This Brandy de Jerez is aged in a solera for over 12 years which use American oak ex-sherry butts. The brandy is then further aged for 6 years in American oak barrels that held Don Guido Pedro Ximenez sherry. The Gran Duque this brand is named for is named for the Great Duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, a 16th century Spanish general who advised both King Charles I and King Phillip II of Spain.