How to pour it
a calvados in
Let the glass and bottle come to room temperature. Calvados tastes best between 15 and 18 degrees, so do not put it in the refrigerator or warm it over a flame.
Pour 4 cl into the tulip-shaped nosing glass. No more, because the narrow rim needs to leave space above the drink to concentrate the aromas.
Gently swirl it once, smell with your mouth slightly open, then take a small sip. If you find the alcohol too sharp, add two drops of cold water and swirl again.
Serve it between courses as a trou normand, in many Normandy restaurants with a scoop of apple sorbet, or after the meal as a pousse-café alongside coffee.
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The story
Normandy has few vineyards and many apple trees, so no wine was distilled there, but cider. That cider comes from cider apples that you would not eat out of hand: sweet, bitter and sour varieties are blended, and in part of the region pears are also used. After distillation, the spirit is aged in oak barrels, where it develops its color and notes of vanilla and nuts. What comes out is called calvados and contains around 40 percent alcohol. The name belongs to a protected designation of origin, so not every apple brandy may be called that.
The right glass
Calvados is a fruit distillate and calls for a small tulip-shaped glass on a stem: the bowl gives the aromas room, the narrow rim directs them toward your nose and the stem keeps the warmth of your hand away from the drink. A true calvados glass is not part of our selection, but the Lehmann Eaux de Vie tasting glass comes closest. The description calls it a narrow tulip glass on a stem for eau de vie and grappa, and calvados is precisely that kind of distilled fruit spirit. If you want the classic approach, choose the rounded bowl from the cognac glasses, which you warm in your hand.
Lehmann Eaux De Vie Tasting Glass 15 cl (6 pieces)
Royal Leerdam Gilde Cognac Glass 25 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 72,90.
The right tools
For calvados, in addition to the glass, use a jigger to measure exactly 4 cl and an ice cube mold for large cubes when using young calvados in a long drink or cocktail. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 80,85.
What do you serve alongside it?
Calvados belongs among aged brandies and digestifs. Start with cognac, the best-known brandy made from grapes, and then explore Dutch vieux. On each drinks page, you'll find the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works with and what glass you need.
Variations & twists
Young calvados doesn't have to be enjoyed neat: it works well in a cocktail with lemon and a little sugar, or as a long drink with tonic and a slice of apple. An older XO is best left alone, because its oak aging gets lost in a mixed drink. Want to serve it with dessert? Pour a small glass alongside apple pie or a piece of aged cheese. Want to read more? View all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
Don't put the bottle in the refrigerator; 15 to 18 degrees brings out the apple and oak notes best. Pour a small serving, 4 cl in a 15 cl glass, and serve it with a glass of water. Between courses, it's a trou normand; after dinner, a pousse-café with coffee.
Good to know
Calvados, Pays d'Auge and Domfrontais
There are three appellations of origin. Calvados is the broad designation for the entire region. Calvados Pays d'Auge comes from the eastern part of Normandy and is distilled twice in a pot still. Calvados Domfrontais contains a proportion of pears in the cider, alongside apples.
Fine, vieux, VSOP and XO
The label indicates how young or old the calvados is. Fine and vieux refer to the younger bottles, VSOP is above them, and XO is the oldest category. Exactly how many years that represents depends on the designation on the bottle; the ladder therefore indicates the relative order, not a fixed number of years.
What is a trou normand?
Trou normand is the small glass of calvados served between two courses of a long dinner, intended as a pause in the meal. In many Normandy restaurants, it comes with a scoop of apple sorbet, over which the calvados is poured.
And a pousse-café?
Pousse-café is the small glass served after a meal, alongside or after coffee. The same calvados, a different moment: here it is the conclusion of the meal rather than an interruption.
Which apples go into it?
Not dessert apples, but cider apples: sweet varieties for the fruit, bitter ones for structure, and acidic ones for freshness, usually blended together. In the Domfrontais, pears are also included. The juice first becomes cider, and that cider then goes into the still.
Calvados in a cocktail
A young calvados works perfectly well in a cocktail, just like any other brandy: with lemon and sugar, or lengthened with tonic. For older bottles, that's a shame, because you're paying for wood aging that you can no longer taste in the mix.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of alcohol is in calvados?
Calvados is around 40 percent alcohol. It may vary slightly from bottle to bottle, so check the label for the exact figure.
What is the difference between calvados and cognac?
The raw material. Cognac is distilled from wine made from white grapes, calvados from cider made from apples, and in the Domfrontais, with a proportion of pears. Both are then aged in oak barrels, which is why they resemble each other in color and oak notes.
At what temperature do you serve calvados?
Between 15 and 18 degrees, so at room temperature and not from the refrigerator. Too cold suppresses the apple and vanilla aromas, and warming it over a flame isn't necessary: holding the bowl does it more evenly.
Which glass do you use for calvados?
A small tulip-shaped nosing glass on a stem. The bowl gives the aromas room, the narrow rim concentrates them, and the stem keeps your hand heat away from the drink. The wide cognac balloon works too, but it lets more alcohol come to the fore.
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