How Long Does It Take to Make Fine Brandy the Right Way?

Sales of brandy are expected to grow nearly seven percent in the next four years. Why the significant growth? A growing “cocktail culture” has many socializing at bars and restaurants. It’s also piqued people’s interest in unique drinks and even traditional, aged liquor like brandyAs more and more people introduce themselves to brandy, it’s worth noting the details that go into making a good brandyWe answer the question, “How long does it take to make fine brandy the right way,” in this article. But first, let’s define brandy.

What is Fine Brandy, and Where Did It Come From?

The term “brandy” derives from the Dutch word, “brandewijn,” which means burnt wine. Makers of brandy distill wine to produce this liquor. Often called the “water of life,” brandy is generally enjoyable after dinner. This distilled spirit traditionally comes from fermented fruit such as grapes. Some brandy derives from apples, blackberries, and pears. And stone fruit brandies hail from peaches, cherries, apricots, and plums. You can make brandy anywhere, and then it takes on regional styles and flavors.

Interestingly, you can actually make brandy with anything you can ferment. This includes sugar cane, milk, rice, honey, wheat, corn, and even potatoes. For example, during times of shortage, such as wartime, people have been known to use a multitude of ingredients to make alcohol. You’ll find that some makers age their brandy in wood casks to elicit an amber color, while others get their colors with a caramel coloring to imitate natural aging. Still, other makers use a combination of both. When it comes to alcohol by volume, brandy is usually somewhere between 35-60% or 70-120 proof in US terminology.

Origins of Fine Brandy

The origin story of brandy says that in the early 16th century, French brandy accelerated the triangle trade when it took over because it had a higher alcohol content than Portuguese fortified wine. And it was easier to ship. Moreover, people on the African side of the triangle trade accepted payment in brandy. Brandy originated when people distilled wine to preserve it and make it easier to transport. Once it was stored in wooden casks, people began to appreciate the flavor. 

Now that you know the what and where, let’s uncover how long it takes to make it properly.

The Process of Making Fine Brandy

Makers of fine brandy are dedicated to doing it the right way. They strive to capture the flavors of the fruit, increasing the alcohol content, and leaving the bitter chemicals in the wastewater during the fermentation process. Making brandy is an art form in many parts of the world. The finest brandies rely on the underlying flavor of the fruit and the strong alcohol content. Yet, mass-produced brandy does exist, and generally speaking, mass producers really care about the alcohol content and not so much the flavor. When making brandy the correct way, you can break down the process of brandy production into three steps that include fermentation, distillation, and aging.  

Fermentation

Fermenting the wine creates the base for the brandy. To do this, you mash the fruit and combine it with yeast. This creates a chemical reaction in which the sugar from the fruit converts into ethanol (alcohol). You now have a base wine that has a lower alcohol content than brandy. Also, at this point, the fermented juice contains ethanol, water, and congeners. The congeners are chemical compounds produced during the fermentation process. They add flavor, but they are harmful. So the the distillation process filters them out entirely. Fermentation takes about one to four weeks. 

Distillation

When brandy is distilled, this process gives it a higher alcohol content. During distillation, you add heat which increases the alcohol content. Brandy producers may distill the liquor in a copper pot still or a column still in their distillery. Through heating the alcohol, a vapor is created. It contains a large percentage of ethanol and a low percentage of impurities and water. Once the vapor is cooled and converted back into a liquid, you end up with a liquor that is between 35-60% alcohol by volume. The distillation process often separates fine brandy from mass-produced brandy.

Aging

Aging is where the final magic happens. Once it is distilled, it’s time to age the brandy in wooden casks (such as oak) for a long period of time. This is generally a period of at least a few years. This helps mellow the flavor. In addition, the wooden casks help darken the alcohol and give it its distinctive flavor profile.

The Process of Making the Finest Brandy

When making brandy the right way, you allow the fruit juice to ferment in a large vat of warm water (68-77 degrees) and leave it right there for about five days. The yeast in the distillery environment ferments the sugar. White wine grapes are used for most fine brandy and, after fermentation, have an alcohol content of about 10%. Fine brandy producers always make their brandies in small batches using pot stills, which are large pots made from copper.

A copper still also has a bulbous top. In the pot still, it is heated until the fermented liquid subsequently reaches the boiling point of alcohol. The created vapors rise to the bulbous top. Then, the vapors funnel from the pot still through a bent pipe. This goes to a condenser which chills the vapors and then condenses them back to a liquid with a higher alcohol content. The bulbous top and bent pipe keep the chemicals that are undesirable from ending up in the final product.

