New or old brandies are seldom sold directly to the consumer; they go to an intermediary. This intermediary is the house of the merchant. Each one of these great houses, at least the most important of them, in each locality has a special agent or representative, who knows where the good brandies are found, and also is acquainted with the needs of the proprietor. These agents secure samples of the different brandies which are for sale and submit them to the merchant, or the merchant on the other hand often depends upon the judgment of the agent in regard to the quality of the goods offered. All brandies are tested by taste and smell by experts, in order to judge of their qualities, before sale.

Blending

Brandy is rarely given to the consumer in the same condition in which it is bought from the producer. There are several reasons for this. In the first case, the brandy as it is often found by lack of proper care in its keeping, is not entirely limpid; thus the first step in preparing for sale to the consumer is to carefully filter it. The greater reason is that each of the great houses dealing in brandy supplies a clientele which is accustomed to brandy of a particular kind. This kind is usually the product of a mixture of a great many brandies of the region. Brandies differ from year to year in character, and it is the art of the great houses to make mixtures which produce a beverage varying little from year to year in quality and character. Thus, by selling these brandies under a certain name they secure a constant demand for them, and the persons who use them expect the same quality from year to year. Great art and skill are required to take from hundreds of different producers different kinds of brandy and by mixing make a uniform variety.