HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF BRANDY DE JEREZ

The word brandy is an adaptation in English of the original Dutch term 'brandewijn' which means literally 'burnt wine'.

In Spain we have an exact reference to the primitive Dutch term in the book “The life of Estebadillo Gonzalez, told by himself” published in Antwerp in 1646. The terms “brandevin” and “aguardiente” are used alternately. Nevertheless the term finally accepted was the English word brandy.

However, the term brandy, over the years, suffered abuse from the producers of spirits with no respect for its etymology, being used to name drinks based on alcohol made from treacle, beat, potatoes, and cereals. Luckily nowadays, the use of the word brandy is reserved only for spirits made exclusively from wine.