Christian Drouin Selection Calvados AOC

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 40%

Special Features:

Fruit takes centre stage in the Sélection. Christian Drouin developed the recipe in the 1990s specifically for cocktails. Alongside cider apples, it contains 30% perry pears. The cider and pear must undergo a single distillation in a column still. The Calvados then ages for two years in very old casks that have been used many times, allowing the fresh fruit aromas to remain prominent.

The Sélection is produced partly at the house's premises in Domfront. The combination of apples and perry pears with single column distillation shapes its light, fruit-forward style. It carries the Calvados AOC appellation and is bottled at 40% alcohol. As well as cocktails and long drinks, it can be used for apple granitas and cooking.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose is expansive, with apple and spice at its core. Almond notes recall amaretto. With air, pear, red melon and freshly cut grass emerge, along with a hint of beeswax and wax polish.
• Palate: The Calvados feels soft and oily on the palate. Ripe apples and pears fill the mouth before the flavour develops towards prune.
• Finish: The clean finish carries the prune notes through and leaves a fresh feeling in the mouth.

Distillery/Bottler:

The family house's story began in 1960, when Christian Drouin senior bought the Fiefs SainteAnne estate near Honfleur, planted with cider apple trees. Together with distiller Pierre Pivet, he distilled the cider produced there and initially built up stocks of maturing Calvados. His son joined the business in 1969; sales did not begin until 1979. In 1991 and 1992, the house moved production to a 17th-century farm in Coudray-Rabut near Pont-l’Évêque.

Guillaume Drouin joined in 2004, bringing the third generation into the business. A trained agricultural engineer and oenologist, he later took charge of production and became managing director in 2013. Guillaume and his father develop the blends together and taste every cask each year before deciding how it will be used. Maturation is tailored to the desired style of each blend and vintage. The house's work thus encompasses both young, fruit-forward Calvados and long-aged vintage bottlings.

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