Autumn is the season for imbibing. After all, football Sundays and Thanksgiving celebrations offer civilized justifications for noon-time happy hours. This year, the award-winning Ampersand Malus is my choice sip, whether via a silver Asprey flask at tailgates, or in a Glencairn on November’s fourth Thursday. Buckle up, purists. Some of you might balk.
Chip Tate is the Master Distiller for Innovation at Foley Family Wines, pushing boundaries with the Ampersand Spirits’ Malus by mixing 51% American rye whiskey and 49% Calvados, an apple brandy unique to Normandy. It only took me one nip to realize this creation comes from true connoisseurship. The apple-forwardness, complemented by pear, mentally transported me to the Thanksgiving table, the rye spice and long dry finish to a 2010s Patriots game, and the candied apple aroma to a Maine Granny Smith orchard. In short, the Malus is fall manifested.
The much-decorated Mr. Tate isn’t an evil genius, just a thoughtful one. The name Ampersand refers to the “and” sign, a pithy reference to the art of combination. Malus, meanwhile, alludes to the biological genus of apple trees. Moreover, this amalgamation purposely honors America’s distilling traditions, as rye and apple zymurgy go as far back as our pilgrim ancestors. Tate sampled hundreds of French oak barrels in order to produce the optimal flavor partnership. It’s this very reverence and mastery that makes the Malus an innovation, not a corruption; a new class of spirit, if you will.
I prefer the Malus neat, though the spice and sweet interplay makes for an engaging old fashioned or highball, my version of which is just a healthy pour of spirit with a splash of soda. Relatedly, if you love an apple cider on a crisp fall day, I recommend finding your preferred ratio of Malus with soda, and a touch of sweetener if you’re so inclined. The result is something I can only describe as apple pie cider.
Finally, the spirit’s amber brown color glows warmly through the stylishly multi-surfaced bottle, which would look perfect next to that cornucopia centerpiece. If you’re hesitant with this level of envelope pushing, my advice to you this autumn is to remember the first Thanksgiving: Channel more of the pilgrims’ fearlessness in exploring new horizons, and less of their unmoving puritanism.
Other small-batch Ampersand Spirits varieties include the Vinea, a mix of rye and grain spirit aged in cognac casks, and the Opimus, a 15-year-old Kentucky bourbon finished in Tokaji barrels.
