Brandy

Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn, "gebrande wijn" "burned wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, some are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging, and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring.

In broader sense, the term "brandy" also denotes liquors obtained from distillation of pomace (pomace brandy) or mash or wine of any other fruit (fruit brandy). These products are also named eaux-de-vie.

Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from Southwestern France.

History

The origins of brandy were clearly tied to the development of distillation. While the process was known in classical times, it wasn't used for significant beverage production up until the 15th century.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make it easier for merchants to transport. It is also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process led to the formation and decomposition of numerous aromatic compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remained behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate was often quite unlike that of the original source.

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Girl (disambiguation)

A girl is a young female human.

Girl or The Girl may also refer to:

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Albums

The Girl Is Mine

"The Girl Is Mine" is a song recorded by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. The track was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the first single for Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). The song was recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. The year before, Jackson and McCartney had recorded "Say Say Say" and "The Man" for the latter's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). Although it was released as a single, Jackson never performed the song live.

"The Girl Is Mine" achieved success in the music charts. Aside from topping the R&B singles chart, the single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight in the UK. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units. Despite the song's success, it received generally mixed reviews from critics who consider it to be the weakest song on Thriller.

The Girl Is Mine (99 Souls song)

"The Girl Is Mine" is a song by British electronic music duo 99 Souls. A mash-up of Destiny's Child's "Girl" (2004) and Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine" (1998), the funky house track was released on 6 November 2015 with a re-recorded vocal from Brandy. The song peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

The song was first released in December 2014, appearing on SoundCloud. While creators 99 Souls thought not much would come of it, the mash-up garnered 2.9 million streams within its first year of release. However, it was later taken down due to copyright violations.

After the approval of both Brandy and Beyoncé, the song was released commercially in November of 2015. The song was enhanced with a re-recorded vocal from Brandy, along with additional changes. Though Brandy agreed to record new vocals for the mash-up track, Monica turned the offer down, commenting. "I feel like sometimes things that are a part of history and that are in history should be left as such so that it can be upheld with the respect that it was given even back then," she told The Huffington Post. "That's the one song and the one time that [Brandy and I] both won a Grammy and experienced certain things. So I have a lot of memories and emotions connected to that record."