Adrien Camut Pays d'Auge 12yo...

Adrien Camut Pays d'Auge 12yo (41.0%): Finally my first Adrien Camut on the blog... As one of the most prestigious and sought after Pays d'Auge Calvados producers Adrien Camut uses only apples and only apples grown on their own estate. After almost a year resting in oak casks their cider is fed through their wood fired stills to be double distilled and then the distillate is filled into the casks at 63% abv. First two years they constantly rack their spirit over and over to maximize the oxygen contact and after the third year they are blended in much larger tuns to be aged further. The youngest component of the Calvados in the sample bottle  I am about to pour is 12 years old.

Color: Orange blossom honey color with incredibly oily, thick and slow legs all around the glass.

Nose: Warm apple cider, apple strudel and honey. Cream soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. After allowing it to sit in the glass for some time it gets pretty dusty. I am getting now some wood shavings, toasted wood and vanilla. Canned pineapple and molasses cookies.

Palate: Beautifully creamy and viscous texture. It's quite dry... Granny Smith apples, apple peel and cloves. Butter and maple scones. Skillet cinnamon apples and molasses cookies again.

Finish: Bright, fresh and long... Cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and fresh Gala apple slices.

Overall: It's young, refreshing and amazingly well balanced. I can see why people are going nuts about it... I was skeptical a little about its low abv in the beginning but its texture is spot on and from nose to finish there wasn't a single moment where I wished it was bottled on a higher proof. It's creamy, spicy, fruity and buttery and all these qualities are working flawless together. Yes, it is an expensive bottle but a great one nonetheless... Thanks to Mordechai Fishman for the sample.

Price: $150

91/100