Brandy

[4][5][6] In the early 16th-century French brandy helped kickstart the cross-Atlantic triangle trade when it took over the central role of the Portuguese fortified wine due to its higher alcohol content and ease of shipping.By the late 17th century, the cheaper rum had replaced brandy as the exchange alcohol of choice in the triangle trade.It was discovered that after being stored in wooden casks, the resulting product improved over the original distilled spirit.At the end of the 19th century, the western European markets, including by extension their overseas empires, were dominated by French and Spanish brandies and eastern Europe was dominated by brandies from the Black Sea region, including Bulgaria, the Crimea, Georgia and Armenia.[14] In 1884, David Sarajishvili founded a brandy factory in Tbilisi, Georgia, a crossroads for Turkish, Central Asian, and Persian trade routes and a part of the Russian Empire at the time.A special selection of cultivars, providing distinct aroma and character, is used for high-quality brandies, while cheaper ones are made from whichever wine is available.The weak portion on the end, the "tail", is discarded along with the head, and they are generally mixed with another batch of low wine, thereby entering the distillation cycle again.After a period of ageing, which depends on the style, class and legal requirements, the mature brandy is mixed with distilled water to reduce alcohol concentration and bottled.When drunk at room temperature, it is often slightly warmed by holding the glass cupped in the palm or by gentle heating.It was also used by many European explorers of tropical Africa, who suggested that regular, moderate doses of brandy might help a traveller to cope with fever, depression, and stress.These views fell out of favour in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, with suggestions that people were using brandy's "medical" qualities as an excuse for social drinking.In the general colloquial usage of the term, brandy may also be made from pomace and from fermented fruit other than grapes.[24] Apple brandy may be referred to as "applejack",[24] although the process of jacking which was originally used in its production involved no distillation.