Don’t get me wrong, I love a tipple but I choose to make my mincemeat alcohol-free for a few reasons. First, it allows me to offer them around to everyone without worrying about who I might offend (especially living in the Middle East).  Second, I don’t really like the heavy alcohol flavour and prefer the lighter fruity flavour without the alcohol, as do the kids.  Feel free to include 1 tbsp brandy in your mincemeat mixture if you want to (just add it in the pan with everything else).