Easy Brandy Recipe

[Odin]

Here’s a new Easy Recipe. This time it is on brandy. Brandy is easy to make and will give you a great tasting product in no time. Easy to make? For sure! The wine maker already did the fermentation process for you! But there’s more, so let’s dive in deeper.

The origins of brandy

The word “brandy” actually comes from the Dutch word “Brandewijn”, where “wijn” means “wine”, and “Branden” means so much as “distilling”.

So … is brandy originally distilled Dutch wine? No, it is not. Why? Simple, we don’t grow wine in the Netherlands. The climate is too cold.

The wine in “brandywine” comes from France. From the Cognac region to be more precise. Dutch 16th and 17th century traders took the wine to the Netherlands by ship and distilled it. Or actually, they distilled part of it.

The Netherlands, of old, are a beer producing and drinking country. But when the Dutch started to sail around the world, they soon found out that beer does not stay fresh long enough. Okay, it was more healthy than our (low land) water, but would spoil in weeks. Wine was better, but would still spoil after a few months. And that’s where brandy comes into play!
Brandy was nothing more (or nothing less) than a technology invented to give sailors, that had to survive for months on a ship without fresh water, something to drink. Brandy, of old, was wine mixed with distilled wine. The distilled wine was used to up the ABV to around 20%. The much higher ABV of the original brandy, 18 – 20% as opposed to 9% for 16th and 17th century wines without fortification, would prevent the “brandywine” from spoiling. It could be kept for a long period of time and would keep the sailors from being totally dehydrated.

The origins of brandy, as a combination of wine and distilled wine, are still reflected in EU regulations on brandy today. Any EU brandy can still contain up to 20% of wine. I find that in interesting note, because it gives the Craft Distiller an increadible tool to play with, when making brandy. More on that later.

Okay, so after shipping large amounts of wine to the Low Countries, for distillation, one smart guy, who’s name was unfortunately forgotten by history, decided it was much easier to distill the wine in the Cognac region, where the wine was made. That limited transport costs and made the Cognac region the world’s center of brandy and, later on, Cognac.
A Cognac brandy is a brandy from the Cognac region. Made from grapes from Cognac and distilled in Cognac. Contrairy to (the original) brandy, Cognac is also aged in barrels. Actually Cognac was the first spirit to be aged in a barrel. The great benefits of aging brandy in oaken barrels were soon picked up by the new whisk(e)y industries in both Ireland and Scotland.
Here’s how Cognac was invented. The Dutch ships didn’t visit the Cognac region for some time, due to a two year war. When they came back, the distilled wine used in “brandywine”, had been stored in barrels and were about to be discarded. When the people who wanted to see if the distilled wine was still any good … they actually found out, much to their surprise, that it had improved instead of deteriorated in taste!

What to do … and what not to do!

So … we have wine, we have distilled wine, and we can decide on aging and barreling our brandy. Some do’s and don’ts:
• Don’t use an expensive wine: the great taste won’t come over so much;
• Use a red or white wine: after distillation both come over white;
• Go for a lower ABV wine rather than a high ABV wine: taste concentration of a 10% wine to a 40% brandy is “times 4″, where taste concentration of a 13% wine to a 40% brandy is only “times 3″;
• Go for young wines, at least for the wine you want to distill, since the fruitiness of a young wine, as well as the sours still present, do play an important role in brandy taste make-up;
• Go for a low sulfate wine: sulfate overconcentrates during distillation and gives off an aweful taste and smell above a certain trash hold – sulfates will ruin your brandy;
• Make a small Fores and Heads cut, since most of the tastes (grapes are a fruit!) are concentrated where Heads meet Hearts;
• Don’t go deep into tails: contrairy to a whiskey there’s no rooty or nutty flavour at the end. Brandy benefits from an early or “left sided” cut, if you envision the total distillation run taking place from left to right (like you read this line);
• If you want to dilute your brandy with wine, use a characterful wine like for example a Chardonay to give your drink a special touch.

