11 Types of Brandy You Need to Know (Plus 17 Brands You Should Try)
Taste wise, Armagnac tends to be earthier and thicker than cognac and is more often consumed neat as a dessert liquor.
Armagnac De Montal VS
Check Price
Armagnac De Montal is produced in the Nogaro region by a coalition of grape growers. The longer aging process means this VS Armagnac offers the taste of dried fruit and plum along with notes of smoke and wood, Armagnac De Montal is versatile enough to drink and for use in French cuisine.
Marie Duffau Armagnac Hors d’Age
Check Price
Produced by Freres Delord, this Armagnac comes from the Bas Armagnac region. Hors d’Age translates to beyond age, which is equivalent to at least ten years aged. Aged in oak for 12 years the resultant aged brandy is redolent of toffee, plums, and raisins.
3. Calvados
Calvados is an apple brandy from the Normandy region of France. The market is much smaller than either Armagnac or Cognac.
Some Calvados distillers can combine as many as 100 different types of apples in production, ranging from sweet to sharp, tart and bitter. The longer that Calvados is aged in oak barrels (minimum two years) the smoother it tastes.
LeCompte 12 Year Old Calvados
Check Price
If you’re going out of your way to try an apple brandy, my belief is you start off with a quality aged brandy that’s smooth in taste. This Calvados has been aged for 12 years prior to bottling, creating a sweet fruit brandy that offers hints of spice such as nutmeg and licorice.
4. Spanish Brandy
Most of Spain’s brandy is consumed in-country. If you’ve ever been on the tilt during a Spanish festival, you understand how it gets put to fantastic use. Brandy production is centered on the regions of Jerez and Andalucia, where production was learned from the 8th century Moors.
To be called Brandy de Jerez the alcohol must be aged in casks used for sherry and matured through a solera process (aged over time by fractional increments of blending). There are three regulated types of brandy de Jerez: Solera, Solera Reserva, and Solera Gran Reserva, which is considered the best of the three types.