Drinking The World

American Fruits Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur is 19.5 % abv. 39 proof and is made by the folks at Warwick Valley Winery in NY. The winery is actually better known for their authentic and tasty Doc's hard cider, then a few years ago they bought a still and started making brandies and eau de vie. I worked for awhile at a dairy farm just down the road from Warwick Winery at the time they just got their still, but was long gone when they released their line of spirits. I was at a farmers market in NY when I ran across their booth. It was late in the day and they were out of all the brandies and eau de vie, but they still had three of their liqueurs available. I got one of each and headed home. Well one thing led to another and they never got opened. Finally I have had the time to give one of them a taste.

The liqueur is like one of those interesting fortified fruit wines such as the Cranberry Smash I mentioned not long ago. They take a sweet, partially fermented hard cider and add apple brandy to it to stop the fermentation process while there is still some residual sugar and to amp up the alcohol level so that the concoction can age well. then they place it in used bourbon casks for aging and to pick up some of the bourbon and oak notes from the cask. The final result is smooth and clean.

The color is a very light gold and the aroma is light as well. A sweet scent of fresh and tart apples and a nicely aged apple cider is what you notice first, followed by hints of smoke, caramel, and bourbon.

The taste is light as well. It tastes exactly how you think it would. Cider and apple brandy, with hints of bourbon. It's very nice. My only thought is that if they could amp up all the flavors it would be a much better liqueur. It's just a little too light for an after dinner liqueur, although it wouldn't be bad as a before dinner aperitif.