Review by: Raygun
A single barrel (obviously) of apple brandy, selected by r/bourbon x Aficionados x RareBird101. Which is a bit confusing, at least for me. Anyway, it was aged for eight years, longer than most Laird’s products, and bottled at barrel strength. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.
Distillery: Laird’s
Bottler: Laird’s, selected by r/bourbon, Aficionados, and RareBird 101
Region/style: American apple brandy
ABV: 65.8%. Cask strength.
Age: 8 years. Bottled on May 31, 2023.
Cask type: Unknown, 15E12#8, 154 bottles
Color: 1.4 tawny. Natural color and non-chillfiltered.
Nose: Brown sugar and apple pie at first sniff. Not as big a hit of apples as I expected, but certainly there. Quite a bit of spice from the barrel, which I now guess is new oak.
Palate: A lot of oak, which is no surprise. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and some vanilla. Crisp apple flavor, mainly red apples I’d say. Got some heat, again not a surprise. Cinnamon buns, apple tea. Did I mention oak? I notice the heat even more the second time around. Better with water.
Finish: Brown sugar, cinnamon, apple, and pie crust. Not too different from the palate, maybe slightly less heat. It’s very oaky, but not overly tannic. Good length.
Conclusion: Big and bold. Goes for power over refinement. It does taste like a new oak cask, and it works pretty well. I get a lot of oak, but without losing the apple flavor. Heat was a bit much for me, and I found it better with some water. I’d call it a notch below the Afish Clear Creek apple brandy, which was more refined.
Score: 77
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent brandy worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 