How brandy is made: composition, types and rules of preparation

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Brandy is a whole class of alcoholic beverages with a strength of 40°–60°, made by distillation of grape, berry or fruit must and aged in barrels. Almost every nation has its own brandy. The French, for example, have apple calvados and grape cognac, the Italians have grappa, which is made from grape pomace, the Germans have cherry kirschwasser, the Greeks have metaxa from certain grape varieties, and the Georgians have chacha known to all lovers of Black Sea resorts. Depending on the variety of the product being made, different raw materials and different aging technologies are used.

The history of the origin of this drink goes back to ancient times. However, brandy as we know it began to be produced only in the 12th century, and it gained general popularity even later, around the 14th century.

In this publication we will understand how brandy is made and how to drink it.

Types of brandy

First, let's talk about the types of brandy. The type of drink depends on what brandy is made from. The composition may include fruits or berries. In total, three main types of this alcohol are distinguished in production:

• grape - made from fermented grape juice;
• fruit or berry is produced, as the name implies, from fruits or berries. It can be apples, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, peaches - everything except grapes;
• Grape marc brandy is made from the crushed pulp and seeds of grapes - in general, everything that remains after pressing the juice.

How brandy is made in factories

Naturally, this type of alcoholic beverage has long been produced on an industrial scale. You can talk a lot about how brandy is made in production, since each brand of this drink has a different composition, its own manufacturing features, as well as brand secrets. It is not possible to describe them all. However, all manufacturers have one thing in common - these are the stages of making brandy.

1. Preparation of raw materials. Juice is made from fruits, grapes or other berries.
2. Fermentation. It is necessary to make mash from the prepared raw materials.
3. Distillation. Alcohol is isolated from the resulting wort. This happens during the distillation process using special apparatus. When the wort is heated, the liquid begins to evaporate, and then settles in the form of condensate in the tank of the distillation apparatus. This condensate is used for the further production of brandy. However, the primary condensate contains fusel oils, acetone and aldehyde, which are very harmful to the human body. Therefore, in the production of quality brandy, distillation is carried out two or more times.



4. Excerpt. This step is of particular importance. Depending on the type of product being produced, the distillate is poured into barrels or bottles and sent to “reach”. It is believed that properly prepared brandy should languish for at least two years. Moreover, this rule applies both to a drink immediately bottled after distillation, and to what is sent to infuse in wooden barrels. At the same time, different varieties of brandy are aged in different barrels. For example, bourbon is only aged in American white oak barrels. Grappa - in cherry, acacia or ash barrels. According to international rules, the aging period starts from the first of April of the post-harvest year, since the alcohol obtained from the mash must be bottled no later than this period.
5. Bottling. Aged in barrels, the drink is bottled and sent for sale.

How brandy is made at home

In order to prepare this drink at home, you will need large bottles in which juice will ferment, a distillation apparatus, bottles and, of course, raw materials: sugar and fruits or berries. For convenience, let's take grapes as an example.

1. The first step is to extract the juice from the grapes. At home, you can properly mash it or chop it with a blender, meat grinder, juicer - everything that the kitchen of an average housewife is equipped with. For those who decidemake brandy making your hobby, there are specialized shops where you can buy an electric or mechanical grinder. This will significantly save time and effort. After receiving the gruel from the grapes, it is necessary to squeeze the juice from the mixture. Do this with a sieve and gauze. Just like, for example, kvass is decanted. In stores, again, they sell special presses, where ground berries are loaded and juice is squeezed out of them. The use of such devices will allow you to avoid the loss of raw materials, since it will still not be possible to squeeze the berries with your hands better than with a press.
2. Once the juice is obtained, it is poured into bottles, sugar is added and left to ferment. The amount of sugar depends on the grape variety. To get good mash naturally, it needs to stand for 20-25 days at a temperature of 20°C–25°C. To get a good, strong mash in a shorter time, you can use yeast. However, it is immediately worth noting that ordinary bakeries are not suitable for this. They will give the final product a specific taste and smell. In addition, there is a chance that there will not be enough alcohol in the liquid. You can buy professional wine yeast in the same specialized stores. Braga using such yeast is kept at a temperature of 27°C–32°C. Compliance with the regime is very important, because at low temperatures the yeast will die and the wort will not ferment. If it's too hot, the yeast will grow too fast, they won't get enough nutrients, and they'll also die. Under normal conditions, fermentation lasts from a couple of days toseveral weeks.
3. When fermentation stops, the must must be carefully filtered. This can be done with a sieve and gauze, it is advisable to do this several times. No foreign particles should remain in the liquid. Now you can start distilling the mash using a distillation apparatus. We remind you that two times is the minimum number of distillations, otherwise there is a risk of getting poisoned. As a result of distillation, a liquid will be obtained for further production with a strength of 40%–60%. If it seems too strong, it can be thinned with clean, filtered water.
4. According to the production technology, the future brandy must be aged after distillation. How, in what and how much - depends on the capabilities and desires of the manufacturer. The final result also depends on this. The drink can languish both in wooden barrels, which can be purchased at a specialized store, and in glass bottles.

