Some historians credit the Chinese 
with discovering the art of turning 
fruit wine or grain-based mash 
into a higher 
alcohol, purer beverage. 
Others claim the Egyptians were the creators 
of distillation. 
It's possible that both cultures 
were both experimenting with distillation 
in roughly the same period.

Whatever the case, 
we know for certain that the Moors 
first established distillation in Europe 
during their occupation of southern Spain 
from the 8th century to the late 15th century. 
The Spaniards of the period were skilled 
winemakers and started using the pot stills 
that were left behind by the Moors. 
Within a century, brandies made from 
fermented grapes and other fruits 
spread across continental Europe.



"Brandy" is derived from brandywijn, 
a word of Dutch origin for  "burnt".  
Created in a still to leave the water 
and remove the alcoholic vapour which 
condenses back into liquid form as it cools. 
In other languages too, it is the burning 
that is the essential feature.



In theory distillation is the simplest 
of 
physical processes. 
It is based on the fact that alcohol 
and water boil at different temperatures,
water at 100°C, alcohol at 78.3°C. 
If a fermented liquid is heated, 
the vapour containing the alcoholic 
constituents is released first. 
It can then be trapped and cooled, 
then condensed to an alcoholic liquid.


The process was probably first observed 
by the Arabs, who carried the torch of 
science during the Dark Ages. 
We still use their words "al-ambiq" 
(alembic) for the still, "al-kuhl" (alcohol) 
for the distillate. 
Originally, the object was to produce 
medicinal properties, but it was soon 
discovered that the use of an appropriate 
raw material produced a drinkable liquid, 
a "water of life", aqua vitae. 
But the raw materials were generally 
so impure that the alcohol could only 
be consumed with safety if it had been 
repeatedly redistilled, 
which removed most of the essential 
characteristics of the original 
raw material as well.

The biggest breakthrough came in the 
16th and early 17th centuries when it was found 
that distilling the sharp white wines, 
produced on the slopes overlooking the little town 
of Cognac in western France, 
resulted in spirits which, 
after as few as two passes through the stills, 
produced an eminently drinkable brandy, 
especially if aged for a few years in oak casks. 
It has proved to be an unbeatable formula.



The next essential in making fine brandy 
is the speed of distillation: 
the slower, the gentler, 
the more effectively the aromatic elements 
in the raw material are detached 
with the alcohol, the better. 
It is rather like stewing fruit: 
the lower the flame on the stove, 
the more intense the aromas released 
and the more thoroughly is the residue 
drained of them. 
Indeed, the Cognacais like to describe 
their method of distillation as 
(speeded-up) evaporation.

They are right: 
the vapours should contain as high 
a proportion as possible of the congeners, 
the hundreds of organic chemical compounds 
which are extracted with the alcohol. 
Some of these are undesirable, 
bringing with them rank and unpleasant aromas 
and have to be removed. 
This entails a close control over 
the distillation process to remove the "heads", 
the first vapours emerging from the still, 
which contain the bulk of these 
undesirable elements, and then the "tails" 
which will simply be too feeble, 
without the requisite alcoholic concentration.

At the other extreme are the continuous stills, 
invented early in the 19th century by, 
and named after, an Irishman, Coffey. 
This still can concentrate wine 10 
or more times up to the normal 
industrial maximum of 96.6%. 
This fast, continuous process saves heat 
(pot-stills have to be reheated between each batch), 
is highly productive - and can be highly destructive 
of all the elements which make brandy interesting.



Newly distilled brandy tastes raw, 
oily and unappetizing. The key to its final quality 
is a more or less lengthy sojourn in oak casks. 
The choice of wood was originally accidental: 
oak happened to be the most easily available 
for making the casks required by 
the pioneering distillers. 
They were, of course, accustomed to using wood 
to mature and market their wines. 
Because brandy, like wine, 
is a product of the grape, 
oak has proved suitable for maturing it. 
But there are many varieties of oak and 
as with so many aspects of brandy making, 
local practices differ so widely that only 
a few generalizations can be offered 
as applying to the whole range of brandies.

Most of the qualities which make oak 
so suitable are physical. 
For whatever the chemical qualities of the wood 
and the reactions they induce when in prolonged 
contact with the spirit, 
it is the porosity of the cask 
which allows the brandy to have a steady, 
limited access to the air. 
The brandy gradually absorbs the oxygen 
required to oxidize and thus soften 
the raw spirit.

For more information about Brandy
go to:
Cognac, Brandy & Liqueurs