Christian Drouin Calvados XO

I cannot get enough Calvados. It's an obsession. Thank god it's still obscure enough that pretty much everything we have is an incredible value. This bottle is a blend of spirits with minimum 8 years of age. Some of Drouin's bottles have a mix of pear and apple fruit. The XO is 100% apple. It maintains the pure appleyness and slight funk you find in an exceptional Norman cider, even with time in oak (exactly what I like in Calvados). Drouin uses casks from sherry, port, and cognac alongside old oak and cider barrels, for exceptional richness and subtlety with nuttiness and salinity. I drink it neat pretty much every night of the year once the leaves start turning, but when you really want to treat yourself try a Calvados Sidecar and marvel at how the citrus, orchard fruit, and caramel flavors play off each other.