It has long gained popularity among lovers of strong drinks. This spirit has a bright taste, rich aroma and amber color. Although the historical birthplace of the drink is France, today it is also made in other countries. However, what cognac is made of and the technology of its production remain unchanged.
Story
France is a country of vineyards. It also became the birthplace of cognac, which is made from special grape varieties. The history of “wine vodka”, as brandy is sometimes called, began during the conquest of the territory of the Gauls by the Romans. In ancient Rome, grapes were also grown and wine was produced, but it was very different in quality from products made in French lands.
The Gauls were already actively involved in the production of wine, so the Romans cut down most of the vineyards in the conquered territory so that local wine could not compete with imperial products. Only a few vineyards remain in France, including in the province of Poitou on the picturesque banks of the Charente River. The city of Cognac was also located here. The lands in this place were fertile, and therefore it was made best quality. Ships from neighboring states came there to fill the holds with barrels of French wine.
However, by the 16th century, Poitou began to give such a quantity of wine that it fell sharply in quality. The sailors did not deliver the drink to its destination, as it quickly deteriorated. Only a century later, the idea came to French winemakers to distill wine, as pharmacists and alchemists did to obtain medicinal alcohol. Local craftsmen designed a special distillation apparatus. Now winemakers received cognac spirit, which did not deteriorate during transportation. A few years later, the technology of double distillation was discovered.
The fact that "wine vodka" improves its taste when long-term storage, the French learned during the war with the British at the beginning of the 18th century. Sea trade routes were blocked, so alcoholic drink kept in oak barrels in the cellars of the city. Later, the inhabitants of the city of Cognac were surprised at how tasty the drink became. Since then, the spirit has been aged only in oak barrels.
How the best drinks in the world are made
The right to make cognac is only available to producers of the city of the same name in France and some areas of the Charente department. Cognac production there is carried out according to ancient technologies using distillation cubes, designed according to the samples of the first devices.
For the manufacture of the drink, grapes grown on special plantations with calcareous soils are used. The climate should not be dry and cold. Not every variety is suitable for production, as cognac is made only from those varieties of grapes that produce colorless juice. Most often it is white and pink species. Suitable varieties are:
- Ugni blanc;
- Folle blanche;
- Colombard;
- Motil;
- Semillon.
These varieties ripen by October, when the vine harvest begins. The fruits, along with the seeds, are immediately sent under the press to get the wort. After a few weeks of fermentation, producers get grape wine. It is sent for secondary distillation. For the production of 1 liter of cognac, about 10 liters of grape wine are required, since at the output it gives 3 fractions. For further production, only the 2nd fraction is used with optimal indicators of strength (70%), taste and aroma.
In early April, the drink is poured into oak barrels. The container in which the drink is stored is given great attention. To store cognac barrels are made from old wood. The design of their fastening does not use nails and other metal parts that can spoil the taste of the drink. Barrels are stored at a temperature of +15°C. Excerpt "wine vodka" must be at least 3 years.
The French are as proud of their strong drink as they are of wine. They are meticulous about the technology of its production, starting with the conditions for growing raw materials. The French believe that the slightest violation in the rules for making a drink leads to a deterioration in its quality. However, “wine vodka” is now produced in many countries.
Ingredients and production technology in Russia
European law prohibits the use of the name "cognac" for labeling spirits made outside of the Charente department. If manufacturers from other countries use this word, they are required to add the name of the place of production to it. Therefore, on the shelves of shops you can find “Russian cognac”, “Armenian cognac”, etc.
Not all cognac grape varieties can be grown in Russian climatic conditions. Therefore, other grape varieties are used to make the drink in Russia: Aligote, Plavay, Kleret, Rkatsitele, etc.
According to the technology, the production of cognac in Russia also has its own characteristics. The Russian product is distinguished by the golden color of the liquid. This color is achieved through the use of ionized water, sugar syrup, natural colors and fragrant alcohols in the production. The same components give the Russian drink an original flavor.
However, in Russia, only a few factories can boast of quality products. These are Derbent, Kizlyar and Novokuban cognac factories. The rest of the manufacturers supply the market with low quality products or outright fakes. The production of cognac at such enterprises is put on stream.
Making cognac at home
For a good product, you do not need to go to France, as many drink lovers make cognac at home. There are many varieties of grapes suitable for making “wine vodka”. The main thing is to follow the technology.
The grapes are separated from the twigs and crushed together with the seeds. The fruits are not even washed, so as not to remove wild yeast from the surface. Sugar is added to the mass and sent to a fermentation tank for 4-5 days. Remove foam from the surface.
Then the mass is filtered, bottled and closed with a rubber glove. The liquid is again sent to ferment in a warm, dark place. This stage takes up to 8 weeks. After the liquid must be driven 2 times through the moonshine still.
How to distinguish a star drink from a fake
It is believed that you can’t choose cognac as a gift if you don’t understand alcohol, as you can run into a fake. For the manufacture of a surrogate, not wine, but simple alcohol is used. The drink is not aged in oak barrels, as it is long and expensive, but stored in simpler containers. In order for the liquid to acquire a characteristic cognac color and aroma, flavors and dyes are added to it.
However, you do not need to know everything about cognac in order to choose a quality product. First of all, you should look at the price. A liter of a young product cannot cost less than 500 rubles. The cost of the aged drink is higher. Information about exposure is applied to the company label.