An approach to making brandy in a packed LM/Boka

1. Fill the boiler with a 10 – 11% young white wine;
2. Heat-up, then stabilize for 15 minutes;
3. Take that small Fores and Heads Cut;
4. Run it slow;
5. Collect in jars and let them settle out for a day under coffee filters;
6. Add the jar that might be quite headsy, toss anything that even makes you think there might be minimal tails.

An approach to make brandy in a potstill

1. Fill the boiler with a 10 – 11% young white wine;
2. Strip until what comes out is 10%;
3. Empty the boiler;
4. Put the low wines in the boiler and top up with fresh wine;
5. Now do a slow finishing run with only a small cut for Heads and Tails;
6. Run it slow;
7. Collect in jars and let them settle out for a day under coffee filters;
8. Add the jar that might be quite headsy, toss anything that even makes you think there might be minimal tails.

Aging Brandy

Your Hearts Cut will come over at around 60%. You can use multiple strategies to turn your brandy into something special. Here’s a few examples:
1. Dilute with water to 40%, let it rest and marry for 5 weeks, and bottle it. This is for a nice, fresh brandy;
2. Dilute with a more characterful white wine, instead of with water, to 43 – 45%, let it settle for 5 weeks, and bottle it. This is for a more complex, more recognizable, and slightly sweater brandy;
3. Barrel age the distilled Hearts for up to 2 years on Medium Toast, then dilute to 45% using either water or wine, and give it another 5 weeks to settle. This will give you a more complex, Cognac style brandy.

[NZChris]

I don't know where you C&Pd that from Odin, but even in New Zealand, where we are allowed to distil, we are not allowed to sell it.

[Odin]

Edited, Chris! Copied it from my Blog that's more aimed at pro distillers. Thought I had cut out the stuff related to selling, etc. but obviously I didn't. Amended that right now.

[NZChris]

...Don’t go deep into tails...

I won't be taking that advice. I say, run into small jars towards the end and take care of blending tomorrow. Deciding what constitutes 'tails' on the fly and shutting down the still on a Cognac style distillation is a bad idea unless you have a lot of experience with your grapes, still, etc..

[Odin]

7. Collect in jars and let them settle out for a day under coffee filters;

Like this?

[yakattack]

As always a great thread starter Odin.

I will be playing with wines this year when season starts so ull be saving/watching this thread for sure.

Yak

[npstephe]

I recently had brandy for the first time and liked it. So I will be giving this a try soon! so many recipes, so little time!

[JellybeanCorncob]

I'm sitting here on the edge of the lake watching my daughter paddling around on her boogie board. The Sierra mountains on a warm day in June can't be beat. Yet my thoughts bring me back to distilling. I'm hooked just like the 14 lnch brookie I Reeled in yesterday.
So Grammy's gone to an assisted living facility and gave me 16 bottles of cheep wine. Just
Picked them up today. I know some are red, some are white. Haven't even had a chance to take a good look at them yet.
Well they were free so... I'm gonna put the lot in my pot still and run it like this thread suggests. I have know idea how much sulfides are in each bottle. I guess I'll find out after I run it. If so any suggestions to neutralize the smell/taste without sacrificing any flavor would be greatly appreciated.
J. C.

[NZChris]

I'm gonna put the lot in my pot still and run it like this thread suggests. I have know idea how much sulfides are in each bottle. I guess I'll find out after I run it. If so any suggestions to neutralize the smell/taste without sacrificing any flavor would be greatly appreciated.
J. C.

I recommend you do your research on how to get that stinky crap out of your brandy before you charge the still with it. Me, I'd save myself the disappointment and drink it as wine.

[JellybeanCorncob]

Most of what I found for reducing or removing sulfides in wine were during or post distillation.
Of course copper helps remove sulfides. And packing the column is suggested. And aeration and arring out.
At least 2 threads suggest a little hydrogen peroxide in the low wines befor distilling.
I have a copper column, lots of copper scrubbies, hydrogen peroxide, a whisk for aeration, and lots of time.
If I decide to distill this Cheap wine it will be put on toasted, charred oak for a long long time.
Thanks for kicking me in the butt for not doing the research befor I posted.
J.C.

