19th Century Apple Brandy at Historic Locust Grove 

You do such beautiful informative videos. That is amazing that yeast can be in wood that long. Great find

I like the full commitment chops. Respect

This time last year I bought a small home with an apple tree in the backyard. This fall I learned just how productive a single apple tree is. This time next year it looks like I'll be learning just how resilient my liver is. Thank you guys, I guess...

Those are the most legit sideburns I've ever seen

I love this quote about applejack: “…The victim of applejack,” claimed The New York Times on April 10, 1894, “is capable of blowing up a whole town with dynamite and of reciting original poetry to every surviving inhabitant.”

I dont drink alcohol a lot but this channel got me interested in brewing it. It is a really fun hobby and gives you a feeling of accomplishment whenever you can share your product with family and friends. Cheers from Europe!

Mash brandy IS higher quality. But you have to be more careful, a rotten apple can corrupt the mash much more than it could if you made the brandy from hard cider.

The return of Epic Sideburns Man. Sad they busted your still.

When he said 90° was lukewarm, I got confused for a second. I was like, nooo, 90° is pretty close to boiling. That's HOT. And then I remembered that he was talking about degrees Fahrenheit and not Celsius...

Hello brandy daddy

I am a 4th-year Computer Science and IT System Student. I always look forward to your episodes because it allows me to have relief from my studies and learn about my nation's history. Thank you all for what you do and I am glad to see Locust Grove back on the channel!

I have been excited for this one since the live stream. I love a Locust Grove video!

Great! I love how they harvested the yeast from the historic building...

The folks at Locust Grove are great! Thank you so much for another informative show. Things like that amazing period boiler are such a thrill to see in use.

When I was young I always wanted a still and a smoke house, watching this made me dream again!!

Pretty neat that he's using the wild-harvested yeast from the old distillery. The comments about the 2 toxic bottles reminded me of your great series on leavening and how unscrupulous folks would mix toxic goods into their products just to increase profits. There's so much to your videos - even chemistry - in your brewing and leavening series. So great! Thanks!

Apple mash brandy eh, will definitely pair well with a lot of the food of the time period.

*Sees Title *Thinking: Heavy Alcohol? Must Involve Brian Cushing. *Starts Video: Sees Brian Cushing *Nods Approvingly

This was wonderful Jon. Thanks so much for taking us along on this interesting journey into another aspect of our early history. I found it fascinating the degree of detail they learned, and am rather in awe that they ever figured it all out. It did make me smile tho, because it reminded me of this very old joke. "She was only a moonshiners daughter, but he loved her still." Thanks for the visit to Locust Grove, this was very fun.

As someone who loves making apple Brandy old fashioneds, this is most likely my favorite episode of Townsend's!

Will there be any upcoming nutmeg-friendly recipes featuring apple brandy? (｡◕‿◕｡)

Locust Grove, do you have any plans with Kentucky Artisan Distillery to barrel-age some of that apple mash brandy?

I've heard of making applejack by freezing a barrel of hard cider til the alcohol migrates to a pocket in the middle and then tapping that with a drill--anything to this method?

This is very interesting. I just sat down from making Apple Brandy but not this method. I used Off Grid with Doug and Stacy's Apple Brandy recipe on RU-vid. 😁

Always an awesome episode at Locust Grove with Brian.

The only thing I know about Locust Grove is that there is a rather prestigious thoroughbred horse race in Kentucky called the Locust Grove Handicap. That finished apple brandy was quite clear - such a different color from normal brandy.

I remember tasting some of my grandfather's illicit apple-jack (clear mason jug and all) many decades ago. it had a nice aroma but the high alcohol obliterated any taste that I can remember. Two shots' worth and I woke up the next morning. Real-deal Alabama moonshine...

Awesome You Guys Filmed Here In My Backyard! Welcome To Louisville, Ky! 🍻😎👍

I should be writing this down. If ever the world takes a even worse turn, I can still get tipsy.

yay!! we'll all be smashed afore noon, hic, an' we'll do thu ancillary. . hic, work affer wards, hic.. .

Apple seeds contain "amygdala" which degrades into hydrogen cyanide when crushed, chewed, digested, ect... For this reason, could this recipe be potentially dangerous? Or are there not enough apple seeds? Just curious...

Good on how to make apple brandy! However Applejack uses the freeze distillation process. It worked well in the period since apples could be harvested and fermented in the fall, and then when the weather turned cold it could be distilled in winter weather. It could then be aged in wooden barrels. To me, applejack has more flavor, and depending on how it's aged, more complexity.

