calvados

No, I don't, I just know I like Calvados in general.
Am posting in hopes someone more cognizant will post.

Essentially, Calvados is an apple brandy, though one variety incorporates pears as well. All in all it may be compared to cognac or armagnac.
By French law, to be labled Calvados, it must have been produced and bottled in Normandy. There are 3 general categories, or appelations of Calvados; Pays d'Auge, the most prestigious; Calvados, which represents by far the bulk of the product, and Domfrontais, which must contain at least 30 percent pears. Alchohol content for all ranges from around 40 proof (or 20% by volume) to around 80 proof (or about 40% by volume). Pays d'Auge tends toward the higher range of alcohol content, some examples exceeding 80 proof by a considerable margin. Even at higher alchohol contents, a good Pays d'Auge (and just about all of them are good) is velvet smooth and richly fruit flavored, with a strong, slightly sweet apple fragrance.

For those into deep trivia, it draws its name from a Spanish warship, the El Calvador, which ran aground in Normandy in 1588, during the Anglo-Spanish wars. Tradition has it that sherry casks salvaged from the wreck were used to store the locally produced apple brandy, and when sampled some years later, it was found to be of unique and superlative character. An industry and a legend grew therefrom.

Though today chiefly the product of very large institutional producers, some Calvados still is bottled independently in small quantities by small individual farms, as formerly was almost exclusively the practice. Some of these smaller bottlers have excellent reputations, and their product is highly valued and eagerly sought. While the "vintage year" of the fruit used to make the product was long used, as with wine and wine spirits, that practice has pretty much fallen away, and now, like whiskeys, Calvados generally is blended from several "vintages" - more properly years of fruit harvest, as apples and pears are not vine fruits -, and is labled "xx" years old, meaning the youngest of the fruit used for the bottling is at least that age.

Pays d'Auge is produced through a traditional 2 stage distillation, wherein the first condensate is aged in oak barrels which formerly were sherry, or more rarely port, casks. Following the aging process, anywhere from 5 to 12 or 15 years, rarely more, a second distillation is performed, and it is the condensate from the second distillation which is bottled. The other appellations are bottled directly after a similar aging process, but without the second distillation.

As with any distilled spirit, only barrel aging has a maturing effect; time-in-bottle does not improve the product a bit. However, if properly stored once bottled, there should be little or no age deterioration over many, many years; it should come out of the bottle pretty much as it went in.

All that said, a 1944 Calvados of any sort would be something of a rarity, given the excitement in the Normandy region that year. Whatever else it may be, you've got your hands on something of a collectors item. I suggest you consult with a reputable wine and spirits dealer - there's likely to be a finer, "high-end" liquor store in just about any major metro area - to get a better idea of its worth or value.

On the other hand, you could always drink it. At room temperature, or even gently warmed (in the fashion of cognac, the snifter rotated slowly while resting over a steaming hot cup of coffee) it goes very well with desert cheeses, pastries and confections of robust flavor. A good cigar is a fine accompanyment too.

Yes, I agree with Timber, listen to him....

That sounds delicious...i'm gonna get me some of that:)