Brandy & Liqueurs

8/8/2019 Brandy & Liqueurs

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Food and Beverage service-7th Sem

BRANDYBrandy & Cognac is wine that has been distilled. The most important thing to know isthat all Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac. Cognac is made from grapesgrown in the Cognac region of France and brandy can be made from any fruitanywhere.

The word Brandy comes from the Dutch word Brandywine, ("burnt wine"), which ishow the straightforward Dutch traders who introduced it to Northern Europe fromSouthern France and Spain in the 16th century described wine that had been "burnt," orboiled, in order to distill it.

The origins of Brandy can be traced back to the expanding Moslem Mediterraneanstates in the 7th and 8th centuries. Arab alchemists experimented with distilling grapesand other fruits in order to make medicinal spirits. Their knowledge and techniques soon

spread beyond the borders of Islam, with grape Brandy production appearing in Spainand probably Ireland (via missionary monks) by the end of the 8th century. Brandy, in itsbroadest definition, is a spirit made from fruit juice or fruit pulp and skin. Morespecifically, it is broken down into three basic groupings.

Grape Brandy is Brandy distilled from fermented grape juice or crushed but not pressedgrape pulp and skin. This spirit is aged in wooden casks (usually oak) which colors it,mellows the palate, and adds additional aromas and flavors.

Fruit Brandy is the default term for all Brandies that are made from fermenting fruit otherthan grapes. It should not be confused with Fruit-Flavored Brandy, which is grape

Brandy that has been flavored with the extract of another fruit. Fruit Brandies, exceptthose made from berries, are generally distilled from fruit wines.

Berries tend to lack enough sugar to make a wine with sufficient alcohol for properdistillation, and thus are soaked (macerated) in high-proof spirit to extract their flavorand aroma. The extract is then distilled once at a low proof. Calvados, the AppleBrandy from the Normandy region of Northwestern France is probably the best knowntype of Fruit Brandy. Eau-de-vie ("water of life") are the default term in French for spiritsin general, and specifically for colorless fruit brandy, particularly from the Alsace regionof France and from California.

Brandy, like Rum and Tequila, is an agricultural spirit. Unlike grain spirits such asWhisky, Vodka, and Gin, which are made throughout the year from grain that can beharvested and stored, Brandy is dependent on the seasons, the ripening of the basefruit, and the production of the wine from which it is made. Types of Brandies, originallyat least, tended to be location-specific. (Cognac, for example, is a town and region inFrance that gave its name to the local Brandy.) Important Brandy-making regions,particularly in Europe, further differentiate their local spirits by specifying the types of

The Oxford College of Hotel Management. 3rdSEP 2010


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grapes that can be used and the specific areas (appellation) in which the grapes usedfor making the base wine can be grown.

How did brandy come about?

In the 16th century, a brisk trade of wine existed between France and Holland. This

trade was, of course, carried out on the sea utilizing war vessels, sometimes smallsailing ships with limited cargo space. These circumstances caused the cost ofshipping full casks of wine to be astronomical.So, according to legend, there was a thrifty Dutch shipmaster that got the idea ofconcentrating the wine (removing the water) and transporting it in this form (sometimesreferred to as the "soul" of the wine) to Holland, where the water could be put back.When he arrived in Holland, however, his Dutch friends tasted the concentrated wineand liked it just as it was and insisted he not put the water back in. The concoctiongrew in popularity and later became known as Brandywine (or "burnt wine") and thenshortened to the present-day word: brandy.

Cognac

Cognac is the best known type of Brandy in the world, a benchmark by which mostother Brandies are judged. The Cognac region is located on the west-central Atlanticcoast ofFrance, just north of Bordeaux, in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.

The region is further subdivided into six growing zones:

Grande Champagne,

Petite Champagne, Bois Ordinaries,

Borderies,

Fins Bois, and

Bons Bois.

The first two of these regions produce the best Cognac and will frequently be sodesignated on bottle labels. Cognacs labeled Fine Champagne are a blend of Petiteand Grande Champagne.

The primary grapes used in making Cognac are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and

Colombard. The wines made from these grapes are thin, tart, and low in alcohol; poorcharacteristics for table wines, but oddly enough, perfect for making Brandy. Cognac isdouble distilled in pot stills and then aged in casks made from Limousin or Troncaisoak. All Cognacs start out in new oak to mellow the fiery spirit and give them color.Batches that are chosen for long-term aging are, after a few years, transferred to used,or "seasoned," casks that impart less of the oak flavor notes while the Brandy matures.



