Sure you agree that hair is one of the best decorations of human appearance. It’s like a beautiful frame for your face. And to look better we should care about hair with love, because hair has its own likes and dislikes. For example, hair likes to be brushed every day before sleep for 5-10 minutes in different directions. In reply hair will be thick, bright and easy-styled.

Sometimes you need wash head with an egg. You should take 1 egg and add warm water stirring slowly. Wet hair with hot water and rub egg mixture into head skin. Then rinse hair with running water and comb. If you want to strengthen hair’s roots, wash the head as described above and then rub 1 yolk into head skin and cover head with thick towel. Keep for 10 minutes and then rinse hair with warm water.

If you have such possibility, wash the head with rain water. If you wet hair with sea-water, you have to rinse them with fresh water then. To make your hair soft, you should grease them with burdock oil. 

There are two masks for light and dark hairs. For light hairs you’d better to use the mask from camomile and rosemary. Take 1 table-spoon of camomile and 1 table-spoon of rosemary and pour them with ¾ glass of vodka. Put infusion in to dark place for 2 weeks, shaking it regularly. Filter infusion through gauze into the bottle from dark glass and close hermetically. Twice a week rub infusion into head skin.

Mask for dark hairs is made from hob and thistle. Take some hob and thistle (cupped hand) and pour it with 1 liter of water. Boil mixture for 20 minutes and then filter. After washing head, rinse hair with infusion and enjoy the bright color of your hair.

If  you like cognac, you can use it for hair care. There is an interesting recipe. The thing is that you can make remedy for reinforcement of your hair based on cognac. You can take any kind of cognac.

At first, make decoction from burdock’s root. Pour 2 table-spoons of ground burdock’s roots with 1 glass of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes on the light fire. Filter and cool it. Then take 1 table-spoon of your favorite cognac and mix with 4 table-spoons of onion juice and 6 table-spoons of decoction from burdock’s roots.

Rub mixture into hair’s roots and put the piece of polyethylene on the head and also Turkish towel above. Keep for 30 minutes and then shampoo your head. Repeat this procedure twice a week and you’ll see the perfect result. Find more original recipes at hair care.

Distillation is the centuries-old process used to produce alcohol. Heat is used to separate the components of a liquid, or mash, and as vaporization takes place the vapors are cooled so they condense into neutral spirits with little color, aroma, or flavor.

The distiller then blends this neutral spirit with other alcohol or flavorings and may or may not leave it to mature, or age, until the desired flavor and aroma is achieved before bottling. Brandy and clear, colorless grappa are two examples of spirits distilled from wine, which you will find in most standard bar stocks. The following are the best-known distillations from wine produced in countries around the world.

Armagnac
Armagnac is a pale golden, fiery, dry-tasting French brandy. Under French law, only white grapes from the Haut-Armagnac, Tenareze, and Bas-Armagnac regions of Gascony, in southwest France, may be distilled for Armagnac. The distillation takes place after the grape harvest, which occurs between October and April. Unlike cognac, its younger cousin, Armagnac has traditionally been made with only one distillation, but a recent change in legislation means double distillation is now allowed, speeding up the maturation process, which takes place in oak barrels.

Three stars on the label mean it has had at least two years’ maturation; V.S.O.R, at least five years; Napoleon and X.O., at least six years; and Hors d’Age at least 10 years in the barrel. A vintage year on the label indicates the year of the harvest. A vintage Armagnac is never blended.

Brandy
First discovered in the middle of the thirteenth century in France as an attempt to produce a medicinal drink, brandy is now made around the world wherever grapes are grown. After two distillations, the clear, colorless alcohol is given its distinctive nutty brown color and flavor by aging in wood, often oak, barrels. The longer a brandy ages, the more refined its flavor is judged to be. In the United States.

Cognac
Prehaps the best-known brandy in the world, cognac comes from a uprcific area in western France centered around the town of Cognac Hi ihe Charente region. To be labeled as “cognac,” French legislation n|ircifies the brandy can only be made from specific white grapes winch are grown and later distilled within a strictly defined fid’graphical area.

Cognac production is governed by old traditions as well as the laws, so all the brandy is distilled at least twice and then matured in oak barrels for at least two years, during which time it develops its rich, brown color. The end result is 80 proof. Information mi ihe label, also governed by law, explains the maturity of the cognac.

Three stars or VS. means the cognac has been matured in the barrel for at least two years; V.S.O.R, Vieux, V.O, and Reserve Indicate at least four years; V.V.S.O.P and Grande Reserve are (cognacs matured for at least five years; Extra, Napoleon, X.O., Tres eux, and Vieille Reserve are stored for six to 10 years in oak barrels.

Crappa
This clear, Italian spirit, about 80 proof, is distilled from the remains Of the grapes used in wine production, the stems, skins, and pits. Crappa made from white wine is dry and fiery, while that from red wine has a powerful flavor. Although grappa is best known as an Italian spirit, versions of it are made in other countries, such as marc in France.

Marc
This French pomace spirit is distilled from the press residue resulting Irom wine production. Depending on the variety, it either tastes powerful and full flavored (marc de bourgogne) or light, dry, and very soft (marc de champagne). The alcohol content is between 80 and 90 proof. There is a flavor difference between marc made from red-wine and white-wine residues. A small glass of marc, served neat, is aperfect digestive.

Metaxa
The best-known Creek spirit, metaxa is distilled from black grapes. The alcohol content is about 80 proof. Stars on the label tell you how long the liquor was aged. Three stars means three years; five stars, five years; and seven stars, seven years. Bottles labeled as Private Reserve have been matured for at least 20 years, and have the smoothest flavor.

Pisco
This very tangy, colorless brandy is the national drink of Chile, and is the main ingredient in the refreshing cocktail Pisco Sour. Produced from black grapes with a high proportion of muscatel grapes, it is matured in clay casks.

Weinbrand
This German grape brandy, whose name translates as “burned wine,” is distilled using some wines from neighboring countries, but legislation requires up to 85 percent of the final product to be German. It must then be matured for six months in oak casks holding a maximum of 1,000 liters (about 2,600 gallons) each. Old weinbrand must be cellared for a minimum of 12 months.

If it is then at least 76 proof, it will receive an official reference number and can be sold. Like cognac, weinbrand is double distilled. Weinbrand should be served no warmer than room temperature, and is best served in a brandy snifter. If it is a little on the cool side, however, it does not matter because it will quickly attain the correct temperature through heat transferred from the hands.

Primarily applied for drinking and wine trying out, the wine glass denotes to a unique case of glass stemware mass-produced in three defined pieces the bowl, the foot (base), and the stem. The character of wine that one is drinking typically defines the character of wine glass that is expended for the occasion. Pliny the Elder, who was an author, naturalist, and philosopher, is credited with getting the initial referenced composition involving drinking vessels fabricated out of gold and silver in the first century AD.

When gold and silver were given up in favor of the at present modern glass variations, pricing was as extreme as it was for the ones prepared of gold and silver. Enameled goblets from 15th century Europe are the earliest identified subsisting wine glasses from a past era. For the intents of definition, a goblet is any character of wine glasses that feature more than 4 ounces of liquid.

Wine Glass Etiquette

Although it is general noesis to wine aficionados and connoisseurs, most individuals leave out or are unmindful of the fact that there is decided etiquette attached in drinking from wine glasses. Typically, the most dropped aspect of the wine glass is its stem, its design being the containing of the glass. Wine glasses should constantly be curbed by the stem when drinking or savouring the liquid. This forbids the body temperature of the hand from impacting the wine, especially if it has been dished cooled.

Additionally, holding any wine glass by the bowl admits fingermarks and thus deforms the visual aspect of the wine. This is important to remember since a crucial panorama of wine trying demands an interrogation of the wines clearness and color. As Well, when toasting with wine glasses, carrying it by the stem lets peculiar sound to take place from clinking the glasses together. So as you can see, wine glass etiquette is both aesthetical and snappy in nature.

