fresh lemon juice (usually the juice of one half of a lemon) Â½ oz. There is some roughness and fire to applejack that makes it unique and, as I said earlier, gives it a profile closer to what I would associate with whiskey than brandy. Laird’s Bonded applejack has a nice apple flavor much like a young Calvados does, but is not as suave and refined on the palate. Although Laird’s markets this product as “apple brandy” most of us call it “bonded applejack” and I personally believe it must be the closest thing we have going to the applejack used in historical cocktails such as the Jack Rose, etc. Due to the bottled in bond act, this means that it is 100% apple brandy at 50% abv (100 proof) and aged a minimum of something like three years in wood (I’m going my memory on the minimum aging - but it doesn’t matter, because Laird’s Bonded is aged longer anyway). More to the point, they make an apple brandy that is bottled in bond. Laird’s makes other apple products, however. Thus, Laird’s Applejack is something like 30% aged apple brandy blended with neutral spirits and some apple wine. At some point in the 60s or 70s the government decided that if Laird’s wanted to call it “applejack” instead of “apple brandy” it had to be a blended spirit. Historically, this would have been a product made from 100% aged spirit (applejack has been made here since colonial times). Today there is only one remaining producer of Applejack: Laird’s. (similar to requirements for Cognac and Armagnac).Īpplejack is simply an American style of Apple Brandy, and “applejack” was historically the nickname for apple brandy produced in the United States. They are all made from apple juice which has been fermented, distilled and aged in wood (apple eau de vie is the same thing, only unaged).Ĭalvados, of course, refers to a specific location of production and certain other details as to ingredients, methods, etc. Filed Under: Applejack, Drinksįundamentally there is no difference between Applejack, Apple Brandy and Calvados. If you can’t find it where you live, give the good folks at Fee’s a call and see if you can order some - they’re really worth the effort. But really - and I haven’t harped on this quite enough - the Whisky Barrel Aged Bitters is an exceptionally fine product. * If you can’t find the barrel-aged bitters, then Fee’s Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters will do (or, Angostura in a pinch). Give a little stir, a big chunk or two of ice, another little stir, then garnish if you like. 2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Aromatic Bitters*.And those deep, chewy notes of cinnamon and cardamom in the Fee’s bitters brings it all together.Īpplejack Old Fashioned a la Green Street As with the potent bunny, the marriage of applejack and maple works brilliantly in an Old Fashioned (though since maple syrup is more concentrated, sugar-wise, than ordinary simple syrup, you’ll probably want to dial back the dose a notch). So, I tried it - and so should you (the rest of you, that is - I’m sure Misty has already tapped one or two). After all, I’m now a certified applejack fiend, and as for the Fee’s Whiskey-Barrel Aged Aromatic Bitters - well, anything made with that ambrosial concoction is destined for my gullet in short order. Now, Misty, you can’t just drop a drink mention like that and expect me not to try it.

Right after I gushed about how Misty Kalkofen had turned me on to a few new applejack cocktails, Misty chimed in and idly mentioned that she’s been mixing up “a ton of Applejack Old Fashioneds using maple syrup and Fee Brothers Whiskey-Barrel Aged Bitters (eschewing the fruit, of course).” This one’s promoted from the comments section on the Applejack Rabbit.

Applejack old fashioned recipe