Calvados: The Autumn Brandy
By: Daniel Goldman
Tags: Food, Cocktails, Lifestyle, Autumn, Alcohol

Calvados: The Autumn Brandy

When people think of brandy, they generally think of liquor made from grapes, but apples make for some really great brandy!

Photo by LuAnn Hunt on Unsplash

It’s difficult to explain Calvados, other than as a regional brandy made by distilling fermented apple juice. In some ways, I suppose one could say that Calvados is to apples as Cognac is to grapes, but Calvados is really its own product.

However, just as Cognac must come from the Cognac region of France, and must meet a certain standard, Calvados must come from the Calvados region of Normandy. I’ve never been to the region, but it is on my list. What I do know about it mostly comes from a wonderful book, Calvados: The Spirit of Normandy, by Charles Neal. Aside from being from a specific area, Calvados must also meet a certain standard. Interestingly, the standard does not require apples. Pears are also allowed. Basically, Calvados is distilled cider, which itself often uses pears or a mixture of pears and apples.

I’ve been working on a number of cocktails that use the brandy, and I’ve made some progress. Here are a few calvados based drinks that I’ve considered. Some require more testing, and some require ingredients that I haven’t made yet, which is one reason why I don’t have pictures for each one. If you happen to make any of these drinks, let me know how they turn out.

Calvados Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned is classic. It’s a great drink, if done right. Sadly, in a lot of bars, it isn’t. They muddle orange and disgusting bright red maraschino cherries together, to create a terrible concoction. It’s a travesty. A proper old fashioned is just whiskey, a sugar cube, and a few dashes of bitters, usually Angastora bitters. Simple syrup works just as well as a sugar cube though, and it doesn’t risk leaving any grainy texture. Substituting Calvados works perfectly on its own, but of course you can go all out and select a different bitter that has a more autumnal feel to it. I also make a syrup from long pepper that works well in this recipe.

1.5 fl oz Calvados

2 dashes of Angastora bitters

1 tsp simple syrup

Don’t shape this cocktail. Stir it. Shaking the cocktail introduces bubbles and ruins the clarity of the drink. Stir until just chilled and double strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, if you have one available. It’s pretty easy to find molds for them. I’d definitely recommend it. Smaller ice cubes will melt too quickly and water down the drink.

The truly authentic cocktail uses a sugar cube, muddled with some of the bitters and a splash of water, right in the glass, after which slightly chilled whiskey is added. But there’s really no need. Simple syrup dissolves into the cocktail perfectly.

Autumn Toddy

A lot of people are familiar with the hot toddy, which is itself a great drink when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s a simple cocktail made from whisky, lemon juice, honey, and hot water, usually garnished with a lemon slice studded with cloves. However, one of my favourite fall cocktails is my “autumn toddy,” which is my take on the drink.

Obviously the base spirit for this cocktail is Calvados. There’s no need for a vintage bottle here, or in any of my other cocktail recipes. Leave vintage selections for sipping. The recipe also substitutes maple syrup in place of the honey. Finally, instead of hot water, I use hot cider, which really boosts the apple flavor of the cocktail. The drink can be made in individual servings, but what I really love about this drink is that if you’re making it for a group, you can also just pour the ingredients together and throw it into a crock pot to keep warm.

3 cups Calvados

3 cup cider

2 fl oz maple syrup

8 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a 2 qt crock pot and keep on low. It’ll last a while, but you don’t want it sitting in the crock pot forever. Alternatively you can reduce the proportions and make a single batch in the microwave.

Caramel Apple Flip

Ah the flip. This is an odd sounding drink, but it’s really good. Originally the drink was served hot, and made by putting a hot poker into the mix. The name comes from the sound that the poker would make as it boiled the drink. Modern versions are cold drinks, and consist of a whole egg, about two fluid ounces of strong brown liquor, such as rum or brandy, and a little bit of simple syrup. The whole thing is shaken until frothy. It’s basically a quick make eggnog.

2 fl oz Calvados

1.5 tsp salted caramel syrup

4 dashes apple spice bitters

1 whole egg

I know that a whole egg sounds weird, but honestly if you have a good quality egg, I wouldn’t worry about it. Salmonella comes from poor animal husbandry, and the rate of salmonella presence in eggs is down considerably.

But if you really are concerned, stick with one of the other drinks. To make this cocktail, you’ll want to double shake it, first without ice, and then again with ice. That helps get it frothier. I have mixed feelings about double straining flips. On one hand, I don’t want any pieces of ice remaining in my drink. On the other, it has to be done slowly to prevent the froth from disappearing.

Feedback Appreciated

As I said earlier, some of these cocktails are more a work in progress. If you have any questions about them, let me know, and if you try any of them and want to give feedback, comments would be appreciated. I’m not a professional bartender. I’m just someone who likes to craft interesting cocktails.

Further Reading

I have a number of other food and drink related articles. I love writing about food, almost as much as I love trying new food and drinks. If I had the money, I would definitely start a restaurant, but for now that’s just a dream.