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As it turns out, distillers aren’t the only ones plagued with regulation. It may seem like it when you are one, but hunting deer also has a few rules. One of these rules concerns baiting deer. This is a method of drawing in deer with corn, or in the case of this story apples. They vary from state to state and are often not strictly enforced. We mention it here because this is where the Apple of Our Eye story begins.
A local deer hunter sent a photo, of the back of his pick-up loaded for their hunting expedition. This is a well-worn local tradition as well, and it was captioned …” What can we do with leftover apples.” My response was, …” We could make Apple Jack.” So this year, instead of leaving them with a street vendor, they were brought to James Two Brothers Distillers.
Types of apples
There are many types of apples in the world of apples. For those whose passion is cultivating their orchards, I won’t pretend to know the genus and species but my guess would be Johnathan or Stark, as the size, shape, and color conformed. This is a large apple used primarily for cooking, or in this case bating deer. This is an excellent apple for distilling as well, and it is said Washington crossed the Icey waters of the Delaware to retrieve barrels of Apple Jack from his distillery, renowned in the day for his superb whiskey. And although this is an exaggeration of the event for some comic relief, it is on the written record as fact, that George had one of the largest distilleries in the colonies, and by 1799 they were producing 11,000 gallons a year. Some of this was most surely Apple Jack Whiskey. So when roughly 200 pounds of these were dropped off, there was no confusion about our patriotic duty. Most were in very good condition, so this was how we began.
Processing for Mash
Distilleries that focus on their mashing process do so for good reason. The bulk of the mash is water, and of course the purer the better. The rest is a combination of ingredients that will ferment well, and part of the processing entails the conversion of starches to simple sugars that can be consumed by the yeast. Tossing a whole apple into the mash is not what was required, and after juicing a few pounds by
hand it was clear to my son and I that we were in way over our heads. So we loaded up the bags and delivered them to a local health food concern that could effectively juice the entire load carefully removing stems and seeds in the straining process. The juice was ready, and so were we.
The recipe we finally arrived at was a simple malted barley-driven batch with some corn to ensure sweetness and a 5% addition of Rye to help things along and to add some character. What we had not planned for was running short of grains, and so it was that some 25 finished gallons went into a rum batch, as we had ample cane molasses to finish out the quota. Useable sugar readings with the grains, however, to our surprise indicated the fermentation would take weeks, and not days. So we waited patiently. Finally, the fermentation subsided, and it was time to still. Transferring the mash to the still was like grandma’s apple pie fresh out of the oven. No mere mortal would be able to resist either the Rum Apple Jack or the Whiskey as far as we could see.
Aging and the test of time
As is the tradition in charred oak barrels we cask both rum and whiskey, storing the whiskey safely for a year. We opened the rum first, after 4 months, and no one was disappointed. We sold out of the last of the apple rum long before the whiskey was ready. And, the whiskey was spoken for just as quickly. At least, this is what we thought, later, we would discover 25 gallons of Apple Rum had been somehow overlooked in storage.
A pleasant surprise
It was nearly 4 years when we discovered the 25 gallons of Apple Rum somehow overlooked in storage. The proof was at 120 abv as well, which made for a strong and sweet apple treat we would never have had the patience to wait for. As is the custom at J2B, it was included in our tastings, which were done directly from the newly discovered barrel, and the reviews so far are excellent. We are now waiting for a proper label, and this limited run will be available in the following weeks.
If you are looking for a whiskey or rum distillery in Florida, or specifically a craft single-batch distillery, James Two Brothers Distillery is the best option. They offer small boutique-style production of beverage-grade spirit alcohol with simple principles; hard work and honesty. Contact them by writing to paulj@2brothersdistillers.com or call at 352-291-0585.