Manufacturers prefer to bottle their products in intricately shaped bottles. The cap on the bottle always sits tight, the label is tightly glued, and on top of it is applied excise stamp. If these conditions are not met, then the product may be fake.
Be sure to read the ingredients. A drink that contains flavors or ethyl alcohol is of poor quality. If you turn the bottle over, then the aged cognac will not flow down the walls. After uncorking the bottle, the liquid should not smell like alcohol. A fake product may also have a vanilla flavor. So dishonest manufacturers interrupt the smell of alcohol.
Cognac - quite famous alcoholic drink. In this article I will tell you what cognac is made of, how it is made, where this strong alcoholic drink comes from and what is the connection between cognac and brandy.
Cognac is a strong alcoholic drink that is made from certain grape varieties using a special technology in the Charente region, France.
The name of the alcoholic drink was named after the city of Cognac (Cognac), Poitou - Charente region, Charente department, France. The appearance of this strong alcoholic drink is connected with the surroundings and the city of Cognac itself.
Cognac is a traditional French drink.
What do cognac and brandy have in common?
Spirits from other countries, as well as drinks produced in France outside the Charente region, even if they are obtained by distillation grape wines produced in the Poitou-Charentes region do not have the right to be called cognac on the international market, such drinks are usually called brandy.
Russian cognac is made from cognac distillates obtained by fractionated distillation of table wine material made from Vitis vinifera grapes and aged in contact with oak wood for at least three years.
What is real French cognac made of and how
The main grape variety from which cognac is produced is the white trebbiano grape (ugni blanc). Ugni blanc is a slow maturing variety with high acidity, high yield and resistance to diseases (particularly botrytis and phylloxera).
white trebbiano grapes
In addition to ugni blanc, Folle blanche, Colombard and Montil varieties are grown and used in the production of cognac. They produce spirits that are more fragrant and rich in taste than ugni blanc, but are very difficult to grow. Harvesting on farms usually takes place in October.
Immediately after harvesting, the grape juice is pressed. When squeezing juice, horizontal pneumatic presses are traditionally used, which do not crush the pits of the berries. The squeezed grape juice is then sent for fermentation.
Use of screw presses and addition (or chaptalization) during fermentation prohibited by law.
Like the entire production process, pressing and fermentation are carefully controlled, as they play a decisive role in the final quality of cognac spirit. Fermentation lasts about three weeks, after which wines with high acidity and containing 9% alcohol are sent for distillation.
The process of distillation of fermented grape wine takes place in the traditional "Charentes still", consisting of an extraction cauldron heated on an open fire (fire sources are coal or gas), an onion-shaped cauldron of the cauldron, and a tube curved in the form of a "swan neck", which is further transformed into a coil passing through the cooler.
Still for cognac The distillation process itself consists of two stages:
- Obtaining the primary base distillate, the so-called raw alcohol, with a strength of 27-32%. Small producers distill wine "on the lees", that is, without filtering, thereby obtaining raw alcohol with the maximum amount of aromatic and flavor components, which is subsequently transferred to the character of the future cognac.
- Sending raw alcohol for secondary distillation to obtain a basic high-quality cognac spirit. In the second stage of distillation, the experience and skill of the “master of distillation” is fully revealed, which is responsible for the correct selection of the first, second and third distillate fractions. It is the second fraction, with a strength of 68-72% alcohol, that is further aged in oak barrels and becomes cognac.
Why is cognac aged in oak barrels?
Cognac spirit, to be called cognac, must be aged in oak barrels for at least two years. The maximum age of cognac aging is not limited, but, as practice shows, cognac aging in a barrel for more than 70 years no longer affects its character, and the changes that occur to it are insignificant.
Cellar with oak barrels Barrels for cognac aging are made of oak, due to its strength, fine-grained structure and high extractive qualities. Cognac barrels, ranging in volume from 270 to 450 liters, are still made by hand from oak trunks growing in the forests of Tronceu and Limousin, at least 80 years old.
Barrel of cognac 1961 The Tronceuin oak is characterized by a coarse-grained, soft-tanned structure, while the Limousin oak is characterized by a medium-grained, hard and high-tannined structure.
In the manufacture of barrels, they are fired from the inside to soften the structure of the tree, thereby increasing its extractive qualities. There are several levels of barrel firing, depending on the needs of the manufacturer. After firing, the inner surface of the barrel is covered with a layer of burnt sugar - glucose, modified under the influence of temperature, located in the structure of the tree. After filling the barrels with the future brandy, they are placed in the cellar for subsequent aging or “ripening”.
Cognac aging
During the first years of aging, the properties of brandy alcohol change, extraction of tannins extracted from wood, lignin, reducing sugars, and to a lesser extent - amino acids, lipids, volatile acids and oils, resins, and enzymes. Cognac alcohol acquires a golden color and is filled with woody vanilla aromas.
Over time, cognac becomes darker in color, softer and rounder, many shades appear in aroma and taste, including notes of flowers, fruits and spices.
The natural humidity of the cellar also has a great influence on the future cognac:
- the lower the humidity in the cellar, the more structural the cognac becomes,
- the higher the humidity of the cellar, the softer and rounder the brandy becomes over the years.
