Roger Groult Calvados Cask #397 Kriek Cask Finish, 7-Year

Roger Groult produces Calvados in Pays d'Auge, France, using over 30 varieties of apple for a complex, intriguing flavor profile. In total they own 27 hectares of orchards planted in oils rich in silt, flint, and clay. Their ciders naturally ferment for several months on the fine lees until they reach between 5-7% alcohol. They are double distilled in three small, very old stills which use wood fire for their heat source. This is a true artisan, family run estate, one of the very best in the region.

After a visit to the Cantillon brewery in Brussels, where real fruit is used to produce their kriek—lambic made with sour Morello cherries—Jean-Roger made a deal with the owner Jean Van Roy, who was looking for Calvados barrels in which to age a beer. Groult provided two empty barrels in exchange for two kriek barrels. The second of these barrels was filled in February 2019 with five-year-old Calvados in an effort to focus on the prominent fresh fruit characteristics . It was bottled in January 2021 after a nearly two year long finish.