Westford Hill
Distillers Aged Apple Brandy made in Ashford,
Connecticut by Master Distiller Louis Chatey, would make
Johnny Appleseed proud. We love the "ABCs" - Armagnac, Brandy, and Cognac,
and we found Westford Hill New World Aged Apple Brandy to be
downright delicious, like drinking potent liquid apple gold. Cheers!

Louis and Margaret Chatey
Westford Hill Distillers
On Saturday, October 17, 2020, we
drove to Westford Hill Distillers in Ashford, Connecticut to meet with the extremely
personable and knowledgeable Louis and Margaret Chatey, tour their facility,
and taste their exceptional line of products which include their New World Aged
Apple Brandy, Poire William, Kirsch, Rime Vodka, Gin, and many others. Their
location is idyllic New England complete with rolling hills, a red barn
distillery, and rock wall. The scenery was stunning with bright bursts of yellow
dahlias bathed in sunlight and the nearby trees donning their finest Autumn
colors of golds, reds, and oranges.
At some time or other, we have all
been inspired after taking a trip, perhaps it was to learn a new sport, skill,
or take a culinary class. However, it would be safe to say that not many of us
have been inspired to make a major career change and start a new business based
on a trip, yet that is exactly the inspiration that changed Louis and Margaret
Chatey's lives. After taking a trip to France, where they met with a distiller
who was making varieties of eau-de-vie, they returned home with the inspiration
to build a distillery in 1995 on the 200-acre property that had been in Louis'
family since 1919.
Since opening in 1998 their focus
has been on creating a variety of eau-de-vies which are clear, fruit brandies
distilled from 100% natural fruit, and apple brandy. They recently added an
English style gin and a vodka to their spirits portfolio. Their spirits have
been steadily winning awards as well as winning the hearts and palates of
discerning consumers, mixologists, and chefs.
Speaking with the Chateys, we
learned that they were something of pioneers in 1998 as "Westford Hill
Distillers was one of six craft distillers in the United States east of the
Rockies. As of 2019, there are now more than 4000 craft distillers worldwide."
Product Information:
Master Distiller Louis Chatey's approach to creating their New World Aged Apple
Brandy was to create a New World style using 4 varieties of apples, whereas Old
World Calvados (an apple brandy made in Normandy, France), uses 30 varieties. Louis
sources his apples from local orchards using Macintosh apples for the nose,
Northern Spy for the palate, Gravenstein for the finish, and Mutsu (Crispin)
for the body. He hand-distills and ages
his New World Aged Brandy for 14 ages or longer in French oak barrels. Sold in
375 ml bottles, the packaging is stunning with the bottle bearing a fabric
stitched label, jaunty black ribbon, and red wax stopper.
Tasting Notes: In
addition to crushing whole fruit, Louis puts loads of love into the hand-distilling
and aging process, and the result is gorgeous. The Apple Brandy is a rich deep
golden color, it is like drinking liquid gold, a nectar of the gods. Westford
Hill Distillers New World Apple Brandy takes the nose on an aromatic journey,
with its rich sweet notes. On the palate, the flavors develop to fully engage
and delight the senses, with a luscious lingering finish.
Luxury Experience was "In the kitchen
and behind the bar®" creating some incredibly special handcrafted cocktail
and culinary recipes to tempt your palate and inspire your own creations using
Westford Hill Distillers New World Aged Apple Brandy.
Luxury Experience Cocktail
and Culinary Menu
The Cocktail Menu
Luxury Experience - C.A.B.
Luxury Experience - Autumn
Leaves
Luxury Experience - Johnny A
Caramel Martini
The Culinary Menu
Luxury Experience - Apple
Brandy Tarts with Tipsy Raisins
The Cocktail Recipes
Luxury Experience - C.A.B
Luxury Experience - C.A.B. takes its
playful name from its ingredients (C)ava and (A)pple (B)randy.
We love the look of this cocktail served in a
vintage hollow-stem champagne coupe.
Luxury Experience - C.A.B
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass: Vintage Hollow-Stem Champagne Coupe
Cocktail Ingredients:
Method: Add the ingredients
in order given to the vintage hollow-stem champagne coupe.
