We’ve gone to the complete opposite end of the country to explore Normandy!
Listen on Apple podcasts or your favorite player!
The Terroir of Normandy
In this episode Emily teaches me all about how the Vikings settled in Normandy.
We talk about tripe, horse meat, and more!
Of course this isn’t wine country, so we have to deep dive into the wonderful world of apple based boozes.
You’ll learn about french cider, or cidre, which comes in two styles: doux and brut.
French Cidre
In this episode we’ll chat with Benjamin Renauld about his family’s history making these wonderful fizzy ciders at Domaine de Romilly. His mom basically single handedly rescued all the old cider apple varietals, so cool!
I’ll also talk you through all about Calvados, the Norman apple brandy that is so delicious. And we’re so lucky to talk to our friend Forest Collins of 52 Martinis who gifted us with her fabulous Calvados cocktail recipe: The Fall Fashioned.
Calvados Fall Fashioned from Forest Collins
The recipe is in parts (instead of ounces/milliliters) because I usually batch it in a large bottle making it easy to serve when guests arrive, meaning less time messing with measuring and mixing. I also serve it over smoked ice to add a special touch for guests, which is something I can also prepare ahead of time and leave in the freezer until I’m ready to go (put it in a ziplock bag or two to keep the smoke smell from invading other things in the freezer) I have put the amonts for a single serving in parentheses after the parts
Fall Fashioned
6 parts calvados*** (2 ounces/60ml)
1 part brown sugar syrup (equal parts brown sugar and water) (1-2 barspoons/10ml)
several dashes whiskey aged bitters** (3-4 dashes)
Mix together over large block smoked ice cube* in rocks glass and express lemon peel over
*for the ice cube, I usually use my smoker, but if you want the quick and easy way, just add liquid smoke to the tray when making the ice.
**I add 3 to 4 dashes of bitters per drink. If you have a rough idea of how many drinks are in your batch you can multiply that by 3. Otherwise, you can just add three or four dashes when you pour the drink from the batch.
***While we sometimes use calvados from small local producers, I suggest Christian Drouin as something easier to find if you aren’t local
Sometimes for extra theatrics I’ll serve the Fall Fashioneds in a seperate little perfume flacon next to the chilled glass with the ice cube ( I bought these new for the purpose – be careful about reusing bottles that had perfume in them already). Guests can then pour it themselves over the ice block. This isn’t just kind of cute and interactive but practical. I bought perfume bottles that hold nearly exactly 2 ounces (60 ml) of liquid, so I know I’m giving the same measure for each cocktail and not getting accidently overly heavy handed with the pours.
Thank you Forest! Check out Forest’s cocktail blog 52 Martinis and follow her on Instagram!
