Calvados and the joy of apples in cocktails.

Apples. One of those sort of fruits I take for granted. Not the biggest fan, they're just sort of ... there.. ubiquitous... everywhere.. can sort of just grab one anytime but... why for?

However, what if you could take apples and make something good... I mean REALLY good with them?

When I first had Tom's Foolery Applejack it was very exciting. Then I needed to compare it to a classic drink from France called Calvados, which is apple brandy made in Normandy. This particular producer I have here is Coeur de Lion from Christian Drouin and their Sélection grade. Now there were going to be obvious differences (one is more like whiskey the other is a brandy) but this is what tasting is all about!

Calvados has several grades of quality. This sélection grade is the lowest, and it is highly recommended for cocktails but is still a great drink on its own! From there the grades go from Fine, Reserve, VSOP, Hors d'Age, and then get into vintage year productions just like wines. Also... the prices of these really start climbing on top of it too!

To make things even more fun, I threw in some Eau de Vie de Pomme from Clear Creek distillery, aged 8 years in Limousin casks. Throw in how to make a Calvados cocktail, and you have a recipe for some great win. Watch the video below to learn and see more imbibing goodness!

Cheers!

No fooling around! Tom's Foolery applejack is on the block

Back in the day, applejack was what American whiskey was. Way before moonshine, bourbon, all that stuff.. there was applejack. As we moved away from colonial days, and into modern time, this spirit has still for the past 50 years been very much under the radar, but lately it has been sort of coming back. For decades there has always been one name synonymous with applejack and that was Laird's. Laird's boasts itself as America's Oldest Family Run Distillery.

At one point there were actually several producers of applejack, but as time went on Laird's bought them out, leaving themselves to be the only producer of this product. In most circles this would seam like a lecherous act bent on mass producing a product while giving up quality control. If anything it seems the opposite happened, specifically two things. 1) The company wanted to maintain it's love for this product as the premier producer 2) By consolidating the other applejack producers they essentially saved this spirit from extinction. So when you think of applejack you would think of Laird's... until now.

Spending some time with other whiskey fans and spirit connoisseurs, I heard of a very small family run distillery that was run by a husband and wife team. The name was Tom's Foolery and they are out of Ohio. Once again, the pioneering small craft distillery is making things happen. They have made applejack and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle of this stuff. There are currently only 240 bottles of this made, because this is a VERY small producer. Their website is also filled with lots of historical information and techniques on how this product was made so check it out.

I do wonder though how long it was aged, my wild guess is that it wasn't aged very long, probably about 2 years max and that I think is a stretch (who knows)? I've asked the owners about this and hope they will respond soon. Regardless, for applejack this is a great time to celebrate, and this is also a great product. I tasted them both in comparison side by side, and to have even more fun I tried them both in a simple cocktail... the one that makes applejack a win, and that is a Jack Rose.

Please Note that some consider this NOT a fair comparison. It should be noted that the Laird's used in the comparison is blended applejack. It contains GNS (Grain Neutral Spirits). The Tom's is 100% applejack. Laird's does make a 100% applejack product but it's not as widely distributed as the blend. 65% of this Laird's product is GNS.

Check out the review, tasting, and Jack Rose cocktail below. CHEERS!

Fall imbibing season kicks in to high gear!

Fall has finally hit, even though it seemed that Summer recently wouldn't go without a fight.

I made a trip out to rural Maryland to take in some of the bounty that comes with Fall. The bounty would be apples, but more so for the imbibing purist, that pursuit would be in the form of hard cider.

I have to admit I was not in to cider, and I usually do not care for apples at all. My wife however loves cider, and the occasional trip to a farm in Fall would mean a jug of cider to bring home. I was interested when I started hearing about hard cider, but more so when I learned that there was a great drink you could have in Fall called a Stone Fence. It turned out I had one of these in a recent Mr. Booze event, and I was hooked.

A Stone Fence is a Fall cocktail. It consists of two simple primary ingredients. One, is cider either regular or the hard type. The other without question is Applejack, which is made by Laird's Company the oldest family run distillery in America. The Hard cider I picked up was in three varieties one very dry, and then 2 that had slightly more sweetness while still remaining dry and crisp. I had tasted them before purchase and figured that I could work with something at home even if it didn't work out. I returned home with bottles in hand all set for my Fall drinking glory to begin.
The first Stone Fence was made with the hard
cider which I will admit was very dry. The apple bouquet notes are very subtle but the drink has a good feel almost like if I could describe it (even though there is no such thing) an apple spirit. However, it became apparent that while this drink was enjoyable to my palate this was not the drink I remember having at the event. The other Stone Fence I had was much sweeter. Then it occurred to me... this should be made with regular cider. Some tempting moments later, regular cider was poured... and magic hit the glass. PERFECT! now this is what I remember!

So make sure to give a Stone Fence this summer with some great Applejack and the cider of your choice. Hard cider will create a very dry cocktail. Regular cider will create a sweet Fall apple mix that will just make you swoon. It's up to you how you like it, and it seems cider can change as it's been opened so you may find a certain cider that works for you. I've also seen some other recipes that involve the use of bitters, either Peychauds or Angostura. So it all depends.

Either way a Stone Fence in Fall is truly a fantastic drink and it's easy to make a basic one. Watch the video below to learn how to make one.