Here’s How To Use These Six Calvados Cocktails To Elevate Your Mixology Game
French provinces are known for their wines and delectable cheese offerings certainly, but if there is one cider which occupies a really distinguished spot in the repository of fine French liquors, it is the Calvados. With origins in Normandy, this liquor is essentially an apple brandy that is made from fine, crispy perry pears that are pressed and fermented and according to an essay on Wine Enthusiast, they distilled into an eau de vie and aged in oak for at least two years.
The first records of an apple eau de vie can be traced back to as early as the 1500s but it was only in the 19th century that calvados began to gain widespread popularity and over time the apple brandy made its way into the roster of modern bartending. Calvados is considered to be a stunning addition to cocktails and is incorporated in many recipes for its slightly sweet, acidic and floral notes.
So, the next time you want to put a creative and sophisticated spin on your cocktail game, you can come up with some spectacular numbers featuring this brandy that would elevate the luxe quality of your home bar. Check out some of these cocktail types below:
Calvados And Ginger Beer
When guests show up unexpectedly and you want to hit the elegant home hosting note right, bring out a bottle of refreshing calvados and pair it with chilled ginger beer. Apple and ginger is a no-brainer pairing so the brandy infused with carbonated beer full of zesty, spicy and gingery notes would make for the perfect match. Garnish with an apple slice or lime wheel and if you want to introduce slightly bitter notes, add some bitters into the mix.
Apple Blossom Cocktail
This would be an ideal mix to shake up on beautiful spring days when you spend leisurely evenings picnicking on your lawn or in your local park. You can make some delicious apple blossom cocktails using this alluring liquor with its rather seductive hue, some vermouth and orange bitters. The drink acquires a very zesty taste which gives it a refreshing texture that is balanced by the sweet notes of apple flavours present in the brandy.
Calvados Sour
Use the apply brandy as your core ingredient to craft a flip cocktail resembling a whisky sour. The fragrance and taste of apples in the liquor gives the drink a slightly sweet taste and when it is infused with aromatic bitters and sugar syrup, the whole cocktail comes together in a complex but well-balanced blend of sour and tangy notes. You can also use egg whites in the cocktail following the traditional recipe so the drink attains a nice foamy layer at the top.
Feather Duster Crusta
Crusta is a cocktail which is garnished with a sugar rim and a citrus peel collar. You can craft a rather sophisticated crusta cocktail with calvados, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit and passionfruit juices and just a hint of grenadine syrup. The drink might feel like a sugar overload but this is thoroughly appealing and very cheerful, perfect for a celebratory event.
Jack Collins
This recipe, according to Difford’s Guide, is a spin on vodka or gin collins and uses calvados, lemon juice, sugar syrup and soda as its primary ingredients. The drink has a very fresh quality and has a very subtle yellow colour which makes it all the more inviting on a warm, summer day. Perfect for serving in large batches, make the jack collins next time you host a summer barbecue.
Le Sang Jaune
Another recipe from Difford’s repository, this one means The Yellow Blood and akin to its name, it has a very bold yellow hue that would add a pop of colour to any party. You can craft this cocktail using premium calvados, gentian liqueur, dry vermouth, elderflower liqueur and absinthe for imbuing it with some stunning floral and aromatic qualities.
