With each freeze, the water in the cider crystallizes into slushy ice. The original applejack, which many historians believe was invented by American colonists, was produced by a low-tech method called “jacking.” Jacked spirits are distilled not by the usual method of boiling, but by freezing, and any household with a supply of hard cider and cold weather could make applejack. Local Wilkes County bootleggers like Junior Johnson, the Thomas brothers and the Flock family famously became the first generation of NASCAR drivers in the 1940s and ’50s, and many of the sport’s first speedways, along with its Hall of Fame, are within 100 miles of here. Up to and through the Prohibition era, there were countless producers making and (illegally) selling applejack in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where roads were limited and trees provided thick cover from government agents. Remember, if you feel strongly about one of these terms, you can submit comments on the TTB’s proposal for new regulations until March 26.In this cool, fertile Appalachian region, as in most of the Northeast, apples were then far more plentiful than the grains needed to make whiskey. It would seem logical that a bottle of straight applejack should have to comply with the same requirements as straight whiskey – be aged for at least two years and be free of additives, but there’s nothing in the current regulations that requires that. Some apple brandy makers use the term “straight applejack,” presumably to differentiate the product from blended applejack, but while there is a definition for straight whiskey in the regulations, there is no definition for straight applejack. In the current regulations, there is a specific definition for blended applejack which, similar to blended whiskey, is apple brandy blended with neutral spirits. Straight Applejack: Applejack is another name for apple brandy.Rather than defining it, I’d favor a regulation that requires a producer to list the number of barrels that go into anything labeled small batch. The problem is that there is no standard definition for small batch – it can mean anything. Small Batch: Since the proposed regulations came out, a lot of people have noted their failure to include a definition for “small batch,” which is, indeed, a frequently used term that is not defined in the current regs.These days, it seems to be used for unaged spirits, both whiskey and sugar based, but a definition would help make clear what it is and what separates it from, say, vodka or white whiskey. Obviously, when it appears on a label, it doesn't mean that. Moonshine: Traditionally, moonshine meant any illegally made alcohol.Single Barrel: The new regulations make it clear that aging stops when a whiskey leaves its initial barrel, but it doesn’t define the term “single barrel” which is quite prevalent.The US definition of malt whiskey is similar to that for bourbon or rye: a whiskey comprised of at least 51% malt and stored in charred new oak, so definitely not the same as “single malt.” While we all assume that American whiskeys labeled as single malt adhere to the same definition as Scotch, there is no regulation to ensure that is the case. In the US, the term has no legal meaning. Single Malt: In Scotland, a single malt is a whisky that was (1) distilled at a single distillery and (2) made from 100% malted barley.The recent TTB proposal to modernize spirits regulations added a host of new definitions for terms that are widely used but not defined in the regulations, including “cask strength,” “white whiskey” and “oak barrel.” Despite the voluminous nature of the TTB proposal, though, there are still a number of widely used terms that are not defined in the regulations, including the following:
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