On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1439

swallowed.
SomePopularDistilledSpirits
The alcohol content after distillation is an
indicator of how much flavor is carried
over from the base wine or beer to the
spirits.Thehigherthealcoholcontent,the
lower the content of other aromatics and
themoreneutraltheflavor.

KindsofSpirits

Distilledspiritsaremadeallovertheworld
fromallkindsofalcoholicliquids.Hereare
briefdescriptionsofthemoreprominent.


Brandies Brandies are spirits distilled from
grape wine. The two classic brandies are
Cognac andArmagnac, the first named for a
town and the second for a region in
southwestern France, each not far from
Bordeaux. Both are made from neutral white
grapes (mainly Ugni blanc) that are casually
fermented into wine, and the wines distilled
between harvest and mid-spring (the best
brandiesaredistilledfirst;asthewinesits,it
loses esters and develops volatile acidity and
off-aromas). Cognac is double-distilled from
the wine with its yeast lees to an alcohol
contentofabout70%,mostArmagnacsingledistilledwithoutyeastinatraditionalcolumn
still to about 55%. Each is then aged in new

French oak barrels for a minimum of six
months; some Cognacs are aged for 60 years
or more. Before bottling, each is diluted to
about 40% alcohol and may be adjusted with
sugar,oakextract,andcaramel.Cognachasa
fruity, flowery character thanks to the