LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2016

BASICS  MAKE ROOM FOR BRANDY

* Invaluable for cocktails and cooking and ideal for a nightcap

SWEET SOPH I ST I CAT ION

Chocolate-Orange Fudge Brownies with Brandied Compote From Food & Drink Holiday 2008, recipe at foodanddrink.ca Californian wine giant E&J Gallo has been making brandy for generations, target- ing smoothness and rich oaky aromas reminiscent of vanilla fudge and maple. E&J Gallo XO ( LCBO 379321, $29.95) brings just such qualities to the cinnamon-spiked, fresh orange compote that complements these exceedingly yummy brownies. It’s also an ideal spirit for anointing Christmas mince pies or plum pudding.

The Solera Secret Spanish brandy producers have a secret weapon—the same solera system used to age sherries, where young spirit is added into a barrel already two-thirds full of older brandy. The old brandy “educates” the young and it matures about twice as quickly as normal, before a third of it is passed on into another barrel containing even older treasure. Duff Gordon brandy ( LCBO 16022, $25.75) is produced in this way in Jerez by the revered sherry house of Osborne, and it’s terrific value, rich and smooth with oaky toffee and smoke aromas. There aren’t many brandies at this price level worthy of contemplative sniffing and siping but Torres 5 ( LCBO 313338, $27.95) is another, distilled by the great winemaking family of Torres in Catalonia, Spain’s other renowned brandy region. This particular spirit also uses a solera system to boost maturity and complexity, creating aromas of dried figs and walnuts, cinnamon and vanilla. Both these Spanish beauties belong in any home bar, invaluable for cocktails and cooking and ideal for a nightcap.

ARMAGNAC, THE GASCON GENIUS

The only really serious rival to Cognac’s crown in the world of brandy is Armagnac, the great brandy of Gascony. Certainly, many connois- seurs prefer it—and many of them also enjoy the ethos surrounding the spirit. The image of Armagnac is not one of millionaires and market- ing. It’s more about tiny villages in a quiet cor- ner of France, about farmers or rural aristocrats distilling brandies as much for themselves as for the world, cherished eaux de vie growing old in barrels of black oak before they are moved into glass demijohns or bottles. Distilled only once (not twice, like Cognac), they rely on age to acquire smoothness and the extraordinarily complex aromatic profiles that aficionados adore. Damblat 10 Years Old Armagnac ( LCBO 285957, $71.85) is a perfect illustration. A blend of brandies from the Bas-Armagnac and Té- narèze areas, it has been made by the Damblat and Havion families in the small 13th century castle in the village of Ayguetinte since 1859. The texture is elegantly light, the long-lasting aromas and flavours a wonderful combination of the kitchen (apple pie with cloves, prunes, marmalade) and the great outdoors (like a walk in the woods in autumn and a hint of a bonfire).

80  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2016