Now that cognac has its own category, we’re talking about every other brandy-producing region in the world. Where there is wine, there is brandy.
So Torres, for the first time, is our brandy champion. The Catalan brand is trying to change the perception of its country’s brandy, linking up with leading specialists to educate around the subject. Spanish bartender Juan Valls recommends drawing out the aged brandy’s tropical notes in tiki drinks – who knew? Torres is the top choice in a third of our sample and among the trio of most used in more than half. It’s also the top trending brandy.
Greece’s Metaxa is actually a blend of grape spirit and Muscat – but bartenders deal in flavour rather than category definitions, so we’ve included it here in the brandy list. The brand’s annual cocktail comp in the Aegean has helped to garner a following, making Metaxa relevant rather than gathering dust on the back bar. Almost 20% of respondents said Metaxa was their go-to brandy, while more than a third said it was among its three bestsellers.
The remaining members of the top five take us to Jerez, to more traditional, oaky brandies. With a bigger, bolder taste profile than cognac, these brandies have an immediate point of difference - the challenge is to get their products into the hands of bartenders. Our respondents in Spain are well aware of its qualities - here Spanish brandy still outsells vodka. But in most other worldwide markets, there is still a job to do to get bartenders to try Spanish brandy in a Sidecar, Vieux Carré or Corpse Reviver No.1.
Methodology
The results of this report are the culmination of a questionnaire of 106 bars around the world, each cherry-picked to take part based on their performance in global bar awards. We aim to find out not only which brands sell best but also what’s trending. These two data sets give us an insight into the brands that are doing the most volume and the brands that are hot right now.
To read more on the methodology of the Brands Report click here.
