SPIRITS

Question 1

BRANDY

Answer 1

is a spirit distilled from wine or the fermented mash of fruit, which is then aged in oak barrels. Fruit and grape varieties, climate, soil, and production methods, which vary from village to village, district to district, and country to country, all contribute varying characteristics to the different brandies produced. Brandy is distilled in a pot still or a continuous still, placed in wood to age, blended with water to reduce the alcohol content to a level not less than 80°. In some regions (Cognac for example) caramel coloring may be added to “adjust” its color. Ten gallons of wine are needed to produce one gallon of brandy.

Question 2

COGNAC

Answer 2

is also a grape-based spirit that must be distilled only from grapes grown and harvested within the cognac region of France. The Cognac region’s stony, chalk rich soil (which is probably due to ancient oyster beds), it’s climate, and the specific grape varieties grown there, as well as the methods used in distilling, blending, and aging, give this spirit it’s unique flavor. The most widely cultivated grape by far is Ugni Blanc (or St Emilion). All cognac is distilled twice in copper pot-stills. The resulting spirit is colorless and may not exceed 72% alcohol by volume. Cognac must be aged in French oak casks for no less than two and one half years. New versus used oak, as well as the type of oak used, are fundamental in producing certain styles of cognac. After aging the alcohol content is reduced to 40% by blending with distilled water and left to settle for several months. Virtually all cognacs are blends, sometimes as many as fifty, to ensure a standard of taste and quality.

Question 3

RUM

Answer 3

A spirit resulting from an alcoholic fermentation and the distillation of sugar cane, sugarcane syrup, molasses, sugar beets, maple sap, or other sugarcane by-products at less than 190°. Distillation generally occurs within the area of production of the sugar cane.
Sugarcane, minus the leaves, is cut and shredded by heavy rollers; the juice is collected, strained, decanted, and filtered. The sugarcane juice is first boiled to evaporate the water, which crystallizes the sugar and separates it from the thick, black molasses. Molasses is a byproduct of making sugar and before the English discovered they could distill it in 17th Century Barbados it was often buried and or sold off as a vitamin substitute. Mount Gay is the oldest Rum distillery still producing rum established in 1703.
The molasses is often fermented for one to two days, producing a small amount of alcohol, then double distilled in column stills to about 180°. Some rums still utilize alembic stills(Smith&Cross) Rum has its own natural sugar and does not depend on various added enzymes to convert starches into a readily fermentable sugar. Both light and dark rums come out of the still almost colorless, although they may taste quite different. The light rums are generally kept in glass or stainless steel vats, so that they do not acquire color from barrels, while dark rums can be kept in lightly charred oak barrels.