complicated, transformed wineyness, eaux de
vie capture and concentrate the distinctive
essence of the fruits from which they’re made,
so they can be savored almost pure rather than
in their flesh. France, Germany, Italy, and
Switzerland are especially noted for their fine
fruit alcohols. Some popular examples are
apple (Calvados), pear (Poire Williams),
cherry (Kirsch), plum (Slivovitz, Mirabelle,
Quetsch), and raspberry (Framboise); less
widely known are apricot (French Abricot),
figs (North African and Middle Eastern
Boukha), and watermelon (Russian Kislav).
A single bottle of eau de vie may represent
from 10 to 30 lb/4.5–13.5 kg of the fruit. Fruit
alcohols are generally double-distilled to
about 70% alcohol and are not aged in barrels
— hence their lack of color — because their
point is to concentrate the fruit’s own flavor
into an intense, full, but pure essence. One
prominent exception to this rule is Calvados,
an apple eau de vie that is distilled in Brittany
barry
(Barry)
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