Here's my report -- product aged 5 months. I agree with arboretum -- pick'em earlier. The ones in the bottles mature faster than the rest of the fruit on the tree (or at least color quicker). Rest were green while the bottled ones were yellowing. It is probably much hotter in the bottles. I picked the best one and I filled it with Clear Creek after a two week refrigeration (I just forgot about it....) Cleaning was not too big a chore --bought a bottle brush and cleaned out the spider web with no obvious damage to the fruit.

Result -- after 2 months in a dark liquor cabinet (~ 70 degrees), the pear started turning brown on one side. Unlike arboretum, I didn't want to risk that ~ 600 ml of Clear Creek and decanted it to an empty bottle. Still ... the product looked by no means the worse for wear. It picked up a nice rose hue (Clear Creek Williams Pear is clear and color-less).

Today's test at 5 months. Color -- same, nice. Aroma -- there is much, much more fruit in the aroma of the (formerly) fruited brandy. Flavor: toss up -- the brandy from the fruited bottle is certainly sweeter. But the straight Clear Creek is of course very nice, more dry.

OK, I'll try another two sips... It is certainly different but at least as good -- I'm going to try again next year.

Plan -- pick earlier, perhaps a cardboard shade on the bottles? My trees are all espalier so every fruit gets good sun and I bet this might be a problem.

Yield: All fruit were Bartlett. Bottles were strung from the espalier support wires of branches above the fruit. Of 7 bottles, I had 4 candidates that I picked too late as above. I understand even commercial producers have similar yields -- that's one reason it is $80 / bottle.