During the aging process, a significant part of the alcohol evaporates through the pores of the tree - otherwise it is called the "angels' share". Angels' Share is the equivalent of over twenty million bottles a year. Interestingly, these "losses" serve as a breeding ground for microscopic fungi that cover the walls of the cellar, giving them a characteristic black color.
If the cognac reaches its peak in its development, it is poured from barrels into glass bottles, the so-called "ladies", clogged and placed in the most remote place of the cellar, called the "paradise" place, where they can be stored for decades without changes.
In most cases, cognac is obtained by mixing cognac spirits of different aging years. At the same time, the exposure of the final product is determined by the minimum exposure time of all components. In the mass production of cognac, mixing allows you to maintain its same organoleptic properties, regardless of the quality of the grape harvest.
There are also cognacs with an indication of a specific age of exposure and an indication of the year of harvest. The production of cognacs indicating the year of harvest, or vintage, is under the special control of the "National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognacs".
On sale most often you can find the following cognacs by aging period:
- V.S. (Very Special), Selection, de Luxe, Trois Etoiles - at least 2 years;
- Superior - at least 3 years;
- V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale), V.O. (Very Old), Vieux, Reserve - at least 4 years;
- V.V.S.O.P. (Very Very Superior Old Pale), Grande Reserve - at least 5 years;
- X.O. (Extra Old), Extra, Napoleon, Royal, Tres Vieux, Vieille Reserve Braastad - at least 6 years.
XO cognac Now, if you drink cognac, you will know that the basis of cognac is grapes, and brandy is the same cognac, but not produced in a specific region of France.
10 interesting facts about cognac:
He is often referred to as the king of spirits. And no wonder. How else can you call a drink that is several hundred years old, corked in a bottle encrusted with gold and diamonds, worth $ 2 million?! Only a real king deserves this. And we are talking about cognac. Fortunately, you can find copies in stores much cheaper than the Henri IV Dudognon listed in the Guinness Book of Records. So many will be able to enjoy the unique taste and aroma of this drink. Of course, if you follow the rules for the use of cognac.
Cognac is one of the most famous brandy-type alcoholic beverages, it is made from white grapes with an alcohol content of 40 to 45%.
This drink in all ages was perceived as a synonym for "luxury". The history of its origin is inextricably linked with a small town in the west of France - Cognac. At the beginning of the 17th century, a local farmer discovered, apparently by accident, that distilled wine turns into a drink with a stronger and nobler taste. Shortly thereafter, the first distillery appeared in the Cognac district, followed by the following. Many of them are still working today, using the same centuries-old technologies for the production of a drink that the French called "water of life".
What is cognac
By the way, it is this region that legally has the exclusive right to use the name “cognac”. However, this is a common practice for the French. At least remember champagne and the province of Champagne. But, as is the case with sparkling wine, in other parts of the world brandy producers also sometimes write "cognac" on their bottles. However, experienced sommeliers will immediately “bite through” a fake.
This cognac is made from white grapes grown in the provinces of Charente (Charente) and Maritime Charente (Charente Maritime). As a rule, the Ugni Blanc variety is used. Berries for the real "water of life" are harvested by hand. Grape alcohol is made from them in the fall. Young wine is fermented until the end of March without addition, and then double distilled. Hence the other name for cognac - "burnt wine". To create 1 liter of a golden drink, approximately 10 liters of raw wine are used. By the way, French law even defines the exact timing of distillation: the beginning - in November, the end - on March 31, since failure to comply with these deadlines affects the quality of the drink. This is how real cognac is born.
Second milestone in production - aging, which sometimes lasts for tens of years, sometimes - centuries. The drink is aged, as it was many centuries ago, in oak barrels made from the wood of local forests. Oak barrel is the most important factor influencing the taste, color and healing power of brandy. Their production is taken very seriously. And first of all carefully choose wood. It should be old (usually not less than 100 years old) and dry oak. Ideally, it should grow in a dry, sunny place, then during the aging of cognac, the barrel 
will give the drink a delicate aroma and exceptional taste. Oak wood, taken from a swampy area, will “reward” the drink with a sour-bitter taste. And before becoming a barrel, the prepared tree still has to dry for several years. But such high requirements for a tree also determine its price. A cube of wood for cognac barrels could cost 15,000 francs. All this together gives the drink that bewitching taste for which collectors are willing to pay millions.
Meanwhile, the magic of creating skates has another component. And it's a family tradition. The quality of cognac directly depends on the experience of winegrowers. There is a special person in the process of making this divine drink. The French call it maitre de chai or "cognac master". As a rule, this function, along with all professional secrets, passes from father to son over the centuries and cannot be performed by a woman. In the famous Hennessy family, the powers of maitre de chai have been passed between family members for 200 years, and this is already 8 generations. And in this they are unique - this is the oldest cognac dynasty.
And one more secret of real cognac. For long-term aging, the drink is transported to the Grande Reserve cellars on the banks of the Charente River or in the mountains.
What does the price depend on
The cost of brandy depends, as a rule, on the quality of the spirits used and the aging time of the drink. And of course, the “water of life” from famous brands. But eminent manufacturers are again the highest quality.
Experience has taught winemakers that the main rule of excellent cognac is blending (mixing distillates). Even the highest quality distillate is not cognac. A real drink, so to speak, is collected drop by drop from many different spirits, the youngest of which should not be less than 3-4.5 years old.
