* Calvados "Coeur de Lion"
Production of cider of the Coeur de Lion estate is mentioned as early as 1638 in a deed by which the De Moy Family, then owners of the estate leased it to Andre de Lannoy, burgher of Pont l'Eveque, who paid a rent of 1600 pounds a year plus two barrels of cider and two of small cider.
A century and a half later, in 1773, it appears on the basis of the testimony of one of the commissioners responsible for tax-collection that one of the main products of the estate was the cider sold at Pont l´Evêque, Rouen and Le Havre.
The story of Drouin calvados began around 1960. There was nothing to indicate that Christian DROUIN the elder, an industrialist from Rouen, was destined to make a career in spirits. Nothing, that is, apart his taste for good food and good wines. When he bought a farm in Gonneville he decided to use the cider-apple orchards to produce calvados. His aims were simple: produce a top-quality spirit, the best.
“My father transmitted me the calvados virus”, says the younger Christian DROUIN, who has today given the family business a world-wide reputation. The brand is now sold as far afield as the USA and Japan.
The third generation is now hard at work. It maintains the traditions that have enabled the estate to become one of the 100 “sites of excellence in taste” selected by the ministry for culture. In 1995 the European foundation awarded the estate its European Prestige Grand Prix for the whole of its production, which represents the quintessence of calvados.
Calvados Pays d´Auge
Although no official documents exist on its origins, calvados appeared in Normandy several centuries ago. In 1553, Sire de Gouberville, a great agronomist and gastronome who lived in Mesnil-au-val, in the Manche area, noted in his diary that he distilled cider.
As a noble and classy product, calvados undergoes very strict production and quality controls. Before it is marketed it has to be approved by a tasting committee of the French Institute National des Appellation d'origine (INAO). Of course, calvados Christian DROUIN qualifies the “Pays d’Auge” appellation by
º using only cider apples form the Pays d’Auge
º distilling cider by the traditional method: distillation is carried out in two successive stages in a double distillation still.
º obtaining the approval of the French Institute National des Appellation d'origine (INAO) after chemical analysis and tasting by an expert panel.
