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Germain-Robin Brandy Wins The Best Spirit Of The Year

Germain-Robin Brandy was awarded best spirits of the year - 2019 by USA Spirits Ratings.

08/07/2020



The founders, Ansley J. Coale Jr. (link)and Hubert Germain-Robin (link) of the Jules Robin family that has produced Cognac since 1782, established Germain-Robin in 1982 and were pioneers in the creation of critically-acclaimed world class California brandies. The innovative blending of Cognac traditions and techniques with California winemaking and premium grape varieties continues to produce brandy celebrated as some of the world’s finest.

Germain-Robin Brandy Wins The Best Spirit Of The Year

History

We began as the unlikely union of two creative minds: Ansley Coale, a professor driving along a Northern California highway, and Hubert Germain-Robin, a hitchhiking Cognac distiller. The two created Germain-Robin, the first California Brandy that broke free from the constraints of Cognac. They crafted their brandy with traditional alembic Cognac stills, but using unconventional, flavorful and complex California wine grapes. Embracing the rich tradition of hand-distillation while harnessing the potential of California wine, we set a new standard of excellence in brandy that has been recognized worldwide. Germain-Robin continues that tradition today – advancing the art of fine California Brandy into a new era.

Distillation

Germain-Robin begins with California wine, always distilled while extremely fresh and run through the still twice. Distilled exclusively on Prulho alembic pot stills at our McCall Distillery, these vintage manually-operated stills allow our distillers to mimic the eight-hour heating curve of wood-fired stills of the 1850s. Like a master chef tasting and tweaking ingredients in a recipe, Germain-Robin distillation runs and cuts are made manually based on the distiller’s senses. The result is a crystal clear grape eau de vie with the perfect balance of rich flavor and subtle delicacy.

Aging and Blending

The Brandy Eau De Vie is aged in air-dried Vicard barrels from the Limousin region of France. Aged stocks are rested in heirloom barrels dating back over 100 years. Once in barrel, the brandy is monitored and tasted regularly. The aged stocks are only blended when they reach peak character, resulting in superbly integrated flavors.

Hand Bottling

our process

The perfectly-blended brandy is bottled by hand to ensure the highest quality in each bottle.

Germain-Robin Brandy is one of the highest quality brown spirits in the world. Their extensive collection of unique aged brandies is acclaimed for their elegant, complex and distinct taste.

"The incredible range, diversity, and quality of the entrants to the USA Spirits Rating’s entries demonstrate what a dynamic category it is to be involved with. It is no surprise that the Germain-Robin craft brandy made with such care and precision developed over decades won the Spirit of the Year. The judges did an incredible job. It was clear what a tough time they had while separating out these incredible products, from such an extraordinary array of styles and countries. Looking at the USA Spirit Ratings, it seems that the artisan products are taking the lead." sid Sid Patel, Organizer of USA Spirits Ratings and CEO of Beverage Trade Network.

A key factor that contributes to the quality of USA Spirits Ratings(hyperlink) is the judges. Our leading panel of judges is commercially active and aware, being directly involved in the development of new spirits brands or buying spirits for resale.

The USA Spirits Ratings recognizes, rewards and helps promote spirits brands that have successfully been created to identify with and target a specific spirits drinker. For any spirits brand to earn its place on a retailer’s shelf or a restaurant’s spirits list, and then vitally stay there it has to achieve against quality, value, and appearance. These are the key judging elements of USA Spirits Ratings, which are made by a leading panel of top-level spirits buyers with direct commercial responsibility.

USA Spirits Ratings provides a vital forum for product feedback from high-level professionals and the market for products and producers.

USA Spirits Ratings has been created exclusively by the Beverage Trade Network, the US drinks events, services, business, and publishing group dedicated to helping drinks producers and brand owners get closer to the buyers, distributors, and retailers that can bring their products to market.

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