The age and type of the drink are indicated not only by the stars on the bottle (the fewer of them, the younger the drink). On the oldest ones, with exquisite taste and aroma, there are no stars at all. For these, special marks are used:
- VS (Very Special) - as a rule, cheaper cognacs, the label indicates that the drink has been aged in barrels for at least 2 years;
- VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) - the youngest spirit included in cognac, aged for at least 4 years;
- XO (Extra Old), aka Napoleon - cognac with a minimum exposure of 6 years, but the average age of XO cognacs can even reach 20 years;
- Vintage - this inscription indicates that we are dealing with cognac older than 6 years, this is a vintage drink and the label indicates the year of production of the youngest wine included in the bouquet;
- Hors d'Age - indicates that the distillate is so old that it is impossible to determine its age.
By the way, experienced tasters determine the age of brandy by taste. Juveniles have a strong smell and taste. The drink "aged" is characterized by "warmth, calmness and pride."
How to use
It is considered bad manners to dilute expensive vintage wines with other drinks. This rule also applies to cognacs. According to the rules, brandy can be consumed after lunch or dinner from a tulip-shaped glass (pouring about a third of the glass). Before enjoying the drink, sommeliers are advised to slightly warm the glass in their hands (ideally, the temperature of the drink should be around 20 degrees). This will allow the brandy to open up, and the taster to feel the aroma of violet, vanilla, blueberry, honey, as well as oak grown on the banks of the Charente River in the mild climate of the land of Cognac.
Although some connoisseurs of alcohol believe that brandy does not need such "tenderness". But, as they say, this is all for an amateur ... An amateur and advice from the Spaniards: before taking a sip of cognac, put a few raisins or coffee beans in your mouth. And some like to drink cognac with tonic, ginger ale or cola. But for such cocktails, only young cognacs are used.
As for food, they are perfect for cognac. cream cheeses, for example, Roquefort, or smoked salmon. But it’s better to forget about the lemon, which we like to eat brandy with. The French are generally horrified by this combination. They made the most correct combination of four Cs: café, cognac, cigare, chocolate. Moreover, it is in this sequence that the products are consumed.
How to taste right
Vintage cognacs are tasted in several stages. The first is by eye. To do this, it is important to carefully look at the walls of the glass. The drink flows down the walls in smooth viscous traces - this indicates the complexity of cognac. It falls off in large watery drops - it means that caramel is present (it is added for a beautiful color).
The second stage is the smell. To do this, winemakers are advised to put the glass to the chin and easily inhale the aroma from the glass. Floral-fruity aroma, as a rule, is a sign of young cognacs, a deeper one indicates an aged drink. Often there is a vanilla note in cognacs, but it should not dominate, cinnamon and walnut flavors are also caught.
The third stage of tasting is the study of taste. To do this, sommeliers take a little drink into their mouth and distribute it along the tongue so that the drink touches the main taste buds (tip of the tongue - sweet taste, back - bitter, on the sides - salty and sour). A good cognac should maintain a balance of flavors. The presence of caramel is also easy to taste: the tip of the tongue will quickly feel the sweetness, but it will disappear just as quickly.
How to store brandy
After opening the bottle, of course, it is not necessary to drink everything at once. Cognac is the drink that can be "left for later." But for a better preservation of taste and aroma, experts advise either storing the bottle in a dark place, or pouring it into a darker glass container. And of course, do not forget to seal tightly.
Store a bottle of cognac vertically, and the crust should not come into contact with the drink.
Medicinal properties
Cognac is an alcoholic drink and in large doses cannot be useful. Nevertheless, the consumption of good (and this is an important point!) brandy, moreover, in small portions (no more than 30 g per day), can have a positive effect on well-being.
Medicinal properties of cognac people have noticed for a long time. Europeans drank a little cognac with dizziness and shortness of breath. They used this drink as a healing potion, which combined the power of the sun, air and traditions of the French land.
Small doses of cognac can increase blood pressure, thereby relieving dizziness and weakness.
Due to the presence of biologically active substances in the drink, cognac activates the stomach, improves appetite, and also activates the functioning of the entire digestive tract.
For prevention colds It is recommended to consume 1 teaspoon of the drink. And in combination with tea, it can be taken as a medicine in the early stages of a cold. By the way, in 1918, when the Spanish flu was raging, people in Germany were saved by ... cognac. More precisely, a tincture of garlic and cognac, which they drank a few drops daily. And Dr. Joseph Beck went down in history thanks to the fact that during the Second World War in France he stopped the flu epidemic with the help of Hennessy. When the medicines were already running out, the doctor began to give the sick a drink, known to us as eggnog - a mixture of milk, butter, raw yolk, honey and cognac. When other ingredients were not available, the doctor gave the sick cognac with hot milk diluted with water. After that, according to historians, the death toll from the disease decreased by 27 percent, and the duration of the disease did not exceed 5 weeks.
With sore throat for disinfection, you can rinse your throat with a drink diluted with water. There is another remedy for the disease. Boil 80 g of cumin in a glass of water (cook for about 15 minutes, you should get a thick mass). Strain, add 50 ml of water and boil again. Cool and add a tablespoon of cognac. Take a spoonful of the mixture every half hour. As a rule, the disease disappears after 8 hours.
As an expectorant, warm milk will help, to which a little brandy should be added.
A little cognac before going to bed will relieve nervous tension, relieve insomnia, relax, calm and ensure a healthy restful sleep.
