While virtually every independent bottler is releasing cognac and rum these days, Calvados is still taking up a small share. Perhaps because its obvious fruity character makes it quite different from whisky or even cognac?
Distilia and Rob Bauer have just released the third expression in its seven-part The Sins series (including an excellent Long Pond 1983). Nicknamed Gluttony, it is a 1964 Calvados Domfrontais, made with 40% apple and 60% pear.
Calvados Christian Drouin 58 yo 1964 ‘Gluttony’ (47,9%, Distilia ‘The Sins’ 2024, cask #F294, 165 btl.)
Nose: complex and hybrid, mixing apple spirit with old rum and other drinks. We’re getting juicy pear but also tangerines, walnuts, apple syrup and sour cherries. Papaya in the background, as well as some honeyed almond. Then hardwood varnish, soaked raisins and honeysuckle, moving towards blossomy notes. Precious oriental wood and a pinch of cinnamon too. Extraordinary.
Mouth: beautifully full, oily and fresh at the same time. Sour fruits again, apples and pears, oranges and lime. Tarte tatin with caramelized sugar and sour berries. Herbal honey, hints of cloves and oak polish. Then there’s roasted chestnut, walnuts and thyme, with a subtle bitter edge that gives away its age. Cedar wood appears, along with hints of tobacco leaves.
Finish: long and drying, on sour apple, lightly caramelized nuts, tangy roots and herbs.
The fact that it manages to retain the brightness and fruity sparkle while also having a glorious darker, sweet side, makes this the best Calvados I’ve had so far. Now on sale.
Let’s pair this to another Calvados from the same house, bottled by Decadent Drinks as the only ever Apple Sponge release. It blends equal parts of casks from 1988 and 1991.
Calvados Christian Drouin 32 yo 1988 + 1991 (48,6%, Apple Sponge 2024, 120 btl.)
Nose: we’re closer to the fruits here. Boxes full of apples, with stewed pears, sour apple syrup from Limburg, and apple crumble. A nice balance between honey sweetness and fruity acidity. Slightly greener and slightly tighter than the 1964 but nonetheless closely related. Nicely aromatic too.
Mouth: slightly darker now, with some figs and raisins balancing the apple sourness. A little brown sugar, along with cedar wood and hints of pepper. Cloves and herbal honey, with hints of toffee. Always keeping the middle between sourness, sweetness and spice. Just a subtle grassy note along with some thyme.
Finish: long, with some floral touches, old oak and baked apples.
It may not be entirely fair to have a younger one after the 1964, but it does stand up to it. Still available from Decadent Drinks or Royal Mile Whiskies for instance. Score: 90/100