Spanish Brandy: Origin, Production, and Cigar Pairing
If cognac is elegant and armagnac is rustic, Spanish brandy is decadent. Brandy de Jerez is aged in old sherry casks using the solera system, and it's rich, sweet and dark, with flavours of raisins, burnt caramel and nuts. It's one of the most generous cigar partners there is, and often one of the best values on the shelf.
Origin
Distillation arrived in Spain with the Moors, who ruled much of the Iberian Peninsula for nearly eight centuries. They used the alembic (from the Arabic al-anbiq) to make perfumes and medicines. By the 1500s, Andalusian producers were distilling wine into strong spirits, called holandas because so much was sold to Dutch traders. It was also used to fortify sherry.
A popular story says Brandy de Jerez was born by accident in the 1800s. A Dutch order for spirit was cancelled, and the barrels were left sitting in old sherry casks in a bodega. When someone finally tasted them, the spirit had turned into something wonderful. Whatever the truth, the first commercial brand to call itself brandy, Pedro Domecq's Fundador, was launched in Jerez in 1874.
Where It's Traditionally Made
Brandy de Jerez is a protected designation, and it must be aged in the "sherry triangle" formed by the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María in Andalusia. Interestingly, most of the base spirit is distilled elsewhere in Spain, largely from Airén grapes grown in La Mancha. It's the aging that must happen in Jerez.
Spain's other major brandy region is Penedès in Catalonia, best known for Torres. Penedès brandies are often double distilled in pot stills and aged more like cognac, so they're a little lighter and drier than Brandy de Jerez.
Well-known names include Cardenal Mendoza, Lepanto, Gran Duque d'Alba, Carlos I, Fundador and Torres.
How It's Made
Wine is distilled into holandas (low-strength spirit, under 70% alcohol, which keeps lots of grape character) or into higher-strength spirit. The spirit then goes into American oak casks that previously held sherry, often oloroso or Pedro Ximénez. These casks give the brandy its deep colour and much of its flavour.
Aging uses the solera system. Barrels are stacked in tiers called criaderas. Brandy for bottling is drawn from the bottom tier (the solera), which is then topped up from the tier above, and so on up the stack. The newest spirit goes in at the top. This constant blending means young brandy is "educated" by old brandy, and every bottle contains a small amount of very old spirit. Because of this, Brandy de Jerez is classified by average age:
- Solera – at least 6 months
- Solera Reserva – at least 1 year
- Solera Gran Reserva – at least 3 years (in practice, many top Gran Reservas average 10 to 15 years or more)
In Spain, these brandies are often bottled at around 36% alcohol. Export versions for North America are usually bottled at 40% to meet import rules.
What It Tastes Like
Brandy de Jerez is rich, round and sweet-leaning, with raisins, dried figs, dates, burnt caramel, toffee, walnuts, cinnamon and chocolate. Oloroso casks bring nutty dryness, while Pedro Ximénez casks add sticky dark fruit and molasses. Penedès brandies are drier and more vanilla-oak driven.
What to Look for in a Cigar
As we put it in our brandy pairing guide, the flavours here are bold, dark and imposing, and the cigar needs to match.
Strength: Medium-full to full. A mild cigar will be lost under the brandy's sweetness.
Wrapper: Maduro and dark Habano wrappers are ideal. Their natural sugars and cocoa line up perfectly with the sherry-cask fruit.
Flavours to look for: Wet earth, dark chocolate, espresso, leather and dark dried fruit. If the brandy is very sweet, a spicier cigar keeps the pair from becoming syrupy.
Example cigars:
- Arturo Fuente Añejo – a Connecticut broadleaf maduro made with tobacco aged in cognac barrels. It's rich, sweet and spicy, a superb match for a Solera Gran Reserva.
- La Aurora 100 Años – medium-full and earthy, with leather and spice.
- Ramón Allones Specially Selected – a full-flavoured Cuban with earth, cocoa and dried fruit, an Old World match for Cardenal Mendoza or Lepanto.
For a Penedès brandy like Torres 20 Hors d'Age, step down slightly to a medium cigar with cedar and cocoa.
See our reviews of Cardenal Mendoza Solera Gran Reserva with Ezra Zion All My Exes and Torres 20 with Ramón Allones, or browse all brandy and cigar pairings.