Apple Jack or apple brandy (as it is sometimes called) is the distilled form of hard cider. Basically (and for information purposes only) you would freeze your hard cider and let the alcohol seperate from the water.
Also for information purposes, you should know that the Government considers freezing a form of distillation. It is therefore against the law to make apple jack unless you have a license (and pay the appropriate taxes). I know, you are only freezing it. However, they make no distinction between a still and the freezing process.
As for your question, it can be made from any hard cider. I would guess most people just start with a recipe they like as cider.
I made apple jack in college and it really doesn't take anything more than freezing hard cider and pouring off the concentrated liquid. We would take gallon jugs of fresh juice, drain off a pint and add a pound of sugar. Typically, the cider took two months to ferment, then we put the jugs in the shed (winter in Ithaca, NY) over-night. In the morning, we would bring the jugs in and invert them over quart jars, letting them thaw until the jar was full. The results were probably around 50-60% ABV.
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Ahahah, excellent, I was under the impression that the 'jack would just be sitting atop the frozen cider, ready to be consumed. (That explains why putting it in the freezer didn't really do too much... hypothetically).
I will, by the way, exhort all of you to drop by The Dobbin House in Gettysburg, PA- not only is it a way-old and way-interesting home/inn, they have a cellar-area bar where their special (in winter) is a hot glass of spiced cider, liberally spiked with apple jack, and served with a cinnamon stick for stirring! The best thing to warm yourself on a cold January night!
One note of warning: As I discovered, the 'jack tends to rise right to the top of the hot cider, so my first, cavalier swig was nearly all liquor. I think I almost died, but I coughed my heart back into service. USE THE CINAMMON! STIR WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!
You can make cider but you can't freeze it? Now that's just silly. I highly doubt any self-respecting law enforcement officer would care unless you were selling it.
What I want to know is, if you aren't distributing your apple jack, how would the feds know if you were freezing it in the first place? Unlike stills, everyone with a fridge has a freezer, I'm assuming, and noone's going to notice the electrical fluctuation it takes when you add a gallon of cider to the freezer.
Shtupid law. Just like not being allowed to fire a gun off during a moment of passion with your lady in Wisconsin.
I made pear-jack last year out of a particularly bad batch of pear wine. The wine was around 8%ABV. I froze 5 gal. down to 2 liters of pinkish liquid. Finally froze that down to 1 liter when I couldn't get it to freeze anymore.
I haven't been able to drink enough to get an estimate of its strength. It is so citrusy and acidic that I can't stand to drink it.
My guess is that it's pretty strong, but I'll never know for sure.
Maybe it'd work as paint stripper?
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More like a sock monkey, really...
I highly doubt any self-respecting law enforcement officer would care unless you were selling it.
Not all LEOs are self-respecting. Some are thinking ahead to a career in politcs and might just 'crack down' on someone in the name of some polictically popular 'zero tolerance' policy after they stumble across your little operation as they pull you over for speeding or responding to a burglary call or coming to the door selling tickets to the Police and Fire Association Dance/Fair/Dinner/whatever.
Knowing how closely you're riding the edge of legality is the first step in discrete behavior.
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Jason 'Kornkob' Robinson
I wanna move to Theory. Everything works in Theory.
Apple Jack
USE THE CINAMMON! STIR WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!
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