My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going to be asked to drop $40 to $70 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. I hope to see if another spirits category offers something downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits but to maximize the quality I’m getting at a particular price point. The reviews in this series will all be written through a bourbon drinker’s lens.
I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! I took the day off and spent it wth my wife. We went out for lunch, did some record shopping, did a Costco run, stopped off at Fleet-Farm and then came home to hand out candy to the kids. While we manned the door for the nine kids that braved the cold to wander down our practically lightless street, we put together a puzzle and listened to a few of the records that we had purchased during our day off.
It wasn’t until bedtime that I realized that I had forgotten to write this.
Do you ever do that? You’ve been doing something on a schedule for over a decade and then you just…space it out? Happens to me a lot. I’ll blame it on getting old, but I’m pretty sure those that know me well will attest that this is something that I’ve been doing for decades now. I’ve been a space cadet for almost as long as I’ve been alive.
Anyway, let’s move away from my failings of memory and over to tonight’s…brandy? Yes brandy. I’ve been sitting on this one for a bit now (purchased mid-July) as I worked through all the samples sent to me. Though I love my local liquor stores, not everything is distributed to Minnesota so when I learned about Curiada a few years back (coincidentally while buying another Laird’s product) I’ve kept it in mind as a way to purchase things that either are not distributed here, or are distributed in such low quantities that you need to win a lottery to purchase it. And this 12 year old Apple Brandy fit the bill for that.
Here is what the distillery has to say about it:
Laird’s Rare Apple Brandy is the finest, most elegant expression of the Laird’s Apple product line. The aged barrels used in this exclusive brandy are carefully selected by eighth generation Larrie Laird and Master Distiller Danny Swanson for their exceptional taste and character. When first conceived in 1995, tasters agreed 88 proof was the optimum alcohol percentage to highlight the rich and complex flavors of this fine spirit. After peacefully ageing for a minimum of 12 years in our New Jersey barrel-ageing warehouse, the product is then bottled by hand. Each bottle bares a handwritten batch number, date of bottling and bottle number.
So now the I’ve put this off for about 6 months, let’s see how it tastes, shall we?
Laird's 12 year old Apple Brandy
Purchase Info: $122.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Curiada.com
Price per Drink (50 mL): $8.20
Details: 12 years old. 44% ABV.
Nose: This reminds me of a baked apple. Notes of brown sugar, caramel, baking spices, and sweet apple.
Mouth: Baking spices and barrel notes predominate with just a hint of apple underneath. After a couple of sips notes of caramel and brown sugar appear.
Finish: Warm and on the longer end of medium length. Notes of floral apple and cinnamon blossom after swallowing.
Thoughts: This is a wonderfully apple-forward brandy. In the past, I've had a few apple brandies that were very dried fruit forward, but this is more like a sweet and floral apple note. And 12 years in a barrel has allowed sweet caramel and spicy cinnamon notes to develop and come through even at a relatively low 88° proof. I really like this. And due to the cost, it will be going on the special shelf for sure.
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