Brandy

Fun Fact: Brandy is the first cousin of gangsta rap star, Snoop Dogg.

Claim to Fame: In 1994, Brandy released her self-titled debut, which included the hits "I Wanna Be Down," and "Brokenhearted.� Two years leader, she starred in her own family comedy sitcom, Moesha.

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by fermenting grapes. Brandy generally contains 36%?60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. While some brandies are aged in wooden casks, most are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such aging.

Brandy can also be made from fermented fruit and from pomace.



There are three main types of brandy. The term "brandy" denotes grape brandy if the type is not otherwise specified.


Grape brandy is produced by the distillation of fermented grapes.

Brandy de Jerez barrels aging
* American grape brandy is almost always from California.It is used in some sherries and is also available as a separate product. It has a Protected Designation of Origin. The traditional production method has three characteristics: Aged in American oaken casks with a capacity of 500 litres, previously having contained sherry. The use of the traditional aging system of Criaderas and Soleras. Aged exclusively within the municipal boundaries of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz.
* Cognac comes from the Cognac region in France,
* Other countries: Grape brandy is also produced in many other countries, including Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. Cyprus brandy differs from other varieties in that its alcohol concentration is only 32% ABV.

The European Union legally enforces Cognac as the exclusive name for brandy produced and distilled in the Cognac area of France, and Armagnac from the Gascony area of France, using traditional techniques. Since these are considered PDO, they refer not just to styles of brandy but brandies from a specific region, i.e. a brandy made in California in a manner identical to the method used to make cognac, and which tastes similar to cognac, cannot be so called in Europe as it is not from the Cognac region of France.

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