BendItLikeBrandy

<p>When it comes to talk of <em>Brandy</em>, Cognac usually gets top billing. And don’t get us wrong — it’s <em>damn good stuff</em>. But it’s far from the <em>only game in town</em>.</p><p>In fact, if you point your coordinates to Gascony, you’ll be rewarded with Cognac’s older, less-demanding cousin <em>Armagnac</em>, which predates Cognac by a good<em> 200 years</em>. It also isn’t as much of a stickler for the grapes, stills and barrels it uses in the production process, which gives it some <em>kicky variation</em> that’ll keep your palate guessing.</p><p>The Spanish also have some skin in the game, using American oak barrels and the <em>solera aging method </em>to produce their sweet and smooth <em>Brandy de Jerez</em>. And not to be outdone, our Armenian friends — who’ve been producing Brandy since the <em>12th century</em> — double-distill their juice in oak casks and was once the favored tipple of Russian czars.</p><p>In this box, we’ve lined up a <em>powerhouse tasting </em>of<em> all three</em>: the well-rounded and fruit-forward <em>Domaine Tariquet Bas-Armagnac XO</em>, the smooth and seductive <em>Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real</em> from Spain and the thrilling spice of <em>Shakmat 23 YO</em>, an Armenian Brandy.</p><p>Instead of turning to Cognac, take a cue from Beckham and bend it… <em>toward a bottle of Brandy</em>. Cheers!</p><p>Smartass Corner:</p><p>1) In general, Brandy means any kind of distilled spirit made from <em>fermented fruit juice</em>. While the fruit is typically grapes, there are a number of Brandies made from<em> apples</em>, <em>pears</em> and <em>other sweet fruits</em>.</p><p>2) The <em>Spaniards</em> are second only to the people of the Cognac region in the <em>quantity</em> of Brandy they make, and they drink<em> far more</em> of their own Brandy than the French in Cognac do.</p><p>3) With the exception of a few producers, Armagnac is distilled in an <em>alembic continuous still</em> (Cognac uses copper stills). And that matters — because of its distillation method, Armagnac is <em>typically aged longer </em>than Cognac, usually upwards of 10 years.</p><p>4) You can have your booze and eat it, too. Yep, Brandy is often used as a cooking wine, and can be added to savory or sweet sauces, as well as desserts, for a rich, fruity punch.</p><p>5) <em>Nikolay Shustov</em>, an Armenian Brandy producer who supplied the spirit to Russian Tsar Nicholas II’s court, was briefly given the<em> permission</em> to label his<em> Brandy as Cognac</em>. His company eventually became the <em>Yerevan Brandy Company</em>, the<em> largest </em>Brandy producer in Armenia.</p><p>6) It’s said that <em>Augustine monks</em> hung Brandy barrels around the necks of St. Bernard rescue dogs to <em>revive frostbitten travelers</em> in the Swiss Alps. Talk about a ‘ruff’ job.</p><p>7) <em>“The most sensible thing to do to people you hate is to drink their Brandy.”</em> – <em>Elizabeth Taylor</em></p>