Brandy
Distilled wine. Two years in Limousin oak minimum for Cognac. One continuous Armagnac still that's been running since 1818. And a category that spans five continents.
Codex Definition
Brandy is a distilled spirit produced from fermented fruit juice — predominantly grapes (wine brandy), though also from other fruits (apple/poire: calvados; cherry: kirschwasser; plum: slivovitz) and from pomace (the pressed skins and seeds remaining after winemaking — grappa in Italy, marc in France, orujo in Spain). EU Regulation 2019/787 defines several brandy categories: Wine Spirit (distilled wine, min 37.5% ABV); Brandy / Weinbrand (wine spirit aged min 6 months in oak); Grape Brandy (wine spirit aged min 1 year in oak); Cognac (AOC, specific regulations); Armagnac (AOC); and pomace brandy categories. The word "brandy" derives from the Dutch brandewijn — "burnt wine" — referring to the heating (distillation) of wine. The most internationally significant brandy traditions are Cognac (Charente, France — the world's most premium brandy appellation) and Armagnac (Gascony, France — the world's oldest continuous brandy distillation tradition, documented from 1411).
Cognac
Double distillation in Charentais alembic. Ugni Blanc grape. Limousin and Tronçais oak. The AOC, the BNIC, age designations (VS/VSOP/XO/XXO), and vanillin extraction chemistry.
Armagnac
The Armagnac alambic — a single-pass continuous still unlike Cognac. Documented from 1411. Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Baco 22A grapes. Three sub-regions.
Other Brandy Traditions
Calvados (apple, Normandy AOC), Grappa (pomace, Italy), Marc (pomace, France), Pisco (Peru/Chile GI dispute), Metaxa (Greece), South African Brandy, Spanish Brandy.