Tag Archives: Calvados

London Whisky Show – TBWC Part 3 with a Secret Speyside + Calvados!

Posted on by
2

That Boutique-y Whisky Co floored us with their range at the London Whisky Show. After quite the ‘continental tour’, we simply had to go back to merry old Scotland for a ‘proper’ dram! In this case, part of their “Secret Speyside” series (ahem Glenrothes!)

Speyside #3 (Glenrothes) 6 year (2022) Batch 2, 49.3% (TBWC)

  • Nose – Burst of fruits, vanilla, and strawberries with meringue and cream, beneath the sweet dessert was some wood
  • Palate – Such a classic quality, full, well-rounded, lovely balance
  • Finish – Rich honey

Though it was robust, it could still make a great ‘day dram’ too. The only problem was this clearly isn’t one to just sniff, swish and zip through!

However, one rises to the challenge of such a tasting bounty to keep to a path of light samples, sometimes even veery off the path of whiskies alone! This brings us to our next offering – cheekily crossing out the “whisky” from their That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s label, our attention was drawn to Christian Drouin’s Calvados.

Now… for those less familiar with Calvados, it is a brandy made in Normandy from apples or pears and Christian Drouin is a venerated name for its multi-generation commitment to quality. More recently they have branched out to cidar and gin (Le Gin – beautiful!), however, their core focus remains the family traditions with Calvados.

Christian Drouin Calvados 21 year (Dec 2020/2022) (TBWC)

  • Nose – What a delight! Over-ripe stewed apples, butterscotch toffee, dates, yum!
  • Palate – Pucker up! This is a serious Calvados – delicious! Think of fresh green young apples which then develop into a delightful apple crisp, sprinkled with roasted nuts and cinnamon on top

Such a treat to try something different like this! Would have loved to try on its own when it isn’t sandwiched between whiskies!

Here’s what the folks at TBWC have to say:

This is a particularly intriguing Calvados from Christian Drouin. The story for this one begins at the very end of the year 2000, when the spirit was distilled.

  • N: Rich, fruity and floral.  Delicate orchard blossom followed by stewed apples, caramelised poached pears. raisins and Medjool dates. A complex, and dvine nose
  • P: Complex and beautifully balanced.  Notes of cinnamon baked apples and a delicate wood spice. Waxy wood polish, roast nuts, and raisins. Drying, waxy  finish. Just beautiful!

So then… what next? Shsssssshhhhh…. Dave had a nip of something extra special in his hip flask!

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

An aptly named Mackmyra Äppleblom

Posted on by
Reply

I goofed up a bit here… after the delightful Brenne, I intended to continue with the Mackmyra Äppleblom. But mixed up my minis and we cracked open and started tasting the Vintergold instead – oops!

Why I wanted to follow the Cognac finished Brenne with the Calvados finished Äppleblom was an expectation of sweet progression before getting into the curious combination of PX and Swedish Mulled Wine finishes with the Vinterglöd.

However my tasting companion and I were able to ‘roll with it’… here is what we found…

Mackmyra Äppelblom 46.1%

  • Nose – Lots of white orchard fruits, joyous pears, apples, delicate, toffee, vanilla cream, tangy citrus edge, wood shavings, banana nuts, fruity, apple blossoms
  • Palate – Started a bit softly then the flavours blossomed all around the palate, quite fruity yet also a bit peppery, then a touch of tobacco leaf?
  • Finish – Nicely lingers, anise, orchard fruit

We found the nose much bigger than the palate on this one… when sampled after the Vinterglöd… but when we set aside and returned to resample in the intended tasting order – wow! This one really had a delightful sprightly character that nicely built on the Brenne aperatif.

Based on this experience, I would be curious to try more Calvados influenced whiskies. And would say this ‘apple bloom’ is rather aptly named!

How much would it set you back? EUR 60.

What do the folks at Mackmyra have to say?

Mackmyra Äppelblom is an elegant single malt that was distilled in Mackmyra Bruk. Finally, the whiskey was stored in oak barrels, which were previously saturated with Calvados from Christian Drouin.

Its spicy balance is made up of the light apple tones in the Mackmyra distillate, the stronger and rounder apple aromas of the Calvados and a generous amount that the barrel contributes. The result is a whiskey with a hint of apple and a hint of ripe pears, citrus fruits, almond caramel and cedarwood.

  • Nose: Fruity, light floral aroma, gentle tones from bourbon and new American oak barrels with a little vanilla. Rounded off with caramel, oak and cedar, along with some toasted bread. Complemented by fruity nuances of apples, pears and lemons. 
  • Taste: Fruity, spicy aromas of apples, ripe pears and citrus fruits. A hint of vanilla, to which cedarwood, anise, white pepper and ginger are added. An impression of caramel-laden vanilla rounds off this slightly oily textured whiskey. 
  • Finish: Fruity and spicy notes emerge, accompanied by a hint of oak and soft apples.  

What else did we try in our Dunkerton Drams evening?

These were all part of a 2019 Master of Malt Advent Calendar.

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on: