Sips & Sites & Bites

For years, Bhakta Spirits has been known in the U.S. for its deep library of vintage Armagnacs … bottles that can turn even the most die-hard whiskey drinker into a brandy convert. But now, they’re taking a different kind of fruit to the spotlight: apples.

The company has just announced its first-ever single-vintage Calvados, the Bhakta 1989 Pays d’Auge. This isn’t just any apple brandy. It comes from Normandy’s prestigious Pays d’Auge region, distilled from 20 heirloom cider apple varieties, and aged for an astonishing 35 years. Only three barrels will be released. The Beverage Tasting Institute didn’t hold back, giving it a 98-point Platinum rating and calling it “superlative” … a benchmark for well-aged Calvados.

If you’re not as familiar with Calvados as you are with whiskey or Cognac, here’s the quick primer: it’s an apple-based brandy from Normandy, with roots as deep in French culture as Armagnac is in Gascony. Where Armagnac leans on grapes, Calvados is all about orchard fruit, layered with spice and oak from long aging. And in the hands of Bhakta, it’s stepping into a starring role.

This new Calvados joins two other vintage releases for 2025: Bhakta 1995 Armagnac (30 years old) and Bhakta 2005 Armagnac (20 years old). Together, they’re part of what Bhakta calls the “House of Vintages” … a collection that’s built its reputation on unearthing rare, historic spirits and making them available to a wider audience without losing the sense of heritage that makes them special.

The timing feels right. Whiskey lovers, always hunting for the next “wow” bottle, have started exploring brandy in greater numbers, drawn in by the complexity, age, and history. Bhakta’s strategy has been to welcome them in through Armagnac … and now, Calvados — as refined but less predictable alternatives to high-end bourbon, Scotch, or rye.

This isn’t Bhakta’s first dance with Calvados. It’s been a quiet supporting player in some of their blends, like the early, sold-out Bhakta 27-07 and their current flagship, Bhakta 1928. But the 1989 vintage puts Calvados in the leading role, standing on its own and carrying decades of history in the glass.

If you’re the kind of drinker who marks milestones with a special bottle, Bhakta’s latest trio … and their broader Fifty Year Collection, stretching back to 1965 … offers a way to literally taste time. And for those willing to trade grapes for apples, or whiskey for brandy, the 1989 Calvados might just be the start of a new obsession.