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Cognac
(French brandy and Cognac, a town in France) is a type of brandy
that is made from white wine grapes of the vines grown near this
city, in the hot spot of the department of Charente (France) .
The limestone soil contributes to the quality of cognac, its
exquisite flavor and aroma come to the methods of distillation
and maturation of at least two years in oak vats. One drink is
similar to brandy Armagnac, which takes its name from the region
of Armagnac (France), and the Calvados, the drink produced in
the region of Basse-Normandie. The town of Cognac is one of the
three regions under the name European produce brandy. The other
two are Armagnac and Jerez de la Frontera
There
is widespread confusion in Spain between brandy and cognac.
Brandy is a type of beverage, whereas cognac is a type of brandy
that comes from the Cognac region in France, which has a
specific process for distillation (must be distilled twice) and
selection of grapes for its production. Despite being a very
clear difference, it is customary to speak of a 'brandy de Jerez
"when in fact they want to talk about a Brandy de Jerez.
The region of Cognac (which is technically a commune of the
Charente département in France) is divided into six areas of
cultivation, also called crus (singular cru), which covers the
department of Charente-Maritime, a large part of Charente and a
few areas in Deux-Sèvres and the Dordogne. The six crus are, in
descending order of assessment of the cognacs that are produced
in their areas: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies,
Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaire. A brandy produced by
the first and second of these crus (with at least 50% of Grande
Champagne) is usually called "fine champagne cognac" (
"champagne" comes etymologically from the word archaic
ground limestone, a characteristic of both areas) .
The spirits produced in these areas of Cognac must comply with
rules and requirements for obtaining the name of Cognac (drink).
It controls and regulates the production, and if one fails the
definition of liquor failure of some of its requirements, the
French Bureau of BNIC (Bureau National du Cognac
interprofessionnel) can remove the definition of cognac for that
drink. In this way, the brandy produced anywhere in the world
outside France can not legally be called "cognac".
Some of the rules to achieve the definition are:
Must be exclusively produced in the French region allowed for
the production of Cognac (The department of Charente-Maritime, a
large part of the department of Charente and a few designated
areas in the departments of Deux-Sèvres and Dordogne) with a
wine from a certain varieties grape.
Must be obtained through a double distillation in a typical
copper containers (Charentais).
Must be aged in oak barrels, which gives it the characteristic
color and aroma.
Many of the cognac producers in the region of Cognac and the
surrounding area planned regular visits to facilities for
visitors who want to learn about the steps in the production,
promoting collective tasting devoted exclusively to visitors
Taken
from Memory of Bars by Jorge Antonio Diaz Badillo
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