{"id":475,"date":"2021-11-12T13:19:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T13:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cocktailians.com\/2021\/11\/brandy-trivia-part-4.html"},"modified":"2021-11-12T13:19:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T13:19:00","slug":"brandy-trivia-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/?p=475","title":{"rendered":"Brandy Trivia! Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

As seen here earlier<\/a>, I recently put together a trivia quiz all about brandy. Here are the next few questions, along with my discussion of the answers. As before, I've obscured the answers by putting them in white text on a white background; just highlight the area between the brackets to see what's there, and click on smaller images to embiggen them.<\/p>\n

10.  The Spanish Brandy de Jerez is aged in oak sherry casks. The aging system involves filling bottles from the oldest of a range of casks, which are refilled with brandy from the next-oldest cask, which is refilled from the next-oldest cask after that, and so on, with new distillate placed in the youngest cask. In theory, traces of the very oldest brandy, and of all the ages, can be found in the finished product. In Sicily, where it\u2019s used to produce Marsala, this system is called in perpetuum<\/em>. In the Banyuls area of France, it\u2019s called sostrera<\/em>. What is this system called in Spain, where they also use it for sherry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Brandy_10_506054\"<\/p>\n

[SOLERA<\/span>]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [solera<\/span>] system of aging Spanish Brandy works so well because it marries younger, more vigorous spirits with older, mellower spirits in a deliberate process, thereby reaching a balance of virtues,\u201d explains Paul Pacult, brandy expert and editor\/publisher of Spirit Journal<\/em>.)<\/a><\/p>\n

I tried to explain the<\/a> [solera<\/a><\/span>] system<\/a> in a clear yet succinct way, and the testers were very helpful in refining the wording. It\u2019s most often encountered with sherry, but it\u2019s an interesting approach to aging spirits as well - Zacapa 23<\/a> rum, Hillrock<\/a> bourbon, and Glenfiddich 15<\/a> Scotch, among others, all use the solera<\/span> system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I need to get more familiar with Spanish brandy, as it sounds interesting and I am enjoying learning about sherry. Here are primers on Brandy de Jerez<\/a> from Eric Twardzik of Bevvy<\/em><\/a> and from Inka Larissa of On The Sauce Again<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

11.  The Cura\u00e7ao style of orange liqueur is based on brandy. One of the greatest is a blend of 51% Cognac and 49% house-distilled orange liqueur, bottled in pot-still-shaped bottles, and its most common expression is decorated with a red ribbon or cordon rouge<\/em>. Originated by Louis-Alexandre M. Lapostolle in 1880 and named by his friend hotelier C\u00e9sar Ritz, what liqueur is this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[GRAND MARNIER<\/span>]<\/p>\n

The M. in Louis-Alexandre Lapostolle<\/a>\u2019s name stood for \u201cMarnier<\/span>,\u201d of course. The Grand Marnier<\/span> line<\/a> of liqueurs is first-rate. (I once was lucky enough to get to taste the full line of their expressions, including the mind-bogglingly spectacular Quintessence<\/a>, made with Cognacs ranging from 25 to 100 years old.) Mostly I use the much cheaper Cordon Rouge<\/em> which is also pretty darned delicious.<\/p>\n

The universe of orange liqueurs<\/a> is pretty huge, and ranges from triple secs to Cura\u00e7aos to rum-based liqueurs such as Creole<\/span> Shrubb<\/a>. [Grand Marnier<\/span>] is amazingly consistent, considering how much they make of it and that just over half of it is a careful blend of Cognacs<\/a>, which can of course vary from batch to batch and with the vagaries of aging. (It\u2019s downright astonishing, actually, that the various Cognac producers achieve such consistency and quality in their blends, given that everything they\u2019re working with is a pot-still distillation, aged for varying lengths of time.)<\/p>\n

The MCWA by far was the estimable Cointreau<\/a>, which is delicious itself and arguably more versatile than [Grand Marnier<\/span>] (I tend to use it in more mixed drinks than I do [Grand Marnier<\/span>], unless I really want to play up the brandy and oak-aged vanilla flavors that [Grand Marnier<\/span>] brings to the table.) Cointreau is a triple sec, and it\u2019s based on neutral spirit distilled from sugar beets. (In an apparent nod to [Grand Marnier<\/span>]\u2019s success, R\u00e9my Cointreau (formed in 1990 by a merger between the family companies that controlled R\u00e9my Martin and Cointreau) introduced Cointreau Noir<\/a> in 2012; it combines 70% Cointreau and 30% Cognac from the House of R\u00e9my Martin, as well as some natural walnut and almond flavoring.)<\/p>\n

