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I have found that making a small incision in the pastry lid of supermarket mince pies and gently pouring in a dash of brandy significantly improves the overall flavour.
Not only was the flavour profile augmented but the cloyingness decreased, possibly due to the brandy's ability to cut through the butter in the pastry along with its mouth lubricating properties.
One down side was the brandy does not permeate through the mince and ends up sitting between the mince and the pastry lid. This often lead to the spilling of brandy when the first bite was taken. However, the proximity to the surface of the brandy enhanced the aroma and opened the airways.
A better approach to investigate in the future may be to inject the brandy into the centre of the mince itself, possibly in multiple sites forming 'brandy micro-pockets' to improve overall distribution of the liquor.
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mulv
MetalMelly
My main beef with the off-the-shelf mincers is that they seem to replace brandy with yet more sugar. They're not nearly (if at all?) boozy enough.