Calvados

Calvados

An apple brandy this spirit comes from the orchards of Normandy France. Dating back to 1533 it was a regular fixture in cocktails during the golden age of mixing. As many as 46 varieties of apples are available for selection in the production process and these are blended in a similar fashion to cider, fermented and then distilled. It’s a luxury spirit and often overlooked, even the youngest spirit has been aged two years and the XO enjoys as much as six. It’s great neat and a new dimension to brandy cocktails.

Drouin Selection Calvados

While “Calvados Pays d’Auge” needs to undergo lengthy ageing in oak casks to reach full maturity, Calvados from the Domfrontais region, whose range of flavours is dominated by prominent fruit notes, can be enjoyed young. Aged for only two to three years in very old casks and blended using apples and pears, Calvados Selection enchants with light and elegant aromas of fresh fruit. Recommended to those who appreciate Calvados as a long drink or aperitif, it is also well suited to the preparation of complex cocktails.

Christian Drouin Calvados is a family-owned, award-winning producer of high-end, artisanal Calvados situated in the centre of the AOC Calvados Pays d’Auge. Calvados starts with apples and the Drouin family only select fruits from organic orchards. The liquid is produced from thirty-five different varieties of apples, all harvested from the orchard floor rather than using mechanical pickers. Depending on the harvest and style of Calvados to be produced, the apple juice is naturally fermented for between five weeks and ten months in open wooden tanks before a double distillation in traditional Charentais pot stills. The resulting spirit is round and smooth with rich, fruit-forward flavours.