In 1780, after the American Revolution, Laird’s received the new nation’s first distillery permit. Prohibition could have easily flattened Laird’s, as it did hundreds of other distilleries in the state, had the company not received a federal liquor license to distill apple brandy for medicinal purposes. In the company’s heyday, Laird’s operated three distilleries—in Scobeyville and upstate New York—to keep up with demand for its applejack. But by 1975, annual sales had plummeted. That, coupled with a lack of apples still being grown in New Jersey, made Laird’s decide to move its distilling operations to Virginia, just outside Charlottesville, near the source of their apples in the Shenandoah Valley. A vintage 1975 bottle of Laird's Applejack or Apple Brandy holds unique historical significance. Mid-1970s sales struggles caused the company to pause distilling at their New Jersey facility and petition for lighter spirit blends.
