Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Spanish brandy sales don’t have much traction outside of Spain and a handful of export markets in former Spanish possessions. In the US, it has a small but dedicated following. That’s unfortunate, because it really is an excellent product. Spirit produced from column stills has to be between 70% and 94.8% ABV, and is termed “aguardiente.” The brandy is aged in ex-cherry barrels for about five years and has spent some time with the title of best-selling brandy in the UK! This particular expression is named in honor of the founder, and the 30 comes from the average age of all the brandies in the blend. There are several brandies in there, all aged in American oak casks. All cognac is brandy, but not all brandies are cognacs. The aged brandy known as cognac is produced from grapes grown in the Cognac region of France, where brandy has an illustrious history. There, the grape varieties and growing areas, the minimum 30 months of aging, the French oak barrels, copper pot stills, and the winter distillation are all strictly enforced.
An aromatic brandy that has been aged for 10 to 12 years in butts that previously held Oloroso sherry. It offers notes of prunes, raisins and dates, along with hints of roasted nuts and old leather. The brandy is smooth, with a pronounced palate weight, with flavors of dried fruit, caramel and vanilla. There is also an 18 YO XO expression that is finished in sweet PX sherry cask and a 20 YO Oro expression matured in dry, Palo Cortado sherry casks. Lepanto is the place of a famous 16th century naval battle, near Patras in Greece, where the Spanish Armada was defeated by the Ottomans. Torres 30 Brandy Reserva is an impressive, ultra-premium expression that sits at the top of the Spanish brandy category. It’s won many awards including a handful of Gold medals at both the San Francisco Spirits Competition and the International Spirits Challenge. The profile offers an interesting mix of things, beginning with strong notes of toffee and roasted coffee on the nose. The palate opens with cashews, caramel, and marzipan that come together in a chewy, rich texture. Mid-palate brings pears, orange rinds, cinnamon, and a touch of tobacco and cigar. This leads into a mildly spicy finish. 4. Torres 30 Brandy Reserva Brandy bodegas in Jerez are required to utilize a solera system of fractional blending. The solera consists of a series of barrels called criaderas (nurseries in Spanish). Each criadera is numbered. It can consist of one to hundreds of barrels. All the barrels in a criadera hold brandy of the same average age. A bodega may have anywhere from three to as many as 45 different criaderas. The oldest criadera is called the solera. These are the barrels from which the brandy destined for bottling is extracted.On the palate, there are the dried fruit and fruitcake flavors typical of Armagnac. Think of a Christmas cake or a Christmas pudding. There are also additional notes of roasted nuts, prunes, peach jam and orange marmalade. The finish is exceptionally long, with lingering dried fruit, especially prune notes, along with candied orange zest, some well-integrated oak wood notes and a touch of bitterness. This is different practice than say the Scotch whisky industry where the stated age on a bottling is the youngest component of the blend. Likewise, with Cognac, the different classifications are based on the youngest component of the blend, even though those blends could incorporate spirits that are far older. The Best Apple Brandy Category went to Ocean Hill, Apple Brandy produced by Sadden Brothers & Co Distilling Co. The Ocean Hill Apple Brandy is a non-chill filtered apple brandy, double-distilled and bottled in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn from apples grown in the Hudson Valley. The apples are pressed and fermented, using a proprietary yeast blend, at a cider mill on Long Island. They’re matured in oak casks that previously held malt whisky. Cardenal Mendoza Solera Spanish Brandy began when the company owners decided to create a brandy for themselves to enjoy. They wanted something unique and different, and certainly something high-quality. Word of this amazing brandy slowly began to make rounds, despite its private nature.
On the palate its sweet, with powerful flavors of dark raisins and dried figs, some herbal notes of dried tea and a hint of peppermint, along with orange marmalade and a bit of dark chocolate. Each tier has an average of 400 barrels. The first seven tiers are called criaderas, and the bottom tier is called the solera. New bottlings are drawn from the oldest tier – the solera. Typically, up to one third or so of the brandy in the solera is removed each year. The liquid removed is replaced with brandy from the next tier (the seventh criadera) and that liquid, in turn, is replaced with liquid from the next tier (the sixth criadera). The liquid drawn from the youngest tier (the first criadera), is replaced with newly distilled spirit. This one keeps things nice and simple while still offering up some amazing, punchy flavor. If you have a favorite Spanish brandy, use that one for this recipe. It’s a drink that brings out the many flavors of your brandy, so you need to make sure it’s one you like. Combine it with a hard cider you already like and you’ve got a golden combination!
Follow us to find out more
The brandy is intensely flavored, exhibiting floral aromas along with ripe apple and pears, as well as fresh apple cider, licorice, roasted nuts, vanilla and dried fruit notes of fig. On the palate, there are flavors of anise/licorice, apple, pear and apricot, along with wood and vanilla notes. The apple brandy is smooth and creamy. Mouth: very smooth, slightly sweeter than expected. Still a light (now slightly syrupy) fruitiness with more pronounced vanilla. Golden raisins, almonds and honey again. Hints of praline and latte in the end. Medium length, raisiny finish. The final Best in Category award for brandies is for Pisco. The winner is Tacama, Demonio de Los Andes Acholado Pisco. This Pisco also won the Best in Show Award for Brandy, ranking it as the best brandy in the world in the 2021 SFWSC judging.
The Best Armagnac Category was awarded to Chateau de Laubade for its Cask Strength, Vintage 1986 Armagnac. Armagnac is a brandy produced in the same-named region of Gascony. It is only distilled once, and may be the first style of brandy ever produced. The finish is long and smooth, with baked apple notes, along with sweet dried fruit and a lingering vanilla note. This wealth of experience has led them to not only perfect their sherry recipes but expand their business into other areas and create a particularly successful brandy. Despite having a wonderful product already, they’re constantly working to improve their process and become even better.This is similar to the Scotch whisky industry’s preoccupation a generation ago with kilts and bagpipes in marketing Scotch whisky. Spain’s brandy producers need to market their product to appeal to a more cosmopolitan buyer, while still preserving its essential Spanish character. Soon enough, there was enough demand for their premium expression that they decided to put it to market. They created the Cardenal Mendoza brand, and the rest is history. The expression is matured in sherry casks for at least 15 years, on average. This is much more than the minimum required for brandy and it ensures a quality drink with many amazing and balanced flavors.
Argonaut is a blend of eight different brandies produced from both pot stills and continuous stills, and ranges from 2 to 16 years in age. Unlike most old-world brandies, which are made predominantly from a handful of white grape varieties, Argonaut utilizes a variety of grapes, including Grenache, French Colombard and Muscat. Roughly one-quarter of the blend is made up of a 9 YO pot still brandy. Sanchez Romate, Cardenal Mendoza, Solera Gran Reserva, Brandy de Jerez Photo, courtesy Sanchez Romate N ose: quite an elegant profile, fresh with bright fruity notes like apricots, grapes and sour citrus. Hints of old wood and leather. Honey coated nuts and a light touch of vanilla. A refined drink, one of the sherry brandies that comes closest to classic Armagnac and Cognac. The Best Cognac Extra Aged/Vintage Category was won by Gautier for its Tradition Rare Vieille Reserve Cognac.Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva is a Brandy de Jerez produced by Sherry producer Gonzalez Byass. Lepanto is unusual in that it is the only Brandy de Jerez produced exclusively from the Palomino Fino grape variety, most are produced from the Airen grape variety.
Great Deal 
New Comment