Oaking Brandy?

[bernardsmith]

A question out of ignorance. Oaking brandy. If I was making a whisky from beer I would expect to really oak that baby, but what about brandy? I have a small batch o brandy I am making from wild grapes that grow near my home. How much oak is used in brandy making? About the same as when making whisky or is the amount of oak and the amount of time significantly different?
Thanks.

 

[bracconiere]

as far as i know they use the same barrels professionally? but for brandy, i'd probably get creative. and be thinking about cherry or maple wood?

 

[cmac62]

The more time is spends in the barrel the pricier it is too. Very Special (VS) vs Very Special Old Pail (VSOP) vs Extra Old (XO) are all related to how long the Brandy/Cognac its in the Barrel. I don't think they usually do finishing like they do with Scotch and other whiskeys. I'll have to check on that since that's what I'm working on now.

 

[sweetcell]

The more time is spends in the barrel the pricier it is too. Very Special (VS) vs Very Special Old Pail (VSOP) vs Extra Old (XO) are all related to how long the Brandy/Cognac its in the Barrel.

the other big variable in the price is the blend, and by extension the blender. cognac is always blended, and apparently it can take years and years to be able to blend a XO.