Cognac is the best-known and noble strong alcoholic drink. Many men like to appreciate this drink, give it the preference. And inventive ladies found for it application in cosmetology. At the same time many don't know what so noble drink is made of.
Cognac is from France. It received the name thanks to the town of Cognac - it is in the southwest of France. Strong drink appears as a result of double distillation of ordinary white wine. Then drink is required to be matured in oak casks.
Cognac manufacturing techniques - true art. Process of production of cognac is divided into several stages:
- vintage for wine; - pressing of the received berries; - distillation; - endurance in barrels; - mixing.
What do do tasty strong cognac of, and, above all - qualitative? The main component, as a rule, for the cognac industry is white grapes (a grade "Uni Blanc"). This grade has high acidity, grapes very slowly ripen. These grapes in addition differ in a disease-resistance, therefore, and high productivity. Not for nothing it was chosen for creation of cognac.
According to the recipe except Uni Blanc use the following grades of grapes: Fol Blanch and Kolombar. Each grade brings the special aroma in a cognac bouquet. For example, Uni Blanc is capable to allocate it with flower aromas, besides, cognac immediately gets hardly noticeable notes of spicery. Fol Blanch significantly improves quality of cognac when aging, giving aroma of a violet and a linden, Kolombar adds fortress and sharpness.
As a rule, the crop of grapes begins to be reaped in October. On the end of gathering berry at once it is required to wring out. Presses for an extraction are used special - they don't crush grape seeds. Therefore the crushed stones can't get to grape juice and by that to spoil taste of future noble drink.
After this procedure, juice is sent for fermentation. In the course of fermentation it is forbidden to add sugar. Process lasts about three weeks, after this wine, the containing 9% of alcohol and more, go to distillation.
This process very difficult, it happens in "a sharantsky column still". Result: the cognac spirit turns out. Ready liquid is kept in oak casks by at least two years, then it can already begin to carry the loud name ""cognac"". It should be noted that the maximum term of endurance of liquid nothing is unlimited. But experts who are engaged in the cognac industry for a long time, assure that the aging of cognac doesn't affect more than 70 years qualities of drink. So more than 70 years there is no sense to mature cognac.
For endurance not accidentally choose oak casks. An oak - incredibly strong material having a fine-grain structure, having high extractive qualities. In barrels pour a cognac spirit, then place them in cellars for aging of drink. Already then cognac only gets on our tables in a look, habitual for us, namely - in bottles.
By the way, cognac needs to be drunk from cognac glasses. At first within twenty minutes the glass with drink is warmed with hands fully to enjoy aroma of drink. Have a snack cognac on chocolate. Some gourmets assure that cognac is great only in combination with a cigar, chocolate and coffee. And in a post the Soviet society consider long ago that cognac is better to have a snack on a fresh lemon. But the citrus has a peculiar strong taste - he kills a refined bouquet of cognac so it is better not to have a snack on lemons nevertheless this drink.