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Arkansas Black Applejack 21 Years Old


EarthQuake
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arkansas-black-21.thumb.jpg.3663e1479d849f08e165bc646ae5a341.jpg

 

This popped up on an online store that I occasionally buy stuff from. The company that bottles this has a craft operation out of CA, but this is sourced from an undisclosed distillery.

 

"We sourced the product from a California brandy family who made a one-off batch of apple brandy in the early ’90s. They put the 100% California-grown apple distillate in seasoned french oak and let it ride, never bottling it or bringing it to market. Earlier this year they made the decision that they didn’t really have a plan for the stuff and made it available. We bought it, brought the proof to 92, and bottled it with no additional processing. There will be 600 cases bottled and that will be that."

 

So, a CA brandy distillery that made some apple brandy in the 90s, that could only be Germain-Robin, right? @WhiskeyBlender do you have any insights here? Is it GR? Did GR think it sucked so they didn't bother to bottle it? The mystery. The intrigue.

Edited by EarthQuake
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On 12/24/2018 at 5:57 PM, EarthQuake said:

arkansas-black-21.thumb.jpg.3663e1479d849f08e165bc646ae5a341.jpg

 

This popped up on an online store that I occasionally buy stuff from. The company that bottles this has a craft operation out of CA, but this is sourced from an undisclosed distillery.

 

"We sourced the product from a California brandy family who made a one-off batch of apple brandy in the early ’90s. They put the 100% California-grown apple distillate in seasoned french oak and let it ride, never bottling it or bringing it to market. Earlier this year they made the decision that they didn’t really have a plan for the stuff and made it available. We bought it, brought the proof to 92, and bottled it with no additional processing. There will be 600 cases bottled and that will be that."

 

So, a CA brandy distillery that made some apple brandy in the 90s, that could only be Germain-Robin, right? @WhiskeyBlender do you have any insights here? Is it GR? Did GR think it sucked so they didn't bother to bottle it? The mystery. The intrigue.

@EarthQuake, no, it wouldn't be Germain-Robin. My best guess is that since they say they sourced it from "a California brandy family who made a one-off batch of apple brandy in the early '90's" that would most likely be made by Miles Karakasevic of Charbay Winery & Distillery. He came to California and started distilling around the same time that Hubert did, which would have been around 1982 or so. His son, Marko, has now taken over the winery and distillery. 

 

Again, I'm not 100% positive about it, but since they say the product was a craft product as well, it would absolutely make sense that it is a Charbay apple brandy. 

 

I hope that helps. I'd love to hear what you think about it if you buy it! If it was indeed made by them, then it ought to be pretty good, depending upon how it was matured during those 21 years. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

Edited by WhiskeyBlender
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2 hours ago, HoustonNit said:

Saw this today for $125. I’m interested but not at that price.

This is where I found it, it's on sale for $80 currently.

 

https://www.blackwellswines.com/products/arkansas-black-21-year-old-applejack

 

@WhiskeyBlender thanks, Charbay makes sense, I know so little about their operation so I didn't think of them. I will let you know what I think if I grab one of these.

Edited by EarthQuake
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  • 2 weeks later...

So as Applejack it has some (considerable?) portion of NGS in it? Presumably it was then aged in french oak likely used used initially for wine of some sort after blending? Too many unanswered questions for me at his point. If it were straight apple brandy I would perhaps have a little more interest. Might well be great stuff but this would still likely be a try before you buy option for me.

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26 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

So as Applejack it has some (considerable?) portion of NGS in it? Presumably it was then aged in french oak likely used used initially for wine of some sort after blending? Too many unanswered questions for me at his point. If it were straight apple brandy I would perhaps have a little more interest. Might well be great stuff but this would still likely be a try before you buy option for me.

Oddly it is labeled Straight Applejack, I'm not sure if that makes a difference but I do know that Black Dirt Distillery packages a BIB Straight Applejack and it has no NGS. 

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2 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

Oddly it is labeled Straight Applejack, I'm not sure if that makes a difference but I do know that Black Dirt Distillery packages a BIB Straight Applejack and it has no NGS. 

Overlooked the straight designation on the label so perhaps that does mean it is all brandy. 