Materials used in the Manufacture of Wine Glasses

There are various schools of idea involved with what materials wine glasses are greatest constructed from. Here are some mentions where that is concerned:

Cut or combined glass are not preferred stuffs to function since they are quick to step in with the wines feeling and frequently induce a common and/or thick lip that causes drinking the wine very bad for some.

Blown glass is a healthier pick of stuff and is taken redeeming by the elementary wine drinker due to a thinner lip.

Lead crystal is the material of option in the more cardinal wine drinking circles, the rewards of which are In The First Place aesthetical. Lead crystal is heavier, has a higher refraction index, and results in an simplicity of workability during the manufacturing form.

The 4 Most Frequent Shapes

Since the measures of wine glass manufacturing is partly grounded in the fragrance (or bouquet) and flavor of the wine, the shape of them is an principal facet. The four most popular shapes or typecasts of wine glasses are:

Champagne flutes

Red Wine glasses

White Wine glasses

Sherry glasses

A. Cognac: Production process:

The production process of cognac involves the following steps:

Harvesting:

Grapes harvesting usually takes place in September, mature grapes are harvested manually or mechanically.

Pressing:

Pressing of grapes is undertaken using horizontal plates, seeds contain a substance which can damage the cognac and therefore are removed.

Fermentation:

The extracted juice is fermented naturally without adding any other substance, the fermentation process takes two to three weeks,

Distillation:

The next step involves distillation of the fermented juice. The distillation process involves boiling the wine to achieve an alcohol level of 28 to 30 %, the resulting product in this first distillation is known as brouillis. The product is then distilled again to achieve a 70% alcohol level and the resulting product is known as Bonne chauffe.

Ageing:

The cognac is then stored in oak casks, it is stored for two years and during this period the tannin from the oak mixes with the cognac and therefore the color of the liquid changes to amber.

Blending:

The process involves changing the quality of the cognac, it involves regular tasting the cognac, adding distilled water, changing oak casks and mixing cognacs of different ages to achieve desired quality.

Packaging and labeling:

After blending the labeling process is undertaken, packaging and labeling changes over time and also will depend on the market, shapes of bottling, the cork and the label style. For example the Asian consumers prefer gold labels.

B. Single barrel bourbon:

Unique process:

The process of producing a single barrel bourbon involves mixing several barrel to achieve a uniform mixture, they are then stored in a warehouse and these barrels are checked regularly, over time the best part of the warehouse produces high quality whiskey and these barrels are allowed to mature for a longer period, when they mature they are bottled one barrel at a time.

C. Single malt Scotch whiskey:

Highlands:

Aberfeldy is a single malt scotch whisky made in the highland region, it was founded in 1896 by John Dewar, 12 years old single malt that has a deep gold color and has a heather honey and Seville orange taste.

(http://www.whisky.com/brands/Aberfeldy_brand.html)

Seaside:

Balvenie:

Balvenie is a single malt whiskey founded by William Grant in 1886, 10 year whiskey and has the following characteristics: it is medium golden straw in color, honey and oak taste traces, smooth and medium dry.

(http://www.whisky.com/brands/Balvenie_brand.html)

Lowlands:

Glenkinchie

Glenkinchie is a single malt whiskey founded by John Cockburn in the year 1825, 12 year old whiskey and has the following characteristics: pale gold color, malted barley taste and a dry finish.

(http://www.whisky.com/brands/Glenkinchie_brand.html)

Islay:

Caol Ila

Caol Ila is a single malt whiskey founded by Hector Henderson in the year 1846, it is age ranges from 12 to 25 years and has the following characteristics: pale straw color, sweet and slight acidity but pleasant taste and has a sweet Smokey finish.

