Brandy de Jerez has been around since the XVI century and almost certainly longer. It was also popular with the Dutch, and to this day the best spirits are called “holandas”. Unlike the French brandies, it is distilled from wine made from the Airén grape in both pot stills (alquitaras) and column stills depending on the quality required.

One of the biggest soleras in Jerez, the scale of this solera guarantees proper ageing for an average of fifteen years and exceptional quality for the Brandy Cardenal Mendoza Clásico. Cognac is a city in the Charentes area of western France where distillation began in the early XVII century. The Dutch had for many years bought the local wine either for consumption as wine or for distilling to make gin or liqueurs. It soon became apparent that wine in its distilled form could be shipped more economically, and Cognac became a centre for brandy production. The wine is mainly made from the Ugni Blanc grape and is double distilled in pot stills known as “alembiques Charentais”. It is aged statically in French oak barrels of 350 litres and seasoned with young spirits. Cognac received its Appellation d’Origine Contrôllee (AOC) in 1936. Alquitaras pot stills Mezcla el pomelo y la hierbabuena, añade el sirope de miel y el Cardenal Mendoza. Agítalo y sírvelo en un vaso bajo de cristal. Adornar con media rodaja de pomelo y una ramita de hierbabuena. Spanish 75

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Although it is constantly reinventing itself and adapting to new technology, this winery still uses traditional production methods. In 1909 it was named supplier of the House of Lords in Great Britain, and in 1917 it was named official supplier of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. Shake and pour into a brandy snifter glass over an ice cube, and garnish with flamed orange peel. Cardenal Mendoza Golden Week Music videos Sanchez Romate was founded by Juan Sánchez de la Torre in 1781 and is one of the last family-owned Sherry houses. Over two hundred years later Sanchez Romate is one of the oldest bodegas in Spain and one of the remaining wineries in the Jerez Designation of Origin that remains under independent family ownership. A brandy was first produced in 1887 and it is the fabulous Cardenal Mendoza Solera Gran Reserva which has become the family’s flagship brand, although their Sherries follow closely behind! Regulated under the strict auspices of the Consejo Regulador – the Brandy de Jerez regulatory body – and the even stricter controls of the bodegas of Sanchez Romate itself, the Cardenal Mendoza brand surpasses these regulations with ease, making it one of the greatest and most sought after brandies from Jerez. Brandy de Jerez Solera is the youngest, which is aged for a minimum of six months and consequently has a fruitier character. Cardenal Mendoza Clásico is an exceptional Brandy de Jerez, aged for an average of 15 years in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez Sherry Wine casks.

In-person activities for Golden Week included 20 tastings in the USA. These took place in department stores and specialised shops with promotions. We launched our new, limited-production smoky brandy, Cardenal Mendoza Nebulis, during Golden Week. Two online tastings were held, one in Spanish with importers from Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico Mexico and national distributors; and another in English with importers from the USA, Germany, Israel, Russia, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.The cask itself is just part of the equation. What’s equally important is how the brandy is aged. In the case of Brandy de Jerez the spirit is matured in the solera method, meaning that casks are never fully emptied but rather continuously topped off so that each cask holds a scale of different ages, with the average age increasing as time goes by. It’s also the solera aging process that determines the different varieties of Brandy de Jerez. Types of Brandy de Jerez The cardenal Mendoza Brandy is a brandy of surpassing beauty and subtlety, and while I have no doubt it is good value for money, I can not help but say that it costs a lot to be so good, this brandy is just shy of the 50% mark (though it is not the most expensive in my current line up). The name of the brand is less than subtle, and I wonder if the distillers are hoping that once you have tasted the brand, you will be “satisfied” with it and not want to spend such money again.

This brandy is made from alquitars of the best "holandas" (a type of fortifying spirit) and is aged according to the traditional solera y criaderas system. The casks previously held Oloroso and Perdo Ximénez sherries. They form part of one of the largest Solera Gran Reserva cellars in Jerez. Mención Cardenal Mendoza Non Plus Ultra: “Los trabajos”, original de Javier Izcue Argandoña, de Pamplona. El puertorriqueño Arnaldo Silva es barman desde hace más de 8 años y ha creado un blog para enseñar a los amantes de los cócteles y licores la esencia de las mezclas típicas del Caribe.Russia had promotions and tastings with end customers in specialised shops, and in Spain tastings were held in department stores and specialised shops with promotions. The Golden Week poster Bodegas Romate follows a very careful winemaking process starting from Palomino, Airén and Pedro Ximénez grapes with white albariza soil and the Western Andalucian weather acting as a foundation for this wine. The ageing takes place in American oak barrels and the distillation in copper alquitars using the solera and criadera ageing system. It is then aged dynamically in the traditional system known as criaderas and soleras also used for Sherry production. The barrels used, known as “botas”, are made from American oak with a capacity of 600 litres and have been seasoned with various types of Sherry. This allows for great variation of style in the finished brandy. Sánchez Romate Hermanos was founded in 1781 by the Spanish trader Juan Sánchez de la Torre in Jerez de la Frontera. It is one of the few remaining locally owned wineries in Jerez.