Distiller Notes
A very worthy competitor to the best Calvados. Clear Creek crushes and ferment the whole apple, using Golden Delicious apples grown in the Yakima Valley, and distill. Following the customs of the Calvados makers of Normandy, the high proof apple spirit is aged in a combination of old and new Cognac barrels, made of Limousin oak, for at least eight years. The result is a beautiful amber brandy, with a remarkable amount of apple in the nose, but with the sophistication and complexity gained from all those years in oak. This has a lot of appeal to the traditional brandy drinker as well, as its color and barrel aged qualities are more familiar.
Taking its name from the Dutch term, brandewijn, for burnt or cooked wine, in the broadest sense of the term, Brandy is any liquor made from the distillation of fruit wine. Though any kind of fruit may be used, wine grapes are the most common. Clear Brandy, commonly referred to as Eau de Vie, is unaged and bottled directly after distillation. Finer grape-based Brandies are often aged in oak barrels for anywhere from two years (VS) to six years (XO) or longer, gradually gaining color and complexity as they interact with the wood.