(This question originally included this bottle shot<\/a>, but I took it out because it was fairly easy without it and a downright gimme with it.)<\/p>\n

12.  Applejack isn\u2019t the only apple brandy out there. Some of the greatest comes from northwestern France, and it can include pears alongside apples (at least 30% pear content in the Domfrontais region.) When it\u2019s made in Brittany it\u2019s called lambig<\/em>; what is the name \u2013 after the d\u00e9partement<\/em> where it\u2019s produced \u2013 for apple brandy from neighboring Normandy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[CALVADOS<\/span>]<\/p>\n

It seemed appropriate to wind up this quiz with a digestif<\/em>, and what better than a [ Calva<\/a> <\/span>]? The best apple brandies<\/a> aren\u2019t necessarily sweet, but have astonishing power<\/a>, fruit aromas, and depth from careful aging. A recent trip to Brittany and Normandy was great fun – I sampled lots of cider, lambig<\/em> and [ Calvados<\/a><\/span> ], visited distilleries in both regions, and wished I could have carried many more bottles home. (I also hadn\u2019t known that Calvados<\/span> was a d\u00e9partement<\/em><\/a> until I saw it on a road sign.)<\/p>\n

I had originally included the map found here<\/a> of the [Calvados<\/span>] growth regions, but it wasn\u2019t necessary for the question.<\/p>\n

Some extra questions cut from the first draft of the quiz:<\/p>\n

X1.  The Old-Fashioned is typically a whiskey drink, except in Wisconsin, where the Brandy Old-Fashioned reigns supreme, especially in supper clubs. After the bartender muddles cherries and oranges with sugar and bitters, and adds a slug of brandy, patrons usually specify one of three styles for the drink: sweet (when it is finished with 7-Up), sour (when it is finished with sour mix or Squirt), and what third option, which is usually finished with half 7-Up, half club soda?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[PRESS<\/span>]<\/p>\n

The Wisconsin<\/a>-supper-club-style Brandy<\/a> Old-Fashioned<\/a> is indeed a unique take on a drink, and the reason why so much California brandy winds up in the Upper Midwest.<\/p>\n

But the \u201cpress<\/span>\u201d variation<\/a> is apparently far less common than the \u201csweet\u201d or \u201csour\u201d styles, and this question was already dangerously far into YEKIOYD territory, as it was so regionally specific.<\/p>\n

X2.  There aren\u2019t a ton of cocktails that rely on cr\u00e8me de menthe. What cr\u00e8me de menthe and brandy cocktail\u2019s name is redacted from the following passage? (Note: it\u2019s not \u201cIrving.\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Brandy_6_454375\"<\/p>\n

[STINGER<\/span>]<\/p>\n

The other<\/em> cr\u00e8me de menthe and brandy drink is, of course, the Grasshopper<\/a>, and the \u201cIrving\u201d references this hoary old joke<\/a>. I added the reference when testers wisely raised concerns about differentiating it from the other drink with the insectoid name, but it was ultimately easier to get rid of it entirely.<\/p>\n

The quote is from David Wondrich<\/a>\u2019s marvelous book Imbibe!<\/em><\/a>, which goes on to note that the [Stinger<\/span>] was the favorite drink of Reginald Vanderbilt (father of Gloria, grandfather of Anderson Cooper), who would mix them up for guests in his Fifth Avenue mansion, standing behind a marble bar he\u2019d imported from a Norman coaching inn. Here are some variations<\/a> on the classic recipe. [Stingers<\/span>] have been enjoyed by high society types, but they've also been ordered by Cary Grant\u2019s character in \u201cKiss Them For Me\u201d<\/a> and James Bond<\/a>. (Much like Bond\u2019s Martini, [Stingers<\/span>] are one of the very few all-spirit cocktails (i.e., no juices) that\u2019s shaken with ice rather than stirred.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As seen here earlier, I recently put together a trivia quiz all about brandy. Here are the next few questions, along with my discussion of the answers. As before, I've obscured the answers by putting them in white text on a white background; just highlight the area between the brackets to see what's there, and click […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ingredients","category-seen-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailians.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}