2006-10-19 02:55:49 · 7 answers · asked by pooface 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Beer, Wine & Spirits
Brandy is a general term for distilled grapes (as opposed to wine which is fermented grapes). Cognac is a type of brandy which refers to a specific grape growing region in France. If brandy is not from this region it can't be called Cognac.
Use this rule: All Cognac is Brandy but not all Brandy is Cognac.
2006-10-19 03:08:33 · answer #1 · answered by stymie1970 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"All cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac". YUP The grapes, the way they're made and where, France has both but the rest of the world only has brandies. A common misconception is that all French brandy is called cognac. Cognac comes only from one region, the agricultural district of the Charente - Maritime departments about 100 miles north of Bordeaux on the coast of France. Natives of the region put it this way: "All cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac". All cognacs are produced from wines made from grapes grown and harvested within the demarcated cognac region. The St. Emilion variety, or ungi blanc as it is also known, is by a wide margin the main grape type cultivated. Cognac is always distilled twice in small copper pot stills. The colorless, high-alcohol distillate, which by law cannot exceed 72% alcohol after the second distillation, is pumped into French oak casks for aging. The legal minimum period of wood aging is two and a half years but the vast majority of cognacs age for much longer periods, with the best XOs maturing for two to three decades or more. France's other officially demarcated brandy region, Armagnac, enjoys a smaller, but remarkably loyal audience in the US. Armagnac differs from cognac in a number of ways, the most obvious being a single distillation. It is also notable that while armagnac production began a few hundred years before cognac, the Armagnac region is much smaller, accounting for only about one-sixth as many acres as Cognac. Armagnac also often carries a vintage date on the label, referring to the year that the brandies were distilled. All brandies used in the blend must, law, come from that single vintage. Cognac only rarely uses vintage years as an identification, preferring instead to use a lettering system.
2016-05-22 01:49:27 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cognac and Brandy are basically the same thing.
The difference is that Cognac is made in the region of France called Cognac and no other regions or countries are allowed to use this protected name. That's why the brandy Armagnac, which is made in the region of France called Armagnac, may not be called a cognac, even though it is as good if not superior a product.
2006-10-19 04:29:34 · answer #3 · answered by Hi y´all ! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To add. There is brandy made in France. Cognac is higher quality all around. It is pretty much the same thing, just higher quality. Yummmmmm cognac.
2006-10-19 05:38:46 · answer #4 · answered by chuck g 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cognac like champagne is only made in France.
2006-10-19 03:02:59 · answer #5 · answered by Rob B 69 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Easy one, and probably what you thought!
Champagne is only made from grapes in Champagne, France
Sparkling wine is made from grapes anywhere else.
Cognac is made in Cognac, France out of grapes.
Brandy is made from grapes anyplace else, like California.
2006-10-19 02:57:52 · answer #6 · answered by Freesumpin 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
BRANDY to me is cheap like E & J
CONGNAC is my drink REMY MARTIN
Better drink to me I prefer a CONGNAC over brandy
2006-10-19 06:55:09 · answer #7 · answered by Atlanta's Finest 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