Applejack is the harder version of cider with 30-40% alcoholic content. Tastessence gives you the recipe to make applejack liquor with an easy explanation.
It is against the law to make applejack unless you have an authentic license, with all appropriate taxes paid.
Applejack is an American colonial alcoholic drink. Traditionally, it's made by concentrating the cider by freeze distillation process. So, it sets a great example of pure fermentation. It is actually a more alcoholic version of cider, with about 30-40% alcoholic content. Anciently, people used to leave barrels of cider on their porches and take the ice off every night, leaving applejack. But today, it is prepared with the help of brandy and neutral spirits.
Applejack has a sweet apple taste with the flavor of wine. This liquor can also be added to desserts like cakes and ice creams to give a tinge of flavor. We give you two recipes to prepare applejack beverage.
In a saucepan, place chopped apples, 2 tbsp. of water, and cinnamon sticks. Mix well. Turn on the stovetop heat, and let the mixture heat up on medium flame.
Add sugar to this mixture and continue stirring until all the sugar gets dissolved completely. Then keep aside to cool.
Now take an airtight, plastic food-grade pail with a lid. Pour 2 cups of brandy and the apple mixture in it. Stir well. Add 3 cups of dry white wine to this mixture.
Store it in a dark and cool place for about 3 weeks. Inspect the container on a regular basis. Shake it on every third day so that all the ingredients blend well with each other.
Open the container after 3 weeks, and filter it with a double layer of cheesecloth. Place this strained mixture in a cool and dark area.
Another way to make it is through freeze distillation process. In this one, you make applejack using hard cider. Applejack is basically the hard alcohol version of cider. So to do this, a process known as freeze distillation is carried out.
Pour cider in a jug. Let the cheesecloth do the straining as explained above.
Now, fill this up in a pail and place it in the chest freezer. Loosely cover it with a lid, but do not latch it tight. Set aside for 24 hours.
Skim off the slush forming at the top and keep it back for freezing.
Continue this procedure of freezing and skimming for about 3 days with the ice-scooping thing done every 24 hours. Actually, do it until you are left with snow-free mixture. What we are actually doing is removing water from the mixture and letting the liquor and flavoring stay.
Transfer this to another jug. Wrap this jug with layers of cheesecloth and let it stay for 2 days, until all the evaporation process is done.
Store and serve. Enjoy your own homemade hard apple cider with an authentic, old-fashioned flavor.
● Depending on your personal tastes and the sugar content you require in the juice, cider may need to be fermented more or less.
● Do not use glass containers, as they may crack owing to the freezing action.
● If you let it age for a week or two, it's even better.