Brandy Still

The Charentais alembic still, often used for fine Cognac brandy, is considered by some to be the most beautiful and graceful of all alembics, with its gleaming beaten copper evoking exotic, distant places. It features distinctively shaped pots with onion-shaped copper domes. Wine is placed in both the alembic pot and the onion-shaped dome.

As the wine in the pot boils, alcoholic vapors collect in the dome and escape through the swan neck pipe, which passes through the onion-shaped dome or wine pre-heater to the condenser. The wine in the onion-shaped dome is pre-heated by the copper swan neck pipe on its way to the condenser.

Once the wine in the boiler is fully distilled, the pre-heated wine in the onion-shaped dome is transferred to the boiler through a connecting tube for further distillation, creating a semi-continuous process. The resulting distillate undergoes a final distillation in the boiler. The final product is then stored in oak casks, where it naturally acquires color and flavor, and its alcohol level is reduced, resulting in a more mellow and polished spirit.