L&L - Jersey Lightnin' Traditional Cache
Gipsie: It appears this whole area has been cleared. Keep an eye out for something new!
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Legends and Lore - South Jersey is an area rich with history that contains legendary characters and amazing stories. This series of caches is designed for you to learn some of the legends and stories of the area that we have grown to love. Some of the stories are true, some are just stories. Some are creepy, some funny, all are interesting. We hope you take the time to read the story that goes with each cache. Enjoy!
Please do not park on Route 9! You can park anywhere in the Historic Village of Smithville and walk to this cache. And enjoy this village!
Apple Jack (or applejack) is an alcoholic beverage that originates from the early American colonial days. As the name suggests, apple jack is produced from apples, made by concentrating or distilling hard cider. The term itself is derived from “jacking”, a word used to describe the freeze distillation method often used in the production of apple jack. In New Jersey, applejack was used as currency to pay road construction crews during the colonial period. A slang expression for the beverage was Jersey Lightnin'.
The Smithville Inn, in its heyday was designated an official polling place of the region. The voters would stay in the Inn until the voting was over and the ballots were counted. During this time, many a bottle of Jersey Lightnin' was drank and fists would fly and bottles were smashed. It got so bad that the innkeeper pleaded with the township officials to stop his annual destruction and they promptly erected a fence to be put down the middle of the inn grounds assigning one side to Whigs and the other to Democrats. This fence was put up annually on election day and then taken down and stored until the following year. Then just before polling day, the town constable would come out and tell his men it was time to "mend their political fences". And a phrase was born....
It's important to understand Jersey Lightnin' if you ever want to understand the Jersey folktale. It was under the influence of this beverage that many a story was told deep in the Pine Barrens. This curiously strong homebrew applejack, is available only here, far away from civilization. A good deal of the heroes from said stories also indulged: Ong and many of the victims of the Jersey Devil to name just a few. This brew is a staple of Piney culture even today; try some if you dare.
A more modern day recipe (sorta..):
Apple Cider
* 1 gallon apple juice (or 16 pounds apples)
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon yeast energizer
* 1 1/2 teaspoon acid blend
* 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme
* 1 campden tablet
* 1 package champagne yeast (for 1 to 5 gallons)
Place chopped fruit or juice in primary fermentor. Add balance of ingredients. Stir to dissolve sugar. Stir daily for 5 to 6 days or until frothing ceases. Strain out fruit and squeeze as much juice out of it as you can. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.
Rack in three weeks, and again every 2 months until the cider is clear.
Gently stir in 1/4 cup sugar per gallon. Bottle in champagne bottles or clean pop bottles. Age three months.
Apple Jack
First, make Apple Cider (recipe above). Skip the final step, and allow it to age the three months in the secondary fermentor.
Second, siphon it back into the primary fermentor. If you have a deep freeze, put the primary fermentor in it overnight. If not, use ice cream buckets and the fridge freezer. Remember to leave room for the water to expand when it freezes.
The alcohol will not freeze, so it is forced into the center of the container when the cider is frozen. The brewer then has the option of either skimming the ice off of the surface, or siphoning the alcohol out of the center. The siphoning method will result in a higher alcohol content than the skimming method.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
vg vf abj n ovttre pbagnvare ybbx haqre jbbq