Brandy Brandy Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically drunk as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, others are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging, and some are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring. Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from southwestern France. In a broader sense, the term "brandy" also denotes liquors obtained from the distillation of pomace (yielding pomace brandy), or
Sawdust brandy diluted to drinking strength) produced in this method has no additional risks compared to brandy produced from grain; it actually contains fewer fusel oils than traditional distilling methods involving spirits from grain or fruit. In spite of this, German law governing spirit production (overseen by the ") forbids the use of sawdust brandy in the production of alcoholic beverages. This ban stems from the purpose of the law as an agricultural subsidy, rather than out of public health concerns. Prior to modern, synthetic production methods, wood was also once commonly destructively distilled or dry distilled for the production of methanol