Due to the warming effect, salt and cognac compresses help with sprains, bruises and rheumatism.
In cosmetology, brandy is used to treat acne. To do this, mix glycerin, cognac and a little water. Cognac is also an excellent tool for skin whitening (for this, add to a mixture of face masks) and strengthen hair.
Other benefits of cognac:
- is an excellent source of polyphenols (found in grapes);
- increases the level in the body (due to oak barrels, from which it receives ellagic acid);
- improves eyesight;
- reduces the risk of cancer;
- has a beneficial effect on blood vessels and the heart (if you drink 15 ml of good cognac every day);
- reduces the risk of blood clots;
- prevents the development of type 2 diabetes;
- serves as a prophylaxis against gallstone disease.
Cognac for hair beauty
Grapes are one of the most popular hair care products because they add volume, shine and color retention. Alcohol is an excellent antiseptic, improves blood circulation. When these two components are combined, a delicious hair product is obtained. And cognac (or brandy) is great for making a cosmetic mask at home. Regular use of brandy-based products improves hair color, accelerates hair growth, repairs damage and treats dandruff.
To enhance the effectiveness of masks, it is important to follow a few rules:
- You won’t need much drink for the mask, so it’s better to take some expensive cognac - don’t skimp on beauty.
- All ingredients to be mixed must be at room temperature.
- It is important to apply the mask on dry, unwashed hair.
- To enhance the effect, after applying the components, warm your head with a towel.
- Before use, carry out an allergy test: apply to the skin behind the ear and wait 5-10 minutes, if there is no itching, then you can use it.
- Keep the mask for 20-40 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water, then rinse your hair with a decoction of herbs.
- The course of treatment is 14-15 procedures.
Mask options:
- Nutrient: beaten egg, 1 tbsp. l. cognac, 1 tsp , powdered milk.
- For oily hair: mash the peach in puree, add cognac (for 3 tbsp puree 1 tsp brandy).
- For dry hair: 3 tbsp. l. blue clay, 1 tbsp. l. chopped strawberries, 2 tbsp. l. Hercules, brandy (how much you need for gruel).
- Moisturizing: whipped a raw egg, chopped cucumbers, one tablespoon lemon juice and cognac.
Other uses
Although cognac is mainly used as a drink, in cooking it is also used to make sauces, marinades, fruit preserves, and chocolate. But for such purposes, of course, it is better to take cheaper brands of brandy.
Side effects
Side effects from cognac are much less than advantages. But they are very serious. Abuse of cognac, like any other alcoholic beverage, leads to alcoholism.
It is not advisable to use this drink for people suffering from hypotension, hypertension, diabetes, cholelithiasis, hepatitis. In addition, cognac contains quite a lot of kilocalories, so it is not recommended for overweight people.
The Charente region was not the first to become famous thanks to cognacs. The first fame she brought ... salt, which was mined from the local river. In those days, this spice was almost worth its weight in gold. So merchants and sailors from various regions came to Charente for goods. It was they who became interested in wine from the Cognac region. However, the drinks produced at that time were of rather poor quality, contained little alcohol, were acidic and were by no means suitable for transportation by sea. In the 16th century, merchants thought of distilling wine. The resulting distillate was called “burnt wine” (brandevijin) by the Dutch. The British shortened the name to "brandy". The new drink quickly gained popularity. But it is worth saying that he was still very far from modern cognacs. Only after repeated distillation did the drink turn out to be more familiar to modern connoisseurs of alcohol. It is believed that the first person to think of double distillation was the Chevalier De la Croix-Maron.
And in the XVIII century, two people whose names would later become synonymous with cognac, each individually built the first successful distilleries for the production of brandy. The first is the French smuggler Jean Martel, who arrived in Cognac and built a distillery on the banks of the Charente. The second is the Irishman James Hennessy, who served in the French Navy. The latter also built a Hennessy Connelly and Company store in Cognac, which the very next year received an order to supply serious batches of the drink to the American colonies.
Older people will probably remember the satirical scene where the Soviet actor Yevgeny Leonov talks about the benefits of alcohol. So, his hero said: “Cognac is always useful! But dear. But that's why it's expensive, because it's very useful! But the hero of Leonov was right. Although it is important to add one more recommendation to these words, perhaps the most important one: cognac is useful only in small doses.
Cognac is a special drink with millions of fans around the world. Happens with notes of wood, tobacco, vanilla, classic and cooked according to innovative recipes. There are many different cognacs, but the very understanding of this type of brandy is unshakable.
There are many fans, and for good reason. Cognac is a drink of the gods and true connoisseurs, but not in the case when the purchase of this wonderful alcohol was unsuccessful. Now there are a lot of fakes and the so-called "burnt" alcohol. Everyone understands that good cognac cannot be cheap, but even among very expensive options there is a chance to run into a fake.
Such a mistake in choosing can cost not only a spoiled evening, but also a good part of your own health. How to prevent such a mistake?
What is cognac, how is it different from brandy? Is it possible to make cognac yourself and, if so, how? So many questions and all the answers are below.
A bit of history
In 1453, after the end of the Hundred Years' War, Charente, which produces wine in huge quantities for England, loses its customers. Thus, the offer sharply begins to lose its demand.
