brandy
/'brændi/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A strong alcoholic spirit: "brandy" is a type of distilled spirit made from wine or fermented fruit juice. It is typically aged in wooden casks.
Usage
- General Use: The word "brandy" is used as a countable noun (e.g., , ) to refer to a type of drink or a serving of it. It is also used as an uncountable noun to refer to the substance in general.
- Context: It is commonly consumed as an after-dinner drink (a digestif) and is often served in a snifter glass.
Examples
- Noun:
- He poured a glass of fine brandy.
- After dinner, they enjoyed a brandy by the fireplace.
- This brandy is distilled from grapes grown in the Cognac region.
Advanced Usage
- "Brandy butter": A rich, sweet sauce made from brandy, butter, and sugar, traditionally served with Christmas pudding.
- The Christmas pudding was served with a dollop of brandy butter.
- "Brandy snap": A crisp, sweet wafer often flavored with ginger and sometimes filled with cream.
- She served brandy snaps with afternoon tea.
Variants and Related Words
- Brandied (adj): Describing food that has been soaked or cooked in brandy.
- The cake was filled with brandied cherries.
- Cognac (n): A specific, high-quality type of brandy produced in the Cognac region of France.
- Armagnac (n): A type of brandy produced in the Armagnac region of France.
Synonyms
- Spirit: A strong distilled alcoholic drink.
- Eau-de-vie: A French term meaning "water of life," often used for clear, colorless fruit brandies.
Related Phrases
- "Brandy blossom" (or "brandy nose"): An informal, dated term for rhinophyma, a skin condition often (though inaccurately) associated with heavy alcohol consumption.
- The old sailor was said to have a brandy blossom.
Idioms
- "As smooth as brandy": Used to describe something, often a voice or manner, that is very smooth and rich.
- The radio host's voice was as smooth as brandy.
Noun
- distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice