Brandy de Jerez

Where it started

The regulator traces wine distillation in the area to the Arab presence in Jerez from 711 until the reconquest in 1264, cites town-council references to a tax on spirit dating from 1580, and says brandy began selling in significant quantities in the mid-19th century.¹ The criaderas and solera system has been used in Jerez since the 18th century.²

Where and how it's made

It can only be aged in bodegas in the Jerez municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.¹ The base wine is mostly Airén, with some Palomino, the sherry grape.² It takes about three liters of wine to make one liter of brandy.²

Distillation runs in copper pot stills called alquitaras or in column stills, and produces three grades of spirit:² - Holandas — under 70 percent alcohol, the most aromatic.² - Aguardientes — 70 to 86 percent.² - Destilados — 86 to 94.8 percent.²

The spirit then goes into American oak butts of 500 to 600 liters that held Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez for at least three years.² A Fino butt gives a paler brandy, Oloroso or Amontillado a darker one, and Pedro Ximénez the darkest and sweetest.² Aging is usually done at 50 to 60 percent alcohol.¹

In the solera, brandy drawn from the oldest scale (the saca) is replaced from the next scale up (the rocío), and so on back.² Age is therefore an average: total volume in the system divided by the amount taken out in a year.² In the United States, "Brandy de Jerez" may only be grape brandy made in Spain under Spanish law.⁷

How to taste it

The regulator's own pages give two temperatures. Its serving guide recommends 10 to 15 °C and notes that a hand-warmed balloon brings the brandy to about 20 °C;⁵ its FAQ calls 17 to 18 °C, reached by the warmth of the hand, the perfect drinking temperature.¹ Both advise against warming the glass artificially.⁵¹ Use a balloon or a tall tulip, filled no more than one-fifth.⁵ It suits blue cheese and dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, and it is a classic flambé ingredient.⁶

Styles and what the label means

• Solera — minimum average age of six months; youngest and fruitiest.²
• Solera Reserva — minimum average age of one year.²
• Solera Gran Reserva — minimum average age of three years; most brands go well beyond it.²
• The seal — the Consejo Regulador's seal on each bottle certifies the brandy.⁴