"How will we know the temperature?" -Sticks his finger right in the barrel

He keeps saying applejack and apple brandy interchangeably, but I'm fairly sure applejack traditionally refers specifically to freeze distilled apple brandy.

HIstorical yeast, who knew!?

I hope you never stop making videos this is literally my favorite thing

Now those are some serious sideburns!

Love Townsends. You guys are amazing.

I need to go check out all of the historic sites in VA....there are so many beautiful old colonies still slightly preserved

No wonder everyone was thin then. Besides a shortage of food, everything was very laborious!

Another amazing video. I rarely drink but this video makes me want to go find this and buy a small bottle just for a taste or 2. I actually have a friend that makes his own honey mead.

Did anyone else catch the story he told about the yeast?? I need more info on that.

The "brandy" was clear and colourless... would aging give it colour like Calvados or Cognac ??

Awesome video Townsend, please consider more videos on period original alcohol production.

90 deg, thats 32.2 deg for those watching in colour.

Good Sir, your Mutton Chops almost have a life of their own, Well done,

You pull outfits off so well

New subscriber here and totally impressed with the food and drink content on this channel. Everyday history is awesome and so relatable. You should do a moonshine video!

Gotta give a like for epic mutton chops!

Lets make 2021 the year of the applejack mutton chop!

Yes!!! I love making mead and methaglin(mead with an herbs and a medicinal purpose). This will be such a rad addition to my practice. Apples are so magickal!!

This is a product that should be available everywhere. As a Canadian, this liquor seems so far away! Literally and figuratively.

Apple mash brandy has a name: Calvados aka Calva (from the french region where it has been produced since 1553).

Ach, now I must make a five gallon batch of 15th century mead. Thanks for the inspiration. And thanks all for yet another amazing video. Great living history right here.

Thank you very much for this video I have not yet distilled any alcohol but I have Frozen the water off to concentrate the fruit flavoring and alcohol in the Jack form with blackberry wine and I was amazed with the final product very strong and high in flavor. Thank you very much for the photo with me and my son at the Kalamazoo living history Expo show 2019. I was Starstruck to see you thank you very much for the calender and catalog well I'm at the few minutes speaking with you it was an honor. I enjoy all your videos very much thank you.

I'd seen Mr. Pershing in his period outfit at the local Kroger's and wondered if he was a re-enactor. Pretty cool to have come across this video so soon after!

Great show. Adding this place to my bucket list.

Why does that guy with mutton chops never talk?

I was expecting a Great Escape Whow.

What a great episode! Many thanks to Locust Grove!

I live right next to there it’s an absolutely fabulous and great place

Love days at Locust Grove!!! Let us mash some apples!

Not applejack. JACKING is a term for FREEZE distillation. Any fruit wine/cider can be Jacked by simply freezing it for 24 hours, then you remove the ice and freeze it again. When the ice can't solidify itll look like slush. That means you just turned 5-10%abv wine/cider, into 60-80 proof brandy. Thank you Scottish American colonists.

Very interesting video. Thank you🕊

Freeze distilling will become an obsession for brandy lovers, and vintners. Applejack, and cherry bounce are FAR MORE AMERICAN than apple pie.

If your using a still, its not applejack. Its just apple brandy. "JACKING" refers to the process of FREEZE distilling a hard cider/wine. Its America's first spirit, and is so easy a child could make it.

I used a cider press if that helps but I heard a rumor that teenagers back then would have hard cider

If you're in KY, you should try a mint julep! IIRC this was Joe Creason's own recipe: Place mint leaves in the bottom of a pre-chilled, coin-silver goblet. In another goblet, place 3 ounces of bourbon. Add sugar to the first goblet and crush slightly with a muddler. Pack this goblet with finely cracked ice. Shake briskly until the goblet frosts. Add more ice and stir again. Stick a few sprigs of mint into the ice. Throw that other stuff away and drink the bourbon!

I live in Louisville and now that Iv heard of this place once it warms up a bit more I’m going to visit

Really enjoyed this episode. How about a little apple pie brandy? Cinnamon and NUTMEG in the mash and in the distilling with a little natural sugar syrup in the finished product.

Srsly I'm having TIME TRAVEL Experience 😍🥰👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

That must taste fantastic. 👍

Thanks, Jon for your take on " Jersey Lightening " ! Apple Jack was a traditional sub rosa activity in New Jersey datig back to the immediate post-revooutionary days and continued at least until the lifetimes of my own kinfolk ! Much of New Jersey had locales and microclimates conducive to growing apples - a crop that fit well into the general-purpse farmig economy . But you could only sell/store so much fruit so cider and its adjunct, vinegar were marketable by-products . But that still left the late fruit, drops, and excess . "Waste not want not " - and thirst - meat apple beer, wine and "jack" were seen as worthwhile - even desirable - farm products !

