Brandy & Cognac, Explained

Updated September 2026

All cognac is brandy. Very little brandy is cognac, and the difference is enforcement.

Cognac must come from the delimited Cognac region of France, be made predominantly from Ugni Blanc grapes, be double-distilled in copper pot stills, and be aged at least two years in French oak. The BNIC enforces all of it.

American brandy has no cru system, no appellation, no governing council, and no mandatory minimum age attached to any label term.

That distinction is why the letters mean different things depending on the bottle.

The age designations — for cognac only

Designation	Minimum age of the youngest eau-de-vie
VS	2 years
VSOP	4 years
Napoléon	6 years
XO	10 years
XXO	14 years

Two things most guides get wrong. The XO minimum rose from six years to ten on 1 April 2018 — if a guide says six, it has not been updated in eight years. And the figure describes only the youngest component in the blend, not the average.

On American brandy, VS and VSOP are a voluntary borrowing of French terminology. Producers may honour the convention, and reputable ones do — but no regulator requires it.

Start here

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Also explore: Rum Guide · Liqueurs Guide · Bourbon Guide · Gin Guide · Beer Guide · Wine Guide · Vodka Guide