Brandy is made from grapes, oak and time. Apart from water, a good brandy has no other ingredients. Here is the whole process step by step, using Armenian brandy as the example.
What brandy is made from
The base is white grapes. In Armenia these are local varieties grown on the volcanic soil of the Ararat valley, among them Voskehat and Garan Dmak. The harvest takes a few weeks, starting when the berries reach the right sugar level, and the best bunches are picked by hand.
Red grapes are not used: the colour comes later, from the oak.
Step 1. Young wine
The grapes are pressed and the juice ferments on its own for about a week. The result is a sour, dry white wine of about 7–9% alcohol. Nobody drinks it: it is raw material for distillation.
Step 2. Double distillation
The wine is distilled twice. The first distillation gives a cloudy spirit of up to 32%. The second splits it into three parts: the "head", the "heart" and the "tail". Only the heart, the cleanest and most delicate part at about 70%, goes into brandy.
This clear spirit is not brandy yet. It becomes brandy only in the barrel.
Step 3. Ageing in oak
The spirit is filled into oak barrels. Armenian brandy is aged in Caucasian oak. The wood gives the spirit its colour, vanilla, notes of dried fruit and chocolate, and the spirit breathes slowly through the pores of the barrel. Some of it evaporates every year, and the strength slowly drops.
The number of years the brandy spent in the barrel is the age on the label. It ranges from three years to several decades. The longer the ageing, the softer the taste and the longer the finish.
Step 4. Blending and strength
The master blends spirits of different ages and from different barrels to reach the intended taste. Then water brings the brandy down to the right strength, usually 40%, and it rests in the barrel again before bottling.
Step 5. The bottle
Brandy does not change in the bottle: ageing stops the moment it is bottled. A twenty-year-old brandy that sits on a shelf for ten more years is still twenty years old.
How TUFF is made
TUFF is made from white grapes of the Ararat valley, distilled twice and aged in Caucasian oak: twenty years for TUFF XO, thirty for TUFF Heritage. It is 40% ABV.
The last step is TUFF's own. The bottle is closed with a cap of volcanic tuff, cut from the stone and finished by hand. No two caps are alike, and the cap stays with you after the last glass. How TUFF is made
Questions and answers
What is brandy made from?
From white grapes. They are made into a young dry wine, distilled twice into a spirit and aged in oak barrels. At the end, water brings the strength down to 40%.
How long is brandy aged?
At least a few years; aged brandies spend ten to thirty years or more in oak. The age is on the label. TUFF XO is aged 20 years and TUFF Heritage 30 years.
Does brandy age in the bottle?
No. Ageing happens only in the oak barrel. In a closed bottle brandy stays the same for years.
Why is brandy 40%?
The spirit is stronger when it leaves the barrel, so the master adds water. 40% is considered the best balance: the aroma opens and the alcohol does not overpower the taste.
Brandy or cognac · The Ararat valley · The TUFF collection
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