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Not that I'm trying to cast any doubt here but as far as I recall there is no regulation for "straight" in the context of apple brandy or applejack with the TTB so straight or not doesn't mean it does or does not have any GNS blended in.  Applejack has a regulation with TTB but there is no distinction for straight.  Hopefully though, since straight has a generally understood definition, they are using it in the context that we expect.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes I think in this case the use of "Applejack" is rather odd, as I'm pretty sure this sourced brandy and the apple brandy they distill themselves are both straight brandies. I've had too many other things catch my attention so I haven't taken a swing on this one yet.

 

But the Applejack name is a bit offputting. I bought a bout of Lairds Applejack a while back and it was horrid, like vodka with a sprinkle of apple brandy in it.

Edited by EarthQuake
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A quick pass at the regs suggest that “straight” as a term is not used in Apple brandy (or any brandy?) like it is with whiskey but I would have to read the rega more closely  to be sure. Applejack can be used similar to Apple brandy if it is all juice. But if it has NGS it would be applejack and have to say it’s a blend somewhere on the label. Like whiskey it needs at least 20% of Apple brandy in it to be called a blend. I don’t anything labeled as Apple Brandy can have NGS in it.

Edited by tanstaafl2
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  • 1 month later...

Hi All - I just came across this post.  My name is John Collins and I own this brand..  We did indeed source this product - but agreed to not disclose the producer.  Since I am in the habit of honoring my word I cannot disclose but I can say that none of the guesses above are correct.  Regarding the use of the word "straight" on the label, there is (imho) a good reason for this.  First - apple brandy and applejack are equivalent products per TTB Standards of Identity.  Any brandy made from 100% apples may be called applejack.  Blended Applejack (think Laird's) is an entirely different category of spirit - and is not a brandy at all since it has stuff other than fruit in it.  This category was created in response to Laird's petition to the TTB to create a less apple-y product that the public might enjoy.  TTB rejected that they be able to call it a brandy and required the bottle label to identify it as a blend.  This is not secret info that Laird's hides, it is right on their site's product description.  Due to general public confusion about this, we decided to use the word "straight" on our labels in order to convey the general understanding that "straight" means an unadulterated product.  Perhaps this caused some additional confusion - but what are ya gonna do?  It's done.  If I had extra money to set afire I might take up a lobbying campaign with TTB but it ain't worth it.  You will note that Laird's themselves have recently launched a "straight applejack" product, so maybe I started a thing...Anyhow I hope that helps clear up our intent.  I will try to stop back here and answer any other questions if they come up.  Cheers!

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39 minutes ago, ABAJ said:

Hi All - I just came across this post.  My name is John Collins and I own this brand..  We did indeed source this product - but agreed to not disclose the producer.  Since I am in the habit of honoring my word I cannot disclose but I can say that none of the guesses above are correct.  Regarding the use of the word "straight" on the label, there is (imho) a good reason for this.  First - apple brandy and applejack are equivalent products per TTB Standards of Identity.  Any brandy made from 100% apples may be called applejack.  Blended Applejack (think Laird's) is an entirely different category of spirit - and is not a brandy at all since it has stuff other than fruit in it.  This category was created in response to Laird's petition to the TTB to create a less apple-y product that the public might enjoy.  TTB rejected that they be able to call it a brandy and required the bottle label to identify it as a blend.  This is not secret info that Laird's hides, it is right on their site's product description.  Due to general public confusion about this, we decided to use the word "straight" on our labels in order to convey the general understanding that "straight" means an unadulterated product.  Perhaps this caused some additional confusion - but what are ya gonna do?  It's done.  If I had extra money to set afire I might take up a lobbying campaign with TTB but it ain't worth it.  You will note that Laird's themselves have recently launched a "straight applejack" product, so maybe I started a thing...Anyhow I hope that helps clear up our intent.  I will try to stop back here and answer any other questions if they come up.  Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by and providing this info, appreciate it!

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@ABAJ thanks for coming here and clearing up the discussion and joining.

Do you have any other Apple brandy on the market or anything in the works?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/13/2019 at 7:57 PM, HoustonNit said:

@ABAJ thanks for coming here and clearing up the discussion and joining.

Do you have any other Apple brandy on the market or anything in the works?

We have a 3 year expression.  Double Gold in SF in 2016 and 2017.  Available in CA, MA, TX, FL, MN.  Usually retails around $50.  We have a pommeau aging presently for a very limited release.  We have been kicking the tires on some barrel-finish experiments but nothing ready for market at this point.  Thanks for your interest.  https://www.arkansasblackapplejack.com/  @arkansas_black_applejack on Insta.

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