ELSEWHEN APPLEJACK | Singularity

ELSEWHEN Singularity 2017 Single Cask Limited Release
Rough Hands - Upper Moutere, Nelson NZ

Style - Apple Brandy
700ml | 50% ABV  limited release of 150 individually numbered bottles
Awarded a Trophy for Best Brandy at the 2023 New Zealand Spirits Awards

Singularity: Intensity of detail beyond the tangible.
It’s about indulgence: refined essence of orchard and cask. Rare beauty. Finding a deeper dimension: Buttery pie crust, decadent cardamom, lingering toffee almond. Sip or mix. Inspire your friends. 2017 Harvest, Bottled 2021.

Tasting notes

Concentrating the essence of the 2017 vintage has pushed the lush richness of the applejack toward an Armagnac sophistication. Full bodied, warm and bright, this special cask adds toasty layers of nutty butter toffee and a baked apple finish.

Process

This batch was started in 2017 by making pure apple cider from 10,000 kgs of 100% Tasman Cox Orange Pippin and Fuji apples, fermented slowly over winter, then distilled in a German Copper Pot still. This expression has been aged for 4 years in a carefully selected charred new 100L American Oak barrel. Rather than blending it with the rest of the vintage, Elsewhen decided to showcase it on its own at the US “Bottled in Bond” standard of 50% ABV.

Slow, seasonal, labour intensive... and worth it.

How to Enjoy

This carefully distilled and aged spirit is delicious in a snifter, or in a rocks glass with a splash of water or a large chunk of ice. It is also phenomenal in your favourite Bottled in Bond applejack cocktails.

• Old Fashioned
• Jack Rose
• Applejack Sazerac – it can replace the Cognac, the Rye, or both!
• Mela d’Alba (Applejack Negroni) – like a Boulevardier, the balance is better using a 2-1-1 ratio

What is Applejack?

While technically, Applejack is an apple brandy, it is very similar to spirits like bourbon or rye whiskey aged in new American oak barrels, and you’ll notice a distinct smooth fruit complexity from cider brandy aged this way.

About Elsewhen & Rough Hands

ELSEWHEN is an embodiment of the possibilities of Applejack. It takes inspiration from great historic traditions as well as past dreams of the future. It imagines that future where robots lovingly hand make our spirits while we enjoy a life of leisure. The most delicious premium crafted spirits don’t always have to be serious.

Rough Hands is the creative output of Fritz Kuckuck and Maria Grau. They have had projects ranging from gin barrel aged beer to light festival art installations to botanical ciders.

More flavour. More fun.

The company came about after homebrewing led to home distilling... which led to opening NZ’s first “craft distillery”. When that distillery was bought out by partners, Fritz and Maria were free to do whatever they wanted. They realised they had developed a love of rum, but had a desire to distil local produce. Could they make rum from apples? They haven’t yet, but…

Looking at a return to the spirits industry, they knew it just had to be bigger. Not in a commercial, make-more-money kind of way, but in a this-needs-to-make-a-difference kind of way.

Cocktails to Mars! What if we start taking spirits off planet? What would really matter then?

These are the questions they asked themselves in the early stages of Elsewhen. Having grow up in a world of 1960’s and 1970’s sci-fi, and developing a love for early 20^th century design and drinking culture, they wanted to create a retro-future universe where applejack was never forgotten.

Each batch of Applejack is a vintage, made from a single harvest year. When it runs out, it’s gone.