Fruit Spirits

Question 1

What kind of fruit can you use to make a fruit spirit?

Answer 1

Any fruit locally grown, since all fruit are risk of spoilage, they need to be processed right after harvested.

Question 2

There are two different ways to make fruit spirits, which?

Answer 2

Most are crushed and/or pressed. Then fermented and distilled.
Some fruits are macerated in a neutral spirits, which is then re-distilled.

Question 3

Which grapes do you mostly use when making a spirit?

Answer 3

You can use any grape, but mostly a white grape.
In Cognac, they use a white grape with high acidity and low flavours.

Question 4

What is Pomace?

Answer 4

The grapes skin

Question 5

What’s the difference between using Red och White Pomace?

Answer 5

White pomace, haven’t gone through the fermantation process, so the distiller has to press the grape skins, add water, then ferment it before distilling.
Red pomace is already fermented, so it can be distilled immediately after arrival.

Question 6

What character will the skins give to a pomace brandy?

Answer 6

Herbaceous and spicy aromas.

Question 7

What kind of still do you use for most fruit spirits?

Answer 7

Pot still is mostly used, column only sometimes.

Question 8

Which fruits do you usually mature in oak and which not?

Answer 8

You usually mature grapes and apple in new oak barrels for a year or two before moving them to another old oak barrel for futher maturation

Pomace brandies and other fruit spirits you tend not to mature in oak.

Question 9

Which grape variaty is used to produce Cognac?

Answer 9

Ugni Blanc

Question 10

Name the three French fruit spirit regions and the order north to south and what you produce in them

Answer 10

Calvados - apple and pear
Cognac - grapes
Armangnac - grapes

Question 11

What signatures a cognac made out of Ugni Blanc?

Answer 11

Rasin and violet

Question 12

Which are the 3 subregions of Cognac?

Answer 12

Borderies
Grand Champagne
Petite Champagne

Question 13

What rules must a distiller in Cognac follow to be able to call his spirit a Cognac?

Answer 13

Double pot stills in copper
Directly heated by a flame or nowadays, a gas burner
They can’t use the modern condensers, they must use an older style called a “worm tube”.
Maturated minimun two years in oak.

Question 14

What is one way of adding more depth and complexity to a cognac?

Answer 14

To add a very aged spirit.

Question 15

What are you allowed to add pre-distillation in Cognac?

Answer 15

Suger and caramel colour

Question 16

Name four famous cognac brands.

Answer 16

Martell, Rémy Martin, Courvoisier and Hennessy

Question 17

How do you label cognac and what does it mean?

Answer 17

VS (very special) - minimum 2 years - oak and distinct fruit aromas
VSOP (very superior old pale) - minimum 4 years - richer and fuller, aromas of maturity
XO (Extra old) Hora d’age - 10 years - raisin, floral, oak, rancio aromas

Question 18

What does Fine Champagne means?

Answer 18

When the grapes have been grown in different sub-regions they have to be named Fine Champagne, but only when there’s more than 50% from Grand Champagne

Question 19

Which grape variety do distillers use to produce Armagnac, and what character does it give the Armagnac?

Answer 19

the most importent one is Baco Blanc (gives aromas of prune) and Folle Blanche (gives aromas of floral), but they use Ugni Blanc aswell

Question 20

What kind of still do they use when making Armagnac?

Answer 20

A short column still with relatively few plates, which gives the product a very characterful low-strength spirit

Question 21

What are the two biggest differences between Cognac and Armagnac?

Answer 21

1. Vintage dated products are far more common in Armagnac. Grapes harvested from the same year, and blends from only the same year.
2. Distillers in Armagnac are allowed to produce and sell a spirit called Blanche, which is the same product as Armagnac but is instead of matured in oak, it’s matured for a few months in inert vessels. It’s fruty and floral.

Question 22

What’s the label used for a small producer in Armagnac?

Answer 22

château

Question 23

What labelling terms and what do they means when it comes to aging of Armagnac?

Answer 23

Blanche - 3 mounths
VS - (Very Special) - 1 year
VSOP -(Very Superoir Old Pale) - 4 years
Hors d’age, Vintage - XO (Extra old) - 10 years

Question 24

Which two sub-regions are Armagnac divided into?

Answer 24

Bas-Armagnac
Armagnac-Ténarèze
If labelled, then it’s 100% grapes from that area.

Question 25

Where does Calvados come from?

Answer 25

Normandy

Question 26

What is Calvados made off?

Answer 26

Apple and pear

Question 27

Which still is used to produce Calvados?

Answer 27

both a pot still (similar to the ones used in Cognac)
and column still (like the ones in (Armagnac)

Question 28

What is Calvados stored/matured in?

Answer 28

Large oak barrels, doesn’t give that much oak flavour, retain the pronounced aromas of cider apples.

Question 29

In which two country’s in South America do you find a grape brandy and which brandy?

Answer 29

In Chile and Peru you can find Pisco

Question 30

What’s the character of a Pisco?

Answer 30

vibrant fruity character from highly aromatic grapes.

Question 30

How is Pisco distilled?

Answer 30

In a pot still

Question 31

How’s a Pisco matured?

Answer 31

Most Pisco is unaged, some examples are matured in wood in Chile, but during a very short period of time.

Question 32

Where’s Grappa from and what is it made from?

Answer 32

It’s from Italy and it’s made out of pomace.

Question 33

What character does a grappa has?

Answer 33

It’s pronounced herbaceous flavours, sharp texture.

Question 34

If you use Moscato (Muscat) in Grappa what kind of characater will you get?

Answer 34

Since it’s an aromatic grape, you’ll get a pronounced floral and fruit aroma och top of the herbaceous pomace aromas.

Question 35

Do you mature grappa?

Answer 35

Yes, but not in oak, except from some very few examples. Most grappas are matured in inert vessles to get a more fuller, smoother and more complex flavour.