Laird's 7 1/2 yr old Apple Brandy 750ml

Laird & Company traces its roots to 1698, when William Laird began distilling apples in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and today holds License No. 1 from the U.S. government, granted in 1780 and making it America's oldest licensed distillery. This particular expression was introduced by the family in 1964 to mark New Jersey's three hundredth anniversary. Now run by the ninth generation of the Laird family, the company remains one of the few American producers still dedicated primarily to apple brandy rather than grain spirits.

This is a 100 percent straight apple brandy, meaning it contains no neutral spirit, distilled from cider made with a blend of apple varieties including Jonathan, Gala, Winesap, Stayman, and both Red and Golden Delicious. After fermentation and pot distillation, the spirit rests in charred oak barrels for a minimum of seven and a half years, at which point the distillery tastes through individual barrels to select those destined for this bottling rather than blending indiscriminately across the warehouse.

The nose shows baked apple and cedar, sometimes with a faint hint of dark fruit or cocoa. On the palate, caramel and baked toffee lead into vanilla, cardamom, and nutmeg, with wood and pear character rounding things out and crystallized ginger lingering through a medium length finish.