Laird's Bottled In Bond Straight Apple Brandy

Holy applesauce, Batman! This is one of the more unique/obscure spirits I’ve tried, and boy am I glad I did. I love apples and I love liquor, and this satisfies on both levels. The nose smells like a freshly-cut honeycrisp, albeit a little yeasty and ethanoly. There’s something bourbony about the smell and taste as well, probably from the oak and the sugar content of the source fruit. It’s like your grandma baked a succulent apple pie and then drizzled some Kentucky Sunshine on top for good measure. The flavor is sweet, spicy and warm, with a little bit of burn due to the proof. There is also a slight, pleasant tartness that accompanies an appropriately fruity note. There’s definitely a lot more caramel on the tongue than there is on the nose. I can definitely see why some compare this to a candied apple. It’s very comforting and autumnish, more so than any other spirit I can imagine, in fact. The finish is moderate with some more sweet/tart apple notes and a touch of baking spice. Some bitterness is present as well, but it quickly fades, leaving only the fruity, apple notes clinging to the mouth-receptors and scintillating the brain, teasing it with memories of county fairs and overgrown orchards which produce the orbicular descendants of that originator of the Original Sin. Overall, this is freakin’ great. Even though it’s brandy, it’s got some undeniably whiskeyish characteristics in my book. Maybe apples are a type of grain? Maybe? Regardless, the flavor of apples is evident throughout the experience, and the nuanced complexities make the experience incredibly enjoyable however you choose to drink this stuff. I need to try it in an Old Fashioned soon, but it’s good enough to drink neat or on the rocks without any complaints whatsoever. I’m giving this such a high score because it’s so unique and so enjoyable. I’m not giving it 5 stars because there’s so little to accurately compare it to. Perhaps that doesn’t make sense, but I do what I want. Deal with it!

Rating: 10/23 N: Kind of light with some mineral, floral spices, and light apple, but also just a fair amount of alcohol. I get a little bit of a dry woodiness, but not much. P: Compared with Mischief's apple brandy, this is thin, a bit harsh, and emphasizes the alcohol. Mischief doesn't taste old so much as concentrated in flavor, but this tastes young and is kind of harsh. I'd put this substantially below both Mischief and St. George. I get some nice floral apple flavors here and a bit of spice, mineral, and some banana, but there just isn't much fullness and there isn't a ton happening. This just tastes quite immature. It's refreshing, so it might be good in a spritzer or something, but the harshness, lack of complexity, and weakness are kind of problematic. F: The apple stays while the banana comes out a bit more. The floral mineral layer is still there and there's a hint of spice, but more of just the big burn than the spice. - Conclusion - I do like the fruitiness and light spiciness. It's kind of refreshing with that. I'm not such a fan of the minerality or general lightness. The harshness is an active problem. This is growing on me for sure, but I'm still skeptical. It's definitely not as good as something like Mischief Urban Foraged Apple Brandy. Still, the harshness starts to give and the sweetness starts to balanced things out. I've thought as low as 7 and as high as 14 for this. So it's not great no matter what. Still, I'm now thinking of a 10 to 13, which is certainly a higher expected value. Considering the harshness and underwhleming flavor, I think I'm going to have to land on a 10 here. Thank you, @ctbeck11, for the sample.

Nose - apple cider, powdered sugar, caramel, vanilla, grape, orange blossom, bitter herbal notes, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sour apple, mint, bitter herbal and floral notes, caramel, vanilla, grape, tannic oak, apple skin, clove, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast with bitter herbal, apple pith, and tannic oak flavors. This is the first apple brandy I’ve tried. It falls near the middle of Laird’s range, above their applejack offerings but below some of their more aged products. I’ll admit that I was enticed by the Bottled in Bond designation on something other than whiskey. Also, I learned that Laird and Company is the oldest ‘licensed’ distillery in America, granted License No. 1 from the Treasury department in 1780. That’s pretty cool. On the nose, there’s some apple cider along with a nice powdered sugar note. There’s a floral quality I interpret as orange blossom, but some bitter herbal aromas sneak in, likely the young, bright ethanol making its presence know. The palate is similar, but even more sour, bitter, and even tannic notes appear, all but dooming this as a sipper candidate. Overall, it’s too young. It reminds me of a VS or VSOP Cognac, hinting at future glory, but largely disappointing in its current form. I’m interested to try one of Laird’s more aged bottlings, but unfortunately this one will be relegated to mixer status. And in that capacity, it suffices. I recommend trying an Autumn in Jersey cocktail, if on the off chance you have this and orgeat in the same place at the same time.

Absolutely phenomenal! Yards better than the Apple Jack I tasted years ago. The nose is full of sour and Granny Smith apples, with soft caramel and vanilla notes, followed by a slight ABV burn. The palette is all that and then some, just smoother than the nose would imply. Plenty of apple, caramel and vanilla to go around but with the addition of baking spices, soft vegetal notes and a lingering burn. Definitely delicious on its own, but I'm sure it'd make an interesting Manhattan, an Old Fashioned or even delicious mixed with Mexican Coke. Cheers!

Neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is apple peel, orchard loam, some ethanol. Taste is sharp apple with a definite bite, some mild clove and black pepper, lingering heat. Drinks hotter than the standard non-BIB 100 proof. I prefer the 10th Generation BiB. 4/6/20.

This was my first Apple Brandy and I was not disappointed. Every serious American bartender should have this bottle behind their bar. Lairds is the first official American distillery