Calvados is an apple brandy made in Normandy, northern France. It’s produced from distilled cider and matured in oak barrels. In Normandy it’s traditionally served as a digestif during the meal. It works well in cocktails and makes an excellent mulled cider mixed with apple juice, cider, cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. The quality of the cider depends upon the type of soil, the type of orchard and pressing of the fruit.

Apples selected for distillation into Calvados fall into over 200 specially-grown varieties. Several varieties may be used into one brand of Calvados, ranging from very sweet apples, to tart to bitter, at various proportions. The fruit is harvested usually by hand from mid-October into December and pressed into a juice that is subsequently fermented into a dry cider.

It is then distilled into an eau-de-vie, which is in turn blended and matured for a minimum of two-years in casks. The longer the maturation, the more mellow the final product. Usually the maturation for Calvados goes on for several years.