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Manufacturing process of Cognac:-

Cognac is distilled in copper pot stills. The first distillation produces the brouillis. Itcontains 30% ABV. The second distillation is called as bonne chauffe. It has upto 72%ABV. It is only the second distillate that is taken for making cognac. It is then matured inoak casks. While maturation period, the spirit extracts the flavor, color, and tannin.

The porous wood allows the oxidation of the spirit to take place which gives the finefinish to the cognac. The rate of oxidation depends on the humidity in the cellars. Duringthe aging process 2-3% of alcohol evaporates every year. This evaporation isotherwise called Angels share This evaporation tends to happen even after bottling.Hence most brandy bottles have corks.

Cognac improves only when it is aged is in casks. Once it is bottled, the aging stops.Distilled water is added to reduce the alcoholic strength to 40%.it is then bottled.

It is estimated that it takes 10 bottles of wine to make 1 (one) bottle of cognac.Styles of Cognac

The indications on age

V.S./V.S.P./Three Star:(V.S., very superior; V.S.P., very superior pale) A minimumof two years aging in a cask, although the industry average is four to five years.

V.S.O.P.: (very superior old pale) A minimum of four years cask aging for theyoungest Cognac in the blend, with the industry average being between 10 and 15years. The youngest spirit in the assembly for Very Superior Old Pales, also called

Reserve.

X.O./Luxury: (X.O., extra old) A minimum of six years aging for the youngest cognac inthe blend, with the average age running 20 years or older.

The indications on vintages

The term "Fine".

The term "Fine" is authorized by the law of 1938 and qualifies a vintage spirit. Forexample,Grande Fine Champagne" qualifies Grande Champagne vintage cognac

assembled with spirits that come solely from the Grande Champagne region.

On the other hand, the "Fine Champagne" appellation qualifies a cognac with at least50% of Grande Champagne spirits and the rest from Petite Champagne

Napoleon Although the BNIC states this grade is equal to XO in terms of minimum age,it is generally marketed in-between VSOP and XO in the product range offered by theproducers.



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Hors d'age The BNIC states that also this grade is equal to XO, but in practice the termis used by producers to market a high quality product beyond the official age scale.Hence the name "Hors d'age" (ageless).

All Cognac houses maintain inventories of old vintage Cognacs to use in blending thesetop of the line brands. The oldest Cognacs are removed from their casks in time and

stored in glass demijohns (large jugs) to prevent further loss from evaporation and tolimit excessively woody and astringent flavors. Luxury Cognacs are the very finestCognacs of each individual Cognac house.

Tasting of Cognac

The tasting technique is progressive and follows a classic ritual. The perfect tool is thetulip shaped glass which contains the aromas and releases them delicately andprogressively throughout the tasting.

First step: visual aspect

The eye must judge the spirit in three ways: transparency, colour and viscosity (theliquid must not be cloudy nor have sediments). By tilting the glass, one can observe the"legs" or "tears" effect which is a sign of good age.

Fist step second step Third step

Second step: the scent

Firstly, the connoisseur will detect the very volatile and very subtle scents that are oftenhidden to the novice: he carries the glass to within an inch of the nostrils and tames theburning vapours; he then smells a little closer before inhaling at length all the releasedsmells with the nose in the glass.

Secondly, the connoisseur discovers the less volatile aromatic components: he stirs andtosses the liquid inside the glass to allow the spirit to release new scents. He repeatsthis action several times to make the pleasure last and to discover a whole new bouquetevery time.



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Third step: the taste

The tasting must obey strict rules: The taster takes small sips at a time (1 to 2 ml). Heholds each sip in the front of the mouth and appreciates the "taste" (balance betweensoftness, acidity and bitterness) and the "touch" (feeling of roundness, warmth, strength,astringency, body, oiliness, volume, etc...). The second, longer sip will suffuse the whole

mouth and will bring into full bloom the flavours and the less volatile notes that completethe bouquet.

Armagnac

Armagnac is the oldest type of Brandy in France, with documented references todistillation dating back to the early 15th century. The Armagnac region is located in theheart of the ancient province of Gascony in the southwest corner of France.

As in Cognac, there are regional growing zones:

Bas-Armagnac, Haut Armagnac, and Tenareze.

The primary grapes used in making Armagnac are likewise the Ugni Blanc, FolleBlanche, and Colombard. But distillation takes place in the unique alambicArmagnacais, a type of column still that is even more "inefficient" than a typicalCognac pot still.

