Though applejack and apple brandy are both made from apple cider, the method used to concentrate the alcohol differs in each. Applejack is made through fractional crystallization, while apple brandy is made through the more familiar process of distillation.
Fermentation initially produces the alcohol in hard cider, but after all the sugars have been converted to ethanol the drink will not get any stronger. Normally, spirit makers rely on distillation to further increase the alcohol concentration. This process takes advantage of the difference in boiling points between water (212°F) and alcohol (173°F) by heating the fermented beverage to somewhere around 175°F, thereby causing the alcohol to evaporate while the water remains liquid. The alcohol vapor is captured and cooled, returning it to a liquid state and producing raw, white liquor.
Fractional crystallization originated in colder climates where the temperature drops well below freezing for extended periods of time. Since alcohol and water have different freezing points as well, this provides another method of separating the two. Traditionally, cider was left outside in large barrels and when the temperature dropped below 0°F the water would freeze while the alcohol would remain liquid. A hole was then punched in the ice and the alcohol was siphoned off. This process was repeated until the remaining liquid would not freeze, and the result is the drink we know as applejack.
The main difference in the products of distillation and fractional crystallization is that the former forces the alcohol into a phase change which isolates it and leaves most of the impurities behind in the water. The latter forces the water into a phase change which leaves most of the impurities behind in the alcohol, giving applejack a nasty reputation for causing legendary hangovers. However, commercial applejack is further refined and doesn't suffer from this problem.
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Hi Anthony!
Although it's historically correct that "applejack is made through fractional crystallization, while apple brandy is made through the more familiar process of distillation", it looks like at least one producer (largest? at least the best-known) actually produces applejack by distillation and then dilution by neutral spirits.
See http://www.lairdandcompany.com/products_process.htm
While that's probably not "applejack" from a strictly-historical sense, they do market it as such, and it's the spirit most of us are likely to encounter!
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