Laird & Company

Laird & Company is a historic American distillery based at 1 Laird Road in the Scobeyville section of Colts Neck Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. The business is associated principally with applejack and other apple-based distilled spirits. Its history is commonly linked to the Laird family's arrival in Monmouth County after William Laird emigrated from Fife, Scotland, in 1698. The family became involved in producing apple-based spirits, an activity that developed into the company identified today as Laird & Company. The company’s institutional importance is tied to its United States distilling authorization. In 1780, during the early national period, Laird received License No. 1 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This has made the company widely recognized as the oldest licensed distillery in the United States. Company tradition also connects Robert Laird with George Washington: before the American Revolution, Washington reportedly requested Laird’s recipe for “cyder spirits.” Robert Laird later served in the Continental Army under Washington. Laird’s identity is rooted in applejack, a spirit historically made from or based on fermented apple cider. The company’s product portfolio has included applejack and related apple spirits, with the brand serving both traditional American cocktail culture and the broader distilled-spirits market. Its New Jersey site remains important for blending, aging, bottling, administration, and heritage value, even though the company no longer performs its distilling operations there. Distillation at the New Jersey facilities ended in 1972. Laird now obtains apples from central Virginia and distills its products at a facility in North Garden, Virginia. The Scobeyville property continues to be used for blending, aging, and bottling. This split between Virginia production and New Jersey finishing operations reflects the company’s adaptation from a local farm distillery into a modern spirits business while preserving its historic home base. The Scobeyville complex also represents a significant surviving example of the region’s agricultural and distilling history. On October 31, 2024, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Laird & Company Distillery Historic District. The approximately 25-acre district includes five contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one contributing structure. Its resources include the Laird family residence, the still house, distilling-equipment rooms, and a pond created by damming Yellow Brook for equipment cooling. The family residence developed in several stages, including an early section that may predate the American Revolution, an addition from about 1849, and a Colonial Revival-era expansion completed in 1934 when the building became the company’s administrative office. Laird & Company therefore occupies a distinctive position in American spirits: it is an active commercial producer, a historic applejack specialist, and the custodian of a nationally recognized distilling site. Its present operations combine Virginia-based distillation with New Jersey-based aging, blending, and bottling, while its brand story emphasizes continuity from colonial apple-spirit production through contemporary American beverage distribution.

Laird & Company’s history is rooted in the movement of the Laird family from Scotland to colonial New Jersey. William Laird came from Fife to Monmouth County in 1698 and was among the early local producers of applejack or related apple-based spirits. The area’s orchards and cider-making traditions provided the agricultural foundation for a distilling business that later became associated with the Laird name. Robert Laird, a descendant of William Laird, is identified as the company’s founder. He served in the Continental Army under George Washington. A longstanding account of the company’s heritage says that Washington asked Robert Laird for his formula for “cyder spirits” before the American Revolution. Whether viewed as company tradition or as part of the brand’s historical narrative, the story reflects the importance of apple spirits in the region before the formation of the United States. The company received License No. 1 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 1780. This authorization is the basis for Laird & Company’s distinction as the oldest licensed distillery in the United States. The license also situates the business within the development of federal regulation and administration of distilled spirits in the early United States. For much of its history, distilling was carried out in New Jersey. The company’s Scobeyville property developed as a combined family, agricultural, and industrial site. The Laird family residence was built in multiple phases. Its oldest portion may date from before the American Revolutionary War; a later section was constructed around 1849; and a final major phase was completed in 1934. In that year, the residence became the company’s administrative office and acquired its Colonial Revival character. The still house was constructed in stages between the 1880s and 1933. Additional rooms for distilling equipment were added in 1934 and 1935. A pond was formed in 1934 by damming Yellow Brook, providing water used to cool distilling equipment. These resources show how the site combined agricultural land, family occupation, administration, water management, and manufacturing. A major operational change occurred in 1972, when distilling at the New Jersey facilities ceased. Laird retained the Scobeyville site for blending, aging, and bottling rather than abandoning it as a historic location. The company shifted its apple sourcing to central Virginia and moved distillation to North Garden, Virginia. This arrangement allowed Laird to maintain its historic New Jersey identity while locating active distilling operations elsewhere. The surviving Scobeyville property gained formal preservation recognition on October 31, 2024, when it was listed as the Laird & Company Distillery Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The district covers approximately 25 acres and includes five contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one contributing structure. The designation recognized the property’s importance in agriculture, architecture, and industry. In its contemporary form, Laird & Company remains an active producer of applejack and other apple-based spirits. Its business combines Virginia-based distillation with New Jersey-based aging, blending, bottling, and administration. The company’s historical value and commercial identity are closely connected: the brand’s modern products draw on an apple-spirit tradition that predates the United States’ federal licensing system, while the Scobeyville complex provides a physical link to the company’s long operating history.

• 2024

  Scobeyville property receives historic-district listing

  [1]Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Laird & Company Distillery Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 31, 2024.

• 1972

  Distilling ends at the New Jersey site

  [1]Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Laird ceased distilling at its New Jersey facilities and subsequently conducted distillation in North Garden, Virginia, while retaining New Jersey operations for blending, aging, and bottling.

• 1934

  Administrative office established in the family residence

  [1]Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The final major phase of the Laird family residence was completed, and the building became the company’s administrative office.

• 1780

  Federal distilling License No. 1

  [1]Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Laird received License No. 1 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, supporting its recognition as the oldest licensed distillery in the United States.

• 1698

  William Laird arrives in Monmouth County

  [1]Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org

  William Laird emigrated from Fife, Scotland, to Monmouth County, New Jersey, establishing the family’s early connection with the region’s apple-growing and cider-making traditions.

A heritage American distillery positioned around applejack, apple-based spirits, and one of the longest documented licensed-distilling histories in the United States.

• Apple spirit

  Laird's Applejack

  Laird’s core product identity is associated with applejack, an American apple-based distilled spirit historically connected with the cider and orchard economy of New Jersey. The product represents the company’s central heritage category and links its current commercial activity to the family’s early production of apple spirits in Monmouth County.

• Apple-based distilled spirit

  Jersey Lightning

  Jersey Lightning is an apple-based spirit associated with Laird’s traditional New Jersey product heritage. It belongs to the company’s broader portfolio of apple-derived distilled beverages and reflects the regional language and historical culture surrounding cider spirits.

• Distilled spirits

  Blended and aged apple spirits

  In its current operating model, Laird distills in Virginia and uses the Scobeyville, New Jersey, facilities for blending, aging, and bottling. This category encompasses the company’s finished apple-based spirits and demonstrates how its historic New Jersey site remains part of the production chain even after distillation moved out of state.

• 1972

  Move distillation away from the New Jersey headquartersStrategy

  Background

  The company’s historic Scobeyville facilities had long been associated with distilling, but active distillation there ended in 1972.

  Action taken

  Laird shifted distillation to North Garden, Virginia, sourced apples from central Virginia, and retained Scobeyville for blending, aging, and bottling.

  Aftermath

  The change separated primary distilling from the historic headquarters while preserving the New Jersey site as an operating and heritage property.

  Source

1. 1Laird & Companyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Laird & Company official websitelairdandcompany.com