Luxury Experience - Autumn
Leaves
Luxury Experience - Autumn
Leaves celebrates the flavors of autumn and is made with Litchfield
Distillery Maple Bourbon, Westford Hill Distillers New World Aged Apple
Brandy, cider, cranberry juice, orange juice, and Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters.
Garnish with an orange peel wrapped cinnamon stick and float 3 cranberries on
the ice. While the autumn leaves in New England only don their spectacular
colors of reds, oranges, and golds for a short time, Luxury Experience - Autumn
Leaves will help you celebrate throughout the season!
Luxury Experience - Autumn
Leaves
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Rocks Glass
Cocktail Ingredients:
1.0
|
Ounce
|
|
1.0
|
Ounce
|
|
0.75
|
Ounce
|
Cider
|
0.75
|
Ounce
|
Cranberry
Juice
|
0.55
|
Ounce
|
Orange
Juice
|
3
|
Dashes
|
|
3
|
|
Fresh
Cranberries, garnish
|
1
|
|
Orange
Peel, garnish
|
1
|
Stick
|
Cinnamon,
garnish
|
Method for the Cocktail: Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass. Pour
into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick wrapped with an
orange peel. Float 3 cranberries on the ice.
Luxury Experience - Johnny A
Caramel Martini
We created Luxury Experience -
Johnny A Caramel Martini in honor of Johnny Appleseed who planted apple
seeds in the United States for the express purpose of creating apple brandy.
This tasty cocktail combines Westford Hill Aged Apple Brandy, Neige Cidre
De Glace (Apple Ice Wine) from Canada, and apple juice. Sipped through the
caramel rim made with River's Edge Sugar House Maple Syrup (also based in
Ashford, Connecticut), this cocktail would make Johnny A proud.
Luxury Experience - Johnny A
Caramel Martini
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Martini Glass
Caramel Rim Ingredients:
1
|
Ounce
|
Apple Cider
|
1
|
Ounce
|
|
1
|
Ounce
|
Heavy
Cream
|
Method: Add the apple cider
and maple syrup to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes
to reduce. Slowly add the heavy cream and boil until mixture comes away from
the sides of the pan, about 2-3 minutes. Turn caramel out onto parchment paper.
Turn martini glass upside down into the caramel to rim the glass. Rims can be
made several hours ahead, making them perfect for a party or for restaurant bar
use.
Cocktail Ingredients:
1.5
|
Ounces
|
|
0.5
|
Ounce
|
Neige
Cidre De Glace
|
2
|
Ounces
|
Apple
Juice
|
Method: Add all ingredients
to a shaker with 4 ice cubes. Shake hard to chill. Strain into the caramel rim
martini glass.
The Culinary Recipe
Luxury Experience - Apple
Brandy Tarts with Tipsy Raisins
Makes 30 small tarts (2.5-inch
tart pans)
Luxury Experience - Apple
Brandy Tarts with Tipsy Raisins plays up the delectable apple notes in the
brandy to create an incredibly special dessert. Due to the richness, we like to
make them in small tart pans and serve a small glass of the Westford Hill Distillers
New World Aged Brandy with them.
Tipsy Raisin Ingredients
0.50
|
Ounce
|
|
0.25
|
Cup
|
Raisins
|
Method: Add the raisins and
Westford Hill New World Aged Apple Brandy to a glass jar, cover, shake, and let
rest for a few days for the raisins to soak up the brandy.
This recipe uses Pâte
Sucrée,
a fancy name for sweet, rich, pastry dough, that is enhanced with Westford Hill
New World Aged Apple Brandy. The dough is easy to use, however it must be
chilled for at least a few hours before using.
Tart Dough Ingredients
12
|
Tablespoons
|
Butter
|
4
|
Tablespoons
|
Sugar
|
2
|
Large
|
Egg
Yolks
|
1.5
|
Cups
|
Flour
|
1
|
Pinch
|
Salt
|
2
|
Tablespoons
|
|
2
|
Tablespoons
|
Heavy
Cream
|
Method: In a food processor
or standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until
smooth. Add flour and salt. Pulse in food processor until mixture is crumbly.
Add the brandy and heavy cream, and just process enough until dough comes together.
Note: Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough. Create 2 balls from
the dough. Flatten the balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at
least 2 hours. Dough can be made 1-day ahead.
