{{Short description|Distilled beverage}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} [[Image:Calva perejules.jpg|thumb|right|328x328px|A bottle of Calvados, a French fruit spirit made from apples]]
'''Fruit brandy''' (or '''fruit spirit''')<ref name=EU>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32008R0110|title=Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 |publisher=EUR-Lex}}</ref> is a distilled beverage produced from mash, juice, wine or edible fruit residues. The term covers a broad class of spirits produced across the world, excluding beverages made from grapes, which are referred to as plain brandy (when made from distillation from wine{{cn|date=April 2026}}) or pomace brandy (when made directly from grape pomace{{cn|date=April 2026}}). Apples, pears, apricots, plums and cherries are the most commonly used fruits.
==Definition== thumb|right|A fruit brandy in a traditional nosing glass According to a legal definition in the United States, a "fruit brandy" is distilled "solely from the fermented juice or mash of whole, sound, ripe fruit, or from standard grape, citrus, or other fruit wine, with or without the addition of not more than 20 percent by weight of the pomace of such juice or wine, or 30 percent by volume of the lees of such wine, or both."<ref name=USFCR5.22>{{cite web | url = http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/27cfr5.22.pdf | title = Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, Title 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Pt. 5.22 | access-date=22 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kBqVku9B4YC&pg=PA586 |title=Handbook of Plant-Based Fermented Food and Beverage Technology, Second Edition |editor=Y. H. Hui, E. Özgül Evranuz |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781439849040 |date=2012}}</ref>
In British usage, "fruit brandy" may refer to liqueurs obtained by maceration of whole fruits, juice or flavoring in a distilled beverage, and such liqueurs are legally labeled as ''cherry brandy, apricot brandy'' etc.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cherry (brandy) liqueurs|last=Difford|first=Simon| website=Difford's Guide | url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/beer-wine-spirits/category/191/cherry-brandy-liqueurs | access-date=2 August 2025}}</ref> all across the European Union.<ref name ="EU"/>{{rp|32d}} Such beverages are used similarly to ''cordials'', and as an ingredient in cocktails and cakes.{{cn|date=April 2026}}
Cider brandy is defined in EC law{{clarification|date=April 2026}} as a distinct cask-aged product produced in the UK, distilled from cider made by fermenting traditional cider apple varieties.<ref name="TechnicalFile">{{Cite web|title=Somerset Cider Brandy Technical File|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd366f68fa8f54d5abcdfdb/pfn-somerset-cider-brandy-technical-file.pdf|access-date=2023-12-12|publisher=UK Government}}</ref> This includes "Somerset Cider Brandy", typically sold at 42% ABV, which is specifically protected as a Geographical Indication (GI) within the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Somerset Cider Brandy and Burrow Hill Cider|url=https://www.somersetciderbrandy.com/|access-date=2021-07-24|website=Somerset Cider Brandy Company|language=en-US}}</ref>{{better source|date=April 2026}}
===Fruit spirit===
In the European Union, spirits distilled from fruit other than grapes may not be labeled as "fruit brandy". The legal English denomination is fruit spirit, which is "produced exclusively by the alcoholic fermentation and distillation of fleshy fruit or must of such fruit, berries or vegetables, with or without stones".<ref>While this category legally includes vegetable spirits, the latter, too, must be labeled truthfully according to mash ingredients. For example: "vegetable spirit" or "carrot spirit", etc.</ref>{{link needed|date=April 2026}}
A great number of European fruit spirits have a protected designation of origin, and are labeled with their respective protected names instead of "fruit spirit" ("apricot spirit", etc.) Fruit spirit, often colourless, usually contains 40% to 45% ABV (80 to 90 US proof). Fruit spirit is customarily drunk chilled or over ice, but is occasionally mixed. Fruit spirits obtained by distillation are often referred to by the French term ''eau de vie''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/fruit_brandy |title=Fruit brandy recipes |publisher=BBC |access-date=22 July 2014}}</ref> Cider spirit and perry spirit (fruit spirit distilled from cider or perry) form a separate legal category. Some fruit spirits may be labeled with alternative names such as ''kirsch'' (cherry spirit) or ''slivovitz'' (plum spirit) regardless of their country of origin.<ref name ="EU"/>
==Types== thumb|right|Slivovitz, a plum brandy common in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Including some of the above, there are about 80<ref>See 70 items at "9. Fruit spirit" and 10 items at "10. Cider spirit and perry spirit" in Annex III.</ref>{{link needed|date=April 2026}} different kinds of fruit spirits in the European Union, registered with protected designations of origin from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain. Most of these fruit spirits are named after their region of origin and base ingredients. For example: ''Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser'' (cherry spirit of the Black Forest), ''Framboise d'Alsace'' (raspberry of Alsace), ''Aprikot dell'Alto Adige'' (apricot of South Tyrol), etc. They are often regulated more strictly than generic fruit spirits: as well as limiting their region of origin, restrictions may include fruit variants, mashing and fermenting technology, distilling apparatus, barrel aging, etc.<ref name=EU/>
Among the better known fruit spirits are:
*Applejack is an American apple spirit made from the distillation of hard cider. It was once made by fractional freezing, which would disqualify it as a proper brandy.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Brinjevec is a Slovenian spirit distilled from ground and fermented juniper berries.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Buchu is a South African spirit flavoured with extracts from ''Agathosma'' species. *Calvados is an apple spirit from the French region of Lower Normandy.<ref name=eb>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/77749/brandy |title=Brandy |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica }}</ref> *Coconut brandy is actually made from the sap of palmyra palm flowers.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Damassine brandy is made with the prune fruit of the Damassinier tree in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *''Eau de vie'' is a French term for colorless fruit spirit. This term is also applied to grape-based brandy other than Armagnac and Cognac.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *''Himbeergeist'' is a raspberry-based spirit produced mainly in Germany and the Alsace region of France as an infusion of macerated fruit in neutral spirit which is then distilled. While not a true fruit brandy (its correct denomination is ''Geist''), it is typically referred to as a form of ''Schnaps''.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *''Kirschwasser'' is a fruit spirit made from cherries.<ref name=eb/> *Kukumakranka is a South African spirit flavored with the fruit of the Kukumakranka plant.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Marpha is a Nepalese fruit brandy produced in the Himalayan region of Mustang district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The art of making—and drinking—Marpha brandy |url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/08/19/the-art-of-making-and-drinking-marpha-brandy |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=kathmandupost.com |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=यसरी बन्छ मुस्ताङको 'मार्फा ब्रान्डी' |url=https://annapurnapost.com/news/ysrii-bnch-mustaangko-maarphaa-braanddii-133970 |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=Annapurna Post |language=ne}}</ref> * ''Obstler'' is a German word for fruit spirit (''Schnaps''), often called ''Schnapps'' in English.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Pálenka or "Pálené" is a common traditional description for Slovak or Czech spirit. It must be distilled from Slovakian or Czech wild or domestic fruits.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Pálinka is a traditional Hungarian fruit spirit.<ref name=eb/> It can only be made with fruits from Hungary, such as plums, apricots, peaches, elderberries, pears, apples, or cherries.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Poire Williams is made from the Williams pear, also known as the Bartlett pear.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Rakia is a type of fruit spirit produced in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia: it may be made from plums, apples, quinces, pears, apricots, cherries, mulberries, or grapes.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Slivovitz is a transparent - to yellow-colored plum spirit produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.{{cn|date=April 2026}} *Somerset Cider Brandy an apple brandy which dates back to 1678 and which obtained European protected status in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/15/somerset-cider-brandy-protected-status |title=Victory for Somerset as cider brandy wins protected status |work=The Guardian |date=15 September 2011}}</ref> *Țuică, also known as ''horincă'' or ''turţ'', is a clear Romanian plum spirit. Other Romanian fruit spirits, often distilled from apples, pears, apricots, mulberries, peaches, quinces, or mixtures of these, are colloquially known as ''Rachiu''.<ref name=roman>{{cite web|url=http://old.madr.ro/pages/industrie_alimentara/ordin-368-din-13-iunie-2010.pdf|title=ORDIN nr. 368 din 13 iunie 2008 pentru aprobarea Normelor privind definirea, descrierea, prezentarea şi etichetarea băuturilor tradiţionale româneşti|publisher=Ministerul Agriculturii si Dezvoltarii Rurale|access-date=2012-05-26|language=ro|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518074707/http://old.madr.ro/pages/industrie_alimentara/ordin-368-din-13-iunie-2010.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{Clear left}}
==Health issues==
===Moonshine=== {{main|Moonshine}}
Although methanol is not produced in toxic amounts by fermentation of sugars from grain starches,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moonshine-still.com/page7.htm|title=Distillation: Some Purity Considerations|website=Moonshine Still|access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> it is a major occurrence in fruit spirits.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blumenthal |first1=P |last2=Steger |first2=MC |last3=Einfalt |first3=D |last4=Rieke-Zapp |first4=J |last5=Quintanilla Bellucci |first5=A |last6=Sommerfeld |first6=K |last7=Schwarz |first7=S |last8=Lachenmeier |first8=DW |title=Methanol Mitigation during Manufacturing of Fruit Spirits with Special Consideration of Novel Coffee Cherry Spirits. |journal=Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) |date=28 April 2021 |volume=26 |issue=9 |page=2585 |doi=10.3390/molecules26092585 |doi-access=free |pmid=33925245 |pmc=8125215}}</ref> Methanol in fruit spirits forms mainly from pectins during fermentation and mash storage. Manufacturing controls are used to mitigate and monitor methanol levels.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Methanol Mitigation during Manufacturing of Fruit Spirits with Special Consideration of Novel Coffee Cherry Spirits |url=https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2585 |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.mdpi.com}}</ref> However, in modern times, reducing methanol with the absorption of a molecular sieve is a practical method for production.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.spkx.net.cn/EN/abstract/abstract15544.shtml|title=Study on Method of Decreasing Methanol in Apple Pomace Spirit|journal=Food Science |author=Hui-Ling Ma |author2=Xiu-Ping Yang |author3=Ying Zuo |date=15 April 2006 |volume=27|issue=4|pages=138–142}}</ref> Which is why the spirits produced are safe for the consumer, respecting the legal limits imposed for methanol.<ref name=":0" />
According to a population-level risk assessment, unregistered fruit brandies in particular can contain high concentrations of methanol. These unregistered beverages are sold illegally and are the cause for many accounts of methanol poisoning worldwide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Muhollari |first=Teuta |last2=Szűcs |first2=Sándor |last3=Ádány |first3=Róza |last4=Sándor |first4=János |last5=McKee |first5=Martin |last6=Pál |first6=László |date=2022-03-01 |title=Methanol in unrecorded fruit spirits. Does it pose a health risk to consumers in the European Union? A probabilistic toxicological approach |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427421009255 |journal=Toxicology Letters |volume=357 |pages=43–56 |doi=10.1016/j.toxlet.2021.12.019 |issn=0378-4274|hdl=2437/327482 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
==See also== *Aperitif *Cordial *Whisky
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Fruit brandies}} {{portalbar|Liquor|Drink}}
Category:Distilled drinks Category:Fruit brandies