Colonial Apple Brandy - Ambix Spirits

We were inspired to make CCL by the close connection of apple brandy to the colonies and the early United States, so let’s explore that history.

American Apples

Modern apples (Malus Domestica) came to the Americas with the early European settlers. French Jesuits started planting apple seeds in the New England forests of in the late 1500’s. Proper seedling orchards were then established by the colonists soon thereafter and by the 1630’s the fist named and propagated apples of the Americas started to emerge. The oldest named American apple credit going to Reverend Blaxton’s Yellow Sweeting (now lost) and then the Roxbury Russet which is still widely grown and one of our favorites.

The Newtown Pippin apples used in our CCL brandy dates to the latter half of the 17th century and originated as a seedling in the village of Newtown, Long Island (located in modern day Queens). Newtown Pippin was grown by Jefferson and Washington and they, as well as Franklin, all wrote about it being one of their favorite apples.

Distilling in the Colonies

Where is fruit there is brandy, a means to preserve the value of a perishable crop. The earliest documented distillation was associated with William Hendricks at the New Netherlands colony on Staten Island in 1640. Hendricks was believed to be primarily distilling apples from the local newly established apple orchards.

Spirits are compact and non perishable and thus ideal for trade and they had a major role in early colonial commerce and trade. Early colonial spirits were mostly made from fruit, especially apples, as cereal grains were in short supply and essential to the colony’s food supply. As farms and plantations grew, both brandy and whiskey were an important parts of colonial commerce. Apple brandy truly was the first colonial spirit.

In the 18th century Rum made from Caribbean molasses became the main spirit produced in the colonies because of its value in international triangular trade which involved New England rum, Caribbean molasses, and West African slaves. The deplorable trade of spirits was significant to colonial economics and was a significant factor leading to the revolution. There are lessons to explore in this evolution of colonial distilling to serve international trade, but we will stay focused on the locally produced and consumed brandy.

Apple Brandy in the Revolution

Apple Brandy was quite popular during the revolution and was typically referred to as Cyder Spirits, Apple Jack, and other local names like New Jersey Lightening. Apple Jack was originally used to refer to low-tech freeze distillation (jacking) but later was applied to vapor distillation.

Laird & Company, traces its history back to a distillery established by William Laird in 1698 in Monmouth County New Jersey. Laird & Company is still owned by the Laird family making it one of the oldest family owned business in the United State. George Washington was such a fan that in 1760 he requested the recipe used by Lairds which was provided and was referenced in Washington’s diaries as he started his own distilling efforts. William’s grandson, Robert, served under Washington and during the battle of Monmouth and supplied the troops with apple brandy. In 1780 Lairds was given the distillery license #1 by the United States, securing apple brandy as the first spirit of the United States.

We were inspired by Washington’s love of Cyder Spirits to release our CCL and we hope you enjoy this revolutionary spirit in this semi-quincentennial year of these United States.