Roll dough and using a 3-inch
cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the dough for the tart shells. Lightly spray the
tart pans with vegetable oil. Place the dough in the pans and prick the dough
with a toothpick or cake tester all over so the dough will not buckle.
Refrigerate the prepared tart shells while you preheat the oven.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
(177 degrees Celsius) until the pastry is golden. Remove from oven. Let cool on
a baking rack. Gently remove from the tart shells from the pans. Set aside. Can
make 1-day ahead, however they must be kept in an airtight container.
Apple Brandy Pastry Cream
Ingredients
1.5
|
Cups
|
Whole Milk
|
0.5
|
Cup
|
Half & Half (or Light Cream)
|
2
|
Large
|
Egg Yolks
|
0.5
|
Cup
|
Sugar
|
0.25
|
Cup
|
Cornstarch
|
1
|
Ounce
|
|
1
|
Pinch
|
Salt
|
Method: Use a food
processor or standing mixer. Add the yolks and sugar and process until very
creamy, then add cornstarch and salt to create a slurry. Keep the food
processor running to create a smooth consistency.
In a saucepan, heat the milk and
Half & Half, until scalding. Slowly
add 1 small ladle of hot milk mixture to the egg mixture with the food
processer running. This is to temper the eggs so they will not curdle. Continue
adding 1 ladle at a time of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, until all
the milk has been added to the eggs. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook
over medium heat for about 2 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in
the apple brandy to flavor the pastry cream. Let cool in a bowl, then cover and
refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made 1 day ahead.
Apple Ingredients
1
|
Large
|
Granny
Smith Apple
|
0.50
|
Teaspoon
|
Butter
|
2
|
Ounces
|
Apple
Cider
|
0.50
|
Ounce
|
|
0.50
|
Ounce
|
|
Method: Use the small end
of a melon-baller to create perfect apple balls.
Add butter to a sauté pan and melt
over low heat. Add the apple balls and gently sauté until still semi-hard. Turn
heat up, add the apple cider, and boil until the cider almost evaporates. Add
the maple syrup to coat the apples. Add the apple brandy to deglaze the pan.
Remove from heat, remove apples from the pan, and let cool. Store in the
refrigerator until ready to assemble.
Presentation: Spoon pastry
cream into a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe filling into the baked tart
shell. Add 1-apple ball to the center of the pastry cream. Place 4 tipsy
raisins around the apple. Repeat with as many tarts as you will be immediately
serving. Finish by placing tart(s) on a plate and lightly dust tart and plate
with cinnamon powder. Serve with a small glass of the Westford Hill Distillers
New World Aged Apple Brandy.
We hope that you enjoy trying
Luxury Experience's cocktail and culinary recipes, and that they inspire you to
create your own recipes. Cheers, its cocktail time!

Master Distiller Louis Chatey and Edward F. Nesta
If you decide to visit Westford
Hill Distillers, make sure that you allow extra time to enjoy their wonderful
gift shop. Bring a picnic lunch or purchase some of their pre-packaged snacks
to enjoy with a glass of wine or one of their fabulous cocktails on their
porch, in the garden, or at a picnic table overlooking the pond.
Westford Hill Distillers
Exceptional Product Line: Eau-De-Vie: Framboise (Raspberry), Poire (Pear) William,
Kirsch (Cherry), Fraise (Strawberries), Poire Prisonniere (Poire William with a
whole pear presented in the bottle), New World Aged Apple Brandy, Gin, and Rime
Vodka.
For additional information
as well as purchasing and touring information please visit their website: www.westfordhill.com. Westford Hill Distillers spirits are sold onsite as well
domestically and internationally.
Location and Tour Hours: Westford
Hill Distillers is located 30 miles east of Hartford, Connecticut and 82 miles
southwest of Boston. They are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through
Christmas from 12:00 am until 4:00 pm.
The tours last approximately 45 minutes and are limited to 4 persons per
tour, so be sure to call ahead and reserve your tour. The cost of tour and
tasting is $12 per person.
Westford Hill Distillers
196 Chatey Road
Ashford, Connecticut 06378
United States
Telephone: +1-860-429-0464
Email:
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Website: www.westfordhill.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/westordhilldistillers
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© November 2020. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com All rights reserved.
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