Whiskey, brandy, cognac - their history and differences

Under the general concept of brandy fall several categories of drinks, including cognac. Wine experts say that all brandy can be called brandy, but only a single brandy has the opportunity to be considered cognac. So what are their differences? Whiskey, brandy, cognac is loved by many around the world, but not everyone understands what their fundamental differences and features are.

History of whiskey

The roots of the origin of this strong drink go back to the distant past. The disputes between Ireland and Scotland do not stop until now - each country defends its right to create the first whiskey.

According to the Scots, they invented a noble drink, replacing barley with grapes. They liked the received alcohol so much that they called it "Uisge beatha", which means "water of life" in Scottish. Then the conquerors from England adopted the recipe and the name, and after some changes in pronunciation, the name "whiskey" appeared.

Initially, nowadays a cult drink was produced exclusively in monasteries and was used as a medicine. When the recipe fell into the hands of the peasants, they used it to receive additional income. In addition to barley, rye was used, and sometimes even oats. Due to several distillations, the strength of the drink increased, which contributed to its popularity. It was already not a pure whiskey drink, but Scotch scotch. In the second half of the XIX century production workshops appeared, and simple distilleries lost their relevance, and whiskey lost in quality.

History of brandy

The very name of the drink arose from the burnt wine from which it was made. "Branden" in Dutch means "burn", and "wijn" translates as "wine". From the 15th to the 16th century, the Dutch used the distillation method to transport unstable light alcoholic beverages to other countries. They took the finished wine and distilled, turned out the burned wine "brandewijn". This word was subsequently abbreviated, and the "brandy" familiar to us turned out. Now in English the word "brandy" denotes any strong alcoholic beverage, including cognac.

The European Union has established a rule about brandy. They can be called only that alcohol product that is aged in an oak barrel for at least six months, has a strength of at least 36 degrees, made exclusively from crushed grapes without pressing or grape wine. In addition, it is not allowed to paint and dilute the drink. Also, no additives are recommended except caramel, unless they are regulated by the manufacturers.

Classic brandy has a strength of 57 to 75 percent and has a golden brown color. Often, brandy and cognac are identified, since their classic methods of preparation, color, sometimes even taste are similar. However, the production of brandy does not apply such strict standards as to brandy, and its taste can be quite diverse, depending on the raw materials used for its preparation.

History of cognac

The birthplace of this drink is France, the town of Cognac. It was there that they first produced cognac and named it in honor of the city. It is produced by special technology from a certain grape variety. Suffer from 10 to 30 years in oak barrels to "age". The longer the aging, the more valuable and more expensive the drink.

In the XII century Duke Guillaume X created the first vineyards in the Charente region, where the city of Cognac was located. They began to make wines that spread throughout Europe and glorified the region. But with transportation there were some problems. It took too much time and often went so that on arrival at the destination French wine was already sour and lost its original taste. Then enterprising French invented the technology of wine distillate, and then began to double distillate drinks. So they did not spoil during transportation, although they acquired a sharper smell and taste. The wines were transported in barrels from oak and found that with a prolonged delay of the vessel the taste of the drink improves. The idea came specially to withstand the drink in oak barrels. So there was a modern cognac.

Whiskey, brandy, cognac - in what all the same differences?

The history of the origin of the drinks is different, moreover, they were even invented in different countries, but this does not stop people from arguing that whiskey, brandy, cognac are practically identical drinks. This opinion is fundamentally wrong.

This cognac is made only from grapes and only in France. Has its own specific taste, depending on the duration of aging. Cognac is one of the varieties of brandy, which is called all other distilled wines, but from other varieties of grapes or from fruits and berries in general and in any other place, except France. In addition, the exposure of brandy can be as little as six months.

Whiskey is a product that stands alone. He, too, is aged, but is prepared in a completely different way with the use of grain crops. Now it becomes clear what distinguishes cognac from whiskey and brandy.

In addition, mention should be made of the classification of cognacs. On real French cognacs, you can find a Latin marking, which will denote the aging time, for example, VSOP - 6 years or more, XO - from 20 years. If you see another marking in the form of stars on the bottles of cognac, this means that you have an ordinary drink made from alcohol. A bottle with three stars means three years of aging alcohol, from five years of alcohol in the barrel will be a cognac of 5 stars. Such "star" cognacs can be called brandy, since they are prepared not according to the classical recipe, most often in Armenia, Georgia and Russia.

To drink whiskey, brandy, cognac and get pleasure from drinks, it is not necessary to know their history, but it's even nicer to realize what exactly you drink and feel like a connoisseur.