Building the Home Bar: Brandy
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Brandy is fun, exciting, and sophisticated. It has a velvety smooth texture, like that of a new suede couch, while having the ability to awaken your palate like a 10-year-old barrel aged whiskey.
Brandy is the unsung hero of the spirit world, having a history just as rich as the next sip. Simply put, Brandy is a distilled spirit made from fermented fruit juice like grapes, resulting in high-profile varieties like Cognac and Armagnac, both of which are produced in France.
There are many types of brandy enjoyed all around the world made from fruits like cherries, apricots, plums, apples, and all sorts of berries giving brandy many tantalizing characteristics. This delightful liquid, once acclaimed as a cure all for sickness, is traditionally served as a digestif, meaning any alcoholic beverage served after a meal which is believed to help with digestion. However, brandy is a catalyst for many traditional cocktails that professional bartenders and home bar owners alike take pleasure in exploring.
Historic Origins and Humble Beginnings
Around 1313, brandy began being distilled in France with more medicinal intentions lending the spirit the nickname "the water of life” (l’eau de vie). This clean, semi-sweet nectar has been drunk by Europeans for hundreds of years, who were extra careful not to devolve any of their secret brandy methods to maintain this glorious sanction of their culture.
However, during the 16th century, a few Dutch sailors began boiling down barrels of wine to lighten the shipload while simultaneously and unintentionally discovering the beginnings of brandy. The word brandy is a shortened word for brandywine, which is Dutch for “burnt wine”, hence the cooking of the wine on their ships.
Brandy began finding its own beginnings in the western world during the mid-1700’s. Laird and Company, America’s oldest distilling company, started becoming noticed for their “Apple Jack” brandy recipe. The abundance of fruit in America, ease of harvest, and price of goods for their brandy was not only a one-way ticket to a killer brandy recipe but for the company’s success as well. Laird and Company’s scrumptious and succulent “Apple Jack” brandy was desired by many including a special request from George Washington in the 1760’s where he referred to the drink as a “cyder spirit” in one of his journal entries.
Wine to Spirit
The soft and sweet character of brandy comes from the fermentation of the fruit used in production, like grapes for instance. The tenacity, in which whiskey lovers will fall in love with, comes from the 70 to 120 proof (35% to 60% ABV) that brandy is typically made to and the fact that most brandy is aged in oak barrels.
Before any oak barrels are involved in the production, there are a few steps to consider when making distilled fermented fruit juice. Firstly, the fruit is carefully harvested and picked, then, the fruit is pressed into juice that will be fermented into wine. Afterwards, the wine is then distilled (some distill twice) at a low temperature to extract all impurities and raise the ABV %. Lastly, this distilled wine product is aged in oak barrels from 1 to 50 years, creating this beautiful product called brandy.
While many of us would initially go for that bottle of gin or vodka for that well-deserved cocktail after a long day of work, there is a special place for brandy in the bar. A special place where some of the most classic cocktails will be made and history rediscovered through means of divine mixology.
One of my favorites, and one any bartender would be excited to make, is the sidecar. The delightful balance between sweet, sour, and boozy make the sidecar so approachable and addicting. The sidecar starts with a 2:1:1 ratio of Cognac (French brandy made from distilled wine), lemon juice, and orange liqueur (triple sec or Cointreau), then shaken with a few ice cubes, strained into a cocktail glass and served with a nice orange or lemon peel.
If you’re looking for a brandy drink that’s stiffer, like an old-fashioned, look no further, the Sazerac has your back. The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans and has been around since the 1800’s making it a drink that most cocktail connoisseurs have surely heard of. The Sazerac is easy to make and similar to the old-fashioned as it starts with muddling a sugar cube that’s been saturated with a few dashes of bitters. Then, mix your cognac, absinthe, and rye whiskey with a spoon then serve in a chilled cocktail glass with a lemon peel.
