The Fiery Water

The term brandy sensu lato includes any spirit obtained by distilling alcoholic drinks fermented from grapes, fruits or pomace with or without ageing, colouring and flavouring. Cognac is no doubt the best known brandy, so much so that it has become synecdochic of brandy as Champagne of sparkling wine, followed by Armagnac.
But brandy is by no means a French monopoly. In fact, it was the Dutch who invented it, as revealed by the etymology of the word (“brandy” from “brandywine,” in turn from Dutch “brandewijn,” literally burned wine). Excise and duty regimes in the Early Modern period used to be determined by physical volume, not alcohol proof. By distilling wine into spirit, shrewd Dutch merchants not only saved themselves much tax, but also made the product much more resilient during long voyages.
Brandy is both a natural extension of wine and an indispensable ingredient of fortified wine, e.g. Marsala, Sherry, Port and Madeira. It is no surprise, therefore, that Italy, Spain and Portugal all have fine brandies of great value to offer. Usually produced by family-owned smallholdings and – unlike the big Cognac brands – without the relentless burden of shareholder value maximisation, brandies produced in the said countries often undergo extensive barrel maturation, hence require little or no E150 (caramel colouring), the unromantic code that connoisseurs of spirits love to hate.
Aguardente (from Latin, literally: fiery water) is the name brandy goes by in Portugal. The country produces mainly two types of brandy: aguardente vínica (brandy) and aguardente bagaceira (pomace brandy); where the word “velha” (literally: old) is included, it means the spirit has received barrel maturation, sometimes up to decades.

  Caves Aliança Aguardente Antiquissima Extra
Carrot orange with copper-ochre hues, the fragrant nose offers dates, fruit cake, marzipan, mushroom and iris. With a lively mouthfeel, the energetic palate delivers prune, sweet ginger, cinnamon, butterscotch and old Madeira. Medium-bodied at 40%, the sweetish entry carries onto a spicy mid-palate, leading to a peppery finish.

Joanicas Aguardente Velha a Rainha
Bright tawny with amber-jonquil hues, the festive nose presents mandarin, apricot, shredded coconut, cocoa and marzipan. With a supple mouthfeel, the variegated palate supplies lemon peel, tangerine, butterscotch, roasted almond and oaky vanilla. Medium-full bodied at 40%, the dense entry continues through an expressive mid-palate, leading to a prolonged finish.

Casa d’Avelleda Aguardente Adega Velha
Light tawny with dark tangerine hues, the scented nose effuse dried mandarin, nutmeg, cocoa, old Port, Lady Grey and violet. With a silky mouthfeel, the spellbinding palate emanates fig, dried peach, cinnamon, vanilla pod, Longjing tea, crème brûlée and rose petal. Medium-full bodied at 40%, the stylish entry persists through an exuberant mid-palate, leading to an endearing finish.

These Portuguese brandies are available in supermarkets in Macao – look around and discover some of the most outstanding value propositions on the brandy market.

* Jacky I.F. Cheong is a legal professional by day and columnist by night. Having spent his formative years in Britain,
France, and Germany, he regularly writes about wine, fine arts, classical music, and politics in several languages