Père Magloire X.O. Calvados

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Dou­ble dis­tilled, it has a gor­geous aro­mat­ic com­plex­i­ty. With aro­mas of baked apple pie, cin­na­mon, and vanil­la, you’d be hap­py to know that it tastes as good as it smells.

Per­fect­ly bal­anced, this Père Magloire XO Cal­va­dos is aged more than nine years in cen­tu­ry-old oak casks, giv­ing it its slight­ly sweet, cidery flavor.

Ele­gant and excep­tion­al, this offer­ing by Cal­va­dos House won Gold at Con­cours Mon­di­al de Brux­elles in 2020, and Sil­ver at the San Fran­cis­co World Spir­its Com­pe­ti­tion in 2016.

PREPA­RA­TION AND PAIRINGS

Cal­va­dos is incred­i­ble enjoyed neat. Have a glass as you relax on your couch after a long day. If you must pair it with food, you’ll be glad to know that it’s a very ver­sa­tile drink.

Have your Père Magloire XO Cal­va­dos with some soft cheeses, like this Blue Stil­ton. Or try out a tra­di­tion­al Nor­mandy treat: some apple sor­bet with two ounces of Cal­va­dos. Deli­cious and fresh, as a palate cleanser or a dessert.

And of course, this apple brandy’s fla­vors are fur­ther accen­tu­at­ed when paired with slices of pears, peach­es, and yes, apples.

ON THE WINGS OF BRAVERY

Found­ed in 1821, and named for a Nor­man innkeep­er who served excep­tion­al cal­va­dos by the name of Dominique Magloire, Père Magloire has become one of — if not the most impor­tant brand for Cal­va­dos in France.

So well-loved is this brandy that in the fight along­side Russ­ian sol­diers in the Nor­mandie-Nor­man unit of the FAFL (Free French Aer­i­al Forces) dur­ing World War II, a fight­er pilot by the name of Mar­cel Lefèvre had a por­trait of Père Magloire paint­ed on the side of his plane.

When asked about the image, he answered, ​“This, is Père Magloire, a Nor­man who nev­er gives up!” He was hon­ored and dec­o­rat­ed posthu­mous­ly Hero of the Sovi­et Union, and Com­pan­ion of Liberation.

Storage Instructions

Store your bot­tle upright in a cool, dark place, ide­al­ly between 12 and 15°C. There is no need to refrig­er­ate cognac. To main­tain the moist­ness of the cork and pre­vent it from chip­ping, occa­sion­al­ly tilt your bot­tle hor­i­zon­tal­ly two to three times, then restore it to the upright posi­tion. Opened bot­tles of cognac should be con­sumed with­in six months, as the alco­hol may oxi­dize and begin to lose its flavor.