The Different Types of Brandy: Cognac, Armagnac and Beyond

×

What brandy actually is

Brandy is a distilled spirit made from fermented fruit. The best known styles are made from grapes (distilled wine), but many classic brandies are made from apples, pears and other fruits. Most brandies are aged in oak, which adds colour and flavours like vanilla, dried fruit, nuts and spice.

Grape brandy

Grape brandy is the most common category. It starts as wine that is distilled into a higher strength spirit, then matured in wood. The base wine, the distillation style and the ageing method drive the final flavour.

Cognac

Cognac such as Martell VS is a protected style of grape brandy from a specific region in France. It is typically distilled in copper pot stills and then aged in French oak. Expect elegant flavours such as dried apricot, orange peel, vanilla, toasted nuts and gentle spice. Cognac is often enjoyed neat as an after dinner sip, but it is also excellent in cocktails like the Sidecar and French 75.

Armagnac

Armagnac is another protected French brandy, generally older in style and often more rustic and intensely flavoured than Cognac. Many Armagnacs are distilled in column style apparatus (including continuous stills), which can preserve heavier fruit and spice notes. If you like rich, dried fruit character and deeper oak influence, Armagnac can be a great value alternative.

Spanish brandy

Spanish brandy, especially from Jerez, often uses a solera ageing system like Soberano 5 Reserva. This can create a sweet, rounded profile with pronounced notes of raisin, caramel, toffee and baking spice. It is popular neat, with cola, or as an affordable mixing brandy.

American brandy and other grape brandies

Many countries produce grape brandy. Some are made in a lighter style for mixing, while premium examples rival Cognac in complexity. Look for details such as ageing time, cask type and whether it was pot distilled.

Fruit brandies

Fruit brandies are made from fruits other than grapes. Some are aged (especially apple brandies), while many traditional European fruit spirits are unaged and crystal clear.

Calvados

Calvados is an apple (and sometimes pear) brandy from Normandy. It can be fruity and fresh in younger bottlings, or rich and spicy with baked apple, vanilla and oak in older expressions. Calvados is brilliant in cocktails and also pairs well with cheese and desserts.

Applejack and other apple brandies

Apple brandy also has a long history in the United States. These can range from lively and fruit forward to heavily oaked and dessert-like depending on ageing.

Kirsch, slivovitz and other eau de vie

Many clear fruit spirits are known as eau de vie. Kirsch is made from cherries and slivovitz from plums. These are often bottled unaged so the fruit character remains bright and aromatic.

How to choose the right brandy

• For sipping: Cognac, older Armagnac, well aged Calvados.
• For cocktails: Cognac VS, Spanish brandy, younger Calvados, lighter grape brandies.
• For bold flavour: Armagnac, aged Calvados, fruit eau de vie.

Comparing brandy prices the smart way

When comparing brandy prices, check crucially the age designation (for Cognac and Armagnac) or stated ageing (for Calvados and other brandies) as the same brand name can cover several different ages.