As a result of the war, England was forced out of the mainland, and it was not possible to import wine across the sea. They simply deteriorated and lost their properties. Then the wines began to be distilled and delivered in this form. This drink became the prototype of modern brandy. However, its taste left much to be desired.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the development of the production of cognac familiar to us began. It was then that more and more advanced moonshine stills were created, and people learned how to correctly apply the experience gained. In the course of development, the French mastered the technology better than the inventors of the “storage method” themselves and began to develop this business.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the French actively studied and mastered a new drink. At the same time, it was noticed that storage in oak barrels has a beneficial effect on the taste of the drink, and now it has become possible to drink it in its pure form. In the course of hard work on the creation of cognac, they learned to separate pure distillate and dilute it in the required proportions.
Already in the middle of the nineteenth century, the drink received its recognition and widespread use. An active allied trade began: the production of cognac and the manufacture of glass. Alcohol began to be bottled and imported.
In 1936, the Controlled Name of Origin Act was approved.
Making cognac
The art of home brewing in Russia has long found its fans and warmly settled in the hearts of Russians. Moonshine is driven by the most different ways and according to various recipes, constantly improving and modernizing the recipe. However, there is a place for the classics, that is, for classic alcohol.
Many wonderful drinks are made on the basis of ready-made moonshine, including cognac. The billet is aged in barrels, saturated with various additives and flavors, resulting in the very fragrant cognac. How cognac is made, how it is aged and how to achieve the best taste and aroma - this article will tell.
Everything in order
First you need to understand the technology of making cognac. Otherwise, how cognac is made. Only then can we talk about the versatility and diversity of recipes and cooking methods.
The basis of any cognac is cognac spirit, it has almost no smell and color. It is obtained from the distillation of wine. So, the same mash is the initial raw material for noble alcohol.
Fruit or grape juice is fermented at a temperature not exceeding twenty degrees, without oxygen. For this, wine yeast is used. The fact that the fermentation process has stopped and the raw material is ready for distillation can be understood by the cessation of gas evolution and the appearance of a characteristic precipitate.
After that, the resulting wine is sent for distillation. At this stage, the technology for the production of cognac is no different from the manufacture of moonshine. In a nutshell, alcohol is separated from wine (feedstock) during distillation.
Isolation of cognac spirit
During distillation, all the isolated alcohol is divided into three fractions: "head", "body" and "tails". For further work, only the “body” is used from everything received. The fact is that in the first couple and in the "tails" not only alcohol is released, but also other impurities.
This is due to the fact that the boiling and evaporation temperatures of alcohols are different. Wine contains various alcohols, the task of distillation is to isolate pure cognac, without impurities.
The “head”, for example, (or this fraction is also called “pervak”) contains methane. And in the last fraction (in the "tails") - fusel oils. Of course, this is not a complete list of harmful impurities contained in the first and last fractions, but this is quite enough to clearly understand that these impurities do not add quality to the final drink.
They mistakenly believe that the so-called "pervak" is the best fraction of moonshine. However, it is not. The first drops of moonshine intoxicate faster and have a more pronounced smell, but the reason for this is the poisons contained in the "pervak" in large quantities.
In the event that the alcohol turned out to be not pure enough, you can overtake it again and subject it to additional filtration. As filters use coal, manganese, silver filters. Of course, after such purification, one more distillation will be required. How purer alcohol, topics better product will be at the exit.
"Heads" make up about five percent of the total expected volume, about the same - "tails". The strength of the fraction, which is necessary for the manufacture of cognac, should be forty percent. With repeated distillation, the strength will increase and it will be necessary to dilute the product. For greater accuracy, an alcoholmeter is used in the manufacture of cognac alcohol, it is needed to determine the strength of the future drink.
Technology
The technology for producing cognac at home is not too tricky, but it requires patience and thoroughness. After pure brandy alcohol was isolated from dry wine, it turned out just moonshine. In order to turn it into cognac, you will need to carry out a couple more operations.
Next, the resulting alcohol is kept. Cognac is traditionally aged in oak barrels at a certain temperature. In the process of blending, the drink is enriched with oxygen, aroma, acquires color and characteristic taste.
Cognac alcohol, as already mentioned, is colorless and practically odorless. In the barrel, it acquires its aroma, aged and ennobled. The longer the drink was at this stage of preparation, the better it is considered. This judgment is quite reasonable, since it is then that cognac from ordinary moonshine becomes that very noble drink.
Many manufacturers neglect or treat this stage negligently, producing "elite cognac". Brands often suffer precisely because of poor aging, resulting in a bad drink.
Bath barrel
A cognac manufacturer often saves on this important element, as a result of which the corresponding result is obtained. Certain requirements are presented to the aging barrel, which cannot be derogated from.
Before using the barrel for its intended purpose, water is first poured into it for two to three weeks. From this, the wood swells, and the boards of the barrel fit snugly against each other, leaving no gaps. After that, alcohol is poured into the barrel and aged there for twenty days.
All joints are filled with paraffin, and the tree itself is treated with drying oil. Metal inside the barrel is not allowed, as it will certainly oxidize. For this reason, all metal elements are excluded, including taps and plugs.
Bathing at home
Oak barrels for cognac are a key element of the classic recipe. However, this classical technology. Now lovers of this business have learned to greatly speed up the blending process and even do without a barrel at all.
Homemade cognac in most cases is aged in enamel or glass containers with the addition of oak chips or shavings. In addition, other elements are added to homemade cognac. The case includes cloves, ginger, honey, chocolate, nutmeg and much, much more.
Add other elements for taste and smell. Of course, it all depends on taste and personal preferences.
How is cognac made at home?
Now there are a great many different recipes and tips, but the classic remains eternal.
Not even cognac alcohol itself is often taken as a basis, but ordinary alcohol diluted to forty degrees or just vodka. Three liters will need three tablespoons of oak bark, shavings or chips. You can buy them at a pharmacy, a specialized store or order online.
In addition, you will need caramel. It is safest to use burnt sugar. A pinch of vanilla, a couple of clove buds and a few grams nutmeg. All this must be placed in a glass or enameled container, mixed well with a non-metallic spoon and left for at least a month without access to light and oxygen.
After a while, cognac is ready to drink.
A lot goes into improving the taste: walnuts, ginger, hawthorn and rosehip berries, black tea. How cognac is made is a rather definite question, but with what it is already a secondary topic.
Stars
Of course, the quality of this magnificent drink is also classified, and the highest rating is considered to be five stars. Cognac is subjected to strict evaluation, after which he is given a verdict. And how is it determined how many stars to award to cognac?
Cognac is rated by quality in well-known stars, but few people know what they really mean. I even heard that these stars are the assessment of connoisseurs who tasted the drink before bottling. However, this is not true.
The stars on the bottle are the aging of the drink. That is, they display how many years the cognac was in the barrel. If there are three stars on the bottle, you can be sure that the cognac has been aged for at least three years. Four stars - at least four years, five - five.
By the way, the year is counted from the first of April. This is justified by the fact that fermented wine is distilled immediately after harvest. Thus, we can say that the real age of alcohol in the bottle is even a little more than indicated on the label.
Over the years of aging, the drink is increasingly enriched with taste, aroma, density and fullness. So we can safely say: the more stars, the better.
The cost of quality alcohol
Standing in front of a shop window, you involuntarily find yourself faced with a choice: to sacrifice quality or money. There is an opinion that a really good cognac is priceless, but if without fanaticism, how much does a good cognac cost?
The cost is also usually based on the years the drink has been aged. The shortest delay is three years. Such a drink has a bitter aftertaste, is slightly harsh and may not leave the best aftertaste. Cognac factories in Russia usually go for a little trick, "tinting" the taste of cognac with sugar color. The cost of such a drink usually fluctuates around three hundred rubles for seven hundred milliliters.
A drink of the best quality, with five stars, respectively, at least five years of aging, will be more expensive. It has a more pleasant aroma, mild taste, contains fewer chemical additives. For the same volume, you will have to pay at least 700-800 rubles.
In addition to average price tags, it is worth remembering about excise surcharges, store markups, and so on. So the cost can vary quite a lot. In addition, each producer can set his own price for brandy or cognac. By the way, what's the difference?
Brandy and cognac
Which drink is called brandy, and which one can proudly be called cognac?
In fact, real cognac is made only in its homeland: in France in the province of Cognac. In the same place, by copyright, manufacturers forbade calling a drink made in other places exactly cognac and suggested replacing the name with “brandy”.
That is, any drink not made in France cannot be called cognac. However, the names of cognacs do not differ too much from each other and it is rare to see a bottle under the brandy brand.
Consumer culture
Traditionally cognac is served with meat dishes. A cognac glass is a low container on a short stem, with a wide bottom and narrowing upwards. It is customary to warm the drink in the hand.
One of the main quality criteria is the smell. First, alcohol is heated in the palm of your hand, holding the glass not by the leg, but by the base, enjoy the aroma of the drink and only then drink it.
The second most valuable taste quality is the aftertaste that cognac leaves. Good alcohol leaves behind a slight bitterness, pleasant warmth, gently spreads over the body.
A glass of cognac will be a pleasant addition to dinner or a friendly conversation, will succinctly dilute the evening and bring an atmosphere of warmth and trust into it.
Worth remembering
Cognac is a special drink with its own atmosphere and mood. No matter how different the names of cognacs, brands, brands, recipes, in homemade cognac there is something special. Making good alcohol is almost an art, if not in its purest form. And this art has a lot of fans.
With years of practice, experience, real connoisseur already displays for himself recipes and certain proportions that are to his liking. But at the first experience, you should be more careful in the cooking process.
As a rule, when a person takes up a business for the first time, it is customary to rely on already proven recipes, without reinventing the wheel, and only then, having tried it, make adjustments.
It is also important to remember that alcohol is addictive and the use of alcoholic products in excessive doses is dangerous to health.
Cognac alcohol is made from wine grape varieties that have good yields, often low sugar accumulation, and the wine from them turns out to be flat in taste. Variety Swim, for example, goes to ordinary wines, cognac. Requirements for cognac wine material: alcohol content of at least 8%, acidity of at least 4.5 g/l. Fermentation on the pulp, aging on yeast is recommended. In France, distillation is carried out from fresh wine material - with yeast.
When I first double-distilled the wine, I noticed that the flavor of chacha had greatly diminished. I didn’t like it, but the cognac spirit turned out great in the end. I decided to evade the traditional technology somewhat, especially since for the first time cognac was obtained by simply aging grape vodka in oak barrels.
