Torres 10 Imperial Brandy   Gran Reserva

Cellars: £23.50

APPEARANCE: Dark Topaz with fine gold hints

NOSE: Strong aroma with warm hints of spices vanilla and cinnamon.

PALATE: Rounded and rich in tannins

FINISH: Lush and lingering in which the aromatic overtones are released

THE IDEAL SERVE: Serve straight up or on the rocks

Country: Spain

Region: Penedes

Producer: Torrers Distillers

Bottling: Distillery Bottling

Style: Grape Brandy

Owner: Torres Distillers

Status: Operational

Grape Varieties: Xarrello, Parrellel, Macabeo

Age: at least 3 years

Cask Type: Oak Casks - Matured in the Solera System

Colour: Amber gold

Flavour Profile: Fruity

Allergens: None

Bottle size: 70cl

abv:  38.0%

Distillery Information

With the passing of time the elegant, round overtones of oak are fused, in close harmony with the strong spirituous aroma of venerable distillates that give character to Torres 10.

In 1946, despite a difficult and turbulent time in history, Miguel Torres Carbó created Torres 10, Brandy Torres's flagship brand. The meticulous selection of grapes, distillation and prolonged aging in top-quality oak casks make Torres 10 a spirit of extraordinary flavour and aroma.

AGEING

The ageing is required in American oak casks using the traditional "solera" system; the oldest distillates are 10 years old. This method activates the ageing process so the vintage will exhibit all of the character of an aged brandy.

Solera  – minimum of 6 months oak ageing

Solera Reserva – minimum of 12 months oak ageing

Solera Gran Reserva – minimum of 26 months oak ageing

Asbach Uralt Brand

Cellars: £34.50

A deep golden colour, cognac character but fruitier Grape and oak aroma. Clean, crisp with a strong flavour.

Country: Germany

Region: Rudesheim am Rhein

Producer: Asbach Distillers

Bottling: Distillery Bottling

Style: Blended Brandy

Owner: Asbach Distillers

Status: Operational

Age: 3 years

Cask Type: 100% Limousin Oak Cask

Colour: Deep Golden

Flavour Profile: Fruity, Grape and oak aroma.

Allergens: Not known

Bottle size: 70cl

abv:  38.0%

Distillery Information

Aged for three years, Asbach Original acquires its unique and distinctive taste through traditional distillation, careful storage for at least three years in Limousin oak casks and the secret Asbach maturing and refining process.

The Asbach history goes back to the year 1892, when company founder Hugo Asbach left his adopted home country of France and made his dream of an own company come true, in Rüdesheim am Rhein. He had previously acquired a high degree of know-how of distilling wines from renowned French distillers, and he made use of this knowledge to achieve an ambitious goal - to create a product equal to French cognacs while at the same time catering to German tastes.

Ten years later, he created the new term "Weinbrand" for his brandies, to be used parallel to the term "Cognac" generally used in those times. A farsighted decision in fact, for when German producers were prohibited from using the term Cognac after 1919, the name Weinbrand had already been well-established on the market. In 1923, the term was also adopted to the German laws on wine.

A German Brandy blended from 25 different wine distillations, aged for up to 3 years in limousin oak casks.

The work does not stop with the selection of the right wines; the distillation process also has a decisive impact on the quality of Asbach. There is more to the distillation process than simply separating water and alcohol; the objective is to transfer the delicate aromatic substances of the wine as completely as possible into the distillate.

The wines are carefully distilled on yeast in copper stills. The procedure involves a traditional process of two stages - raw spirit and fine spirit - that is both very time-consuming and highly labour-intensive.

The raw spirit has an alcohol content of about 40% volume and is the result of the first distillation stage. During the second distillation, one that is significantly more complex than the first, the aim is to obtain the actual fine spirit of about 75% volume, also known as the heart, that has the best characteristics for its later conversion into Asbach.

When the distillation process has been completed, the fresh wine distillates are transported to Ottersweier at the foot of the Black Forest. This is the site of the Asbach maturing cellar, unique among its kind and in its size, as well as the Asbach Treasure Trove.

The duration of the maturing process is the next step that is decisive for the high quality of the Asbach brandies. At Asbach, they leave the distillates in the small Limousin oak casks far longer than required by law until they have reached their full maturity and developed their characteristic bouquet.

The maturing process takes place in small oak casks made of wood from the Limousin oak that has been aged for a number of years. This wood has especially large pores and is air-permeable so that the fine spirit can breathe and mature in an exchange process with air.

“The fine spirit draws the natural aroma and colour substances from the cask, and this is where the liquid, originally clear, gains its topaz colouring and subtle, harmonious wooden accents.

The part of the distillate that escapes, on the other hand, is lost; it fills the air in our cellars with an aromatic fragrance, which has led us to call it the angels’ share.”