The resulting brandy has a rustic, assertive character and aroma that requires additional

cask aging to mellow it out. The best Armagnacs are aged in casks made from the localMonlezun oak. In recent years Limousin and Troncais oak casks have been added tothe mix of casks as suitable Monlezun oak becomes harder to find.

Most Armagnacs are blends, but unlike Cognac, single vintages and single vineyardbottling can be found. The categories of Armagnac are generally the same as those ofCognac (V.S., V.S.O.P., X.O., etc.). Blended Armagnacs frequently have a greaterpercentage of older vintages in their mix than comparable Cognacs, making them abetter value for the discerning buyer.

Apple and Other Fruit Brandies

Normandy is one of the few regions in France that does not have a substantial grapewine industry. Instead it is apple country, with a substantial tradition of producing hardand sweet cider that in turn can be distilled into an Apple Brandy known as Calvados.

The local cider apples, which tend to be small and tart, are closer in type to crab applesthan to modern table apples. This spirit has its own appellations, with the best brandscoming from Appellation Contrle Pays dAuge near the Atlantic seaport of Deauville,



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and the rest in 10 adjacent regions that are designated Appellation Reglementee. MostPays dAuge and some of the better Appellation Reglementee are produced in pot stills.All varieties of Calvados are aged in oak casks for a minimum of two years. Cognac-style quality and age terms such as V.S.O.P. and Hors dAge is frequently used onlabels, but have no legal meaning. In the United States, Applejack, as Apple Brandy iscalled locally, is thought by many to be the first spirit produced in the British colonies.

This colonial tradition has continued on the East Coast with the Lairds Distillery in NewJersey (established in 1780 and the oldest distillery in America). Apple Brandies that aremore like eau-de-vie are produced in California and Oregon. .

The most popular fruit brandies are; applejack from America, Calvados (KAL-vah-dohs)apple brandy from France, Framboise (frahm-BWAHZ) raspberry brandy from France,Kirsch (KEERSH) cherry brandy from Germany, Poire (PWAHR) a Swiss pear brandy,and Slivovitz (SLIHV-uh-vihts) a German plum brandy.

Pomace Brandy is made from the residue of wine, stems and seeds. The most popularare Grappa (GRAHP-pah) from Italy and Marc from France.

Brands of cognac

Martell Rmy Martin

Braastad Pierre-Ferrand

Courvoisier Landy

Moyet Meukow

HennessyThe Hennessy X.O. is more available and affordable. "This is the benchmarkfor all cognacs produced," proclaims Olsen while smelling the X.O., "Cognac is aboutsoil, grapes, pot stills two times...though French law merely dictates that an X.O. be sixyears old, the Hennessy X.O. is, on average, 30 years old. Like I said, this is the

http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Martell&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=R%C3%A9my_Martin&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Braastad&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Pierre-Ferrand&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Courvoisier&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Landy&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Moyet&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Meukow&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Hennessy&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Martell&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=R%C3%A9my_Martin&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Braastad&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Pierre-Ferrand&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Courvoisier&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Landy&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Moyet&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Meukow&action=edithttp://wiki.webtender.com/wiki?title=Hennessy&action=edit


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benchmark." Aromas of mocha or maybe coffee, dried fruits like fig and prunes, mustyapricot, marzipan/roasted almonds, with lusty, grapy elements are all there. TheHennessy X..O. can be found in any fine shop, retailing for $80.

THE KING OF COGNACS

King Louis the XIII produced by Remy Martin is considered the King of Cognacs.Only grapes from the Grande Champagne region are used and it's aged in barrels thatare several hundred years old. It can range in age from 40 to 100 years and it'spackaged in a Baccarat crystal bottle. It sells for $1500 or more and in bars across theglobe.

A term called The Angels Portion or the Angels Share is associated with theevaporation. They say that when you visit Cognac, you can actually smell theevaporating cognac in the air from the casks below.

What do all of those letters on the label mean?

Distillers of "higher end" brandies and Cognacs use letters to indicate the quality of theirproducts. Interestingly, these letters represent English words and not French. They areas follows:

E is EspecialF is FineV is VeryO is OldS is SuperiorP is Pale

X is ExtraC is Cognac.

With this in mind, let's take into consideration some Hennessy Cognac products:

Hennessy V.S. Cognac is: Hennessy Very Superior Cognac

Hennessy V.S.O.P. Cognac is: Hennessy Very Superior Old Pale Cognac

Hennessy X.O. Cognac is Hennessy Extra Old Cognac



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LIQUEURS

Liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit,herbs, nuts, spices,flowers, orcream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; theyare usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to

allow flavors to marry.

