Enjoying Calvados There is no right or wrong whatever your taste there is a calvados, calvados cocktail or calvados recipe for you. There are as many to explore as there are palates to taste. Some love the strength and rich bouquet of the young, others the smooth flavour, sumptuous aroma and feeling of wellbeing conveyed by the old. Calvados is everybody’s to enjoy and nothing should be taken more seriously than the indulgence of ones senses. Calvados does not evolve once in the bottle and so can be stored upright in any suitable place away from direct sunlight and extremes in temperature for many years. Calvados is usually served at room temperature; you can warm the glass in the palm of your hand and swirl the calvados around in the glass to release its fragrances, watch, smell and sip. The colours will range from light yellow for the young towards darker shades of straw, amber and gold and then dark browns for the older. Try to identify the aromas of ripe apple, peach, apricot, vanilla, sugar, wood, caramel, tobacco and leather. How to read the label With blended calvados the age indicated on the bottle is that of the youngest calvados in the blend. Thus a calvados labelled as 20 years old may contain calvados which is still older. Remember that once the calvados is bottled it evolves no more. So it’s the length of time in the cask that is the critical factor. When the label states a year it indicates that the calvados originates from a lone distillation during the stated year.  When the label says: -
The Calvados has been aged for a minimum of 2 years in oak casks, is a pale shade of Yellow, has a straight fruity flavour and can be enjoyed in cooking, cocktails, well chilled as a shot or with ice as an aperitif.
The Calvados has been aged for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks, is the colour of straw and light amber with a flavour of fresh fruit. It can be enjoyed as an aperitif, in cocktails, as a shot or as a digestive.
 The Calvados has been aged for a minimum of 4 years in oak casks and is yellow with darker strokes of amber and gold. It has a flavour of tangy apples, dried fruit balanced with nut and chocolate and can be enjoyed as a digestive.
The Calvados has been aged for a minimum of 6 years to perhaps over 40 in oak casks. It is dark gold or brown with orange, ruby and mahogany elements. It has a round smooth and delicate flavour with whispered aromas reminisant of its origin, wood and ripe fruit. To be enjoyed in rare moments with memories of past passions, with a favourite cigar or dark chocolate. Contact Calvados Online for more information by completing our Online Form. |
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