Now THIS is whats missing in todays society .... more folks rockin some serious fukin Mutton CHOPS !!!!!! Screw the newest EyeFone and Lithium Ion powered hydrophobic modes of transpo , skinny jeans and mumble rap....all we need is Mutton Chops!!!! Mutton Chops that says "Yeah I walk through mud and fuk through blood!!!"

Well what I didn’t expect to learn in a video about 19th century apple brandy was that copper is reactive. Is this why modern chefs use copper cookware?

I also learned years ago how to brew beer and Ale. So much fun to do. My mother would make honey meades. Most all came out excellent.there were some incidents of beer turning into vinegar and or being woke up in the middle of the night from wine bottle explosions.....😄😵

I thought historically applejack was supposed to be, y'know, "jacked", AKA freeze distilled.

Where can I get one of those copper bottom clay jugs???

Yaaaay we’re back at Locust Grove!!

Any episode with Koosh in it is a great episode.

I love ur videos :3 I've been pretty faithful to your channel for a long time

Maybe I'm blind, but are those candles electrical/fake? The flames don't seem to be moving at all (12:20).

Here's my recipe. Not 1700s style still good. 1 gallon apple cider 1-2 lbs honey 355ml maple syrup 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar Yeast ... Ferment and distill. Drop a cinnamon stick in a bottle. Let sit for about a week. Distill again. Second cinnamon stick is optional. If you decide not to add a cinnamon stick after the second distillation it'll have a hint of cinnamon. Any questions, ask.

I love you videos that you make Townsends. Great for historical learning,and being able to see and participate if we like. I'm so happy to see this. I recall reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and wishing I could SEE what Ma Ingalls was actually doing. Laura was definitely a great describes,her books are amazing. I did find,years later,that there is a Laura Ingalls Wilder cookbook,that attempts to recreate the food Laura Describes, including the type of bread Ma managed to make during the book of the Hard winter.

If you're making "Apple Jack" then you are INCREASING the alcohol content by freezing! Because skimming off the *water* ice in the first point was the most energy-efficient way to *JACK* that sheisse!

Hopefully you do a Kentucky Common beer soon. The Dreaming Creek Brewery here in Richmond, Ky uses an original recipe from the 1830s. They explain the German immigrants around Louisville in the late 18th-early 19th Century used the remains from the distillers to make this beer. You can taste that hint of whiskey in it. And from the time to make to kegging to serving was about a week. Just an idea.

I'm quite close to Locust Grove and did not know about it. Well sa! I'm definitely going to visit. Learning is sooo important! Thank you muchly!🌹🌹🌹

Ask your friends if they've ever used ARKANSAW BLACK apples in their recipe. They are a despite being a dense, dry texture, they have a lot of juice with intense flavor. An orchard in Millington, TN named Jones Orchard Grows them. They may rotate varieties but those apples are the best for pies and other recipes and have a dark, deep red skin. They store well too. I like them sliced raw.

It's funny how moving it can be when you find a personal connection to a video from 1000 miles away. I'm from So. Ind. and I know exactly where the McCoy distillery was (Stillhouse Corner, appropriately enough) as well as a bunch of other stills near Lost River. I am very fortunate to have grown up with a man who knew all of them and their stories. I haven't been to Indiana in 20 years and I doubt I'll ever go back, but this video hit me hard with nostalgia. I wish I could go back and tell my 10-year-old self to pay more attention.

Kentucky has long history of distilling that makes me wonder did anyone distill paw-paws? Perhaps Jack it, Mabey just make 'wine'. Perhaps only use it as a flavoring for other likkers.

Wasn't applejack usually (or at least often) barrel aged? Laird & Company, in New Jersey, still makes and sells applejack. Can you make cider by fermenting as a mash, then pressing?

Love when you come to Locust Grove! And look at that subscriber count--WOOHOO!

Spectacular M I in 21st or 18th century??? I love Europe and Townsends Channel Thanks a lot

I don't normally drink, but every once in a while, you want something. This sounds really good. Might have to look up some apple mash brandy for special occasions. I'm weird. Many people like to drink, but I usually don't.

What a nice Video! I recently watched a series which played in the 18th century simply because of the interest i got just by watching your channel.

Making my mouth water.

Love the video. I found out about apple brandy just over a year ago. Apparently, it was a favorite of George Washington.

Getting buzzed 1700 style

Ok how come no thumper came into play for them Tails. And you say McCoy still makes that Yeast today ? I remember my Great Uncle talking about McCoy was Likk'r makers and Bootlegers