Applejack is a strong alcoholic drink made from apples. It has a smooth fruity taste with notes of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon and oak. The history of this drink dates to the first settlers in the New World. Earlier colonists had been used to drinking wine or beer with their meals, especially in Europe where water was often unsafe to drink. After their arrival in America, it was too expensive and dangerous to ship large amounts of beer or wine from Europe. The British did provide a supply of rum from the Caribbean but when the taxes were raised too high, settlers started looking for other options. Many farmers had apples. Apples grow naturally in the United States and they were plentiful. The settlers pressed these apples and let them ferment, resulting in hard cider. It was America’s first spirit. First produced in colonial New Jersey in 1698, applejack was known as Jersey Lightning. The name applejack derives partly, of course, from its basic ingredient—apples—and from “jacking,” whic...