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2009 SESSION
WHEREAS, Laird and Company, an eighth-generation Virginia company that makes Laird’s Apple Brandy and Captain Applejack, is commended for its commercial and historical contributions to Albemarle County, Virginia, and America; and
WHEREAS, in 1780, Robert Laird, the descendent of a Scottish immigrant, established America’s first commercial distillery at Scobeyville, New Jersey, and began to produce Laird’s Premium Applejack; and
WHEREAS, over the years, the Laird family bought several other small apple brandy distilleries along the East Coast, including Distillery No. 5 in North Garden, Virginia, just south of Charlottesville in beautiful Albemarle County; and
WHEREAS, after Prohibition, many applejack distilleries closed or converted to making other products, leaving the Laird family and the distillery at North Garden as the sole producers of the native American spirit since 1934; and
WHEREAS, today, the Laird distillery in North Garden produces all of the Laird’s Apple Brandy and Captain Applejack made by Laird and Company and sold throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, Laird’s Applejack is produced from only the finest tree-ripened Albemarle County apples, with no cultures, yeasts, sugars, or blending agents ever added; and
WHEREAS, Laird’s Applejack has played a unique role in both Virginia and American history; founder Robert Laird, a Revolutionary War soldier who served under George Washington, supplied colonial troops with applejack; and
WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln served Laird’s Applejack in his Springfield, Illinois, tavern and President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin with a case of Laird’s Applejack at a summit held in New Jersey in 1967; and
WHEREAS, with a rich tradition and history, the Laird and Company name and products have stood for quality and purity for over two centuries; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend Laird and Company on its longevity and commitment to quality; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Larrie Laird, president of Laird and Company, as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his family’s and company’s historical and commercial contributions to Albemarle County, the Commonwealth, and the nation.