When was Brandy born?
There are discrepancies in deciding the exact moment when the Jerez wine makers started maturing aguardiente in oak containers, giving birth to Brandy de Jerez. There is no doubt that during the XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries the wine making families used to drink aguardiente from matured wines. A traditional story holds that the creation of Brandy de Jerez was due to a long delay in the shipment of holandas to Holand. The aguardiente was left maturing in oak barrels which had previously contained sherry. It matured and gained fine new qualities in taste. In the English markets it was called Spanish brandy. We have a bill of lading from the House of Garvey dated the 8th May 1858 which contained a barrel of brandy shipped from the port of Cadiz to London. At the same time almost all ageing houses and wine producers from the area were maturing great quantities of brandy in oak barrels, which previously contained different types of sherry, preparing new products for the markets. The latest
