Presented by Mark Hickey @ Boston Shaker Bar September 20, 2021.

Hi Livi here,

Mondays session on Cognac & Brandy was awesome. Big thank you to Mark Hickey from Spirits Platform for presenting & Nicholas Drouggas for providing our venue with much needed support.

To all our Sunshine Coast Hospitality community that attended it was a great turn out and thanks for all your “colourful” personalities that added to the conversation and learning, many laughs had.

Here’s some Key Notes I took, although I had tasted my way through a fair few by then end, so please allow some creative licence.

Discovered by accident

Brandy & Cognac were discovered way back when wine being was transported by sea. Essentially the wine was going “bad” before it arrived at port, so they decided to distill as a means of preservation during the long journey. It was supposed to be diluted back to wine, but someone tried the distilled stuff & decided it tasted pretty good as is and BRANDY WAS BORN.

Are Brandy & Cognac the same ?

Cognac & Brandy are both essentially distilled wine. They are often confused and for the most part they differ largely due to a set of guidelines and rules in the way the spirit is made and the regions it’s ingredients are sourced from. There are plenty of examples of “rules” in other areas of the liquor industry including :

Champagne, made from a sparkling wine produced in the champagne region of France following strict guidelines. Not to be confused with Prosecco.

Tennessee whiskey, straight Whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee, follow strict rules & guidelines, not to be confused with other types of Whisky.

Tequila, made from Mexico's native blue agave plant, not to be confused with mezcal.

Cachaça, a distilled spirit made from fermented sugar cane juice produced in Brazil, not to be confused with Cane Spirits from other regions of the world.

What does a still look like ? Here’s a “mini” version courtesy of Mark Hickey. Cheers for the visual so we can all wrap our heads around it.

So……..

What is Brandy ?

We all know that wine is made by fermenting grapes and in some cases fruits (strawberry wine), well Brandy is simply Distilled Wine. It can be made by fermenting any grapes or fruits. It can be barrel aged in any wood.

Interesting Fact - Brandy is the lowest calorie spirit in the world @ 63 calories !!

What is cognac ?

Cognac is also distilled wine, but it can only be made using grapes from 6 regions in Cognac. It also follows plenty of rules such as a limit in the litres allowed to be distilled ( 3000 litres first distillation) and the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of the final product ( less than 72% but greater than 40% ). It is aged in French Oak Barrels sourced from Troncais and Limousin forests.

Where is Cognac ?

Cognac is 420km South of France. La Rochelle is a major fishing port where these Cognac barrels were exported from dating back to 1638.

6 Regions for Cognac

As discussed for Cognac to be called Cognac the grapes must be sourced from 6 specific regions of Cognac only.

Grand Champagne
Petit Champagne
Borderies
Fine Bois
Bos Bois
Bois Ordinaries

What makes these grapes so amazing !! The region has a super chalky soil that is porous. It reflects the sun and acts like a sponge to retain water and release it when the vine needs it without flooding the roots.

Now for the tastings !!

ST REMY

Founded in 1886 in the Loire Valley. Use small 350 l French oak casks for greater spirit contact.

St Remy VSOP ( Very Superior Old Pale )

Must be aged 4 years plus
Fruity cherry wild strawberry aromas
Round smooth wood vanilla taste
Tastes great neat or in cocktails\
37% ABV

St Remy XO ( extra old )

Aged up to 10 years
Oak vanilla, fruit, honey aromas
Ginger bread, candied apricots, date flavours
Tastes great in Cocktails, Soda, Ginger Ale & neat
40% ABV

Interesting Fact - Remy & Cointreau are family names.

REMY MARTIN

Established in 1724. Uses 100% Grand Champagne & Petit Champagne grapes.

Remy Martin VSOP

French Champagne Cognac
VSOP ( very superior old pale)
Launched in 1927
Aged 4 -1 4 years
Must contain >50% grand champagne grapes.
Limousin Oak Casks
Liquorice and fruit flavours
40% ABV

Remy Martin XO ( extra old)

Fine Champagne Cognac
Aged 10 - 30 years
400 ODV - blend of over 400 distillations
Orange, Cinnamon and Hazelnut flavours
40% ABV

Is the juice worth the squeeze ? Yes we think so !!!

If you’re a fellow Hospitality worker and you’d like to be invited to our training sessions, we’d love to have you.

Send me your details and you will be the first to know.