[Mikey-moo]

I tend to buy wine kits when they're on special offer - make them up with more water than recommended - so about 7% abv in the end and instead of stabilising and fining at the end I just leave it to mostly clear then run it through the still. Make a great brandy, although I've managed to over-oak my remaining batch I think :-(

[yakattack]

Most of what I found for reducing or removing sulfides in wine were during or post distillation.
Of course copper helps remove sulfides. And packing the column is suggested. And aeration and arring out.
At least 2 threads suggest a little hydrogen peroxide in the low wines befor distilling.
I have a copper column, lots of copper scrubbies, hydrogen peroxide, a whisk for aeration, and lots of time.
If I decide to distill this Cheap wine it will be put on toasted, charred oak for a long long time.
Thanks for kicking me in the butt for not doing the research befor I posted.
J.C.

J.c. there is a big difference between sulfides and sulfates. Dig a little deeper here for the eureka moment. Because they sound and read so close to the same people often use the wrong term. Just a little nugget of info for you. Hope you are enjoying your time in the rabbit hole...
Yak

[MDH]

The main product of sulfite hydrolysis is SO2, so you are dealing with something that is a dissolved gas. Like Chlorine in water, the best way to remove it is to vigorously aerate the wine when the wine is slightly warm (68f and >) for some time. You will lose alcohol and some aroma doing this, but it's better than distilling a heavily SO2 infused wine.

[JellybeanCorncob]

This is what I was looking for. A push, a nudge, a direction to follow. Thanks MDH and yakattack. My college chemistry was nearly 30 years ago, and I just passed. (Forgot it all). All the wine I got From poor old Grammy is labeled "Contains sulfites" which means it contains over 10 parts per million. So I learned these sulfites are added to wine to stop fermentation at a desired time. And it is used as a preservative to prevent spoilage and oxidation. The label is put on because some people are allergic to sulfites.
I"m not feeling great about putting my wine in a paint agitator and shaking the shit out of it to remove this "stinky crap". Now I've never made brandy before and I'm not gonna do it like this. I'm thinking brandy made from Welches frozen concentrate is a better start for me. I hope I got my facts right. Don't want move anyone down the wrong path.
J.C.

[Odin]

I'd say use wine that's lower on sulfates, so you never breach the treshhold while distilling it. We want to make GOOD product, right? So let's at least start with something decent.

Odin.

[Mikey-moo]

This is what I was looking for. A push, a nudge, a direction to follow. Thanks MDH and yakattack. My college chemistry was nearly 30 years ago, and I just passed. (Forgot it all). All the wine I got From poor old Grammy is labeled "Contains sulfites" which means it contains over 10 parts per million. So I learned these sulfites are added to wine to stop fermentation at a desired time. And it is used as a preservative to prevent spoilage and oxidation. The label is put on because some people are allergic to sulfites.
I"m not feeling great about putting my wine in a paint agitator and shaking the shit out of it to remove this "stinky crap". Now I've never made brandy before and I'm not gonna do it like this. I'm thinking brandy made from Welches frozen concentrate is a better start for me. I hope I got my facts right. Don't want move anyone down the wrong path.
J.C.

I found out this weekend that all wine contains sulphites - they're a natural by product of the fermentation - enough that it should all be labelled as such apparently. Your instincts are good though - make your own, it's the cheapest way

[Odin]

Younger wines usually have less. Organic wines for sure have less. As long as you don't breach the taste tresh hold you 'l be fine.

Odin.

[JellybeanCorncob]

Odin:
The reason I wanted to try this method for making brandy wasn't because it is easy. It's because you authored it. I hold you in high regard,and have made several of your recipes. The wine that i wanted to use for this recipe was free. Just don't think it's the right match to use here. To go to the store and buy bottles for distilling would be cost Prohibitive for me. If I ever come across a cheap low sulfite young wine I'll give this a go.
Thanks J.C.

[Odin]

Yeah, I read your approach. Sorry if I came over "cross". Never the intention. This hobby is too much fun for that, right?

Regards, Odin.

[JellybeanCorncob]

Class act through and through.
Cheers
J.C.

[Swedish Pride]

Have a few wine kits I'm going to put down for a brandy in the next few days.

