Christian Drouin VSOP Pale & Dry Calvados Pays d'Auge Mini 5cl

Volume: 0.05 litres | Alcohol content: 40% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Small, previously used casks shape Christian Drouin's VSOP Pale & Dry. For maturation, the house uses former Bordeaux wine casks, which are re-charred and often treated with cider before being filled with Calvados. The blend also includes spirits matured in former Sherry, Port and Banyuls casks. These different previous contents add sweetness and aromatic depth to the ripe apple fruit.

Bitter, bittersweet, sweet and sharp cider apples from the Pays d'Auge form the basis of this Calvados. Their fermented juice is distilled twice in copper pot stills. The blend combines the intense apple fruit of younger components with the smoky, spicy and lingering flavours of older spirits. Cinnamon and ginger are among the spice notes. The miniature contains 0.05 litres at 40% alcohol and comes without gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, sweet cider and baked apples mingle with ginger biscuits, vanilla and cinnamon. These aromas gradually give way to almond notes and beeswax.
• Palate: The Calvados is supple, generous and light on the palate. Caramelised baked apples and crumbly apple pastry recall tarte Tatin.
• Finish: Apple notes and fruity impressions linger through the long finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

The house's history began in 1960, when Christian Drouin senior purchased the Fiefs Sainte-Anne farm near Honfleur, along with its cider apple trees. Working with the experienced distiller Pierre Pivet, he built up stocks of maturing Calvados over two decades. His son Christian joined the business in 1969, and sales began in 1979. In 1991–1992, production moved to a 17th-century farm in Coudray-Rabut near Pont l'Evêque.

Guillaume Drouin joined in 2004, bringing the third generation into the business. An agricultural engineer and oenologist, he took responsibility for production after developing the export business, then assumed management of the company in 2013. Christian and Guillaume develop the blends together and taste every cask each year. During double distillation, the heads and tails are separated at each stage; the distillers adjust the cut points to suit the individual cider. The house mainly uses small oak casks for maturation, tailoring the maturation programme to the age and intended style of each Calvados.

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