Calvados won its worldwide fame owing to the French soldiers of the Great War, that's when it became the tough guys' drink.
Erich Maria Remarque and Earnest Hemingway did a lot to promote calvados. Remarque's heroes habitually sipped this fragrant, amber liquid, and the author himself also liked it very much. He gave a vivid description of his love for calvados in "Arc de Triomphe": "Joan stood up quickly, her face glowing. "Pour me some more calvados," she said. 'It does seem to be special… A dream drink…".
Hemingway was no less enthusiastic: when he was young he "…consumed incredible amounts of calvados knocking back glass after glass in the night bars of Paris", and this affection remained lifelong. So what's so special about it, why people call calvados the drink of romantics and heroes?
Sheep's head and donkey’s nose
Calvados is a strong liquor made in Normandy by the distilling apple cider. It's a drink of glowing amber colour with powerful yet subtle bouquet. The residents of the area where the drink is made call it "The sun of Normandy".
The first written mention of calvados dates back to 1553, when Gilles de Gouberville described the process of making apple brandy by distilling cider in his "Journals". The technology is similar to the one used to make cognac: distillation and maturing. The radical difference is in the raw product, which in the case of calvados are apples.
Normandy's harsh climate allows to grow special sorts of "cider apples" quite different from the table ones. Sweet, bitter-sweet and sharp (there are the sorts called Sheep's Head and Donkey’s Nose"), these apples are grown specially to make the cult drink, calvados. 48 apple varieties are officially recommended for making cider, the base product for calvados. Practical experience proved that the best apple mix to make calvados is 40% sweet, 40 % bitter and 20% sharp. Note that only healthy fruit taken directly from a tree may be used. Apples brought to distillery go in a special press, and the juice is left to ferment for five weeks.
The next stage is distilling the cider. In the most famous calvados area Calvados Pay d’Auge, where over a quarter of the most prestigious Normandy drink is produced, a device called alambic charentais - a copper distilling tank is used. Here the cider is distilled twice: the first stage produces a mix with pure alcohol content 28-30% called "low waters". Then it's distilled again separating and removing "a head" and "a tail" (the least valuable components). The remaining "heart" is about 70% alcohol by volume.
An angel's or devil's share?
Calvados matures in barrels made of French oak grown in Tronçais and Limousin. The actual barrels are selected by cellar masters responsible for the calvados's quality. New barrels made of finely treated wood give calvados its rich bright colour and special "vanilla" fragrance. Maturing in old barrels takes longer and makes the taste of each particular sort of apples more pronounced in the drink. To get the right to be called calvados, the spirits must remain in barrels for at least two years.
A part of spirits evaporates during that time; the gallant French call this "an angels' share", though cellar masters insist on another name - "a devil's share", because up to 3% of the product disappears into the thin air every year.
There are the following classes of calvados depending on the drink's age: Trois Etoiles (three-star) matured for at least two years; Vieux (old) or Reserve, kept in oak barrels for no less than three years; VSOP or Vieille Reserve – four years old; Extra, Napoleon and Hors d`Age - at least six years old calvados.
Maturing gives calvados its full rich taste and delicious aroma, while the colour changes from golden to deep amber.
There's a vintage calvados (made of the spirits distilled from the same year's apple harvest) and a blended calvados made of the mixing spirits from various harvests. The age printed on the label is of the youngest spirit. The product's origin is indicated in every case, e.g. Calvados du Pays d'Auge AOC means you've bought calvados made in Pays d'Auge, with pronounced apple fragrance and powerful oily taste.
Industry leaders
The best calvados in this area is made by Boulard, Pere Magloire and Lecompte.
Boulard established in 1825 and supplied calvados to the table of Nicholas II. Simenon, Remarque, Hemingway, General Eisenhower also appreciated this company's products. There are all kinds of calvados stored in the distillery's cellars. The oldest is 50 years old, with ripe apples flavour, fruity taste with a tinge of vanilla and leather, and long, memorable aftertaste.
Pere Magloire founded in 1821 has its own special secret recipe: adding some pears to the apple mash at the initial stages of distilling, and using only the new barrels for maturing. The 15 years old Pere Magloire calvados is 52% vol. alcohol, of ruby-shade amber colour, with hot-marmalade-and-a-drop-of-rum fragrance and the taste of baked apples. Another prime-quality product of the brand is Isadora in honour of the magical charm of Isadora Duncan.
Lecompte distillery has been operating since 1923. It is located in a small town called Notre Dame De Courson. Their calvados has won the Grand Prix at Vinexpo 2007. It's on the wine list of the famous Hemingway bar in the Paris Ritz, and is the official drink served to Air France business class passengers.
A Normandy hole
Connoisseurs recommend to serve calvados at a room temperature in large glasses. It's excellent with fruit, chocolate and coffee. And if the meal consist of several courses, it may be served in between: nobody has cancelled the centuries-old tradition to "knock back" a shot of calvados after each course. This ritual is called trou normand, i.e. "a Normandy hole". All kinds of calvados are believed to be excellent digestives, though the recent fashion is to serve calvados as aperitif with tonic water or on the rocks. It's recommended to warm the drink in the glass with your hands thereby tinge it with your feelings.
At a cool summer night, relaxing in a soft armchair with a glass of calvados and a cigar, you may feel the flavour of ripe apples with cinnamon, the taste and wonderful smell of a hot French pie, the aroma of toasted bread, leather and tobacco. Just remember, to enjoy calvados fully the process shouldn't be rushed.
Larisa Korobkova
Photoreport
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