Spanish Brandy from Andalucía Virtually all Spanish brandy is produced in Andalucía, in and around the city and region of Jerez de la Frontera in the province of Cadiz, where it has the protected designation of origin (PDO) trademark as Brandy de Jerez. Brandy is a favourite digestive drink to end a meal in many countries around the world and originated from brandywine, derived from the Dutch words brandewijn and gebrande wijn meaning burned wine, and is a spirit produced by distilling wine. The production process involves the solera system, which is also used to mature sherry wine, where the maturing takes place in rows of barrels that are stacked on top of each other, the lowest being the oldest and closest to the floor, which is suelo in Spanish, where the name solera comes from. Brandy in Andalucía is aged in casks that were once used to mature sherry, the oloroso (full-bodied) type in particular. This imbues the brandy with a similar distinctive nutty taste. And for a spirit to be officially recognised as a brandy, it has to be matured for at least 6 months and to have been derived from grapes. There are 3 varieties of brandy, classified according to the time they have matured: - Solera is aged in the barrel for at least 6 months - Solera Reserva is aged in the barrel for at least 1 year - Solera Gran Reserva, is aged in the barrel for 10 to 15 years Some of the best brandy classed as Solera Gran Reserva are Carlos I which is produced by Pedro Domeq; Conde de Osborne, which is produced by Osborne (famous for Torro de Osborne, the Osborne Bull) and Cardenal Mendoza which is produced by Sanchez Romate. Cherry Brandy Fruit brandies are distilled from fruits other than grapes such as apples, peaches, apricots, plums, elderberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries are the most commonly used fruits. Fruit brandy is usually around 40% to 45% proof). It is often colourless and customarily drunk chilled or over ice, but is occasionally mixed. In the town of Cazalla de la Sierra in the province of Sevilla, a cherry brandy is produced by Muira, which is also produced in the towns of Zalamea la Real and Cortegana in the province of Huelva too.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:28:01 +0000
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