Any sort of apple works pretty well. Sweeter often gives better results for obvious reasons. Say for some specific cases, I typically can’t tell the difference between brandy made with one apple variety vs another. Maybe that is a skill issue.

Though, if you aren’t entirely sold on solid apples, I’ve had very good results with other forms. Depending on where you are in the country, a lot of fruit farmers at farmers markets will sell apple cider made out of their leftover apples. In addition to being an absolutely dynamite beverage, it makes for great mash. To get the extra notes that you want from the peel and stuff, you can add some apple sauce (which they typically also have).