The Christian Brothers Brandy, the Evan Williams and Old Forester of distilled grape juice. An entry Brandy bottle that tells an interesting story while simultaneously providing a darn good bottom shelf pour of brandy. Without question, this is the best budget bottle of brandy to start off with and learn from, the perfect vehicle to start you on your Brandy journey.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Episode-54-Christian-Brothers-Brandy-Podcast/B09563WK34
Christian brothers are a non-ordained group of Christian gentlemen founded in France in the 16th century. The first group of men to become part of the group in the U.S. started in Martinez, CA in about 1882, the date on the bottle, not to be confused with the date the Christian Brothers started producing Brandy.
This religious group of grape and God lovers always had a knack for making good sacramental wine for their perish. The government even allowed the Christian Brothers a special license to keep producing their sacramental juice, motivating them to see how far they can take their natural talent. The group moved to Napa Valley in the 1930’s and were one of the first groups to discover the true potential of the terroir as a wine growing region.
This group of grape fermenting aficionados went on to own over 1,000 acres of vineyards in the Napa region. By the 1950’s, they became a major supplier of table and sacramental wine to local and national perishes. Anthony Timothy, born in 1920, began his career of wine making in 1925 and was asked to formally work in the Christian Brother’s order as head of the wine making operations.
Eventually, brandy production began, making him the iconic face of the Christian Brothers company and the official cellar master. In 1988, the group made about 19 million dollars a year in revenue but sold the company for 100 million dollars coinciding in brother Timothy’s retirement and need to focus on more holy matters.
This Brandy has all the characteristic of a top shelf product, without the staggering price. It has soft caramel notes in the beginning and finishes with an almost refreshing, but very present, oak and vanilla note. This bottle has grapes from California that are sent to Kentucky and aged in bourbon oak barrels for a minimum of 2 years. There is a bottle of Christian Brothers Brandy The VS (Very Special) 1.75L bottle that is available for purchase at Drizly online retailer for $22.
Moving right along this exciting new journey many of us didn’t realize we’d be taking, we find our interest peaked, our perspective of what limitations fine spirits have. Having the opportunity to learn about a new spirit with such enticing historic value (like brandy) makes the anticipation of leveling up to that next tier of fine drink exponentially increase.
The Germain-Robin Brandy, made in California, started by a professor and a hitchhiking cognac distiller who met in the sunny state and founded their own distiller in 1982. This powerful duo took advantage of the incredible terroir, combing the usage of traditional cognac still, for distillation, with a more unconventional California grape to produce their brandy.
Germain-Robin uses grapes like Pinot Noir, Riesling, Semillon, and Viognier to make their brandy. This gives them that cutting edge, that distinction from other brandy distillers, and will surely make an impact on how brandy is used.
On the nose, the distillers note there is a soft rose and oak spice. Taking that first sip introduces fresh apples, and pears that give way to honeysuckle and cherry blossom finishing on the back with brighter notes of apricot and sun kisses peaches. This brandy spends a minimum of 7 years aging in Limousine oak barrels, lending notes of cinnamon and brown sugar as well. The Germain-Robin Brandy 750ml bottle is available for purchase at the Germain-Robin main website for $75.
I think it’s time for that cultural leap into the world of cognac. All of brandy started here, in France, where, arguably, the best cognac in the world is made today. Hine Distillery has deep roots in the Cognac Champagne region of France, located along the Charente River, and has been providing great cognac since nearly 1763. Hine has been making cognac for 250 years, essentially longer than the U.S. has even been a country.
On the nose of this liquid gold, we can find subtle yet friendly notes of jasmine, vanilla, and subtle oak. The taste is reminiscent of a classical French dessert with initial notes of crème fraiche, toffee, jasmine, with a full-bodied and smooth finish sure to wash down any delectable meal. The aftertaste comes with a pleasant tease of freshly grated nutmeg, a bi-product of the endless years of oak aging.
The Hine Antique XO Cognac The 70cl or 750ml bottle is available for purchase at The Whiskey Exchange for $160.
