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Laird’s


KyleCBreese
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Figured I would start a thread for Laird’s as I know there are a few fans on here. 

 

There was a label approval today today for a Cask Strength, Single Barrel Apple Brandy. I’m interested to see if they get the same fluctuations in taste profiles like whiskey does. 

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I would think this is going to be good for people that like to drink it "on the rocks". Looks very young considering they have some older barrels in their inventory. 

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Those numbers may just be place holders. There may be older barrels in the pipeline. 

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Isn’t this the brandy that Washington gave the troops? I’d be in interested in trying this as well as the BIB.

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3 minutes ago, HoustonNit said:

Isn’t this the brandy that Washington gave the troops? I’d be in interested in trying this as well as the BIB.

Yes, they have some documentation of receiving orders from Washington.

 

The BIB should be hitting shelves shortly. 

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Pretty substantial upgrade to their website, good to see them go in this direction, I'll be a buyer. 

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I use Laird's BIB (stockpiled 375s when I heard it was switching to "100 proof" with no guarantees) in cocktails calling for apple brandy, Calvados, apple jack, etc.  Summertime, it gets used in punches, etc.  I am heartened to hear all this.

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On 8/6/2018 at 10:18 PM, Harry in WashDC said:

I use Laird's BIB (stockpiled 375s when I heard it was switching to "100 proof" with no guarantees) in cocktails calling for apple brandy, Calvados, apple jack, etc.  Summertime, it gets used in punches, etc.  I am heartened to hear all this.

I like Lairds as well and have been clinging to my last bottle of the BIB which gets used only sparingly in hopes of this news of its return.

 

I do typically find some differences between Lairds and a calvados. Calvados generally tends to be more apple forward even as it gets older than does Lairds for me. Except when the Calvados is on the pear side of course (which is allowed and even required in certain regions). Then it is even more different!

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5 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

I like Lairds as well and have been clinging to my last bottle of the BIB which gets used only sparingly in hopes of this news of its return.

 

I do typically find some differences between Lairds and a calvados. Calvados generally tends to be more apple forward even as it gets older than does Lairds for me. Except when the Calvados is on the pear side of course (which is allowed and even required in certain regions). Then it is even more different!

Agree re: the Calvados.  I also found some cheaper labels were almost sticky sweet.  The older ones leaning toward pear, though, have a special place in our house, and they do not get near a cocktail.

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  • 5 weeks later...

A while back I picked up a Laird's Applejack, as it was called for in a cocktail. This stuff is nasty, near undrinkable even when mixed. Like Vodka mixed with a bit of apple brandy, which I guess is essentially what it is. This put me off the brand and almost prevented me from picking up a bottle of the 7 1/2 year. 

 

I'm glad it was only almost though, because the 7 1/2 year is quite pleasant and a great buy at the $35 or so I paid for it. It's not a high end Calvados, but is quite enjoyable neat which is more than I can say for other American brandies I've had.

 

I'm excited to see the barrel proof SB, but yeah, 52 months seems young. Would love to see something in the 8+ year range.

Edited by EarthQuake
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  • 3 months later...
14 minutes ago, lcpfratn said:


The only Laird’s I’ve ever seen in my area is the Apple Jack.

I'd imagine we see more of it here because of the NJ connection. 

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I will be on the hunt for the 5 year. The bonded is great, so I’d assume this would be too. 

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On 12/14/2018 at 9:47 PM, KyleCBreese said:

I will be on the hunt for the 5 year. The bonded is great, so I’d assume this would be too. 

Has the original BIB returned as true BIB now? If so I haven't seen it yet. It was not BIB for the past few years. If they can put out a 5yo BIB then presumably they can put out the 4yo again. It has been a staple of cocktail creations since the reemergence of craft cocktails in the mid 2000's.

 

It will be interesting to see what the price of this "10th Generation" is compared to the original BIB when it arrives

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50 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Has the original BIB returned as true BIB now? If so I haven't seen it yet. It was not BIB for the past few years. If they can put out a 5yo BIB then presumably they can put out the 4yo again. It has been a staple of cocktail creations since the reemergence of craft cocktails in the mid 2000's.

 

It will be interesting to see what the price of this "10th Generation" is compared to the original BIB when it arrives

The BIB seemed to start coming back when the new 86 proof "Straight Applejack" started hitting the shelves this year, the picture on their website shows it as BIB as well (while also showing the 86 proof so I'm guessing this is a new picture).

 

http://lairdandcompany.com/

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3 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Has the original BIB returned as true BIB now? If so I haven't seen it yet. It was not BIB for the past few years. If they can put out a 5yo BIB then presumably they can put out the 4yo again. It has been a staple of cocktail creations since the reemergence of craft cocktails in the mid 2000's.

 

It will be interesting to see what the price of this "10th Generation" is compared to the original BIB when it arrives

Yes, the BIB is back. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I recently noticed some foreign matter floating in some older bottles of the BIB. I emailed Lairds and they are going to replace them for me and test to see what was in the bottle. Looks like maybe they had a NYE party a few years back and the confetti got into the bottling line. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got a response from Lairds regarding the floating matter in the bottles. I didn’t realize they used caramel coloring in their Brandy. 

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3 hours ago, KyleCBreese said:

I got a response from Lairds regarding the floating matter in the bottles. I didn’t realize they used caramel coloring in their Brandy. 

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Wow that's disappointing

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I mean, of all the weird things to be floating in your booze, caramel that has hardened over time has to be just about the most benign. Caramel coloring is very common for aged spirits outside of Straight Bourbon & Rye (Scotch, Rum, Brandy, etc).

 

I say good on them both for taking the bottle and replacing it (which I assume they have done), and for telling you exactly what it was.

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  • 11 months later...

Apologies for resurrecting a dormant thread, but had a question.  Would older bottles of Laird’s exhibit a different flavor profile than the current bottles?  There’s a LLS that has bottles of Laird’s from the tax strip days (Series 112 from late 70s/early 80s).

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