"I don't know about defending the regime," he continues, sipping a plum brandy made in his hometown.
Homemade rakija – brandy made from plums, grapes and many other things – tends to be offered in the same welcoming way as a cup of tea.
They could be charming, even witty, and the whiff they trailed of cigars and brandy made the world seem orderly and rich.
Porto is not even near the vineyards whose dark and sumptuous "Red Portugal" wines, once inflamed by brandy, made it famous.
The wine was made from chambourcin grapes, and was fortified with brandy made at Knapp Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.
Whether its products are called moonshine or artisanal spirits, the small-batch distilling movement has expanded in recent years, bringing to market whiskey from Brooklyn, vodka born in Wisconsin and brandy made in Portland, Ore.
A 17-year-old XO, distilled mostly from pinot noir, is lovely, complex and subtle, while Old Havana, a 14-year-old brandy made in a more Armagnac style, is lighter and fruitier.
French law limits the use of the name to brandy made from the wine of a specified grape variety, distilled twice in special alembics, or pot stills, and aged for a prescribed period in Limousin oak.
Hoping to capitalize into the bargain on local demand for brandy made from white wine, many planted grapes cheaply and easily cultivated here but less popular (and often less tasty) than those preferred in Europe and America.
On the edge of town, McCurdy Farms offers a rather unusual product: eau de vie de poire, pear brandy made by Portland's acclaimed Clear Creek Distillery and containing a pear in each bottle.
