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Cut brandy is a liquor made of brandy, neutral grain spirit and water. Sometimes, sugar is used to soften taste. It is often colored with caramel color.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Cut brandy is a liquor made of brandy, neutral grain spirit and water. Sometimes, sugar is used to soften taste. It is often colored with caramel color.
Most cut brandies are graded by the relative amount of brandy it contains. Grades are represented by stars.
The Finnish Jaloviina ("noble Brännvin", colloquially Jallu) is a cut cognac with 38% (one star) or 40% (three stars) ABV. It has a strong taste and 4–7 grams of sugar per liter, depending on the grade. [1] [2] Special or vintage batches are also bottled, these may have slightly higher alcohol and sugar content. [3] [4] The brandy used for Jaloviina is cognac. Jaloviina Tammi is a limited-edition bottling to celebrate the Finnish independence.
Because of the stars used to grade Jaloviina, different varieties have acquired nicknames based on Finnish military ranks. No-star cut brandy is called vääpeli (non-commissioned officer), one-star cut brandy is called vänrikki , two-star cut brandy is called luutnantti (lieutenant) and three-star cut brandy is called kapteeni (captain). Another popular nickname for one-star cut brandy is seriffi (sheriff). [5]
In the Second World War, cognac rations distributed to troops in celebration of Marshal Mannerheim's birthday on 4 June 1942 were actually cut cognac. The bottles were labeled simply with plain military supply labels. In 2017, Lignell & Piispanen started selling a reproduction, labeled Puolustuslaitos Leikattua (konjakkia ja viinaa). [6] [7]
In Germany, particularly in former East Germany, cut brandy (German : Weinbrandverschnitt) is widespread. German cut brandy is never graded; a large majority of the cut brandy on the German market would fall into the zero stars category. A typical characteristic of German cut brandy is its unusual low alcohol content, generally between 28% and 32% alcohol by volume. Therefore it has a very soft taste which is possibly the reason for its popularity in Germany. German cut brandy also has a very distinct taste, quite different from genuine brandy and other cut brandies like Finnish Jaloviina.
Most brands of cut brandy in Germany are of East German origin and the eastern states of Germany are also the most important market for cut brandy. This has historical reasons. In the East German planned economy there was very often a shortage of brandy and cut brandy was produced as a substitute. Eastern German cut brandy is traditionally called Goldbrand (cut brandy with at least 10% brandy) or Goldkrone (cut brandy with at least 20% brandy), both colloquially called Goldi. The very few cut brandies of West German origin do not use these names.
The most popular German cut brandy is Wilthener Goldkrone which is also the most popular distilled beverage in Germany. As of 2002, it was the best-selling spirit in Germany by volume. [8] However, only relatively few Wilthener Goldkrone is sold in former West Germany since cut brandy is much more popular in the eastern part of the country. German cut brandy is often used for rather simple mixed drinks. If drunk neat, it is generally cooled and served in shot glasses. Some, however, prefer to drink it like brandy from snifters and at room temperature.
The largest-selling brand of cut brandy in the world, by product volume, is Emperador, a brand primarily sold in the Philippines. The brand had total annual sales volume in the range of 270–300 million liters in 2012 through 2015. [9] [10] The highest-selling variant of the brand is Emperador Light, which is a 27.5% ABV blend made from Spanish brandy and spirits from sugar cane – likely to be in the zero-stars category. [10] [11] In the Philippines, it is simply called brandy, with no clear indication that it is not 100% brandy.
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, and the aromatised wine vermouth.
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of ageing, and some are produced using a combination of ageing and colouring. Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from south-western France.
Cognac is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Schnapps or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neutral grain spirits.
A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as effectively as other distillation methods. Pot stills operate on a batch distillation basis. Traditionally constructed from copper, pot stills are made in a range of shapes and sizes depending on the quantity and style of spirit desired.
Aguardente (Portuguese) or aguardiente (Spanish) is a type of distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It is a somewhat generic term that can refer to liquors made from various foods. It originates from and is typically consumed on the Iberian Peninsula and in Iberian America.
Liquor or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include spirit, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage.
Advocaat or advocatenborrel is a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar, and brandy. The rich and creamy drink has a smooth, custard-like consistency. The typical alcohol content is generally between 14% and 20% ABV. Its contents may be a blend of egg yolks, aromatic spirits, sugar or honey, brandy, vanilla, and sometimes cream. Notable makers of advocaat include Warninks, Bols, Darna Ovo Liker, DeKuyper, and Verpoorten.
Armagnac is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally using column stills. This is in contrast to the pot stills used in the production of cognac, which is made predominantly from ugni blanc grapes. The resulting spirit is aged in oak barrels before release. Production is overseen by the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) and the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).
Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. It is not to be confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called arak or araq. In many parts of India arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru".
Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countries, denatured alcohol or denatured rectified spirit may commonly be available as "rectified spirit", because in some countries the retail sale of rectified alcohol in its non-denatured form is prohibited.
Vinjak is a brand of brandy produced by the Serbian company Rubin. Previously named as Cognac, it was renamed when stricter laws governing what may be branded Cognac came into force. The drink itself is light brown, and contains 40% alcohol.
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world.
Himbeergeist is a geist made from raspberries. It is produced mainly in Germany and the Alsace region of France.
Drinks containing alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered non-alcoholic.
Suntory Global Spirits, formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is the American subsidiary of the Japanese beverage company Suntory. The company produces alcoholic beverages.
Emperador is a brand of cut brandy and brandy produced by Emperador Inc., a 81% owned subsidiary of Alliance Global Group in the Philippines. The shares of Emperador Inc. are traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange with the symbol "EMP". The beverage is primarily sold in the Philippines.
Rakı, Türk Rakısı or Turkish Raki is an alcoholic beverage made of twice-distilled grape pomace and flavored with aniseed. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is popular in Turkic countries and Caucasian countries as an apéritif. It is often served with seafood or meze. It is comparable to Balkan Rakia and several other anise-flavored liqueurs such as pastis, ouzo, sambuca, arak and aguardiente. The alcoholic content of raki must be at least 40% according to Turkish standard. The largest producer of raki is Diageo; Yeni Rakı is the largest brand.
Minttu is a Finnish brand of peppermint-flavoured liqueur produced by Hartwall. A characteristic ingredient of the liqueur is peppermint, to give a fresh taste and aroma.