Category: Brandy

Review: Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy, bottled-in-bond

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Maker: Laird’s (Scobeyville, New Jersey/North Garden, Virginia)

Age:  NAS (4 y/o)

Proof: 100 (50% ABV, all spirits labeled “Bottled in Bond” are 100 proof, among other requirements, see b3 here)

Color: Bright copper

Nose: caramel, a bit of spice, sour apple, alcohol

Palate:  Sweet, creamy caramel apple on entry, then hot.  With a splash of filtered water, sweet apple pie and sour apple Now-n-Laters come to the fore, with a surprising hit of wood at the end.

Finish: hot, dry, finishing up with a big, dry tingle.  With the water, the heat abates.  There is some wood carryover, but, as on the palate, the sweetness predominates, with sweet apple (gala or honeycrisp) lingering on the tongue for a long time.

Parting words: When it comes to American Apple Brandies, for me, Laird’s BiB (Bottled-in-Bond) is the benchmark.   In addition to being delicious, it’s a classic American spirit.  In Henry J. Crowgey’s Kentucky Bourbon: The Early Years of Whiskeymaking, almost half the pages in the book contain references to the distillation of fruit brandies, especially peach and apple.  In a world filled with syrupy, fruity nonsense (and not just on the liquor shelves) or overpriced, overwrought “collector’s bottlings”, Laird’s bottled-in-bond is a charming sip of Americana.  And really, really yummy too.

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Bloody Caesar Cocktail

Recipe: 2 oz vodka, 6 oz (or so) Clamato juice cocktail, dashes of hot sauce and worchestershire sauce.

Featured: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Clamato, Lea & Perrin’s, Deathwish Habanero Hot Sauce

To celebrate the completion of my midterm in my class on the Roman Republic, I’ve decided to enjoy a Bloody Caesar.  Because I have a feeling the class is going to end with one.

A bloody caesar is a bloody mary made with Clamato rather than tomato juice.  Clamato is a tomato juice cocktail made with clam juice.  It makes a much thinner, more mild drink than tomato or vegetable juice makes.  So I always find myself putting more worchestershire and hot sauce into a Caesar than I do into a Mary.  Especially this hot sauce which, despite the name, is less than deadly.  I also forgot to add any prepared horseradish.  Still, the clam came through.

At any rate, in my expereince pepper (black or red) or tomato infused vodka seems to work best with Clamato juice.  It gives its mild flavor a good boost.  At any rate, my Bloody Caesar was pretty tasty.  A nice change of pace from the Mary, even if it does lack its richness and bite.