Unique Differentiators

One thing that really separates fine brandy makers is that they usually double distill their brandy. This concentrates the alcohol twice. The first distillation takes about eight hours. After this, the alcohol content is just shy of 32%. After the second distillation, the alcohol content is roughly 70%. It’s interesting to note that a brandy with a higher alcohol content has a more neutral taste, while a brandy with a lower alcohol content tends to have more underlying flavors but also more of the “off” flavors. 

Once the brandy finishes the second distillation, makers put it in wooden, oak casks to age. Much of the brandy we drink today is aged for less than six years. The finest brandies in the world, though, are aged from five years to more than 50 years. The longer the brandy ages, the more it absorbs the flavors of the oak and has a less alcoholic flavor. When it comes to fine brandy, you’ll enjoy some that are aged for two years, some for six, and some for decades. In addition, some of the finest brandies are also a mixture of brandy from different barrels and different vintages. This helps keep the alcohol content higher. 

The Process of Making Mass-Produced Brandy

Mass-produced brandy usually has the same high alcohol content as fine brandy and comes from fermented wine. One difference is the quality of the grapes, as mass-produced brandy is made from common table grapes and not fine wine grapes. Also, mass-produced brandy often skips the double distillation process, isn’t made in small batches, and is made in column stills. The process for distilling mass-produced brandy is much quicker than its refined brandy counterparts.

The column still is very large and involves a unique way of dealing with steam, wine, and vapors. Boiling and condensing and rising and falling vapors happen numerous times. In the end, you are left with a very high pure alcohol content that has no color, odor, or taste. When mass-produced brandy is made, it also ages in oak casks and picks up some of the flavors of the oak. 

Explaining Brandy Labeling

Now that you know how to make brandy the right way, you may wonder how to learn more about the specific brandy you are drinking. Brandy has specific labeling, and some say even its own alphabet that refers to how long it has aged. There are many categories, and here are a few of them. You’ll find one of these on your label. 

  • VS stands for very special, and the label will have three stars. This means that your brandy aged for at least two years. This is the most common brandy you’ll find in bars and liquor stores, and it is the youngest brandy on the market. 
  • VO is a very special brandy that aged for at least four years.
  • VSOP is an abbreviation for very special superior old pale. This means the blend must be at least four-five years old. 
  • An XO brandy means extra old or Napoleon. This one ages for at least 10 years. 
  • A Napoleon brandy is either a Cognac that is four years old or a six-year-old Armagnac. 
  • An Hors d’Age (this means “of the ages”) is the oldest of the oldest. This is often a premium brandy. Do your research on these to make sure it’s what you’re looking for. You will generally find the date on the bottle, and these are always over 10 years old.

These categories serve to let you know how long the youngest element in your brandy was aged. For example, if the producers mix several vintages, this tells you the youngest one. The longer it’s aged, the more complex and softer the flavors.

So, which should you choose? When sipping your brandy as a purist connoisseur, choose XO or Hors d’Age brandy. If you are making a cocktail, you’ll be happy with a VS or VSOP brandy

Final Thoughts About Fine Brandy

You can drink brandy on its own or drink it with soda. It’s often an after dinner drink. You can also use brandy in mixed drinks as well as dessert dishes to produce a flame. Many of the world’s finest winemakers also produce brandy in addition to their wines, and the result is a brandy that tastes unique depending on the region it hails from. Trained tasters the world over know how to pick out the finest brandies, and the quality control is spot on. Brandy tasting usually involves “smelling” brandy in the finest brandy makers’ cellars. This is because tasting hundreds of barrels of brandy wouldn’t be good for anyone. This must happen on a regular basis throughout the aging process and over the years.

The Professional Perspective

Professional brandy tasters taste barrels from producers at least once a year to see how the aging process is progressing. They also evaluate the taste of the blending process. Any brandy that has an “off” flavor is usually tossed. For mass-produced brandies, the only quality control comes in checking alcohol content. They can test this with a tool, so no “tasting” is necessary. So, bottom line is that it doesn’t take long (just a few years) to create a mass-produced brandy. But it can take four to more than 50 years to make the finest brandy the right way. So liquor connoisseurs are well prepared to wait for the distinctive taste of brandy appropriately made.

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