Interest in brandy has been steadily, if slowly, on the rise. The craft spirit and cocktail revolution is healthily underway, cultivating consumers and tradespeople that value education and have ever expanding palates eager to taste everything. While not as trendy as some other corners of the spirit world, such as gin and mezcal for the moment, brandy from all over the world has been enjoying an uptick in sales in key markets.

One of the most significant events of 2017 for the brandy industry was the first ever California Brandy Summit held in April. The assembly brought together key members of the trade including seasoned industry veterans, producers, and mixologists to pledge a communal effort to get the message out about the high quality brandies of California, support industry wide education, and strategize quality control.

This exciting movement is fueled by the beverage community’s commitment to invest in a domestic product that shows a lot of promise. An exemplary producer and major contributor to the shared goal of establishing the superiority of California Brandy is E&J Brandy. In addition to the consistent quality of their line of brandy’s, the E&J VS, VSOP, and XO brandies all received a Great Value award in this year’s Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

The spreading interest and education on California brandy throughout the industry will breath fresh life into the domestic beverage sector as well as cocktail culture that embraces both classic and experimental drinks. The trend could also whet the appetites of consumers and professionals for more European brandy, boosting the worldwide brandy industry.