COGNAC, a town of France, in the department of Charente, 22 m. W. of Angoulême; pop. in 1866, 9,412. It is situated upon an eminence on the left bank of the Charente, and is well built. It enjoys a great celebrity on account of the brandy to which it has given its name. All the brandy of Charente and Charente-Inférieure is sold as Cognac, but the genuine article is made in the immediate vicinity of the town; the best second qualities are produced at Blanzac, Jarnac, Rouillac, Aigre, and Ruffec. The whole trade in brandy amounts to about 80,000,000 francs annually. The town also has a trade in cattle, sheep, grain, spirits, and truffles. An ancient castle, in which Francis I. was born, is now used for a brandy warehouse.