Laird legacy lives on at Colts Neck factory
Company known for producing AppleJack marks 225th anniversary
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Karen Johnson, of Red Bank, explains her job on the bottling line at the Colts Neck plant of Laird & Company.

COLTS NECK — In 1698 William Laird settled in Monmouth County, where he began producing Laird’s AppleJack, the nation’s oldest licensed distilled spirit, for himself, his friends and neighbors.

This year Laird and Company, the producers of AppleJack, is celebrating its 225th anniversary.

The company, which is based on Laird Road in the Scobeyville section of Colts Neck, is hosting a colonial-themed event at the Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank, on Feb. 10, which will feature recipes handed down throughout the family’s history, 18th century music and decorations, and a selection of drinks paired with each course, Vice President Lisa Laird Dunn said.

Rose Marie Laird (l) and her daughter, Lisa Laird Dunn, examine family documents that show the origin of their Colts Neck liquor company.

After the initial event in New Jersey, Dunn will be traveling for the remainder of the year to celebrate the company’s anniversary with the rest of the country. Dunn will be hosting similar events in key United States markets on the East Coast, in the South and possibly in California.

Laird and Company has three apple brandy products available: Laird’s Old Apple Brandy, an 80-proof straight apple brandy that is aged for a minimum of seven-and-a-half years; Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy, 100-proof apple brandy; and Laird’s AppleJack, an 80-proof blended whiskey made of 35 percent apple brandy and 65 percent neutral grain spirits.

Dunn said the blended AppleJack still has the apple flavor but has a brandy base that gives it a unique smoothness. It has a deep, rich flavor and retains a hint of the delicate aroma and flavor of apples.

Laird and Company has been passed down through the Laird family for nine generations. Larrie Laird is the current president and chief executive officer. His daughter, Dunn, the ninth generation, is the vice president of sales and marketing and also sits on the board of directors. Dunn’s cousin John Laird III is the executive vice president and chief financial officer. Dunn’s mother, Rose Marie, works for the company and her aunt and uncle sit on the executive board.

Although the history of apple brandy can be traced back to 1698, sales of the product were not documented until the 1700s.

In 1717 the Colts Neck Inn was built by a Laird ancestor as a stopping place for stagecoaches traveling from Freehold to the Amboys and was among the first documented taverns to serve AppleJack commercially. The first record of commercial distillation and sales for AppleJack was entered in Robert Laird’s account book of operations in 1780. According to family records, AppleJack was one of the Colts Neck Inn’s best sellers.

In 1812, Samuel Laird, the third son of Robert Laird, became the owner of the Colts Neck Inn until a fire burned the distillery down in 1849. After that, Samuel’s son, Robert Laird II, moved the distillery to its current location in Scobeyville. From there, Robert Laird II began shipping AppleJack to cities around the United States, such as Denver and Los Angeles.

During prohibition in 1933, Laird and Company was granted the first federal license in order to use the apple brandy for medicinal purposes. Dunn said the apple brandy helped people who suffered from lung ailments if they inhaled the drink’s fumes. She said the company has received numerous letters and phone calls from people thanking them because AppleJack improved the quality of their life.

Dunn said she gargles with AppleJack when she has a sore throat and it immediately kills everything.

“See, it’s true. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. We just drink ours,” she said.

After prohibition ended, John Evans Laird and his brother Joseph Tilton Laird III, grandsons of Robert Laird II, were able to immediately sell AppleJack to the public. Since then Laird and Company has been in continual operation with the exception of World War II, when the plant was converted to produce products to aid in the war effort.

Dunn said she credits the company’s record of success to being able to adjust to the changes in people and the times. Being part of a family owned business makes it easier to change the products, the company and the budget when those adjustments are needed, she said.

“We’ve always adjusted to the trends and tried to diversify. When it’s tough times we pull in the budget,” Dunn said.

Although AppleJack is the “heart and soul” of the company, it has expanded to produce many other products in addition to its apple brandy, she said.

“While we continue to make AppleJack and aged apple brandies, we have grown well beyond our ancestors’ expectations to become a leading purveyor of spirits and fine wines throughout the United States,” Dunn said.

Although Dunn said the company’s sales remained steady throughout the years, in the 1980s and early 1990s there was a small decline in darker alcoholic beverages.

In order to keep the company going, the original apple brandy was blended with neutral grain spirits to make Laird’s AppleJack because American consumers began drinking lighter colored spirits such as vodka and gin, Dunn said.

“We still have the 100 proof for some of the old-timers that still like apple brandy,” she said.

About 35 percent of the company’s actual production is contract bottling. Dunn said many companies ship their products in bulk to Laird’s facilities. Laird and Company then blends, filters, processes, bottles and adds its own label to the product.

The company has more than 100 labels in addition to the Laird label and it produces various liquors such as vodka, tequila, gin, blended whiskey, scotch, Canadian whiskey, rum and bourbon in addition to the apple brandy. Laird and Company established its import division in 1995 and currently imports a variety of wines from around the world.