Applejack substitutes

French apple brandy from Normandy, distilled from cider made with dozens of cider-apple varieties and aged in oak.

Best for

Jack Rose, Widow's Kiss, Diamondback, pork and apple braises, apple desserts, flambe

Close enough that many bartenders treat the two as interchangeable, and in a Jack Rose the Calvados version is arguably the better drink. Calvados is more floral and complex, with a distinct fresh-orchard and slightly funky cider note, and it is usually drier and finer than blended applejack. The main difference is that blended applejack carries a plainer, sweeter, more neutral profile because of the grain spirit in it, so the Calvados version tastes more emphatically of apples.

Pure apple brandy with no neutral spirit added, bottled at 100 proof in the bonded style.

Best for

Jack Rose, Widow's Kiss, Old Fashioned variations, pork glazes, apple pie filling

Technically an upgrade rather than a substitute, and worth understanding why. Blended applejack is roughly 35 percent apple brandy and 65 percent neutral grain spirit at 80 proof, whereas bonded apple brandy is all apple and 100 proof. Swapped 1:1 the drink comes out noticeably stronger and far more apple-forward, with more oak and a longer finish. In a Jack Rose that is delicious. In a cream sauce or a light dessert, use about three-quarters of the amount so it does not dominate.

Grape brandy topped up with a little cider to bring back the apple.

Best for

pork braises, apple desserts, bread pudding, punch, flambe

The most likely thing to actually be in a home cupboard. Brandy gives you the right kind of warm, oaky, dried-fruit spirit, and the cider puts back the specific orchard sweetness that applejack is named for. What you will notice is that the fruit reads as grape underneath, and the cider brings a little extra sugar and acidity, so in a stirred cocktail cut any syrup back slightly. In a pork and apple braise this substitution is close to invisible.

American corn whiskey aged in new charred oak, sweet with vanilla and caramel.

Best for

Jack Rose, whiskey sour variations, pork glazes, apple cake, bread pudding

A usable swap that makes no attempt to taste of apple. Bourbon's vanilla and caramel sit well in the same recipes, and a Jack Rose made with bourbon is a good grenadine-and-lime whiskey sour. But the apple, which is the entire reason applejack is specified, is gone. In apple desserts and pork dishes the fruit is already present from the apples themselves, so the loss barely registers there and this becomes a strong option.

Sweetened apple-flavoured liqueur such as Berentzen, much lower in proof.

Best for

punch, desserts, frostings, sweet cocktails

Gets you apple flavour, but the wrong kind and far too much sugar. These liqueurs taste of green apple candy rather than fermented cider and oak, and they are typically half the strength of applejack. Use about two-thirds the amount and remove any other sweetener from the recipe. Acceptable in a sweet punch or a dessert; wrong in a spirit-forward cocktail like a Widow's Kiss.

Cider for the fruit, a little vinegar for the sharpness the alcohol would have brought.

Best for

pork braises, pan sauces, apple desserts, glazes, alcohol-free cooking

Genuinely excellent in a braise, and better than most alcohol-free swaps because applejack's contribution to a pork dish is essentially apple, acidity and liquid, all of which cider and vinegar cover. Reduce the cider a little longer than you would the spirit, since it contains more water and sugar. What you lose is the spirity warmth on the finish. In a cocktail this does not work at all, as the applejack is the base.