The kind of big, sweet apples that have been bred for eating, like Red and Golden Delicious, are far too sugary and watery. This year’s batch is made from Winesap, Pippin, Arkansas Black and other heritage apple breeds that are good for brandy, she said, because they have almost no sweetness, but share a strong, concentrated apple taste that carries all the way through distillation.
That clear spirit is applejack - not as strong as modern distilled spirits like vodka, but strong enough to last the winter. Each time the ice is skimmed off, the concentration of alcohol grows, until what is left in the barrel reaches about 40 proof. With each freeze, the water in the cider crystallizes into slushy ice. The original applejack, which many historians believe was invented by American colonists, was produced by a low-tech method called “jacking.” Jacked spirits are distilled not by the usual method of boiling, but by freezing, and any household with a supply of hard cider and cold weather could make applejack.
Calvados vs applejack drivers#
Local Wilkes County bootleggers like Junior Johnson, the Thomas brothers and the Flock family famously became the first generation of NASCAR drivers in the 1940s and ’50s, and many of the sport’s first speedways, along with its Hall of Fame, are within 100 miles of here. Up to and through the Prohibition era, there were countless producers making and (illegally) selling applejack in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where roads were limited and trees provided thick cover from government agents. This made-in-America cider has 6 percent alcohol and has gentle bubbles and distinct apple flavors.In this cool, fertile Appalachian region, as in most of the Northeast, apples were then far more plentiful than the grains needed to make whiskey. It's crisp, dry, slightly effervescent and is so low in alcohol 3 percent you could have a glass with your lunch, then go right back to work clearheaded.Ĭider Jack, $1.10 for a 12-ounce bottle. A deeply colored cider that's almost the color of apricots. It's only 5.5 percent alcohol, making it a pleasant mealtime beverage.ġ998 Sydre Argelette, $13. A golden yellow, slightly foamy cider with clear apple flavors and a dry finish.
Calvados must be aged in wood at least two years, but most is aged for much longer.ġ998 Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie, $7.70. Calvados is made from juice that ferments at least one month no sugar is added to the liquid then it is distilled. The most widely distributed brand is from Laird's, which has recently released a limited number of bottles of their newest product, a 12-year old apple brandy.Ĭalvados: Apple brandy made in Calvados, a village in the French region of Normandy. (By definition, brandy is a spirit, often aged in wood, made by distilling wine or a fermented mash of fruit.) Applejack is aged in wood for at least two years. (Cider made from pears is called "pear cider" or "perry.") Hard ciders can be still (the French call them tranquille), slightly effervescent, or so bubbly that they foam up in the glass like beer.Īpplejack: A brandy made from apple cider and ranging in strength from 80 to 100 proof. After fermentation, it is called "hard" cider, and can range widely in taste, texture and alcohol content. Before fermentation, this juice is referred to as "sweet" cider. Below, some terminology, and a few recommendations for what to try.Ĭider: The liquid that results from pressing apples or pears. Apple brandy comes in several forms and is a nice change from Cognac or other after-dinner spirits. Cider is a popular beverage in England and France, and was the mealtime beverage of choice for Thomas Jefferson, who drank wine after meals, not during. Drinking fermented apple juice is nothing new in fact, sources say it's been around since the days of Julius Caesar. Then later as adults many, many apples later we're introduced to the hard stuff: cider and apple brandy.
And after a few teeth appear, we're on to eating the real thing. Most of us like the flavor of apples, an affection which begins as soon as we can swallow a little applesauce.
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