(http://www.whisky.com/brands/caol_ila_brand.html)

Reference:

Cognac France (2009) production process of Cognac, retrieved on 27th November, from http://www.cognac.fr/cognac/_en/2_cognac/index.aspx?page=assemblage

Scotch Whiskey Association (2009) Single malt scotch whiskey and Single barrel bourbon, retrieved on 27th November, from http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/

Whiskey (2009) Whiskey brands, retrieved on 27th November, from http://www.whisky.com/brands

Brandy and Cognac are traditionally associated with after dinner drinks or for having a quick snifter of when going out hunting or on a brisk walk. Brandy was also seen as being medicinal in the past because of its warming qualities – think St Bernard dogs finding victims of avalanches. In fact it is a drink that has lots of past associations but of late has had a bit of a development in its image. Brandy and Cognac in fact were going through a drought – whisky was the drink to be seen with and Cognac producers in France were destroying their vines because their product was just not selling. However this has all changed now. Brandy and Cognac, especially the more expensive label cognac, are now associated with rap stars. It has been assimilated into black music by the likes of Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z. Brandy or Cognac is often name checked in songs such as Busta Rhymes’s raunchy “Pass the Courvoisier”. The drink rivals sex, drugs and guns as a staple subject for rap lyrics and titles. Hennessy seems to be the drink of choice but all the other brand names get a mention too. The best cognacs are also particularly prized today, by an even more unlikely clientele, the clientele of the nightclubs of Moscow.

In fact cognac sales in America increased 6.7 per cent last year. They have trebled in 10 years and now account for 36 per cent of all world sales. After years of decline, cognac is also booming in urban France, where the young drink it long with tonic or mineral water.

So what is Cognac and what is the difference between Brandy and Cognac?

Cognac is a type of brandy – it is called cognac due to the region of France where it originates but has to go through a host of processes before it can actually be called by the name cognac.

Brandy is made by distilling wine. The wine that is used for the production of brandy is acidic thin wine which goes through a double distilling process – the resulting spirit is colourless ans has an alcohol contact of about 70%.

Brandy was originally known as Brandywine and it can be made from grapes or other fruits – think apricot or cherry brandy. The colour of the brandy id usually made by either aging the spirit in casks or by adding a colourant to imitate the process.

Cognac however is a different beast – produced by a simialr process it can’t be sold or even called cognac until it has been aged for two years. The cognac is produuced by blending different mixtures of the aged spirit and the age of the final product depends on the age of the youngest distillate that has been used in the mixture.

Cognac is the best known type of Brandy in the world, a benchmark by which most other Brandies are judged. The Cognac region is located on the west-central Atlantic coast of France, just north of Bordeaux, in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. The region is further subdivided into six growing zones: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Bois Ordinaries, Borderies, Fins Bois, and Bons Bois. The first two of these regions produce the best Cognac and will frequently be so designated on bottle labels. Cognacs labelled Fine Champagne are a blend of Petite and Grande Champagne. The primary grapes used in making Cognac are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard.

The wines made from these grapes are thin, tart, and low in alcohol; poor characteristics for table wines, but oddly enough, perfect for making Brandy. Cognac is double distilled in pot stills and then aged in casks made from Limousin or Troncais oak. All Cognacs start out in new oak to mellow the fiery spirit and give them color. Batches that are chosen for long-term aging are, after a few years, transferred to used, or “seasoned,” casks that impart less of the oak flavor notes while the Brandy matures.

Virtually all Cognacs are a blend of Brandies from different vintages, and frequently, different growing zones. Even those from single vineyards or distilleries will be a mix of Brandies from different casks. As in Champagne, the production of local vineyards is sold to Cognac houses, each of which stores and ages Cognacs from different suppliers and then employs master blenders to draw from these disparate Brandies to create continuity in the house blends. Because there are no age statements on Cognacs, the industry has adopted some generally accepted terms to differentiate Cognacs. It is important to note that these terms have no legal status, and each Cognac shipper uses them according to his own criteria. V.S./V.S.P./Three Star: (V.S., very superior; V.S.P., very superior pale) A minimum of two years aging in a cask, although the industry average is four to five years. V.S.O.P.: (very superior old pale) A minimum of four years cask aging for the youngest Cognac in the blend, with the industry average being between 10 and 15 years.

X.O./Luxury: (X.O., extra old) A minimum of six years aging for the youngest cognac in the blend, with the average age running 20 years or older. All Cognac houses maintain inventories of old vintage Cognacs to use in blending these top of the line brands. The oldest Cognacs are removed from their casks in time and stored in glass demijohns (large jugs) to prevent further loss from evaporation and to limit excessively woody and astringent flavors. Luxury Cognacs are the very finest Cognacs of each individual Cognac house.

