Calvados Brandy – Transform your Cocktails with a Twist on Tradition

by Joan Kitterman January 19, 2021

A Fresh Start – Celebrating The New Year with Brandy Libations

While New Year celebrations have come and gone here in the U.S, in France they continue throughout the entire month of January where people wish each other a Bonne Année and send New Year cards through the end of the month. We love this month-long tradition, especially in 2021, where we can all use an additional dose (or two) of happiness and good wishes.

To celebrate the New Year in an extended fashion, we’ll be exploring the world of cocktails by sharing a few of our favorite recipes (and some new ones), that feature our French brandy. Look each month as our focus shifts to highlight and dive-deeper with expert insight on each of the brandies we offer: Armagnac, Calvados, and Cognac. 

Armagnac, Calvados, and Cognac have long been used for cocktails around the world – and thanks to talented mixologists, these brandies are making a definite comeback in craft cocktails. Mixologists are drawn to brandies because they offer aromatic complexity, character, body, and length. For a refresher on cocktail basics, check out our prior blog post, How To: A Guide To Cocktail Creations. 

Starting off this month, our focus is on Calvados: an apple brandy spirit that is produced exclusively in the Calvados region of France.

To explore the Calvados cocktail revival recently ushered in by the new millennium we have paired up with cocktail aficionado, Andy Lincoln (IG: @andy_lincoln) - who also happens to be the nephew of French Cider & Spirits founder, Joan Harkins. Lincoln demonstrates that with passion and a few essentials, crafting your own Calvados cocktail concoctions can make your New Year a little more fun! Continue reading for his insights into Calvados and especially how he uses Calvados as a substitute for whisky in traditional cocktail recipes.  And be sure to try his Rob Rouge rendition, a lovely substitute for the traditional Rob Roy.

Finally, Andy, Where do you get your inspiration?

For resources, my go-to site for consumer and expert spirit reviews, tasting notes, and the like is Distiller.

For cocktails my favorite books right now are The Curious Bartender v. 1 & 2.

Another favorite source is How To Drink, a great YouTube channel to wind down to while learning about cocktails from someone really ‘nerdy’ and knowledgeable on the subject.

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