So this here is the original American spirit. I had never heard of it until I started researching cocktail history. I had a bottle of the blended Applejack just before this, and honestly wasn’t really a fan; it tasted like what it is: cheap corn whiskey and a splash of apple brandy. This, I’m hoping, is much more palatable and actually tastes like apples instead of charred apple bark.
Smells of baked apples, baking spices, caramel, and rubbing alcohol. The taste is lightly sweet and layered, with flavors of baked apples and spice, caramel, honey, and oak. The finish is long and oaky with lots of burn, featuring notes of apple skins, charred oak, burnt caramel, and booze. Overall, it’s an interesting liquor, kind of striding the line between whiskey and brandy with lots of smoky charred oak throughout, no doubt a nod to Laird’s Scottish whisky heritage.
A classic Jack Rose is sweet and full of apple flavor, while balanced by the lemon, oak, and boozy burn; reminiscent of a whiskey sour, but still unique enough to be worth a try.
The somewhat frustratingly named Apple Jack was the most enjoyable cocktail I found for the blended imposterjack; here it has both more apple and more oak, balanced perfectly by the tart lemon and sweet cider and the ABV is well hidden; an exquisite must try cocktail.
An Apple Car is equally as smooth with an extra layer of complexity from the orange liqueur that is quite delightful.
A Star Cocktail is well balanced and apple forward with a spicy and structured bitter finish.