Friday, September 16, 2011

Ad & Cocktail: Hildick Brandy & Jersey Cocktail (1910)

1941 Hildick's Applejack & Brandy
 I had to take a break today (Thursday) from cleaning out the kitchen.  It's a once every 2 month thing to have to go through and reclaim the counters from the creeping pile of "stuff".  Pull everything off and scrub the counters with Borax and then arrange the stuff that belongs neatly.  It's noon and I've been at it since 9am and I still have the pantry to arrange. 


I grabbed this old ad for Hildick's Applejack and Brandy because I had never heard of this brand before.  I did some research and came up empty so this is a brand lost to time.  I did find it interesting because it represents a slice of the liquor market that quickly diminished to one brand, Applejack or Apple Brandy.  Today we are left with just one brand made in the USA, Laird's Applejack from New Jersey.  I know it's amazing to think that apples are grown in any great number in New Jersey because most people's impression of that state is born from seeing Trenton or the Bayway Refinery off the Garden State Parkway.  However there are large stretches of the state that are still farmland and orchards, not to mention the Pine Barrens, an almost impassible area of woods that is so remote it gave rise to legends like the Jersey Devil.
Laird's, in addition to making the Applejack you see above, also makes a 100 proof Bottled in Bond version, and a 12 year aged Apple Brandy.  The regular version tends to be on the ethanol alcoholic side but if allowed to breathe a bit gives way to a smooth apple and slight oak taste.  For me it is one of my standards I keep around for after dinner drinks or you can mix up a Jersey Cocktail:

     1 1/2oz Applejack (Laird's)
     1 1/2oz Sweet Red Vermouth (Boissiere)
     1 dash Angostura Bitters

    Pour ingredients over ice and stir well.  Strain into a Cocktail glass and garnish with a
    Maraschino cherry or twist of lemon peel as preferred.

    Recipe Source: Jack's Manual of Bartending, 1910

2 comments:

  1. wow old school cocktails -- lovely!

    thanks for popping by my blog -- i always love a good vintage and/or recipe site.

    happily returning the bloggy ♥ and your newest follower.
    ♥cyn♥
    misadventures of a chunky goddess

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hildrick's Apple Jack Brandy was made in Lyons New York and was a very popular drink back in the 1950's and as late as the 1990's. It was one of my favorites when I played in a Country Band in that area.

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