I’m no expert or brandy connoisseur but I have learnt a few things about brandy over the past year. If you don’t particularly like brandy or you’re not much of a drinker, keep reading. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
If you’re not a drinker, you may taste and spit out. So, first you’ll need a really good brandy and they don’t come cheap. I would suggest Klipdrift Gold or van Ryn’s 15 year old. Please see the tasting guide below.
Step 1: Colour
Tilt the glass away from you (against a white background). Darker colour suggests age, style and wood maturation.
Step 2: Do not swirl
Pour into a sniffer or balloon glass, allowing aroma’s to concentrate. Keep glass stable to avoid losing volatile and precious flavours.
Step 3: Nose
First sniff the top of the glass to acclimatize to the alcohol, then the subtle, top notes, and richer, more complex flavours.
Step 4: Taste
Evaluate the smoothness on the palate. Elegant, older brandies exhibit sweeter flavours, younger brandies tend to be harsher and grassier.
Step 5: Overall
The colour, nose and taste of the brandy allows you to appreciate its age, wood maturation and full complexity of flavours.
South Africa has some of the best brandies in the world. They’ve won numerous awards and keep doing so. Try one.
Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteLove the information and education on how best to appreciate a fine brandy. This is brandy neat- wonder why some people drink it with coke, i.e coke and brandy. Think flavour, aroma and taste is then lost.
ReplyDelete