How to drink brandy

Drinking this strong drink is recommended after a meal. Large glasses with thick walls are used as dishes. These can be tulip-shaped glasses: “pot-bellied” at the bottom and narrower at the top. Or cognac glasses.

The temperature of the consumed drink directly depends on its variety. So, grape brandy is drunk at room temperature or even a little warmer. Connoisseurs even warm it up over a candle flame or just hold it in their hand. This enhances the aroma of the drink just poured from the bottle.

Fruit brandy drink lightlychilled or add a couple of ice cubes to the glass.

What to eat brandy

Brandy is usually drunk without eating anything. But sometimes, before taking a sip, a small piece of chocolate is placed under the tongue. When he starts puking, they take a sip, after which they eat a small slice of lemon.

Brandy varieties

Since there are no strict rules for the production of brandy, but there is only a general manufacturing technology, there are a great many varieties of this drink. Here we will talk about only a few, the most popular of all. These are torres, cognac, metaxa and kirsch.

Spanish drink

How is Torres brandy made? This brandy comes from Spain. Although the company, founded by the Torres brothers in 1870, was originally engaged in the production of wine, and the brandy production technology was mastered only in 1928 by Miguel Torres, the brandy of this brand is widely appreciated all over the world and is among the twenty best varieties of this drink.

Brandy Torres is aged in a special way, according to the Solera principle. It is based on a tiered barrel storage method. They are placed in a cellar in the form of a pyramid, at the base of which alcohol of early sourdough is stored, that is, it has been aged for several years. The higher the level of the pyramid, the younger the alcohol in the barrels. Three times a year, a third of the contents are drained from the barrels of the lower tier and sent for sale. The vacated volume is filled with alcohol from barrels on the floor above. In them - from the next tier and so on, to the very top. Thanks to mixingspirits of varying degrees of exposure, the final product has a unique flavor bouquet.

How cognac is made

As mentioned earlier in this article, the birthplace of cognac is France. It is produced in the province of the same name in the southwest of this country. The main raw material in the manufacture of cognac is white Ugni Blanc grapes. It is used to make wine containing 9% alcohol. The wine is then distilled twice using a Charente still. Ultimately, brandy alcohol has a degree of about 68 ° -72 °. It must be aged in oak barrels, while the exposure time can reach 70 years. Barrels are made from white oak that is at least 80 years old.

Brandy from France

How is Jean Louis Mollet brandy made? Jean Louis Mollet is a famous French brandy producer. The drink here is produced exclusively from French wines and aged in oak barrels for at least seven years. Ultimately, the brandy acquires a golden amber color. The bouquet has hints of oak, dried fruits and vanilla.

How Metaxa is made

Brandy Metaxa was born in the 19th century in southern Greece. The founder of the production was Spyros Mataxas. Inspired by French cognac, he decided to make brandy from aged cognac, mountain herbs and national Greek wine. Thanks to this, the drink has a dark amber color, aroma of dried fruits and a mild taste.

How Kirschwasser is made

Despite the fact that kirshwasser is translated from German as "cherry water", it is driven from a shallow blackcherries. Due to its sugary-sweet taste, the final distillate has a sweetish aftertaste. In the production of kirsch, the berries are driven through a press along with the stones, and together with them the raw materials are sent to ferment in oak barrels. Due to this brandy has a characteristic almond flavor and a slight bitterness. After double distillation, the alcohol is kept in earthenware or glass containers. The strength of the finished product varies between 38° and 50°.

How Calvados is made

Calvados are made from apples or pears. The French prefer to use small apples growing on stunted trees. It is believed that these fruits have a pronounced taste and aroma. Currently, only apples plucked from the tree are used for production. Already fallen fruits are not suitable for this. The washed fruits are mashed, which is then driven through a press. The resulting juice is used to make cider, which ferments naturally for five weeks. No yeast or sugar is added to it.

The resulting mash with a strength of 6%–8% is sent for single or double distillation.

The final product has a strength of 70°–75°. It is aged in oak barrels for two to ten years.