Fruit Brandies Flourish In a New York Niche

Alcoholic beverages are likely the most highly governed element of our diet, regulated by the same federal bureau that polices explosives and guns, as well as by state agencies. The regulations have an effect, albeit indirect, on the character of what we drink. The classic example is the excellent craftbrewed beers of Oregon, which thrive in a climate where the manufacture and sale of hard liquor is rigidly restricted by the state liquor commission. Here in New York State, where a full distilling license is costly and hard to obtain, a number of local wineries have taken advantage of a comfortable niche in state law: the Class C distiller's license, which permits the small-scale production "only of fruit brandy." And so they distill liquor from fermented fruits: not just the traditional grapes, but apples, pears, plums, and more.

With the weather, in accordance with the law, demanding brandy's warming thrill, I assembled a small collection of New York State's finest distillates, with help from the New York Wine and Grape Foundation's Susan Spence, and called together a small team of tasters to share them. These are not the goldencolored liquids in squat, voluptuous bottles that the word " brandy " might first call to mind. Without exception, the six elixirs we tried, from three producers, came in delicately slender, giraffe-necked 375 ml bottles, at a standard 80 proof, none of them darker than medium tan.

Warwick Valley Distillery, Warwick, N.Y.

APPLE BRANDY ($30)

Warwick is perhaps the best-known of the group, thanks to its effective distribution of its products, which include brandies, wines, cordials, and "Doc's Draft" ciders. Ask for New York State distilled products in most city liquor stores and, if they stock any, it's likely to be a Warwick. (Vintage, the local-minded wine shop with branches in SoHo and the Upper West Side, offers a broader choice.) Its fragrance is warm and perfumy, with an appealing cider tang, but, like pulling the curtain away from the Wizard of Oz, all that perfume vanishes on the palate, replaced by a modest-size dose of fruit, backed by stiff, dry wood.

PEAR BRANDY ($30)

The pear complement to Warwick's apple eau-devie has none of the color or mellowness that wood aging gives to the apple brandy. Instead, it's a clear liquor with a spicy harshness. The aroma is of clean alcohol and tart pear, and a sip has the licorice taste of pear — the skin more than the fruit — evanescing quickly into astringency. A friend muddled it with raspberries into a tartly bracing cocktail, but its subtle flavor would not survive cooking into one of the preparations that fruit brandy can traditionally enhance.

Mazza Chatauqua Cellars, Mayville, N.Y.

PEAR BRANDY ($35)

Mazza's pear offering makes an interesting contrast to Warwick's. I can imagine sipping the Mazza before a meal, to pique the appetite, and the Warwick after, to stimulate the digestion. It's rounder and sweeter than the other, without much distinct fragrance but with lingering leafy, smoky fruit on the palate: More crisp fruit character survives the distillation in this than any of the others I tasted — still not a tremendous amount, but enough that a splash in a dessert or other culinary use would make a difference.

PLUM BRANDY ($35)

Mazza makes and sells wines in Pennsylvania, and brandies right across the border, on Lake Chatauqua. With a smooth, unusual clay-like aroma, the unaged plum brandy is not your forebears' slivovitz — not as harsh nor as vigorous. The taste is light but complex, with more nuance than any of the others, including hints of coconut, tobacco, and tea. I wouldn't have guessed that plums are the sole ingredient — indeed, it took nearly 40 pounds of plums to fill this one bottle.

Knapp Vineyards, Romulus, N.Y.

BRANDY ($30)

This is the darkest of the selections, a rich May-dandelion shade that could stand comfortably on a shelf of European brandies (many of which are tinted by the addition of caramel). The color results from a generous seven years of barrel aging at approximately twice the eventual 80 proof, followed by dilution. Those years also make the drink taste significantly of peppery wood, but a surprising wealth of age-rounded fruit comes through, and the light bouquet has a bell-like sweetness.

GRAPPA ($35)

Grappa, unaged, often bottled at 120 proof, and with a distinctly unrefined character, has a reputation as a sinus-clearer, but Knapp's is downright mellow, with warming aromas of local foxy grapes, a hint of yeast and fruit skin, and a resinous, papery finish. This was my favorite of the group: balanced, but with enough burn to properly cap a meal and warm an evening, and a distinctive character that I found myself craving the next night.