Christian Drouhin - XO Calvados Pays d'Auge

Christian Drouhin's XO Calvados comes from Pays d'Auge, the most rigorous of Normandy's Calvados appellations, where double distillation in pot stills and extended oak ageing are required by law. XO classification demands a minimum of ten years in cask, and the Pays d'Auge terroir — its orchards of bitter-sharp and sweet cider apples — gives the spirit its regional character.

Expect a richly textured spirit: baked apple, dried fruit and vanilla from long wood contact, with the gentle tannic grip that marks proper pot-still Calvados. Serve as a considered digestif, or alongside a cheese course — particularly aged Comté or Normandy's own Camembert.