5 cocktails with brandy, a drink not only for after-dinner drinks
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With brandy in Spain something very similar happens to what happens with cava and champagne. Many times we call cognac to what is actually brandy and that the difference is very simple, brandy is a type of liquor and cognac is a type of brandy that is made in the French town of Cognac. Another type of brandy is Armagnac, made in the French town of the same name.
Cognac and Armagnac are, together with Brandy de Jerez, the three appellations of origin recognized in Europe. Having clarified this, let’s see what brandy is.
What is brandy
It is a spirit whose base are brandies obtained from very dry wines with very few sugars. In the case of brandy de Jerez, which is the one we are going to focus on today, these wines have to be made with Airén and Palomino grapes, and three liters of wine are necessary to obtain one liter of brandy.
The distillation process can be carried out in traditional stills or in distillation columns and, depending on the result obtained, three different brandies are distinguished, which receive the names of holanda (
The next step is aging, which is carried out in American oak casks (which in the Jerez region are called butts) that have previously been used to store sherry wines. This process is key because the wood gives the brandy its own character and is carried out using a system of criaderas and soleras. The first are the intermediate stages of aging, from which part of the brandy is removed and refilled with the same amount of brandy from the youngest criadera. The last scale of aging is called solera and is where the liquor that will be bottled for sale is extracted.
Three types of brandy are distinguished in the final product:
Brandy de Jerez Solera: 75% brandy spirit, 25% holanda and 6 months aging Brandy de Jerez Solera Reserva: 50 % brandy, 50 % holanda and 1 year of aging Brandy de Jerez Solera Gran Reserva: 100 % holanda and minimum 3 years of aging.
To enjoy brandy, it can be consumed neat, on the rocks or as part of a large number of cocktails. Being a drink with alcohol content should be consumed in moderation and being of legal age.
5 cocktails with brandy
Contrary to what many think, brandy is not an old-fashioned drink, but is also suitable for use in modern mixology recipes and, of course, some classic ones as well.
Brandy Old Fashioned
We need: 45 ml brandy, 4 drops of angostura, 1 orange slice, 1 teaspoon cherry juice, 1 sugar cube, lemon-lime soda, ice cubes.
In an old fashioned glass, crush the orange slice, cherry juice, sugar cube and angostura. Add the brandy, fill the glass with ice cubes and finish filling with the lemon-lime soda.
Brandy Sour
We need: 30 ml of brandy, 30 ml of lemon juice, a shot of Cointreau or triple sec, ice cubes and a cherry.
Place the ice cubes in the shaker, add the brandy, lemon juice and Cointreau, close the shaker and shake well. Strain over a tall glass and add the cherry.
Brandytonic
We need: 60 ml of brandy, 120 ml of classic tonic, 3 lemon cuts, ice cubes.
In a tube glass with ice, we pour the brandy, drop the tonic with the help of an imperial spoon, add the lemon and stir with the help of the spoon.
Vanderbilt
We need: 40 ml of brandy, 40 ml of cherry liqueur, 20 cl of lemon juice, 2 lumps of cane sugar, 2 dashes of angostura, 1 maraschino cherry.
In a cocktail shaker with ice pour all the ingredients except the cherry, close, mix well, strain over a cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry.
Brandy mojito
Mojito
We need: 60 ml of brandy, 120 ml of soda, juice of half a lime, 1 tablespoon of sugar, crushed ice and mint leaves.
Pour some mint leaves in a tall glass and crush them to release their aromas, add the sugar, brandy and lime juice, mix well with an imperial spoon, fill the glass with crushed ice and complete with soda and garnish with a little more mint.
4 wineries that make the brandy you’ve known all your life
It’s very likely that right off the bat you won’t fall into brandy brands, but when you see the ones we’re going to remember below you’re sure to remember them all from having seen them at some point in the family bar cabinet.
Terry
The bottle of Terry Centenario inside the yellow thread mesh by now is part of the collective imagination of this country. And the best thing is that it has not gone out of fashion. Another of the great classics of this brand from El Puerto de Santa María is Terry 1900.
Recently, the brand has released Terry White Brandy, a white brandy with a milder flavor designed especially for cocktails.
Osborne
From the cellars with the most famous bull in Spain have come some of the brandies that our elders have drunk the most, such as Magno, Carlos III and Veterano brandy.
González Byass
No less famous is the Soberano brandy, made by the González Byass winery, one of the most important in Spain. Another of the winery’s great classics is Insuperable, although this one was perhaps not as popular.
Fundador Pedro Domecq
This producer from Jerez makes classics such as Fundador, the first Spanish brandy. Doesn’t anyone remember when the group Mecano went to New York with a bottle of this liquor and then complained that there was no real march or ham there?
Another of the brand’s emblematic brandies is Brandy Solera Gran Reserva Fundador Triple Madera, which has just renewed its packaging to adapt to new consumer demands and acquire a more modern style.