The distillates, even of one type, never mature perfectly evenly within the distillate cellar because the wine distillate and the wood are both natural products that react differently from one cask to the next. The various distillates do not reach their full maturity and perfect harmony until the second maturing process in large vats made of Spessart oak.

Ultimately, however, it is the art of the master distiller that creates the masterpiece from various distillates of different origins and vintages.

The secret Asbach maturing and finishing process brings the complex production process to a close and gives Asbach its radiant topaz hue, harmoniously blended with the full aroma of wine and its characteristic bouquet.

Berneroy Calvados Fine

Cellars: £37.00

NOSE: Fresh apples, lightly aromatic

PALATE: Lively apple character, hearty and warming

FINISH: Complex apple flavours,Warming

THE IDEAL SERVE: Serve straight up or on the rocks

Country: France

Region: Normandy

Producer: Berneroy Distillers

Bottling: Distillery Bottling

Style: Calvados

Owner: Berneroy Distillers

Status: Operational

Age: at least 2 years

Cask Type: 100% Oak Cask

Colour: Clear bright gold

Flavour Profile: Fruity

Allergens: Not known

Bottle size: 70cl

abv:  40.0%

Distillery Information

Founded in 1863, the House of Camus is the last great independent and family-owned cognac house among the ‘grandes marques’. It is the 5th largest cognac brand with a strong international presence.

In September 1944, Michel Camus began working with a company called Blanchard  & Cie., which created the Berneroy brand  as part of a range of spirits to be sold by Camus. Later on, the company changed its name to Berneroy & CIE., and it was finally purchased by Camus in the 1970s.With finely honed skills and a passion  for quality, the Berneroy Master Blender  oversees every step of the production  process:

Calvados, one of the world’s finest spirits, has been produced in the historic French region of Normandy for at least five centuries.

The Calvados Berneroy Master Blender employs time-honoured methods and finely honed expertise to create a range of distinctively fruity calvados, capturing the very essence of the local orchards.

Top-quality cider apples from the finest independent orchards in Normandy are grown the traditional way, picked at the peak of ripeness, then washed, sorted, crushed, pressed, and naturally  fermented to

dryness (5-6% alc./vol.).

This freshly made, highly aromatic dry cider is distilled using a continuous column still to concentrate and enhance its lively apple character. The resulting crystal-clear spirit is then patiently aged under the Master Blender’s watchful eye in French oak barrels for several years.

Calvados Berneroy is aged exclusively in old wood to preserve its genuine aromatic intensity and to avoid an over-oaked taste. Over time, its distinctive aroma of fresh apples evolves to develop more complex aromas of butter, vanilla, baked apple and liquorice.

APPLE GROWING AND HARVESTING

Over 180 named apple varieties are authorized for use in the making of Calvados Berneroy.

These traditional cider apples are grown in the lush green fields of Normandy and harvested at the peak of ripeness, from mid September to the end of November.

The precious fruit are then washed, crushed, and pressed in order to produce an aromatic fresh apple must or juice.

NATURAL FERMENTATION

The freshly pressed apple must then ferments spontaneously due to ‘wild’ or indegenous yeasts present on the apple skins and in the environment.

The resulting cider is fermented to dryness in carefully controlled conditions over a minimum period of four weeks and typically attains 5-6% alcohol/volume.

DISTILLATION

In accordance with tradition and the AOC Calvados rules and regulations, Calvados Berneroy products are single distilled.

The freshly made, highly aromatic dry cider is distilled using an antique copper column still to concentrate and enhance its lively apple character.

Single distillation is what makes Calvados Berneroy fruitier, distinctively aromatic and charmingly rustic compared to calvados from the nearby AOC Calvados Pays d’Auge and AOC Calvados Domfrontais regions.

AGEING

The crystal-clear spirit which flows from the still is then patiently aged in French oak barrels for several years under the Berneroy Master Blender’s watchful eye. By law, this eau-de-vie must spend a minimum of 2 years in oak casks before it can be sold as Calvados. Similar to other famous oak-aged spirits from France, calvados is defined by the following quality ranges:

Fine – minimum of 2 years oak ageing

VSOP – minimum of 4 years oak ageing

XO – minimum of 6 years oak ageing

Calvados Berneroy is aged exclusively in older, ‘seasoned’ barrels to preserve its genuine aromatic intensity and to avoid it becoming over-oaked. Over time, its distinctive aroma of fresh apples evolves to develop more complex aromas of butter, vanilla, baked apples and liquorice.

BLENDING

Through the subtle art of blending, the Berneroy Master Blender then combines eaux-de-vie of various ages and characteristics to ensure a consistent House style and create the superb Calvados Berneroy range