Liqueurs are flavoured, sweetened spirits, characterized by their flavorings and not basespirit.Latin word LIQUIFACERE meaning To dissolve. Liqueurs were known in ancientRoman times but developed in the middle Ages through experiments with distillation ofherbs, flowers and grape juice. The ancient cordials were used as medicines, and therecipes guarded with immense secrecy. To this day, the ingredients of some famousliqueurs remain secrets off monasteries after which they are named.

Nowadays, liqueurs are made worldwide and are served in many ways: by themselves,poured over ice, with coffee, mixed with cream or other mixers to create cocktails, etc.

They are often served with or after a dessert. Liqueurs are also used in cooking

All liqueurs consist of the following 3 (three)constituents:

1. THE SPIRIT BASE

The alcohol used as spirit base must be as pure as possible. Manner of distillation anddegree of rectification determine purity of spirit. Most liqueurs have a neutral or a grainspirit base though whisky, rum, grape brandy, cognac, fruit spirit or rice spirit areoften used.

2. THE FLAVOURING AGENT

FRUIT FLAVOUR - Flavoured with any fruit except citrus fruits.

Either the whole fruit or the part of the fruit is used. Fruit liqueurs are labelled as Cremeeg. Creme de Cassis. These are fairly low in alcohol

Botanical Mixtures-These were first used for the medicinal purposes. These liqueurs are flavoured with acombination of herbs with no one flavour being predominant. These are fairly high onthe alcohol content. Examples: Benedictine, Chartreuse.

CREAM BASEDMain ingredients are fresh dairy cream and spirit which are flavoured andsweetened. Most are 34 v/v.

SEEDS AND NUTS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beveragehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_(fruit)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktailshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desserthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beveragehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_(fruit)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktailshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desserthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking


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A single flavour predominates. Examples:-Anisette.3. THE SWEETENER

Liqueurs are sweetened with sugar syrup after blending is completed. Most liqueurscontain 35% -40% sweeteners. Liqueurs containing 2.5% to 10% sugar come in the dryrange.

MANUFACTURE PROCESS OF LIQUEURS:-

The steps involved in the production of liqueurs are

Extraction

The flavouring agent must be extracted from the natural substance, to use the essentialoil as an ingredient.There are four methods of extraction:

Pressure Infusion or Hot Maceration or cold Percolation

PERCOLATION

The flavour material usually leaves or herbs are placed in the upper part of the

percolation apparatus. A high proof spirit is pumped up and allowed to drip downthrough it.Process used in the manufacture of liqueurs, in which the spirit base of cold vapour ispassed though the container filled with natural flavouring agents .This process mayhave to repeat for weeks or months to achieve the desired level of extraction.

MACERATION



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The steeping of fruit in alcohol in the production of liqueurs. This process may take aslong as a year. Maceration refers to the steeping of the aromatic /flavouring agent whichhas usually been bruised in water or alcohol for a period of time in order to extract anessence from it. This essence, then added to the base spirit as the flavouring agent.

INFUSION

The infusion method is generally done for fruit liqueurs by placing both, fresh fruits anddry fruits in a cask containing brandy. The fruit steeps for 6-8 months during which thebrandy absorbs the colour, aroma and taste of the selected fruit. Staining then drawn offthe brandy and sugar syrup is added. The fruit may still have some brandy in it, so it isdistilled to extract the last drop of flavor and added to the mixture. It is sometimes agedfor up to a year.

Distillation Compounding Maturing Fining Addition of sugar syrup Filtration Bottling

FAMOUS LIQUEURS OF THE WORLD

LIQUEUR COLOR FLAVOR SPIRIT BASE COUNTRY

Abricotine Red Apricot Brandy France

Avocaat Yellow Egg, sugar Brandy Holland

Anisette Clear Aniseed Neutral Spirit France, Spain,Italy, Holland

Aquavit Clear Herbs, mainlycaraway seeds

Potato or graindistillate

Scandinavia

Arrack Clear Herbs Palm sapdistillate

Java,India,Jamaica,Ceylon

Benedictine DOM Yellow/green Herbs Brandy France

Chartreuse Green-96proof

Herbs Brandy France

Yellow-78proof



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Cherry Brandy Deep red Cherry Brandy Denmark

