Tom's Foolery 8 Year Old Bottled in Bond "K&L Exclusive" Single Barrel #67 Ohio Straight Applejack (750ml)

We're so lucky to have access to such high quality and unique products from Tom's Foolery. Their Applejack was the original vision for this distillery, but the whisky boom has made it necessary to focus on those wonderful products. Nonetheless, Tom and Lianne distill this excellent Applejack from local apples. There's not a lot of the Applejack made here but the few we've had have been exceptional. Now we get to taste two barrels distilled on the same day and in almost exact opposite manner, an amazing experience t for any spirit geek. These two barrels, which I'll review in tandem were distilled on the same day in May of 2021. One, barrel 67, was aged in once used bourbon and the other in very old ex-cognac. So active American vs not so active French oak. You can immediately tell them apart from the color, 67 has a vibrant chestnut veil, while 65 is a pale gold. 67 offer rich baked apple, sweet oak and a gravelly rusticity on the nose which is for me very inviting. On the palate a creamy texture, cinnamon flecked pomme puree, poached pear, and a gorgeous long woodsy finish. 65 has a buttery nose with hints of golden delicious and granny smith, apple core with seeds and stems. Also, some non-apple fruits persimmon, quince, and subtle floral character. In general, it’s just much more subtle than barrel 67. On the palate, the apple is still tempered by slight hints of French oak and this overall buttery-ness that runs through the entire package. The finish is all apple skins and pips. A totally wild experience to see the same spirit aged in completely different ways. I've most enjoyed blending the two together in various proportions to see how they interact. Whichever one you prefer, there's no question that this is one of the most exciting apple spirits in America.

This is a seriously good deal, for some seriously well-made applejack. Wonderfully rich and spicy on the nose, this is a full-bodied dram that leans towards the apple pie side of things, while being pleasantly dry on the back palate and finish. Tom's Foolery adds no sugar or color to their applejack, and distills each batch from several varieties of fresh, whole apple. The result is high-end appley goodness in a bottle that wont break the bank. One could come up with all sorts of amazing punches and cocktails with this, but at the moment I'm thoroughly enjoying drinking the stuff neat. If you need inspiration though, try this in a classic Jack Rose recipe.

After letting the dram sit in the glass for a few minutes, aromas of caramel apple and vanilla dominated my nostrils. On the palate, caramel taffy notes made me think of walking down the boardwalk on a sunny day and eating pieces of very ripe grilled pineapple off a skewer as the sun set on my taste buds.

The nose has an apple flavored saltwater taffy quality to it. It smells like it should feel tacky and make you want to smack your lips and just keep on chewing. It's lighter in body and zippier than you'd expect, but this lets the sweet ripe apple character shine on through. Especially soft and easy to drink, this is a perfect summer night sipper. Stock up now so you're in supply through all of the hot months.