Introduction of Brandy
Brandy (BRANDY) is a kind of spirits distilled from fermented wine or fruits, which must be put in wooden casks for a considerable period of time for aging. All countries in the world produce brandy, and French brandy is one of the best, among which Cognac brandy (COGNAC BRANDY) is especially world-famous. The alcohol content of brandy is about 43%. According to legend, brandy in Europe was first brought by the Crusader knights in the 13th century. By the middle of the 17th century, brandy was already available and traded in European hotels and markets. At the time, it was widely recognized in Europe as a medicinal drink that was effective in treating ailments.
Brandy is the phonetic translation of English BRANDY, which originated from the Latin word AGUAVITAE, meaning: "water of life".
Brandy can be divided into many types, such as: Cognac (COGNAC), Armagnac (ARMAGNAC), Spanish brandy, American brandy. kirsch or written as KIRSCHWASSER (cherry brandy) CALVADOS or APPLE JACK (apple brandy), SLIVOVITZ (plum brandy) , and other fruit brandies, etc.
About Cognac
Cognac COGNAC The old city of Cognac-COGNAC on the river CHARENTE in France is the center of the production of Cognac fine wine. Cognac brandy is famous all over the world, so this French word COGNAC, almost everyone in the world recognizes it. All cognacs are brandies, but all brandies are not cognacs. Cognac is distilled from wines produced in Charente, France, and is restricted and protected by law. Wines distilled from other places to make brandy are not legally allowed to be called cognac. The Cognac region is divided into six districts, and the quality of the wines produced is also high and low, listed in order as follows: 1) GRANDE CHAMPAGNE Grande Champagne, 2) PETITE CHAMPAGNE Petite Champagne, 3) BORDERIES Marginal, 4) FINS BOIS Plantation, 5) BONS BOIS Superior Plantation, 6) BOIS ORDINAIRES general plantation.
And for all brandy distilleries, the letters are used to separate qualities: E for ESPECIAL; F for FINE; V for VERY; O for OLD; S for SUPERIOR; P for PALE; and X for EXTRA.
The quality of Cognac exceeds that of other brandies not only because of the region's special distillation techniques, but also because of the region's good soil, good weather, etc., which produces exceptionally good grapes.
Grades of Cognac
The French government has extremely strict rules, and distillers are not at liberty to call themselves such. Generally speaking, cognacs can be categorized as follows:
3-STAR three-star cognacs: no less than two years old V.S.O.P cognacs: no less than four years old NAPOLEON cognacs: no less than six years old X.O. cognacs: more than eight years oldHow many years is a good ageing time for a cognac? One wise drinker says the best age for Cognac is about the same as a woman's, around 25 to 40 years old, and sommeliers agree. Beyond fifty years, all the water in the spirit evaporates.
ARMAGNAC, ARMAGNAC The next best brandy to Cognac is Armagnac, which is produced in the Gers region of southeastern Bordeaux, France. The grapes used are the same as those used in Cognac, which are produced in ST.EMILION and FOLLE BLANCHE.
Tasting brandy
Paper can not dissipate the pain of thinking about wine, so how to drink brandy is authentic?
Timing: after a meal to help digestion;
Cup: a big belly, narrow mouth of the goblet as the basic cup, the best thin body (easy to transfer heat);
Measurement: not too much, generally about one-fifth of the capacity of the cup as good, good this thing can be drunk and then added, but if a pour too much in the cup, then it will definitely be considered a bumpkin behavior;
Position: hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand and hand. p>
Posture: palm from the bottom up to hold the cup, as far as possible to make the palm of the hand and the cup body contact area larger, (the kind of posture holding the foot of the cup is absolutely amateur), gently shaking the cup so that the liquid wine constantly extended the wall of the cup shaking in the palm of the hands of the temperature as well as under the action of the shaking of the wine to accelerate the speed of evaporation, giving off a tempting aroma, at this time you can first close to the mouth of the cup and slowly sniffing the nose;
Wine tasting: After After the above steps, you can slowly start to drink, but, do not take a bite to finish all, must pay attention to the speed, grasp a principle: rather slow than fast.
My favorite is the liqueur here to recommend to you hope you also like
Liqueur is the English translation of Liqueur, and the word Liqueur is Latin, meaning dissolve, make you soft, can also be interpreted as the meaning of the "liquid", the majority of modern Europeans like to call the liqueur "sweet wine", Hong Kong and Macao, China, called the liqueur "Li Demon wine" "Li Jiao wine". After the 18th century, people attached more importance to the nutritional value of fruits, and the types of fruits used to make liqueurs continued to expand, such as apples, strawberries, mint, etc. Fruit liqueur aroma and gorgeous, especially by the European upper-class women's favorite, they are keen on clothing and gemstone colors and the color of the liqueur in the cup with the municipality, for this reason, liqueur manufacturers are also committed to the study of a variety of fruits preparation methods, and dedicated to the production of colorful liqueur, liqueur is also known as the "liquid jewels" reputation.