Calvados & Apple Brandy Archives

Category: Calvados & Apple Brandy

Shane

Stonewell Cider double distilled apple brandy 2023 2nd fill oloroso sherry cask, 22 months of aging 63%

Nose: Baked apple dusted with cinnamon, but with a nice acidity hinted at on the nose, closer to a fuji or pink lady. This is really pleasing

Palate: Cedar wood, dried sulfured apricots, stale sultanas. Sadly the palate isn’t delivering on the nose.

Rating: 4 / 10 – okay this is a strange one. The apple is there, and the hint of oloroso is there, but I taste more whisky influence than sherry influence. Maybe the first fill was an whisky? But while from the nose I think there was a lovely apple spirit, the cask twisted it.

Tasting Note

Shane

Stonewell Cider double distilled apple brandy 2024, 2nd fill Bourbon 10 months of aging 63%

Nose: Soft warm caramel chews, caramel covered green apple slices, costco oversized apple-cinnamon muffin

Palate: Oh .. first reaction is this is actually delicious. Reminds me of an apple pie moonshine. Even has a bit of the shine vibe (although I don’t love that) on the palate. But the soft apple caramel cinnamon vibe is just plain fun and I can see people having a blast drinking this.

Rating: 6 / 10 – this tastes super young but if it just mellows and the flavors round out, this will be such a fun spirit for small shots at xmas, or as a basis for winter cocktails. The style isn’t one for the elegant crowd, it’s for the young people who enjoy sweet treats.The 6 is optimistic for such a baby, but I think it will grow into it.

Tasting Note

Shane

Christian Drouin 1991 / 2017 Velier 70th anniversary selection 45%

Nose: Baked apples, or perhaps more completely, Peter’s apple crumble (brown sugar, butter and whole oats), with sliced apples and sultana raisins, cinnamon and cloves and a dash of lemon. Julie, my toughest critic, says it smells like fall. And she is right. There are also hints of pipe tobacco in the empty glass. For me, the nose is why I bought this and keep coming back to it.

Palate: I taste the oak first. A drying sensation, with root beer barrel like notes, the bite of tannins and a strong dose of cloves. Then the touch of apple sweetness and cassis tartness coats the palate. This is actually better on a larger pull, as on small sips the oak overwhelms but with more spirit the fruit strikes back.

Rating: 6 / 10 – I come back to this bottle somewhat regularly and was surprised I’d never jotted anything. It has everything I want on the nose. It was one of the first milisimes calvados I ever bought and opened my eyes to the quality that lay in the region. The palate is both wonderful and can be a bit too much oak depending on my mood. This is my second bottle of this specific millesime and I loved it deeply. Which might make you ask why it’s a 6 and not a 7 or 8 given my scale? Truth is, I have since then collected an embarrassment of riches and have other Drouin releases I find better balanced and go to more often. So a 6 today, but perhaps higher when the mood strikes.

Tasting Note

Shane

Stonewell Cider double distilled apple brandy 2022 2nd fill Malaga Cask 63%

Nose: I really love this nose. You can smell a cider not just an apple brandy. Hints of funk, peel, acidity. And then warmth from the oak, touch of cinnamon and clove. Really stands out.

Palate: The palate is discombobulated. Young spirit notes, an unpleasant oxidation funk that reminds me of dried prunes, and yet the apple note is there calling me. Maybe with time magic could happen? I’m not sure.

Rating: 3 / 10 – what a great nose and yet, ough. palate.

Tasting Note

Shane

Calvados Drouin Blanche 61%

Nose: Apple, grapefruit peel, pink peppercorn

Palate: Surprisingly smooth for this ABV. Peppercorn, wintergreen.

Rating: 6 / 10 – bright and lovely EDV

Tasting Note

Calvados Drouin 20 YO Springbank Experimental Cask 48.4%

Nose: This is stunning on first sniff. And second. And two days later when I poured it again. A massive spice and apple hit. Cloves and birch bark. Warm seaside tarmac towards the end of a hot day. Toasted chestnuts.

Palate: What a big big hit of apple. The concentration of flavors is impressive. The oak builds a real foundation with all kinds of spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom), layered by a light ashyness, sea salt, and then a full frontal fruit funk. The style takes me almost to caribbean rum. The peat is so well integrated, it’s part of the harmony rather than a soloist. This just shows how amazing calvados can be if you time everything just right.

Rating: 8 / 10 – Could I have called out springbank, nope, but having had this side by side with the 18 year @ 46%, it adds such depth of character, this will be one to hunt for once it hits the shelves in a couple months. I asked Drouin for more info and they shared that it was finished for 5 months in a Springbank bourbon cask 2014. The calvados was wild fermented for months before being double distilled in the same 2500L pot still. Aged for 19+ years in 200 (ish) L 2nd/3rd fill french oak. They don’t like to keep the casks full as they like additional oxygen interaction, so this is probably a particularly concentrated and bold set of casks to marry well. Keep an eye peeled for the release.

Tasting Note

Calvados Drouin 1963 AOC 40% (recently moved to glass)

Nose: Wow. Huge fruit and spice hit. I can’t believe how concentrated it is and how appley it shines after such time in oak. Cloves. Star of anise, Portobello. Roasted red bell pepper. My parents have an orchard, apples, pears, cherries etc. Each year they mulch fallen trees from the property and place another barrier layer. In crisp, early fall mornings, when the trees are laden with fruit, and the ground is moist with dew, that bark mulch has a unique rich smell. Of forest, dankness, tannins, fallen apples and the bright smell of wood.

Palate: I cannot believe the depth of flavor. At 40% this might be the deepest dish served. Bold sweet apples, with a beautiful acidity and tannin layer. I have a weakness for apple fritters. In fact, when stateside, I often find a wayside donut show to score one as I rarely find them abroad. Intense Vietnamese cinnamon sticks. Touch of cardamom and black pepper. Anise. This almost takes me into garam masala notes. The oak is so well integrated, with the intensity of old oak, without going off the rails.

Rating: 10 / 10 – this is spectacular. I’ve tried it three times and just wow. One of the best pours of the year.

Tasting Note

Shane

Cinq Autels Pommeau AOC @ 17%

Nose: Dried apples and tannins. Cinnamon root, cloves, grated ginger, orange peel, and something slightly nutty.

Palate: A barber shop quarter, all with low voices. Great balance of tart and oak while still coming out sweet somehow. Sourdough with apple butter. Touch of cider vinegar. Sour cherry juice.

Rating: 6 / 10 – just lovely. I always like pommeau, but this manages to capture the oak nicely