Cognac has long been considered an example of excellence when it comes to producing grape-based brandy. Its meticulous methods and subtle artistry are revered by distillers worldwide and serve as an exemplar for what should be achieved through distilling.
At the core of spirits production lies preparation of base material – such as grains, agave, fruit and root vegetables or any combination thereof – which contains sugars for yeast to ferment into alcohol. Once this stage has taken place, distillation aims to select and concentrate desired flavour compounds from fermented mash using heat as a means to break apart different elements and focus on desirable components before isolating alcohol from non-alcoholic volatile fractions through distillation.
Distillation is not simply about alcohol concentration; rather, its true art lies in carefully selecting and concentrating other flavour components, including aromas, phenols, and heterocyclic compounds that form during fermentation and distillation processes – these add complexity to spirits’ character and flavour profiles.
Most Cognac producers implement heads and tails recycling as the way to achieve this. By re-distilling the first fractions of distillate (known as heads and tails) through heads and tails recycling, distillers can improve the quality of distillate that goes into barrel for maturation. Doing this requires considerable skill and experience that can be gained through sensory training sessions and tasting sessions.
