Distillation

Every Cognac is distilled twice, in the copper Charentais pot still set over an open flame. The appellation rules allow no other method. The still may hold a maximum of 30 hectoliters and be charged with no more than 25. The same distillation rule applies to every cru, whether the wine comes from the Borderies, the Fins Bois, or the islands.

The first pass turns the wine into a cloudy intermediate distillate the French call brouillis. This goes through a second pass, called the bonne chauffe, back into the still. Only then does careful separation take place.

The distiller first cuts away the heads, which smell of solvent, then keeps the heart, the middle run. The fusel-heavy tails are also separated out. Heads and tails, têtes and queues in French, may be added back into the next distillation run. The finished distillate may hold no more than 72.4 percent alcohol.

Copper conducts heat well and binds unwanted sulphur compounds. The still has an onion shape with a long neck, the swan's neck, through which vapors rise to the condenser; the shape and size of the still shape how light or heavy the resulting brandy turns out. A third distillation exists only for Esprit de Cognac, which at 80 to 85 percent alcohol goes exclusively into sparkling wine production.

The calendar sets a hard limit: everything must be distilled by March 31 following the harvest at the latest. Through the winter months, producers therefore distill without long breaks. Across the whole region, nearly 3,000 stills are in operation. According to the industry body BNIC (as of July 2026), 4,252 growers who distill themselves face 131 professional distillers.

The house of Camus reportedly offers a tour through the Borderies. Distilling on your own, however, is illegal in Germany without a permit.