Legends Unite

Just a smattering of spirits makers can attest that they witnessed American history unfold. Most fell when tragedy struck, tensions rose, or interference paralyzed production. While some waved their white flags, others were hell-bent to overcome the odds.

With a combined history of 416 years, Chicken Cock Whiskey and Laird & Company are seasoned in distilling disarming spirits. That history saw scrapes and wounds along the way that could have pushed aside the spirits makers for good, yet they prevailed. And few can resist a survival story.

America turns 250 this year, and the two acclaimed American distillers are celebrating with the release of Old Glory, an apple brandy-whiskey blend that slightly sweetens the warmth whiskey imbibers crave. The brands’ merging of flavors is evidence that sugar and spice can be especially nice when served neat.

A Blend Built on Balance

Old Glory combines 70% Chicken Cock Whiskey with 30% Laird’s Apple Brandy, creating a flavor profile that modern drinkers and America’s forefathers would pledge allegiance to.

Old Glory draws you in at first sniff, bringing about a bright orchard fruit nose, followed by ginger and toasted oak. Honey, clove, pear, and baked red apple rouse the palate, lingering with a red apple skin, cracked coriander, mint, and spice finish. This balance of bold and bright makes for a tasty tipple that can be sipped without an overwhelming sweetness.

“Few things today could simultaneously break the mold while honoring tradition like Old
Glory does,” says Grain & Barrel Spirits Director of Brand Engagement Will Woodington. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for us to be partnering with Laird’s, which has even older roots than we do, and has stood the test of time as an icon in American distilling. The blend may be a 70/30 split between Chicken Cock Rye and Laird’s Apple Brandy, but it is undeniably 100% American. We couldn’t be more excited to share in the incredible flavor and story of Old Glory with people across the country.”

Growing Strong Roots

In the late 1830s, James A. Miller was a successful distiller producing J.A. Miller’s Old Bourbon, whose bottles appeared in liquor cabinets across the U.S., and eventually shipped internationally, the first from Bourbon County, Kentucky, to do so.

In 1856, Miller introduced Chicken Cock Whiskey, but he died just four years later. The brand changed hands several times, and the whiskey’s flavor and quality gradually deteriorated until it finally shuttered in the 1950s.

“There are a thousand reasons why this brand shouldn’t be around today,” Woodington explains. “There were multiple distillery fires throughout the 1800s. There was financial panic. The brand changed hands numerous times. Prohibition hit it.”

Chicken Cock was defunct for more than 60 years until Grain & Spirits Founder and CEO Matti Anttila found an old bottle at the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History in 2011.

“The name jumped out at me immediately before realizing the brand was actually a large player during that era. The deeper I got into the story of the brand, the more my excitement to bring it back to life grew,” he says. “Between a unique name, beautiful heritage packaging, and a real, authentic history, everything lined up to make resurrecting the brand a no-brainer.” In 2017, Anttila put Chicken Cock Whiskey back on shelves.

“There’s no more resilient brand, in my mind, than the Chicken Cock brand,” Woodington says. “There are so many things that tried to take it down throughout almost 170 years. It’s still not only surviving but thriving today.”

While its roots were planted by Scottish distiller William Laird in 1678 in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and went on to supply General George Washington’s Revolutionary War troops with its Applejack Brandy, it wasn’t until 1780 that Laird & Company officially became the nation’s first producer of apple brandy.

Laird’s obstacles were similar. Its facility was destroyed by fire in 1849, but was quickly rebuilt in 1851 in Scobeyville, New Jersey. It survived Prohibition by producing sweet cider and applesauce until 1933, when the government ultimately granted it a permit to distill apple brandy for medicinal purposes.

The company has had many remarkable milestones and suffered several adversities along the way, but since 1976, Laird has been distilling exclusively at its North Garden, Virginia, facility. Ten generations later, Laird’s Apple Brandy is still relished by bar patrons in America and beyond.

A Toast to Tradition

“This collaboration unites two historic American spirits — Laird’s Apple Brandy, passed down through 10 generations, and Chicken Cock Whiskey, a revived brand from the mid-1800s,” says ninth-generation Laird & Company President & Global Ambassador Lisa Laird. “Together, we’ve created a blend that respects tradition while delivering a bold, modern profile for today’s whiskey drinker. Old Glory is a true celebration of heritage and craftmanship.”

The staying power of both distilleries in and of itself should be celebrated, and their combined strength, presented in a golden honeycomb-textured bottle, is especially symbolic of America’s rich 250-year history of the people’s capacity to roll with the punches and find substance and strength in the ashes.