In the book by S. G. Leonov “Amateur viticulture”, in the article “Making cognac at home”, it is proposed to use low-quality wine and the Petio drink for distillation into cognac spirit, although it is said that a drink similar to cognac is obtained. However, it's better than vanilla surrogate.
Table varieties can be used for cognac if, for example, cracking of berries has begun. A small addition of sugar is allowed if the berries are not ripe enough. Fermentation is carried out on the pulp. Without waiting for complete fermentation, I pour the wine material into a bottle for further fermentation. I squeeze the pulp with my hands and add sugared water to it - a little. After fermentation, I squeeze it out with a press, I throw out the cake. You can’t hesitate for a long time, the resulting wine has little alcohol, it can go to vinegar, especially if rotten grapes were used. The resulting wine material is distilled without settling for chacha, with the selection of the “head” fraction, reducing the distillation temperature.
When defending the wine, I collect the remaining yeast sediment, add water, sugar. I stir, ferment, distill for chacha (with the selection of the head). Very fragrant grape vodka is obtained. Last year's wine, which did not live up to my expectations, is also distilled into grape vodka. I store all grape vodka until winter.
When the grape work subsides, you can do cognac business. First, you need to overtake chacha a second time to get alcohol with a strength of 76-72 degrees.
The second - I cut checkers from an oak lath with the expectation that between the end cuts there was a thickness of 2-3 centimeters. To crawl freely into the neck of a twenty-liter bottle. Oak must be at least 50 years old. Drying of oak riveting is carried out under sheds for three years. Pour oak cubes with boiling water, insist 2 hours, drain the infusion. Refill cold water for 2 hours, drain again. I repeat the procedure again. I fill the bottle to the top with cubes and fill it with grape alcohol. By the way, it is not recommended to fill oak barrels with cognac spirit to the top for better oxidation and precipitation of phenolic compounds. At wineries, riveting is used for six years, the most productive 2-3 years of use. Therefore, after the sixth pour, I remove the oak checkers after passing through the moonshine still.
It is advisable to store the bottle for three years, but if unbearable, it can be a year, but preferably in a warm place at a temperature of about 20 degrees. At factories with accelerated technology, oak riveting is infused in tanks at a temperature of 40 degrees for one month.
I take a bottle in which checkers with alcohol have been stored since last year, and pour out cognac alcohol. I measure the alcohol content in it and add a cup of the desired alcohol content to it, in order to eventually get an alcohol content of 40 percent. I add sugar with the calculation of one percent, dissolve it by shaking.
I bottle it and send it to the cellar for settling, for a year.
Re-blend Cognac.
I remove the settled cognac from the sediment. Cognac is almost ready, but it may still give a precipitate, so we leave it to “rest” for another year.
In the bottle where the checkers remained, I pour a cup with a high alcohol content of 50-60 degrees, and send it to the basement for a year. How many years you can use oak checkers "in the stream", I do not know yet. If the cognac turned out to be hard after using the first fraction of cognac alcohol, then it must be diluted with forty-degree chacha in half, add sugar (up to 1%), dissolve by shaking and send it to rest in the basement.
Now about the role of oak staves, oak barrels in making cognac. The tannins of oak wood play the role of a catalyst, changing the organoleptics of grape vodka (chacha). A substance is produced that gives the unique flavor of cognac alcohol. When cognac alcohol is mixed with "fragrant water" in the process of "rest", tannins precipitate. Cognac loses its hardness and becomes usable. It is impossible to use cold to separate the sediment, as the taste will deteriorate in the wine.
In a conversation with Yury Valentinovich Zotov, my beliefs in the manufacture of cognac coincided with his, the drink is purely grape and oak staves play an intermediate temporary role. The less traces of “oak” remain in the drink, the more pleasant it will taste. He also claims that the use of nutmeg makes cognac more fragrant, I can neither confirm nor deny this. The first experiments in obtaining cognac spirit from isabella varieties have so far had some success.
The basis of the taste of cognac is the wine from which distillation is carried out for grape vodka. Cognac is not oak tincture. Double distillation for alcohol reduces the aroma of the future drink. Barrels must first be used for wine for a year or two and only then used for making cognac. The older the cognac cask, the more valuable it is, perhaps because of the smaller amount of tannins in the cask wood. In barrels, the infusion of cognac alcohol takes longer, the “share of angels” flies away, so you have to add grape alcohol every year, perhaps because of this the cognac becomes tastier, the extractivity increases due to topping up, alcohol and water evaporate through the wood of the barrel. The cost of such cognac will be more expensive. In the video and in the text there is some discrepancy in terms of soaking oak checkers with boiling water and soaking and rinsing with cold water, I just did it differently in the form of an experiment. There is scope for the development of new technologies.
New barrels are used to infuse cognac spirits in them, having previously been doused with boiling water or steam, then soaked by pouring cold water into them, two or three times. During repeated pasturing of alcohols, oak staves are added to the barrels, since the extractivity of the barrels decreases. In very old barrels, cognac spill will be used to rest, from one month to a year. It all depends on the technology of preparation of a certain brandy brandy.
According to prim Europe, we incorrectly call this drink cognac, correctly Brandy, they don’t understand the Russian mentality, it’s at least unusual for us to call Champagne sparkling wine. It seems to me that Brandy is an English word, it does not fit with a French drink. They defend the "brand", they say we have no right, it also costs money - sick of this psychology.
