Ask the Expert: What’s The Difference Between Cognac and Brandy?

In our new Ask the Expert series, Paste readers chime in with some of their most pressing booze concerns, and we do our best to help you make sense of it all. Resident expert Jake Emen has spent years on the road traveling to distilleries across the country and around the world, and he’s here to help. Want your own question answered? Send a Tweet to him @ManTalkFood using #AskTheExpert.
What’s the difference between brandy and cognac? It’s the difference between a category, and a smaller, more specific sub-category.
Brandy refers to a spirit which is distilled from wine—or from another type of fermented fruit juice, as that’s what wine is, after all. In the latter instance, there’s a full variety of fruit brandies from across the globe. Technically speaking, brandy can also be made from pomace, which is the leftovers from wine production, and is the case with a type of brandy such as grappa.
Cognac is simply a specific type of brandy. It must be made within the region of Cognac in France, which is further separated into six sub-regions, or crus. These include Grand Champagne, Petit Champagne, Borderies, Fin Bois, Bons Bois, and the very lightly used Bins Ordinaries. One of the major differentiating factors between different brands of Cognac is what regions they incorporate, and to what percentage. A Cognac consisting of at least half Grand Champagne can also be dubbed a Fine Champagne Cognac.