As you might know, Calvados originates in Normandie (that's in France for those who don't get it :) where no grape vines are cultivated, but instead around ten million apple trees are used each year for production of this world famous drink. It has a nice honey-dark brown color, and besides the obvious apple flavors also has some caramel scents, as well as the storage tones of vanilla. The apples used for making Calvados are not any apples under the sun - about 10% of the different sorts available apples are allowed to be used. The trick is to blend the sorts that have different flavors, so they all come together nicely in a mix of sour and sweet, as well as some bitter undertones. Pears are also being used for production of Calvados.
The name - Calvados - is not so obvious maybe. It certainly sounds a little Spanish, and people think that it stems from the fact that about 400 years ago a Spanish ship named "El Calvador" was sunk by the French or just got destroyed in bad weather, just outside the coast of Normandie. This event was of course celebrated by the French - not being very friendly to the Spaniards at that time. And the alcohol they had at that time was...Calvados, although it wasn't called this way then. Perhaps, this was the point from which it got its present name.
Calvados is also the name for the appellation, in which you can find the traditional Calvados-making and oldest region of Pays d'Auge. Here, the colder climate and a rich soil gives very good apples. Another old area of Calvados is Domfrontais where the pears are grown, here a less rich soil is the fundament for the trees.
Production of Calvados requires, naturally, a good knowledge, and here the tradition has set its trace. In a nutshell, the fruits are allowed to ripen for a few weeks, and thereafter they are mashed and put into the fermentation process. After that, distillation is carried out and Calvados is stored so it develops more flavor. Then it can be distributed into bottles and we can buy it!
Even though Calvados is quite famous, it is by no means a very big drink in terms of sells. Just a few percent compared to the annual production of whisky or cognac. However, it doesn't mean it is bad. Try to use it in cooking as we described above, just a little amount can lift up a common apple dessert to the skies. And of course, use it in other circumstances as well - modify recipes that use apples and/or pears. That's the basic usage of Calvados.
There are several qualitites of Calvados available, and obviously, in cooking, the better Calvados will make your desserts and dishes more desirable. So which ones are the better ones? If Calvados was made during a very good year, then usually this year is displayed on the bottle. Otherwise, you can look for the signs that tell you how aged it is. The youngest Calvados, just over 2 years old, is called Fine, Trois étoiles, or Trois pommes. Calvados above three years of age is Vieux, Réserve. Over 4 years: Vieille Réserve, VO, VSOP. And the most expensive ones, at least 6 years old Calvados bottles are labelled: XO, Hors d'Age, Extra, Napoléon, Age Inconnu.