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Applejack- It's not Just for Breakfast Anymore

by Darryl Beeson

For high proof spirits, what is old sometimes becomes new again, as with Applejack, not to be confused with the breakfast cereal.

The granddad of this treat would be William Laird, a County Fife Scotsman, who in 1698 emigrated from Scotland and settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Likely a distiller by trade, he applied his skills to the most abundant natural resource available in that area of the New World- apples.
His distillery created what is now known as "Applejack"and flourished until 1849, when a fire burned the distillery to the ground. Robert Laird, a fifth generation Laird, re-built the distillery at its current Scobeyville site. In 1851, expanded commercial production of Applejack began.

"It possesses unbelievable apple flavor." says Anthony Giglio who writes the Liquids column for Boston Magazine and is a contributing editor at Wine & Spirits magazine.  "It doesn't remind me at all of Calvados (the French variation) because it doesn't express any overt heat." He disagrees with any marketing efforts that compare Applejack as something similar to a whiskey drink. It indeed may be a smoother alternative served on the rocks, though.

The Laird family continues their perfected process of making their Applejack. Tree-ripened apples are carefully selected at the peak of the apple harvest, in early September to mid-November, insuring that the quality and sweetness of the apples are at their peak. The apples are washed, and pressed into apple juice, then transferred to 20,000 gallon oak fermenter tanks outside the still site, where the juice is allowed to ferment naturally. It is then sent to the Laird distillation plant, no longer in New Jersey, but in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

The fresh distillate, or Apple Brandy, is cut with pure water to approximately 130 proof and transferred to 50 gallon charred oak barrels for aging. All brandy is aged for four to eight years. This unusually long aging process enhances the natural apple flavor and aroma.

"I can remember precisely how impressed I was the very first time I tasted Applejack." recalls Giglio. "I was reviewing a swanky restaurant called Amanda's in Hoboken, New Jersey, where a barman named Tom was shaking up beautiful, caramel-colored martinis that I mistook for manhattans. The taste of his Apple'tini was simply pure apple flavor without the fire of a typical apple liqueur, such as Calvados. I think I had three more Apple'tinis before dinner." We suspect that the restaurant received a pretty good review.

As with wine, spirits can be paired with particular foods. Giglio has matched Applejack with savory desserts, such as pumpkin pie and even apple pie. His reasoning is that Applejack is not too sweet, and therefore complements desserts perfectly.

Since the late 1600's, the time-honored procedures and standards have been maintained, and Applejack is a honest American spirit. To learn more about Laird's Applejack and the family's other products, go to www.lairdandcompany.com. 

Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. In the past, he has been wine steward or cellar master for The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Voltaire, and The Adolphus Hotel. Not one for stuffiness or secret handshakes relative to wine, this Texan might now be described as a "ki-yi-yippee sommelier, sommelier." Beeson reports on wine, spirits, food and travel for numerous publications.

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