Cointreau Clear Orange Brandy France

Creme de cacao Dark Brown Chocolate,vanilla beans

Rum France

Clear Neutral spiritCreme de cassis Clear Black currants Brandy France

Creme de menthe Green Mint Brandy France

Creme de vanilla Clear Vanilla Neutral spirit France, Holland

Drambuie Golden Heather,Honey & herbs

Whisky Scotland

Grand Marnier Amber Orange Brandy France

Glavya Golden Herbs& spices Whisky Scotland

Kirsch Clear Cherry Cherry brandy France

Kahlua Brown Coffee Rum MexicoKummel Clear Caraway

seedsNeutral spirit East Europe

Maraschino Clear Maraschino

cherry

Cherry brandy Italy

Parfait Amour Violet Violets, lemonpeel & spices

Brandy France, Holland

Sambuca Clear Liquorice Neutral spirit Italy

Strega Yellow Herbs & barks Neutral spirit Italy

Tia Maria Brown Coffee Rum JamaicaVan der Hum Amber Tangerine Brandy South Africa

Slivovitz Clear Plums Plum brandy East Europe

ANISETTE

French name for sweet, aniseed flavored liqueur.

B &B



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Benedictine and brandy liqueur. Although Benedictine is based on cognac it issometimes taken with brandy.Described as the worlds oldest liqueur because it was formulated in 1510.27 herbsplants, and peels go into Benedictine. Production takes 3 years and 4 years of aging.

BAILEYS IRISH CREAM

It is made in Dublin (Ireland) .the manufactures try to sell especially during the time ofChristmas. Baileys is a blend of Irish whiskey and cream flavored with cocoa,bottled at 17% ABV.

CRME DE BANANE

Bananas macerated in spirit or artificial flavoring are used. An excellent banana liqueuris made from Canary Islands. The bottle is shaped like a bunch of bananas.

CRME DE CASSIS

Blackcurrant liqueur from Dijon area in France. Made by maceration of blackcrrant inspirit.

COINTREAU

One of the most popular branded liqueurs, cointreau is a variety of Curacao. Thismeans it is a brandy based spirit that has been flavored with rind of bitter oranges.When it was launched in 1849 by the cointreau brothers it was sold under the brandname of triple sec white Curacao but so many other proprietary curacaos began to be

sold as the triple sec that own name instead. The centre of operation as a distillery islocated in the France town of angers in the Loire valley.

CURACAO

Originally the name for an orange flavoured liqueur, made from the dried peels ofgreen oranges from the Island Of Curacao off the coast of Venezuela. Sweet digestiveliqueur now made from grape spirit, sugar and orange peels. The name is now appliesto all orange liqueurs. After infusion, spirit is distilled - if resulting liquor undergoesrectification it becomes Triple Sec Curacao which is then sweetened andcoloured.

DRAMBUIE

Original recipe was given by Bonnie Prince Charlie and the liqueur is still made by theMackinnon family of Edinburgh. Made from a base of fine single malt scotch to whichare added heatherhoney and herbs. It is the oldest whisky liqueur.

GRAND MARNIER



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It is one of the worlds most famous liqueurs. A French Curacao invented in 1880, it is ablend of the finest cognacs with wild bitter oranges from the tropics. The bottlehas a red ribbon, traditional seal and a unique shape. There are two versions - CordonJaune and Cordon Rouge.

KAHLUA

The only liqueur to have been founded in Mexico. Kahlua is dark brown coffeeflavoured essence. It is compared to Tia Maria it is slightly thicker in texture and lesssweet than Tia Maria. It includes spices like vanilla and nutmeg.

CRME DE ROSE

Delicate rose petal liqueur made with vanilla and sometimes citrus oils.

SOUTHERN COMFORT

One of the American liqueurs .in additions to peach, it has hint of orange & herbs. it isdry and strong with the base of whisky.

TIA MARIA

Jamaicas contribution to the world of liqueurs, Tia Maria is deep brown coffeeflavoured drink based on a recipe around 3 centuries old. It is bases on good darkJamaican rum of at least 5 years old and flavoured with the beans of variety .localspices like vanilla are also added.

SERVICE OF LIQUEURS

Liqueurs are usually served straight up in a liqueur glass. As they are normally servedalongside coffee, the liqueur glass is placed at the right of the coffee cup, but not nearthe edge of the table. Liqueurs may also be served frapped, and in this case, they maybe served in a variety of glasses, including champagne saucer and cocktail glass.

Service varies a little when there is liqueur trolley present, and in this case, the trolley isrolled to the guest and the chosen liqueur served at the guests table in the glass andserved.


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