Brandy is made from fermented fruit juice that has been distilled into a concentrated spirit. Grapes are the most common base, but brandy can also be made from apples, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, and other fruits. In the United States, it must be bottled at no less than 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof) to carry the name “brandy” on the label.
The Base: Fruit, Fermented Into Wine
Every brandy starts as fruit. The fruit is crushed, and its juice is fermented, meaning yeast converts the natural sugars into alcohol. The result is essentially a wine, typically low in alcohol, somewhere around 7 to 12%. For grape brandy, this is literally wine. For apple brandy, it’s hard cider. For plum brandy, it’s fermented plum juice. That low-alcohol liquid becomes the raw material for distillation.
Grapes dominate the brandy world. The varieties used tend to be high in acid and relatively neutral in flavor, which sounds counterintuitive but works because distillation concentrates and transforms those flavors. Cognac, France’s most famous brandy, relies primarily on Ugni Blanc grapes. Armagnac, its lesser-known French cousin, uses Ugni Blanc as well but also Colombard, Folle Blanche, and a hybrid grape called Baco 22A that’s resistant to disease and produces wines with high acidity and low alcohol, both ideal traits for distillation.
How Distillation Turns Wine Into Brandy
Distillation is the step that separates brandy from wine. The principle is straightforward: alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water. By heating the fermented liquid and then cooling the vapors, distillers collect a liquid with a much higher alcohol concentration than the original wine.
Two main types of stills are used. Pot stills are the older method. A large pot-shaped vessel is filled with the fermented liquid and heated. The vapors rise, get collected, and are cooled back into liquid. This distillate is often run through the still a second time to further concentrate the alcohol and refine the flavor. Cognac is always double-distilled in pot stills.
Column stills, developed in the 1830s, work continuously rather than in batches. Inside a tall cylindrical column, stacked plates separate the space into compartments. Steam heats the liquid from below, and as the vapor rises through the plates, water and unwanted compounds condense and fall back down while the alcohol vapor keeps climbing. The result is a cleaner, higher-proof spirit. Armagnac traditionally uses a type of column still, which gives it a different character than Cognac despite both being French grape brandies.
U.S. regulations require that brandy be distilled below 95% alcohol by volume. Anything distilled above 85% but below 95% is classified as “neutral brandy,” which has less of the original fruit character.
What Oak Aging Adds
Most quality brandy spends time in oak barrels, and this is where it picks up its amber color, smoothness, and much of its complexity. Clear, freshly distilled brandy is sharp and fruity. Over months or years in wood, it transforms.
The barrel contributes specific compounds. When oak is heated during barrel manufacturing, a process called toasting, the wood’s internal structure breaks down. Lignin, a component of the wood, degrades and releases compounds like vanillin (the same molecule that gives vanilla its flavor) along with other aldehydes responsible for smoky, toasted, and dried-fruit aromas. Meanwhile, the breakdown of hemicellulose, another wood component, adds furfural and related compounds that bring caramel and nutty notes. The type of oak, the degree of toasting, and the length of aging all influence the final flavor. Any freshness or raw fruitiness from the original distillate gradually gives way to the richer, more layered profile associated with aged brandy.
Some commercial brandies also use caramel coloring (E150a) to standardize the appearance from batch to batch, since barrel aging alone can produce inconsistent shades.
Grape Brandy vs. Fruit Brandy vs. Pomace Brandy
Not all brandy is made the same way, and the differences start with what part of the fruit goes into the still.
- Grape brandy is distilled from grape wine. Cognac and Armagnac are the most prestigious examples, both produced in designated regions of France. Spanish brandy (Brandy de Jerez) and South African brandy are other well-known styles.
- Fruit brandy is distilled from the fermented juice of fruits other than grapes. In France, these are called eaux-de-vie. Calvados is an apple brandy from Normandy, France. Applejack is its American relative. Kirschwasser is cherry brandy from Germany and Switzerland. Slivovitz, made from plums, is the national drink of several Balkan countries including Serbia and Bulgaria. German Obstler brandies cover a wide range: pear (poire Williams), plum (zwetschgenwasser), and apricot (marillenschnaps), among others.
- Pomace brandy is the outlier. Instead of using juice or wine, it’s made from the skins, seeds, and stems left over after winemaking. Italian grappa is the best-known example. Because it comes from solid grape remnants rather than liquid wine, grappa tends to be more intense and structured, with a bolder, rougher character compared to wine-based brandy.
In the European Union, spirits distilled from fruits other than grapes technically can’t be labeled “fruit brandy.” The legal term is “fruit spirit,” produced exclusively from the fermented flesh of fruit, berries, or even vegetables. In practice, most people still call them fruit brandies.
Why Grape Variety and Region Matter
The specific fruit variety shapes the final spirit more than you might expect. Cognac’s reliance on Ugni Blanc, a grape that produces thin, acidic wine most people wouldn’t enjoy drinking, is deliberate. That high acidity and low alcohol preserve freshness during distillation and give the distiller more control over the final flavor. Armagnac’s use of Colombard and Folle Blanche adds more aromatic complexity, while Baco 22A brings a rustic, earthy quality unique to the region.
The same logic applies to fruit brandies. Calvados producers in Normandy often use hundreds of different apple varieties, blending tart, bitter, and sweet apples to build complexity before the cider ever reaches the still. Kirschwasser relies on small, intensely flavored cherries rather than the sweet eating cherries you’d find at a grocery store.
Geography matters legally, too. You can’t call a spirit Cognac unless it’s produced in the Cognac region of France from approved grape varieties, distilled in copper pot stills, and aged according to specific rules. The same regional protections apply to Armagnac, Calvados, and several other brandy styles. A brandy made the exact same way in California would simply be labeled “brandy.”