As we begin February, winter now has a firm grip of our lives. For many, the onset of freezing temperatures offers hope of beautiful snow. But for others, including us, winter is just one big pain in the neck. Time to get into the spirit of the season.

Last week we wrote about port, a fortified wine suitable for fireside sipping. This week, we turn to brandy — a generic term mistakenly used as a synonym for cognac. Brandy is a broad category of spirits that include cognac, armagnac, calvados and more.

The distilling process dates back to the 14th century and was intended to preserve wine for ocean crossings. Simply, wine is boiled in a pot still where it gives off vapors of ethanol and water. These aromatic vapors are  then captured by a condenser coil and returned to the water.   Now about 30 percent in alcohol, the wine is distilled for a second time until it reaches about 80 percent alcohol. The process creates the beautiful aromatics for which the elixir is so well known.

Most brandies are aged in oak casks, which with the help of caramel gives it a golden color. The age is identified most commonly by V.S. (“very special” and aged for 3 years in oak), VSOP (“very special old pale or 5 years of oak aging), XO (“extra old” or aged at least 6 years).

Cognac, the king of brandy, is named for its location in western France. The only other officially identified brandy regions in all of Europe is Armagnac — also a French town — and Jerez, a town in Spain.

By French law, at least 90 percent of cognac must be made from ugni blanc grapes, although this grape is used almost exclusively by most producers. It must also be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years.

The very expensive cognac you often see in restaurants is made from the best eaux-de-vie that has been aged anywhere from 65 to 100 years in old French oak barrels. Remy Martin’s Louis XIII is even presented in numbered and owner-registered Baccarat crystal decanters, which are often worth more than the contents.

Consumers don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for cognac, of course. Remy Martin, Courvoisier and Hine are among the excellent producers who make cognac at all levels.

We happen to like Larressingle Armagnac, which is made from ugni blanc, colombard, folle blance and baco blanc grapes, and aged Calvados, made in Normandy from apples.

If you want something really special, check out the brandies made by Germain-Robin in Ukiah, CA. Made by the talented Ansley Coale, they aren’t cheap, but they surpass in quality many French XO cognacs. In particular, the Select Barrel XO ($120) is full-bodied and incredibly complex.

If you are put off by cognac, try the Fraser River raspberry vodka from Hangar One ($36).

These heady drinks are not meant to be consumed in quantity, but alongside the fire they can warm the body quite nicely.

Cocktails

In this new age of the cocktail it seems like there is a new spirit or liqueur introduced almost every week. The broad spectrum of spicy, floral and fruity flavors utilized by the alcohol alchemists has made this a very interesting time for bartenders and cocktail lovers alike. Since we are not averse to an occasional spirit-based libation, we are always on the lookout for something worth sharing with our readers. We discovered that St. Germaine Liqueur is great on the rocks but also makes an interesting cocktail.

St. Germaine is new wildflower-flavored French artisanal liqueur that is made from handpicked elderflower blossoms. Although we really liked the liqueur as a component in the Left Bank Martini, which is detailed below, we were astounded by the flavor components that we experienced when tasted by itself on ice. On it’s own we tasted a wonderful mélange of fruit flavors that included lychee, peach, pineapple, grapefruit and tangerine, with the fruit flavors lingering in the mouth for a good while.

Although St. Germaine is a liqueur, it has only about 50 percent of the sweetness of most other liqueurs, so it is not cloying in the mouth. Packaged in a very attractive elegant, French-inspired bottle along with recipe suggestions, this liqueur would make a very attractive gift at about $32-$35/750ml.

Left Bank Martini recipe

Mix 11⁄2 parts gin with 1 part St. Germaine and 1 part sauvignon blanc wine. Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass with a twist of lime peel. Sit back and enjoy!