Cognac, a short history of an enduring spirit
Cognac is a type of brandy produced in the Charente region of France, centred around the towns of Cognac and Jarnac, and stretching from the Île de Ré to the Gironde Estuary on the Atlantic coast, to Angoulême and the foothills of the Mastiff Central.
The Cognac Delimited Region, the exclusive area where cognac can be produced, lies across the French departments of Charente and Charente Maritime, and includes several districts of the Dordogne and Deux-Sevres departments in western France.
Brandy refers to any distillate that’s derived from a fermented fruit juice or fruit pulp. If the brandy is made from grapes, it’s usually just referred to by the generic description brandy. If it’s made from another fruit, then its origins are added to the term brandy.
Thus Calvados, an apple-cider-based distillate produced in Normandy, is usually termed an apple brandy. Kirsch, a distillate based on the fermentation of the juice, pulp and stones of the Morello cherry, is likewise referred to as cherry brandy.