THE DISTILLATION :

For distillation, 18-hectoliter "alambics" (stills) are used, which, Ferrand believes, is the optimum size for the best "eau-de-vie" (fresh cognac). To become cognac, the wine is distilled twice. It takes an average of ten barrels of wine to produce one barrel of "eau-de-vie" (literally, water of life). In order to get the best results, our Cellar Master distills very slowly and never exceeds two distillations per day. In the first distillation, the wine is heated, creating three separate stages, known as the "tête" (head), "brouillis" (main body), and "queue" (tail). Both head and tail, made of the most and least volatile elements respectively, are customarily redistilled. However, we discard the often harsh and bitter head and tail, preferring to use only the rich and smooth " brouillis " for the second distillation. The "brouillis" is then redistilled and, once again, the head and tail are separated from the "cœur" (heart) which is the "eau-de-vie" that goes into barrels.

	Our distillation is "non-rectifiante" (a concentration of aromas). Cognac Ferrand is hand distilled in specially designed small stills in order to extract maximum aromas from the wine.
This process gives our cognac the subtle aromas of fruits and flowers that can be found in great wines but rarely in a cognac.