Torres 20 Hors d'Age Brandy, 70 cl

Product Information

Rémy Martin defines excellence in a bottle and combines everything a good brandy should have. This XO is a Fine Champagne, produced by blending up to 400 different eaux de vie. It’s a thoroughly good quality bottle, combining 85 percent of the product sourced from the Grande Champagne region with the remaining 15 percent taken from the Petite Champagne region.

Eau de vie: The clear, colorless fruit brandy produced after the fermentation and double distillation period. Translating from French to “water of life”, it typically has a very light fruit flavor. Cognac must also be distilled twice using copper pot stills and aged in French oak barrels for a minimum of two years. How are Brandy and Cognac made?It boasts a deep flavor of oak, violet, and strawberry, with aromas of apricot, brown sugar, and cacao nibs. Courvoisier XO Cognac is a true example of brandy at its best; combining its rich character with a full-bodied finish and a sharp taste. It’s a popular bottle among brandy lovers and is known for being a staple of the industry. A brandy can also be designated as an Hors d’Age, which translates from French as “beyond age” and covers the spirits that have been aged for at least six years and often for decades, or “vintage” which covers those produced from the very best years. A vintage brandy is the best of the best and should only be sipped neat.

Armagnac: A grape brandy, made in France’s Armagnac region, with a similar flavor profile to Cognac but often with more spiced and bold notes. It also uses three additional grape varieties: Folle Blanche, Colombard, and Baco Blanc. Germain Robin makes 10 barrels a year of its XO alambic brandy and about 80 percent of the wine used for distillation is pinot noir – a premium grape that’s evident in this brandy’s taste. Some people choose to heat their brandy slightly with a candle, by holding the bowl of the glass above a small candle for a moment or two. However, it’s easy to overheat the liquid this way, exposing the harsh alcohol fumes. Rémy Martin is known for being one of the biggest cognac producers in the world. Its expertise can also be recognized as it’s part of the Comité Colbert, an association of luxury businesses that promote French know-how worldwide. It’s also a spirit that’ll leave you guessing until you’ve taken a few sips. The number or term on the bottle might give a hint as to what sort of flavors are inside but, thanks to the spirit’s diverse nature, each new bottle of brandy promises a unique experience.In comparison to many other spirits, brandy doesn’t go off. An unopened bottle can keep indefinitely as long as it’s stored properly: a tightly sealed container, away from heat or light. This aging and storage process can often be a sign of an impressive brandy or cognac. Most brandies are blended products of various ages. The age of the youngest brandy in the blend designates the age statement on the bottle, but can also be noted with various abbreviations:

The beauty of brandy lies in its aging process, making this element of its production arguably the most important. When we put together the shortlist for the best brandies and cognacs on the market, we kept each bottle’s age at the forefront of the decision-making process. Finally comes the aging process. Brandy is typically aged in oak barrels to ensure flavor and quality. Some brandies, especially Spanish varieties, are aged using the Solera system, where the barrels are changed each year. After a period of aging, which varies depending on the country producing the liquid and the type of brandy, the spirit is bottled and prepared for retail. Its impressive character means this is a brandy that should only be enjoyed neat or, at most, with ice. This sweet and smooth bottle is perfect to win over brandy novices right through to experts. umění moudré Arnau de Vilanova ze 13. století je vtělesněno do tajemství této brandy: dvojitá destilace. Během šedesátých let začal Miguel A. Torres pěstovat na svých vinicích zahraniční odrůdy. Torres 20, symbol tradice a inovace, patřil mezi první brandy na španělském trhu, který ve své produkci používal francouzské odrůdy. Kombinoval Ugni Blanc se světlými ovocnými víny odrůdy Parellada, pěstovanými na vysokých svazích horního Penedès. VSOP: Very Superior Old Pale, or brandy that’s aged a minimum of four years. These brandies are known for being more mellow than previous categories thanks to their time spent in barrels.We looked into the region where each brandy or cognac was produced and then, especially for cognacs, looked at the quality of grape used and which cru its grapes originated from. We took into account the authority and popularity of each brand, its range of offerings, and its distillation method. There’s no limit to how long a brandy can age for – some of the finest bottles are aged for 20 to 30 years and promise a spectacular array of notes. How to drink Brandy and Cognac Brandewijn: The original name for brandy – a Dutch word that is derived from gebrande wijn, which literally means “burned wine”. V průběhu mnoha let tato jemná vínová lihovina zraje ve vybraných dubových sudech, ve kterých se postupně vyvíjí teplé aroma koření a elegantní patro. Stáčeno metodou solera. Cru: The growing region of the grapes or fruit used to produce the brandy. It’s a term used more often when talking about Cognac, which has six official growing regions in France.

No time to read through our entire list? We’ve chosen Rémy Martin XO as the overall best brandy of the year and Asbach Brandy 8 Year as the best value brandy. VS: Very Special: the second youngest brandy and the term covers brandy that’s been aged for a minimum of three years. Courvoisier XO Cognac was judged to be one of the finest XO cognacs in the world and it’s easy to see why. It’s a bottle with many layers, thanks to the brand’s Master Distiller using a prime selection of beautifully matured eaux-de-vie, all aged from 11 to 25 years. Any fruit that ferments can be distilled and turned into a brandy but the most common and most favored choice is grape.

It has an aroma of dark chocolate, port wine cask, exotic spices, and figs, while a sip will reveal notes of white and red grapes, dried apricot, nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, and caramel. It’s certainly a complex brandy, and one that will leave you wanting more than just one taste. It’s a popular choice for brandy lovers, with a warming finish and smoky wood quality running throughout. To drink brandy the classic way, leave the bottle on the counter for around an hour before drinking and then pour it into a tulip glass; the best glass used to savor the spirit. Its bowl and rim shape is specially designed to allow the spirit to hit the correct part of your tongue while delivering the aromas straight to your nose. Calvados: A type of apple brandy, also produced in France that’s either double or single-distilled and is aged in oak barrels.