Pays d'Auge Archives - Brandyclassics

Christmas Luxury Gift Guide

Posted December 5, 2023 / December 5, 2023 in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News and tagged Bas Armagnac, calvados, Christmas gifts, grande champagne cognac, Hermitage Cognacs, Luxury Gifts, Pays d'Auge, Pays d'Auge Calvados

December is well underway so its time to turn our attention to present shopping. But, what do you buy for the person who has everything? Well, we’ve put together a list of our favourite, luxury drinks that will go down a storm this Christmas. Not only do they taste fantastic, some of the packaging is exquisite and will grace any sideboard with aplomb.

The three, classic French brandies of cognac, armagnac and calvados really come into their own at this time of year as their typical flavours of roasted nuts, spices and dried fruits complement the Christmas fayre brilliantly.

We have selected 5 of our favourites to feature here but go and explore our website, there are so many Christmas Luxury Gifts from which to choose.

Hermitage 50 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac

Winner of The IWSC Cognac Trophy 2021, this masterpiece is still in cask. The Judges described it as “Like opening an old leather-bound book or antique oak armoire. Figgy pudding and rich dark chocolate; wonderful rich spices and the bitterness of orange zest come through on the palate. Spicy but gentle and supremely dry.” RRP £531.60

Toutain Reserve Odile 60 Year Old Calvados

This exclusive bottling pays tribute to Odile Toutain who, 60 years ago, took over Domaine de la Couterie. Distilled in 1959, it was carefully aged for 60 years in the family cellars before a limited edition of only 234 bottles was released. Presented in a beautiful carafe, sealed in a wooden housing, this is a truly rare gift. RRP £1164.60

Darbeau 1943 Bas Armagnac

Steeped in history, this 1943 Bas Armagnac was distilled during the height of World War II when many wonderful brandies were requisitioned by the occupying forces. Few survived but this wonderful example of a top cru armagnac s one of the few that remain. Distilled 70 years ago, it epitomises history in a bottle. RRP £1908.00

Hermitage 1923 Grande Champagne Cognac

Imagine life a century ago, that is when this stunning cognac was made. Tasting cognac from that era is a extra special treat, especially when, according to Olly Smith, Wine & Spirits Expert, it “has a gorgeous flavour, somewhere between a sultana and a sun-dried apricot with the spirit framing the layers with impeccable integration.” RRP £2086.40

Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise Crystal Decanter

The icing on our Luxury Christmas Gift Guide cake! A masterpiece of smoothness, aged for 70 years in oak barrels, it is described by Victoria Moore of the Saturday Telegraph as “Likely to be one of the finest cognacs you have tasted.” This litre of amazing cognac is all wrapped up in a completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead luxury English crystal decanter. What more could you ask for? RRP £2220.00

Calvados, The Modern, Sustainable Spirit

Posted August 23, 2022 in News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged apple brandy, apple jack, calvados, Pays d'Auge, sustainable spirit, Toutain

spirit Calvados has long been the underdog of French spirits. “Even in France, people quite liked it, but the image was dusty and old fashioned,” says Xavier d’Audiffret Pasquier, co-founder of Maison Sassy. “Our mission is to bring calvados back to life. We want to almost promote calvados like a gin, as a very modern spirit.”

Outside France, calvados has always been popular was the bartending community. Tim Etherington-Judge says “First, it’s delicious. It has a very approachable flavour profile, not complex like a mezcal. But also, as a cocktail nerd, if you go back to some of the historical cocktail books, like The Savoy Cocktail Book or The Flowing Bowl, calvados is a regularly used ingredient.” Coupette is a calvados bar in London that is helping to introduce the spirit to a new generation of fans. Their most famous cocktail creation is named Apples, and the recipe is simple. Each month a different calvados is mixed with the juice from a different variety of apple and carbonated. The result is stunning and in 2019 was named Cocktail of the Year.

The scope for calvados to continue to modernise is immense now that every spirit brand aims to brag about is sustainability credentials. In a 2021 report by Business Wire, 85% of people indicated they had shifted their purchase behaviour to be more sustainable in the last five years. There is no doubt that calvados has a case for being the world’s most sustainable spirit. This is what Etherington-Judge set out to create and Avallen was the result. “We went right back to the raw materials that are used to create alcohols and instead of using the usual metrics of cost and flavour, we put the environment first. Based on four metrics – carbon emissions, biodiversity, water consumption and pesticide and fertiliser use – we analysed the ingredients and that research led us to apples. The trees are carbon sinks, they support biodiversity in the traditional orchards of Normandy, there is no artificial irrigation, and there’s very little pesticide and fertiliser use within the orchard. From an environmental perspective, the orchards of Normandy are fantastic.”

We at Brandyclassics have searched high and low to find an exceptional calvados brand to champion and the result is Toutain. Full of appley flavours, it’s the best we have ever tasted.

Read the full article on Modernising Calvados, written in Drinks International here.

Toutain – New Range of Calvados

Posted January 26, 2022 in How to make Calvados, News and tagged AOC, best calvados, calvados, good calvados, Pays d'Auge

Toutain We have been looking for a new range of calvados to offer the UK market for some while. It’s not been easy as so many are too sweet or have lost the appley flavour. It was therefore tremendously exciting when we came across the Toutain Calvados range. A family firm, now on the fifth generation, who produce calvados from their own orchards.

In keeping with the high standards of Brandyclassics, we know precisely how long each Toutain product has spent in cask. This range includes Toutain Vieux, Hors d’Age, Vieille Reserve and Tres Vieille and they have been aged from 8 to 45 years. They are smooth and mellow with an unmistakable apple flavour.

Unlike most calvados producers Toutain make their calvados without the addition of pears. (Pears are usually added to increase acidity and in these cases a pear drop flavour can sometimes be detected.) This is an interesting departure from the norm so one must conclude that their own apples have a very high level of acidity.

Not only are these calvados quite different they are delicious too!

Looking for a Gift?

Tag: Pays d’Auge