Craft Brandy

Eau de vie is a clear, unaged fruit brandy. Because it does not spend time in a barrel, it tastes intensely of the fruit it was made from.

Brandy is the umbrella term: a spirit distilled from fermented fruit, most often grapes, and usually aged in oak. Cognac and Armagnac are both brandies, but not every brandy can use those names.

Cognac must come from the Cognac region of southwest France. It is made mostly from Ugni Blanc grapes, distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged in French oak for at least two years, which tends to give it a smooth, refined, elegant profile.

Armagnac comes from the Gascony region, just south of Cognac. It is usually distilled once in a traditional column still, which keeps more of the grape's character, so it tends to be bolder and more rustic. It is also more often released as a single vintage.

Both use the same age statements on the label:
VS: aged at least two years in oak
VSOP: at least four years
XO: at least ten years

Outside of France, brandy can be made almost anywhere, and many American craft distillers, especially in California's wine country, distill brandy from local wine grapes.