What's the reason for a small head and tails cut here?
why wouldn't it be the same as per any other recipe?

and Mikey-moo why not use the stabilising and fining and any other assorted shite they tell you to add in the wine kits?

was going to make up 60 l at 11% and run it all bar 5l or 10 that the bosswoman has earmarked so want to make the wine nice in its own right as well as ok to run.

[Mikey-moo]

The stabilisers usually contain sulphite and I try to keep them to a minimum. The finings should be ok but I save them for when I make non-kit wines

[NZChris]

Have a few wine kits I'm going to put down for a brandy in the next few days.

What's the reason for a small head and tails cut here?
why wouldn't it be the same as per any other recipe?

and Mikey-moo why not use the stabilising and fining and any other assorted shite they tell you to add in the wine kits?

was going to make up 60 l at 11% and run it all bar 5l or 10 that the bosswoman has earmarked so want to make the wine nice in its own right as well as ok to run.

Grapes ain't grains. I don't know about your kits of course, but if I cut my grapes the same way I cut my grains, I would lose a lot of flavor as much of the good flavor comes over early and late. I don't do cuts (except for a foreshot on the fly) any more, just stripping to my target low wines abv, then a spirit run to barrel strength.

If by 'stabilising' they mean SO2, it's stinky crap and is very difficult to keep out of your collection jar. If fining makes any difference to brandy, it would be to remove some flavor.

[Swedish Pride]

I think the stabilisers only is there to stop the fermentation and the finings are to help it settle, I may be wrong though more often than not I am according to my wife.

Thanks for the input lads, feel more confident about giving this a a go

[NZChris]

I think the stabilisers only is there to stop the fermentation and the finings are to help it settle,

But you're not making wine, you're making brandy. By using stabilisers and finings you are graduating to the Difficult Brandy Recipe. Good luck with that.

[Swedish Pride]

I think the stabilisers only is there to stop the fermentation and the finings are to help it settle,

But you're not making wine, you're making brandy. By using stabilisers and finings you are graduating to the Difficult Brandy Recipe. Good luck with that.

i forgot to add, "so there is no need for them really"

[Odin]

There is no need to add agents that stop the fermenting process, since you will distill the distillers wine into a brandy instead of saving it for year(s) as a wine, at low proof.

And sulfates, once over the taste barrier, destroy your brandy. There is talk about adding hydrogen peroxide to solve that issue, but if you don't create that problem to start with, it don't need fixing.

Regards, Odin.

[Swedish Pride]

did the brandy cuts yesterday, confusing stuff indeed.

Initially I had 60 odd liters of sovereign blanc, stripped 40 odd to give me 15l at 35% , added that with the rest of the wine for the spirit run

I had some 24 jar, filled from 250ml early and late in the run to 700ml in the middle of the run.

Jar 1-4 stunk of acetone so down the drain they went, 5-9 tasted heady so was going to chuck them, but thought of what was said here and added them to their own jar, about 1.3l at 70%.

Huge heart cut, jars 10-21 gave me one 5l jug at 61% and one with a bit over a liter at 57%
The 5l jug has apple wood in it and the liter on has a single JD chip

After i cleaned up I took an other taste of the heads jar watered down to 40% and it was lovely

Now as I had done a fair bit of testing I was getting a bit of a buzz so just kept it separate and with no oak just in case my taste buds were drunk.

May have to revisit it in the future to blend, or figgure out what to do.

oh, the ABV suffered as I air it in full jars for 5 days, but don't mind lower abv if the cuts gets easier.

[NZChris]

You might be confused because brandy is the easiest, no brainer cut, and you've been using your grain experience, or youtube/forums as a guide.
Grapes ain't grains. As long as you don't want to impress your Mum with the fantastic brandy you made yesterday, just chuck all except the nail polish in the jar with some oak and age it. Don't keep what pushes it below your desired aging abv.

[Swedish Pride]

No brainer you say?
that sounds just up my alley, will add some oak to the heads one as well so, still a bit iffy about including with the others so will sit on it's own for a year or so.

No, not in a rush to get in to this one, well to be totally honest i don't particularly care for brandy, but the winekits were so cheep I had to get them
I may have a problem