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It seems to me that I know almost everything about alcoholic drinks. But recently a friend of my wife brought her a bottle of real Calvados as a gift. I always thought it was some kind of light drink.
Having tried the gift brought to my wife, I was surprised – Calvados turned out to be quite a strong, aromatic drink. And then I realized that I still have something to study. Today I want to tell you about Calvados. I hope it will be interesting.
What is Calvados
Calvados is one of the three most popular drinks among the French, along with cognac and champagne. But if the last two are willingly exported, then they prefer to leave the first one at home, for “personal consumption”.
The drink is strong, with a very interesting taste and aroma, so many consider it a worthy alternative to cognac.
Calvados is a drink that experts classify as one of the varieties of brandy. For its manufacture, apples are most often used, sometimes pears are added to them.
Therefore, it is quite logical that his homeland is Normandy (more precisely, several of its departments), which has the nickname “apple paradise” in France.
Apple orchards in Normandy stretch for miles.
The shade of Calvados, depending on the aging time, varies from pale straw to thick honey. The main notes in taste are apple, pear, flower. The aroma is determined by the type of fruit used as a raw material.
Experts guess prunes, bananas, candied fruit, spices, wood in the bouquet. The aftertaste is very powerful and bright. In this, Calvados unconditionally outperforms cognac.
Fortress Calvados – 40-60%. The organoleptic characteristics and manufacturing technology of each of its varieties are clearly specified in the legislation.
How Calvados is made
The technologies for the production of Calvados and cognac are similar. Only raw materials differ – apple cider is used for apple brandy, and grapes are used for cognac. Apples are usually used late varieties.
And usually technical, not dining. The latter have much less tannins. In appearance, economic varieties are unpresentable and small, but fragrant and juicy. They can taste sweet, sour, bitter, bittersweet.
Each manufacturer uses a mixture of several varieties, but which ones are usually kept secret.
The algorithm for the production of Calvados is as follows:
- The collected apples are washed, turned into gruel, juice is squeezed out of it.
- This wort with the addition of yeast is left to ferment for 3-4, maximum 5 weeks, resulting in a weak cider.
- It is distilled once, without interrupting the process, until the resulting distillate reaches a strength of about 70%, or the distillation is divided into two stages.
- The distillate is first aged in new oak barrels (only local, Norman trees are used for their manufacture) to enrich with tannins, and then poured into old ones, where the drink acquires a characteristic taste and aroma. The minimum total aging period is 2 years. There is no upper limit.
- At the end of the aging period, the masters make a “cocktail” of different distillates.
Sometimes, to get a drink, the master has to mix up to a hundred types of distillates.
How to drink Calvados
In France, Calvados is drunk as a digestif, during a change of dishes on the table. It does not need to be cooled, the ideal temperature is 20ºС. Pour the drink into wine or cognac glasses.
There are also special containers for it – with thin walls, similar in shape to a tulip. Drink Calvados slowly, in small sips, warming the bowl in your hands.
Calvados connoisseurs say that one glass should be stretched for at least 30-40 minutes.
If elite multi-year apple brandy is served, a suitable appetizer is a must:
- soft white bread;
- elite varieties of cheese with mold;
- bitter chocolate;
- croissants (and generally any sweet pastries);
- ice cream;
- meat, poultry and game dishes with fruit and berry sauces.
Important! A very well aged Calvados harmonizes with the cigar. But citruses cannot be served on the table. Their acid will completely “clog” the taste and aroma.
How to choose Calvados in the store
The first thing to remember when planning to buy Calvados is that only a drink produced in France, specifically in Normandy, has the right to be called that.
To confirm this, the label always bears the abbreviation AOC (roughly translated as “name controlled by origin”). The drink itself, depending on the raw materials used and production technology, is divided into 3 types:
- Calvados;
- Calvados Domfrontains;
- Calvados Pays d’Auge.
The duration must also be indicated. The names and abbreviations are the same as for cognac. Only instead of Trois Etoilles (“three stars”), some manufacturers use the phrase Trois Pommes (“three apples”).
When purchasing Calvados for the first time, it is better to give preference to products of brands that have long been well known in France and abroad:
- Pere Magloire (from 4000 rubles per 0,7 liter bottle);
- Chevalier des Touches (from 2000 rubles);
- Boulard (from 2300 rubles);
- Busnel (approximately 2200 rubles for 0,5 liters);
- Fiefs Cent-Anne (you are unlikely to be able to buy a bottle for less than 2000);
- M. Dupon (about 3200 rubles per 0,5 liter bottle);
- Comte Louis de Lauriston (about 5000 rubles);
- Berneroy (2500 rubles).
In the lineup, many popular brands have more than 10 types of Calvados, which differ in the aging time.
Calvados compared to French wines, cognac, champagne is much less known abroad. But at home they drink it in huge quantities.
Its taste is very soft, rich, “oily”, with a pronounced aftertaste. Therefore, it is recommended to taste it to all lovers of “status” alcohol.
Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your health. Take care of yourself!
Are you familiar with Calvados? Did you have to try? What can you say about the taste, aroma and other properties of the drink?