Brandy

Brandy, alcoholic beverage produced by the distillation of grape wine and matured by aging in wooden casks. When freshly distilled, the brandy is clear and colorless and will remain so if kept in glass containers. Placed in wooden casks, the spirits dissolve a coloring matter from the wood and acquire a light brownish tint, which dealers often deepen by adding burnt sugar. The distinctive aroma of brandy is due to the presence of traces of higher alcohols and volatile oils. The very high alcoholic content of the raw spirits is reduced somewhat by aging and is adjusted usually to 40 to 45 percent by dilution with water when the brandy is bottled for sale.

Perhaps the most famous brandy is cognac, named after a town in the wine-producing department of Charente, France. The amber-hued cognac is made by distilling white wine, which is then aged in an oak cask. Other notable brandies are kirsch, produced in the Alsace area of France, in Switzerland, and in the Black Forest region of Germany, by distilling the fermented juice of the black morello cherry; and šljivovica, a dry, colorless plum brandy made in the Balkans.

In the United States, liquors made from fruits other than grapes are also called brandies, but are more correctly termed cordials or liqueurs. See Distilled Liquors.