DISTILLED SPIRITS

Distilled spirits are type of alcoholic beverages made by distilling fermented beverages made
from fruits, grains and plants.
Spirit refers to as distilled beverages that are low in sugars and containing at least 35% alcohol
by volume. Gin, vodka, rum, whisky, brandy, absinthe, teuila and traditional German schnapps
are e!ample of spirits.
Distillation is the process of heating the liuid to a point where liuid turns into gas and
evaporates and then turns again into liuid as it cools down.
"ypes of distillation
#. $ot Still Distillation % still is heated directly by fire, thus having higher temperature. &t is
used in producing low proof distilled spirits.
'. (olumn still) patent still distillation % still is heated by steam, thus having lower
temperature. &t is used in producing high proof distilled spirits.
(lassification of Distilled Spirits
* +ccording to color and alcohol content
, -ow proof spirits)brown spirits
.hisky
/um
"euila
0randy
-iueurs
, 1igh proof spirits)white spirits
Gin
2odka
-ambanog
* +ccording to ingredients
3ruit based spirit 40randy, lambanog5
Grain based spirit 4.hisky, 2odka, Gin5
$lant based spirit 4/um, "euila5
0/+6D7
"he word brandy comes from the Dutch word brandewi8n 4burnt wine5, which is how the
straightforward Dutch traders who introduced it to 6orthern 9urope from Southern 3rance and
Spain in the #:
th
century described wine that had been ;burnt; or build, in order to distill it.
"he origin of brandy can be traced back o the e!panding <oslem <editerranean states in
the =
th
and >
th
centuries. +rab +lchemist e!perimented with distilling grapes and other fruits in
order to make medicinal spirits. "heir knowledge and techniues soon spread beyond the
boarders of &slam, with grape brandy production appearing in Spain and probably &reland 4via
missionary monks5 by the end of the >
th
century.
0randy, in the broadest definition, is a spirit made from fruits 8uices or fruit pulp and skin.
<ore specifically, it is broken down into three basic groupings.
Grape 0randy % is a brandy distilled from fermented grape 8uice or crushed but not
pressed grape pulp and skin. "his spirit is aged in wooden cask 4usually oak5, which colors it,
mellow the palate and adds additional aromas and flavors.
$omace 0randy 4&talian Grappa and 3rench <arc are the best known e!amples. &s a
brandy made from the pressed grape pulp, skins, and stems that remain after the grapes are
crushed and pressed to e!tract most of the 8uice for wine. $omace brandies, which are usually
minimally aged and seldom see wood, are an acuired taste. "hey often tend to be rather raw,
although they can offer a fresh, fruity aroma of the type of grape used to characteristic that is lost
in regular oak?aged brandy.
3ruit 0randy % is the default term for all brandies that are made from fermenting fruit other
than grapes. &t should not be confused with fruit?flavored brandy, which is grape brandy that has
been flavored with the e!tract of another fruit. 3ruit brandy e!cept those made of berries, are
generally distilled from fruit wines. 0erries tend to lack enough sugar to make wine with sufficient
alcohol for proper distillation, and thus are soaked 4macerated5 in high proof of spirits to e!tract
their flavor and aroma. "he e!tract is then distilled once at low proof. (alvados, the apple brandy
from the 6ormandy /egion of 6orthwestern 3rance, is probably the best known type of 3ruit
0randy. 9au?de?vie 4water of life5 is the default term in 3rench spirits in general, and specifically
for colorless fruit brandy, particularly from the +lsace /egion of 3rance and from (alifornia.
0randy like rum and teuila, is an agricultural spirits, unlike grain spirits such as whisky,
gin and vodka, which are made through the year from grain that can be harvested and stored,
brandy is dependent on the season, the ripening of the base fruit, and the production of the wine
from which is made. "ypes of brandies, originally at least, tended to be location?specific.
3rench 0randies
(ognac is the best known type of 0randy in the world, a benchmark by which most other
brandies are 8udged. "he (ognac /egion is located on the west?central +tlantic coast of 3rance,
8ust north of 0ordeau!, in the departments of (harente and (harente?<aritime. (ognac is double
distilled in pot stills and then aged in casks made from -imousin or "roncais oak. +ll (ognacs
start out in a new oak to mellow the fiery spirit and give them color.
(riteria according to (ognac shipper@
2.S)2.S.$.)three star@ 4very superiorA very superior pale5 a minimum of two years aging in
a cask, although the industry average is four to five years.
2.S.B.$. @ 4very superior old pale5 a minimum of four years cask aging for the youngest
(ognac in the blend, with the industry average being between #C to #5 years.
D.B.)-u!ury@ 4e!tra old5 a minimum of si! years aging for the youngest cognac in the
blend, with the average age running 'C years or older. -u!ury (ognacs are the very finest
(ognacs of each individual (ognac house.
+rmagnac is the oldest type of 0randy in 3rance, with documented references to
distillation dating back to the early #5
th
century. "he +rmagnac region is located in the heart of the
ancient province of Gascony in the Southwest corner of 3rance. <ost +rmagnac are blends, but
unlike cognac, single vintages and single vineyard bottlings can be found. "he categories of
+rmagnac are generally the same as those of (ognac.
Spanish 0randies
0randy de EereF is made by the Sherry houses centered around the city of EereF de la
3rontera in the Southwest corner of Spain. 2irtually, all brandy de EereF is however is made from
wines produced elsewhere in Spain ? primarily from the +iren grape in -a <ancha and
9!tremadura % as the local Sherry grapes are too valuable to divert into 0randy production.
6owadays most of the distilling is likewise done elsewhere in Spain using column stills. &t is then
shipped to EereF for aging in used Sherry casks in solera system similar to that used for Sherry
wine. + solera is a series of large casks 4called butts5, each holding a slightly older spirit than the
previous one beside it. .hen brandy is drawn off4racked5 from the last butt 4no more than a third
of the volume is removed5 it is replenished with brandy drawn from the ne!t butt in line all the way
down the solera line to the first butt, where newly brandy is added. "his system of racking the
brandy through a series of casks blends together a variety of vintages 4some solera have over 3C
stages5 and results in speeding up of the maturation process.
0asic brandy de EereF Solera must age for a minimum of si! months, /eserva for one
year, and Gran /eserva for a minimum of three years. &n practice, the best /eservas and Gran
/eservas are freuently aged for #' to #5 years.
+merican 0randies
+merican brandies comes primarily from (alifornia where it is made in column stills and
aged in white?oak barrels for at least ' years.
Gnown 0randies@
(ourvoisier 43rance5 DB &mperial >C proof
1ennessy 43rance5 DB (ognac