Updated June 2026.
US brandy is a spirit distilled from fruit (usually grapes) and bottled at no less than 40% ABV under TTB’s standard of identity. A 1.5-ounce 40% pour is one NIAAA standard drink. Cognac and Armagnac are French brandies with their own AOC/BNIC or INAO rules — a subset, not a synonym. Paul Masson, E&J, and Christian Brothers are American grape brandies, not Cognac.
We will not reprint a 2021 price grid. VS / VSOP / XO on a Cognac label are BNIC age bands (youngest eau-de-vie ≥2 / ≥4 / ≥10 years under current XO). Those letters on a California jug are marketing unless the label also says Cognac. See Hennessy and Rémy Martin.
How to read the brandy shelf
| Label | What it must be | Drink math at 40% |
|---|---|---|
| US brandy | Fruit distillate; ≥40% ABV (TTB) | 1.00 std drink / 1.5 oz |
| Cognac | Delimited Cognac region, specified grapes, pot still, oak, BNIC | Same if 40% |
| Armagnac | Gascony AOC; often column + pot; different age words | Read the neck |
| Apple brandy / Calvados | Apples (Calvados is Normandy AOC) | Use labeled ABV |
| Flavored / “brandy” liqueur | Sugar and flavor added — different class | Do not use the 97-kcal USDA row blindly |
A 750 mL 40% brandy is about 17 standard drinks. Unflavored 80-proof brandy sits on the same USDA 97-kcal / 0 g sugar line as other 80-proof spirits. Four pours are four drinks. Cognac storage is the same oxidized-bottle story as other high-proof spiritsdoes Hennessy go bad.
Sources
- TTB standard of identity for brandy: fruit; ≥40% ABV.
- BNIC Cognac age bands (VS / VSOP / XO). INAO/Calvados and Armagnac are separate AOCs.
- NIAAA standard drink (December 2025). No 2026 MSRP.
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