Brandy de Jerez, The Mark Of Spanish Competence And Sufficiency

I recollect growing up and hearing my uncles contest over things like Fundador, Carlos I, and Brandy de Jerez. At first, I was perplexed about what those things are and it wasn't only after I turned sixteen that I got the whole picture -- what they were discussing was actually which Spanish brandy holds the best taste, but why make such a confusion over some liquor?

Out of curiosity, I figured to make some simple research about Spanish brandies -– where exactly in Spain are they produced and what makes them very outstanding. After expending some time in front of the PC and hopping around from one liquor shop to another for consumer interviews, I found out some impressive things.

If the French got Cognac and Armagnac, the Spanish have Brandy de Jerez -- the said label is the mark of great, world-class brandies that come from Jerez and two other neighboring Cadiz villages in Spain's Andalusian region. Another thing that makes the Spanish brandy different is due to its process and classification system called the solera, As for the step, the wine is first stored in oak barrels to be aged for some years to be turned into brandy before it will ultimately be mixed with older brandies to create a unique blend. It is then aged and classified into one of these variations namely: solera, solera reserva, and solera gran reserva which is aged 12 years or more and recognized as the greatest grade of for all Spanish brandies. With this knowledge, I now get to discern why men get so into talking everytime a Pedro Domeq title gets in the conversation.