Spirits
Cognac, armagnac, single malt, mezcal, rhum agricole and the techniques that shape them — age, casks, distillation style.
Concept
Style
Armagnac
France's oldest grape brandy, from Gascony, typically single-distilled in a continuous alembic armagnacais and frequently bottled as a vintage.
Cognac
French grape brandy from the Charente, double-distilled in a copper alembic charentais and aged in French oak across six official crus.
London Dry Gin
EU-regulated gin style requiring juniper dominance, botanical redistillation and maximum 0.1 g/L sugar; no geographic origin attached.
Mezcal
Mexican agave spirit with geographical indication across nine states; roasted agave hearts give the characteristic smoke and the wider terroir-driven category.
Rhum agricole
Rum distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice rather than molasses; the Martinique AOC since 1996 sets the strictest production standards in the category.
Single malt whisky
Scotch whisky from a single distillery, 100% malted barley, distilled in pot stills and aged minimum three years in oak casks in Scotland.
Technique
Cask finish
Secondary maturation in a different cask type after primary ageing; whisky moves from ex-bourbon to sherry, port, Sauternes or rum casks for added complexity.
Column still
Continuous distillation tower with stacked plates; produces very high abv in a single run and enabled the mass production of neutral alcohol and light spirits.
Pot still
Copper batch-distillation vessel with a swan-neck top; preserves more congeners and flavour than continuous distillation, with lower yield.