In the decade or so that I’ve written about spirits, I tend to repeatedly get asked the same couple of questions. The first is always what my favorite spirit and bottle is (depends: what’s the occasion, mood, current craving?). Close after that is the question of what the most memorable thing I’ve tried is. That, too, has a longer and more ambiguous answer than most people care to hear. At least until the words “eau de musc whiskey made with the oil from a beaver’s castor gland” come out, or I mention a whiskey flavored with maple syrup tapped from a graveyard tree.
Both have a flavor profile as interesting as the story and come from the same place: New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling. The distillery draws from its location. It uses house-milled grain, local fruits and vegetables, and herbs and botanicals from the on-site garden or foraged from the woods. All of the organic grains are sourced from farms within 150 mile radius of the distillery during harvest season. Sure, Tamworth’s spirits can be quirky, but quirky in the most tasteful way.
Then I had a taste of Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy. Brandy of all kinds—Cognac, apple jack, Armagnac, Calvados—pass in and out of my home bar faster than just about any other spirit. It’s my go-to whenever it’s around. This particular bottle ended up no different, and proves that Tamworth Distilling is just as good as making serious spirits as it is quirky ones.
ABV: 50%
Price: $75
Where it’s available: Seelbach’s
How Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy Is Made
Calvados, distinct to one region in northern France, is to apple brandy what Cognac is to grape brandy. Saying any one style is the “best” is subjective, but it’s not hard to argue that the best apple brandy in the world comes from Calvados. Tamworth follows French standards for VSOP set by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac in 1983, as well as the American Bottled in Bond Act of 1987.
That means double distillation in a traditional alembic still, putting the spirit into new oak barrels at no more than 125 proof, and aging for at least four years in a bonded barrelhouse. It’s distilled in one season and bottled at 100 proof without artificial colors, other spirits, or brandies younger than four mixed in (the bottle carries a seven year age statement).
All of that would be moot if the fruit didn’t stand out. Just like you wouldn’t expect to get great wine from indistinguishable grapes, you can’t expect great apple brandy from your average dessert apple at the grocery store. Tamworth has the luxury of access to one of the oldest active orchards in the United States: Carter Hill Apple Orchard in Concord, New Hampshire. From here, the distillery sources heirloom Cortland apples—a variety developed in 1898 at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.
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What Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy Tastes Like
In the glass, the brandy is the color of the amber encasing the insect in the original Jurassic Park. The aroma has a bit of vanilla and angel food cake, with layers of bright red apple underneath. The sweet apple taste leads into just a touch of orange peel (no pith). Rounded vanilla and baking spice undertones are in the flavor just as much as the nose.
There’s no getting around the fact that this is a 100 proof spirit. There’s a noticeable but enjoyable slow burn that lasts from the start of the sip all the way through. A few drops of water calm it down some. That said, I found the brandy best neat to gather all that the spirit had to give in the flavor department rather than numb it with ice (though it makes a terrific sidecar cocktail, too).
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Why You Should Add Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy To Your Bar
Tamworth Distilling is a fun brand to know, and just as fun to talk about thanks to the tasty (if occasionally wacky) releases. The VSOP shows that the distillery is just as adept at making serious spirits that adhere to the highest standards—all the better. Plus, we could all use more brandy in our glasses and our cocktails, and why not make your go-to choice an American brandy made with heirloom American apples in the style of the top apple brandy designation in the world?
