Details
Distilled by the AppStraw Brandies Distillery, also known as the Branford Distillery, in Branford, CT. They make a series of fruit brandies including pineapple, strawberry, pear, raisin and apple brandies as well as a “Super Bourbon”. I have no idea what a super bourbon is but half of me wants to try it even though the other half knows it will be awful. I was introduced to the distillery when I saw a bottle of their aged pineapple brandy on the story shelf for <$20. I decided to take a chance on it since I didn’t know anyone made a pineapple brandy. It was pretty good but very unique so I was willing to try something more conventional from them.
According to the distilleries website, this fermented using wine yeast, distilled five times using a pot still and aged for four years in limousine oak barrels. Its surprising that it’s distilled five times, usually when a spirit is claimed to be distilled a large number of times it refers to the number of plates in a column still. Since this is a pot distilled I don’t know what to make of it; is it distilled in a hybrid still or is it actually distilled five times? The only other point of reference I have for apple brandies is Laird’s, both the 100 proof and the 7.5yr, so it will be interesting to see how this stacks up.
Nose
Apples, not surprising. Golden Delicious and Fuji. Hazelnuts and trace amounts of toffee. After a while a bit of sweet and sour pineapple and something floral that I couldn’t put my finger on. Positive experience but the flavors aren’t defined enough to be worth getting excited over.
Palate
Clover honey and toasted hazelnut. Baked red apples. After while, tart cherry, lavender and heather. Medium weight and viscosity. Fruit, floral and nutty flavors all work well together; I’m actually surprised it isn’t more fruit forward due to it’s young age. Solid overall.
Finish
Short with clover honey and toasted oak. Not much to discuss here.
Overall:
The nose is decent, palate is very good and finish is weaker than I want. Overall pretty good and I prefer this to the Laird apple brandies which taste more like apple juice to me. I would be more likely to buy the pineapple brandy over this though; while they are a similar level of quality I simply don’t know where else I would be able to get another pineapple brandy.
Rating: 5
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
Leave a Reply