranges is always evident. We have seen recently the efforts by some to add a cask finish to their cognacs; sherry casks have already been used by one house.  But the latest craze is to try and produce a super XO cognac called XXO.  Hennessy, who have the biggest sales of XO cognacs, have already launched an XXO in the Far East.  They tried to register it as a Hennessy name thereby denying other houses the opportunity to use the… Read more

With effect from 1 April 2018 any cognac classified as an XO must have been aged for a minimum of 10 years.  This change of XO Definition means that in the case of a blend, which many are, the youngest cognac used must now be at least a decade old.  This is a 4 year increase as previously only 6 years of ageing was sufficient for a cognac to qualify.  Regulatory body, the BNIC, comments that the change is designed to extend the quality positioning of XO cognacs and align them with market reality (some XOs are aged for 10… Read more

Armagnac is probably the oldest known wine spirit in the world but the art of distillation was introduced by the Arabs between 1411 and 1441.  In the department of France known as the Landes, they produced an agua ardente, or fire water, which was used initially as a therapeutic cure.  Tasting Armagnac for pleasure ensued when it was established that storing the spirit in barrels developed desirable flavours. Armagnacs are the earliest examples of distilled wines known in France.  Traditionally they are made using the Folle grape although others, including Colombard, Ugni Blanc and even more recently, the Baco all… Read more

In many ways calvados is the newest brandy of France.  It only became recognised as such in 1942 when the appellation controleé regulations officially gave calvados a protected name.  The area around the Valley d’Auge and the land extending east past Lisieux became the principle production area.  Here, the Jurassic limestone soil is ideal for growing the various apples required to make calvados. A range of different apples are used initially to create the finest cider – bitter, bitter sweet, acidic and sweet.  These apples have low levels of acidity so a small, firm, Perry pear is also added.  This… Read more

We have often talked about distillation on the Lees but rarely described why we do it or indeed what ‘the lees’ are. Many years ago, during cognac production, whole bunches of grapes were crushed in presses to release the grape juice.  The process was fairly crude and some stalks, pips and skins found their way into the juice.  This negatively affected the flavour of the wine and sometimes even contaminated it. Grape crushing was therefore banned after the turn of the twentieth century. The newly designed horizontal presses had slats on the sides.  These rotated slowly putting very little pressure… Read more

The cognac wheel that was introduced by the BNIC has proved to be an ideal source of information when considering aromas from a given cognac or brandy. It divides aromas into seasons considering each in terms of: Spring delicacy, Summer fullness, Autumn richness and the hardness of Winter.  Flavours can be defined in a similar manner but perhaps with more defined headings.  For years I have considered cognac tastes as falling into 4 different categories.  The definitions are more easily defined than those of aromas. Of course, there are thousands of different perceptions of flavour which are recognised in the… Read more

The taste of any drink or food differs from one taster to another so it is difficult to be precise on an interpretation of flavour. However, most people do understand general flavours that they regularly experience. For example, milk, coffee, orange and tea are all daily experiences but defining any one of these flavours is daunting. Perhaps even more so, is the conversion of aroma to taste.  For example, we often describe a cognac as oak flavoured. We may have tasted oak-smoked salmon but how do we explain the taste of oak by itself? Much of what we taste can… Read more

Today, less than 1% of the Cognac appellation is farmed organically, but the number of producers using these methods is increasing.  To make organic cognac a farmer must cultivate his grapes organically for at least 3 sequential years.  That means no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers.  Instead farmers must rely on pre-war farming methods.  For example the use of copper and sulfur, nettle and horsetail infusions, mechanical weed removal and manure and compost fertilisers.  The application of manure and freshly grown fertilisers such as barley and faba beans certainly enriches the precious “terroir”.  Organic farmers claim that their cognacs produce… Read more

“I am delighted to see that more and more businesses are recognising that education and well-trained staff are the foundations to better customer service and stronger profits,” says the CEO, Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).  The WSTA concur stating that “consumers are increasingly favouring more premium brands”. We have always maintained that spirits education is key to the sale of our luxury brandies.  There is a specific Trade Training page on our website and regular newsletters and Blogs ensure up to date industry news is frequently publicised. Those wishing to go one step further will be interested in the… Read more

Adding Water or Mixers I wrote in my last Technical Topic about adding water to cognac, supposedly to enhance the flavour.  Of course, we discovered that when drinking fine cognac, this is not the case.  However, some people do like to add some form of mixer(s) to their brandy.  For example, sugar and cream are added to change the flavour completely.  In this instance, it is not a good idea to use an expensive cognac.  Cognac is a rich drink and usually has a complexity of different flavours.  This makes the experience of replicating an exact recipe more chance than… Read more