Calvados & Bourbon: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it’s delicious.

Over the past few years, I’ve become a certified Calvados nut, minus the certification — I don’t think one gets certified for such things. But Calvados, aka French apple brandy, is a whole other beast than American apple brandy, which I also adore and hold dear. While I love to drink both, when it comes to finishing a bourbon in a cask of one or the other, you’ve gotta go with Calvados. Why? I sort of explain it in my latest article for Forbes — which happens to be my first Whisk(e)y Of The Week article, a mere five weeks into 2026. Let’s just pretend January didn’t happen, shall we? And please read about the delicious Calvados cask-finished bourbon I reviewed! Link is -> HERE <-.