In the old half-timbered farm buildings at Coudray-Rabut in the Pays d'Auge, three generations of the Drouin family have turned apples into calvados with quiet patience. Every now and then, though, a batch is sent off on a detour first – this time into six old rum casks from Martinique that still carry the scent of sugar cane and Caribbean sun.
Expert description
Experimental de Christian Drouin 10 Year Old Rhum JM VSOP Cask Small Batch No 7 is a French Calvados finished in rum casks and bottled at 46.5%.
This bottling is the seventh release in Drouin's Expérimental range, where the distillery moves its classic Pays d'Auge calvados into casks that previously held other spirits, just to see what happens to the flavour. The base is a 10-year-old calvados that, after its usual time in oak, spends an extra eight months in six old rum casks. Those casks once held VSOP from J.M, one of the most respected houses producing rhum agricole on Martinique.
The rum cask pulls extra vanilla and sweetness out of the calvados and rounds off its structure, while the apple core underneath stays clearly recognisable. Only 1,536 bottles were filled from this release, bottled in August 2022.
Tasting notes
Nose
Vanilla and brown sugar meet toasted bread, followed by baked apple and a touch of dried apricot. The rum cask adds a sweetness reminiscent of raw cane sugar.
Palate
Round and creamy, with more vanilla than a classic Drouin calvados. Ripe apples and caramel sit at the centre, while the cask lends a mild spiced edge.
Finish
Long, with a trace of molasses and warm oak, the apple still lingering right at the end.
Specifications
Name: Experimental de Christian Drouin 10 Year Old Rhum JM VSOP Cask Small Batch No 7
Distillery: Christian Drouin
Region/Country: Pays d'Auge, Normandy, France
Type: French Calvados
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in rum casks from J.M VSOP
Distillation method: Double distilled
Bottled: August 2022
Number of bottles: 1,536
Edition: Expérimental Small Batch No. 7
Serving suggestion: Best enjoyed at room temperature in a tulip-shaped glass, with a few drops of water to open up the aromas.
Flavour profile
Fruity · Vanilla · Rum Cask · Round · Spiced
Did you know?
J.M is one of the few rum houses that still grows its own sugar cane on the fields surrounding the distillery on Martinique – a level of control usually only seen at the finest cognac houses when it comes to grapes. That heritage carries straight through into the casks used for this calvados.
See our full range of Christian Drouin
