Chapter 6: Apple and Fruit Brandy (Spirits) Flashcards
Region of production for Calvados
Normandy (‘Normandie’)
Four categories of apples used in Calvados
- Acidic/sour * Bitter * Sweet * Bittersweet
Typical blend of apple categories used for Calvados
- 10% acidic/sour * 20% bitter * 50% bittersweet * 20% sweet
Main contributions (to brandy/spirits) of the four categories of apples
- Acidic/sour: acidification & stabilization * Bitter: tannin, fix aromas * Bittersweet: tannin & sugar for fermentation * Sweet: sugar for fermentation
Three AOCs for Calvados
- Calvados AOC * Calvados Pays d’Auge AOC * Calvados Domfrontais AOC
Large oak barrels often used to age Calvados
Foudres (250 to 2,500 gallons/950 to 9,500 liters)
Distillation/aging requirements for Calvados AOC
- May be pot or column distilled * Min. 2 years oak aging
Base ingredient requirements for Calvados Pays d’Auge AOC
Apples are dominant; may contain a maximum of 30% pear cider
Distillation/aging requirements for Calvados Pays d’Auge AOC
- Must be distilled twice in an alembic pot still * Min. 2 years oak aging
Base ingredient requirements for Calvados Domfrontais AOC
Must contain a minimum of 30% pear cider
Distillation/aging requirements for Calvados Domfrontais AOC
Must be distilled in a continuous reflux column still, Min. 3 years oak aging
Calvados produced using original agricultural methods
Calvados Fermier (Produit Fermier)
Spirit made in Normandy from unfermented apple juice and 1-year-old Calvados
Pommeau/Pommeau de Normandie AOC
Synonym for US apple brandy
Applejack
Traditional (historical) method of production for Applejack
Freeze distillation (“jacking”)
The holder of US distillery License #1
Laird’s Distillery (originally of Scobeyville, New Jersey)
Products of Laird’s Distillery
- Applejack * Blended Applejack * Old Apple Brandy * Laird’s Bottled-in-Bond * Straight Apple Brandy
US definition of “Blended Applejack”
Min. 20% apple brandy (applejack) that has been stored in oak for a minimum of 2 years, blended with no more than 80% neutral spirits
Ingredients in a Jack Rose Cocktail
- Applejack * Lemon Juice * Grenadine
Variety of pear most often used in eau-de-vie-de-poire
Williams Bon-Chrétien (known in the US as Bartlett pears)
Names used for pear eau-de-vie with the “pear inside the bottle”
Le Captive (produced by France’s Boisset family), Poire Prisonnière
Clear cherry brandy (spirit) as produced in Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace
Kirsch, Kirschwasser
Chemical that is released when cherries are fermented “complete” (with the seeds)
hydrocyanic acid (provides an almond- or marzipan-like aroma)
Hungarian Apricot Brandy (also allowed to be produced in parts of Austria)
Barack Pálinka
