The team at Vanguard Luxury Brands have hit on another hot trend with the announcement that they are now importing Laird’s Applejack, direct from the USA. Applejack is a colonial spirit that is gaining some momentum in the world’s leading cocktail bars. Laird’s Applejack is made from only carefully selected, whole, tree-ripened apples including Jonathans, Winesaps, Stamens, Pippens, and Delicious varieties. Applejack is made at the peak of the apple harvest,  and then pressed into pure, sweet apple juice. This juice is then transferred to 20,000 gallon oak fermenter tanks outside the still site, where the juice is allowed to ferment naturally (no yeast cultures or starters are employed). The fermented juice is then sent to the still, and distillation proceeds, boosting the proof by vaporization and re-condensation, to approximately 160 proof. The fresh distillate, or Apple Brandy, is then 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.

All straight Apple Brandy and “Apple Bond” (100 proof brandy) is made from the older brandy inventory, and can range from six to ten years or more in age. The straight Apple Brandy and Apple Bond is truly “sippin’ whiskey”, and is especially smooth and mellow in flavor and aroma. Laird’s Applejack is a blend of Apple brandy and neutral spirits, and although the brandy selected may be slightly “younger” (only four to six years old), the blend also carries a distinctive fruity flavor and aroma.

Since the first production of Applejack in the late 1600’s, the time-honored procedures and standards have been maintained, and Applejack is a pure, native American spirit. This is an especially significant factor in today’s trend toward natural, additive-free foods and beverages.

The team at Vanguard recently launched their Laird’s Applejack at Canberra’s Julep Lounge with the featured cocktail, the Jack Rose, made with Applejack rather than Calvados.

For more information visit www.vanguardluxurybrands.com