Easy Apple Brandy Cocktail Recipe — Sugar & Cloth (2024)

FAQs

How is apple brandy made? ›

Aged apple brandy is made by fermenting fresh apples into a hard cider, which is then distilled. Post distillation, the spirit is aged in oak barrels. The flavor profile is relative to the apple varieties used, type of oak and maturation period.

Apple brandies are made worldwide by distilling the juice or pulp of apples, whereas applejack is a distinctly American iteration that was historically distilled by freezing apple cider but is now most commonly distilled in copper or chamber stills.

Calvados is an apple brandy which must be made with apples from Normandy, France as stated in its Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status. The apples are fermented into cider, distilled into eau-de-vie, and then aged for at least two years in oak barrels.

With its harmonious marriage of baked apple flavors and spiced wood notes, Laird's Straight Apple Brandy Bottled in Bond exhibits the traditional, authentic expression of apple brandy. Great for sipping and demanded by the best bartenders worldwide, for use in both classic and modern cocktails.

SOME CALL IT A KAROO MARTINI; OTHERS REFER TO IT AS FIGHTING JUICE. WHATEVER THE NAME IT'S GIVEN, THERE IS NO DENYING THAT BRANDY AND COKE IS A PART OF SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE.

For those looking for an intense experience, drinking brandy neat is definitely the way to go. All you need is a tulip-shaped glass, pour the brandy in and savour the flavour. If you prefer your brandy with a bit of dilution, try serving it on the rocks – simply pour over small cubes of ice or an ice ball and sip away.

Its high alcohol level keeps bacteria from growing in the liquor and protects its integrity when stored in a cool and dark environment. Open brandy won't go bad but it will lose its potency and flavor complexity within 6 months to 2 years of the seal being broken.

An easy way to get that quintessential fall feeling is mixing up a drink using apple brandy. Between adding Calvados to classics like the Negroni or Old Fashioned, or mixing in the New Jersey-born Laird's Applejack to a Hot Toddy, the crisp apple flavor of apple brandy is a great addition to any fall night at home.

The most common Apple Brandy is called Calvados, which is the Normandy region of France where the liquor originated. Calvados is typically made with cider apples, but it can also be made with pears grown in the same region.

Here, in France's apple-growing region, they make elegant brandy called Calvados. Calva, as the locals call it, starts with choosing the most suitable apples among the 800 or so varieties. Fermentation, distillation and aging in oak barrels transform cider into smooth brandy.

What is the difference between apple brandy and Calvados? ›

Applejack generally has a thinner apple flavor, while the concentrated brandy has a richer, more complex personality. Unlike its cousin Calvados, American apple brandy doesn't play by a strict set of rules. Calvados must be produced in the Normandy region of France and must be aged in oak casks for at least two years.

In the 1950s, the surge in alcoholism became a national issue in France and this led to heavy taxation, increased controls and better-informed consumers. Calvados, the popular and previously affordable beverage became considerably more expensive as a result.

Calvados is an apple brandy with Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status. It can only be produced in Normandy, much like Cognac is a specific brandy that can only be distilled from white wine made within a particular region from certain grapes.

Apple and grape brandies are often aged in wood (typically oak), which imparts an amber hue. Cognac is aged in French oak, most often from a specific forest in France (Limousin). The procurement and processing of this specific oak is in and of itself a special art, science and craft.

Apple brandy | alcoholic beverage | Britannica.

In a broader sense, the term brandy also denotes liquors obtained from the distillation of pomace (yielding pomace brandy), or mash or wine of any other fruit (fruit brandy). These products are also called eau de vie (literally "water of life" in French).