The German manufacturer Hugo Johann Asbach (1868-1935) completed an apprenticeship as a distiller in Cologne. In 1892 he took over an export company for Rhenish cognac in Rüdesheim on the Rhine (Hesse), at that time this term was still allowed to be used outside France. The company "Asbach & Co" was founded in 1896. In that year, the term brandy (Cognac brandy to be precise) was mentioned for the first time in a price list with the explanation "for cognac that does not contain industrial spirit ". In 1907, the famous trademark "Asbach Uralt" was registered with the Imperial Patent Office with the definition "a genuine old brandy cognac, produced from noble selected wines". Due to the Versailles Peace Treaty in 1919, the name Cognac could no longer be used outside France, but Asbach had already refrained from doing so since 1910. Strictly speaking, it is not a brandy, as such a brandy is by definition distilled from mashed fruit, such as fruit brandy or grape brandy.
For me, Lexicon from wein.plus is the most comprehensive and best source of information about wine currently available.
Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)