new to this hobby

[thoop]

First of all, I am very new to this hobby. Just getting started. Several years ago I made beer and wine but not much of anything in 20 years. I have several gallons of frozen dewberries/blackberries in my freezer. I was wanting to make a brandy. I have read different places that it is recommended to use apple wood for aging brandy. My question is would you want to use toasted or charred or both. I have a 4 gallon stainless still so I'll be making small batches. Thanks for any advise.

Tom Hooper