Brandy and Cognac are both popular drinks with many similarities, but their differences are where they truly shine. Here's everything you need to know.

Here are my takeaways for the novice cognac drinker: Cognac is a variety of brandy made from white wine, traditionally very dry and thin. The spirit is distilled twice and aged in French barrels ...

But hope is not lost for lovers of fine French brandy. As with many French wine-and-spirits designations, cognac is the name of a place, and just to the south of Cognac, in Gascony, is Armagnac.

Compared to spirits like whiskey and tequila, cognac is too often overlooked as a complement to food. Yet as a French wine-based spirit, it has a profile that delectably melds with many bites.