Tamworth Distilling, the rural New Hampshire distillery best known for bold experimentations and boundary-pushing spirits courtesy of founder, Steven Grasse, is pleased to announce the release of Tamworth Garden Lilith Apple Brandy, an aged Eau de Vie rested in wheat whiskey barrel casks and extension to the distillery’s acclaimed Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy. Named for and inspired by Lilith, the fabled figure known as the first woman ever created and the first wife of Adam who viewed herself equal to man, refused to be treated less than, and whose resounding strength and influence spanned several millennia, Lilith Apple Brandy (100 Proof, 750 ml, $95) is available in limited quantities for online pre-sale now for shipping to 41 states in time for Valentine’s Day gifting. The spirit will be in stock at the distillery’s bottle shop for in-person purchase on January 18.
With fiery red hair and an ardent free will, Lilith is contentiously believed to be the first of Adam’s wives. Derived from the same soil that birthed Adam, she saw herself as his equal, and refused to be treated as anything less. As legend states, Lilith’s growing resentment over Adam’s demands eventually led her to flee the garden and embrace newfound freedom near the Red Sea. Upon hearing of Adam’s new companion, Eve, a woman of gentle obedience and beauty formed from Adam’s own rib, Lilith returned to the garden disguised as a serpent to tempt her with the lustrous taste of the forbidden fruit – an apple.
Tamworth Garden Lilith Apple Brandy boasts a base of fermented apple twice distilled and is laid to rest in barrels that originally held the distillery’s Winter Wheat Whiskey for five and a half years. The apple brandy base begins as heirloom Cortland apples grown in Concord, NH at Carter Hill Apple Orchards, one of the oldest active orchards in the United States. It is double distilled in a traditional alembic still, in the style of French Calvados, ensuring that the barrels are packed with New Hampshire apple flavor. The distillation and aging process adheres to the standards of both the Bottled in Bond Act of 1987 and VSOP (as established by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac in 1983). The result is an apple brandy produced by one distillery, in one season, aged for a minimum of four years and bottled at 100 proof: unadulterated, with no artificial colors, other spirits, or younger brandies mixed in.
Pouring rich and golden in the glass, Lilith Apple Brandy possesses a seductive essence of rich, velvety dark chocolate with an ‘Eau de Vie’ finish that will leave imbibers utterly seduced by its flavorful awakenings. The Lilith Apple Brandy experience spans fruit compote and smoke on the nose, with chocolate coming in after the esters dissipate, making for more of a dark chocolate dipped cherry. This darkness enters on the mid palate and elongates the finish. The fruitiness smolders throughout but extinguishes to a peppery end.
“Many people don’t realize that Apple Brandy is America’s first spirit! Our V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, which makes up the base of Lilith, is created using apples from the oldest orchard in the country and we are committed to reviving this category to the reverie it deserves” said Tamworth Distilling founder and owner Steven Grasse.
See below for full spirit details:
Tamworth Garden Lilith Apple Brandy
- $95
- 750 ml
- 100/ABV
- Available via Tamworth Distilling and direct to consumer in 41 states