Source: Tastings.com

Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.” – Samuel Johnson

The word Brandy comes from the Dutch word brandewijn, (“burnt wine”), which is how the straightforward Dutch traders who introduced it to Northern Europe from Southern France and Spain in the 16th century described wine that had been “burnt,” or boiled, in order to distill it. The origins of Brandy can be traced back to the expanding Moslem Mediterranean states in the 7th and 8th centuries. Arab alchemists experimented with distilling grapes and other fruits in order to make medicinal spirits. Their knowledge and techniques soon spread beyond the borders of Islam, with grape Brandy production appearing in Spain and probably Ireland (via missionary monks) by the end of the 8th century. Brandy, in its broadest definition, is a spirit made from fruit juice or fruit pulp and skin.

More specifically, it is broken down into three basic groupings.

1. Grape Brandy is Brandy distilled from fermented grape juice or crushed but not pressed grape pulp and skin. This spirit is aged in wooden casks (usually oak) which colors it, mellows the palate, and adds additional aromas and flavors.

2. Pomace Brandy (Italian Grappa and French Marc are the best-known examples) is Brandy made from the pressed grape pulp, skins, and stems that remain after the grapes are crushed and pressed to extract most of the juice for wine. Pomace Brandies, which are usually minimally aged and seldom see wood, are an acquired taste. They often tend to be rather raw, although they can offer a fresh, fruity aroma of the type of grape used, a characteristic that is lost in regular oak-aged Brandy.

3. Fruit Brandy is the default term for all Brandies that are made from fermenting fruit other than grapes. It should not be confused with Fruit-Flavored Brandy, which is grape Brandy that has been flavored with the extract of another fruit. Fruit Brandies, except those made from berries, are generally distilled from fruit wines. Berries tend to lack enough sugar to make a wine with sufficient alcohol for proper distillation, and thus are soaked (macerated) in high-proof spirit to extract their flavor and aroma. The extract is then distilled once at a low proof. Calvados, the Apple Brandy from the Normandy region of Northwestern France, is probably the best known type of Fruit Brandy. Eau-de-vie (“water of life”) is the default term in French for spirits in general, and specifically for colorless fruit brandy, particularly from the Alsace region of France and from California.

Brandy, like Rum and Tequila, is an agricultural spirit. Unlike grain spirits such as Whisky, Vodka, and Gin, which are made throughout the year from grain that can be harvested and stored, Brandy is dependent on the seasons, the ripening of the base fruit, and the production of the wine from which it is made. Types of Brandies, originally at least, tended to be location-specific. (Cognac, for example, is a town and region in France that gave its name to the local Brandy.) Important Brandy-making regions, particularly in Europe, further differentiate their local spirits by specifying the types of grapes that can be used and the specific areas (appellation) in which the grapes used for making the base wine can be grown.

Source: Tastings.com

The wines of Poitou, La Rochelle and Angoumois, produced from high quality vineyards, were shipped to Northern Europe where they were enjoyed by the English, Dutch and Scandinavians as early as the 13th century. In the 16th century, they were transformed into eau-de-vie, then matured in oak casks to become Cognac.. That was the start of the adventure for a town, which was to become the capital of a world famous trade.
Cognac is a living thing. During its time in the oak casks it is in permanent contact with the air. This allows it to extract the substances from the wood that give both its colour and its final bouquet.
Ageing is indispensable if an eau-de-vie is to become Cognac. It takes place in casks or barrels that hold between 270 and 450 litres. The natural humidity of the cellars, in which the casks are stored, with its influence on evaporation, is one of the determining factors in the maturing process. With the balance between humidity and dryness, the spirit becomes mellow and ages harmoniously.
Making Cognac is the work of the Master Blender. Applying strict control, experience and intuition, he subtly blends eaux-de-vie of different ages and crus, producing a Cognac that through the years will not only retain its own personality, but will also keep a place in the heart of the consumer.