BHAKTA 1989 Calvados Review

BHAKTA Spirits has released its first single-vintage Calvados, a 35-year-old expression from 1989 that marks the luxury spirits producer’s expansion beyond its Armagnac and whiskey stronghold.

The $235 bottle represents just three barrels from Normandy’s acclaimed Pays d’Auge region. The Vermont and France-based spirits house, which maintains the world’s largest collection of single vintage spirits, distilled this Calvados from 20 heirloom apple varieties in 1989. The Beverage Tasting Institute awarded it 98 points and a Platinum medal, calling it “superlative… a benchmark well-aged Calvados.”

The release coincides with BHAKTA’s annual decade offerings: the 2005 Armagnac at $137 and the 1995 Armagnac at $189. According to the company, BHAKTA leads the U.S. Armagnac market in volume and revenue, positioning itself at the forefront of what it describes as a global luxury brandy resurgence.

Calvados, like its grape-based cousin Armagnac, represents centuries of French distilling tradition. While Armagnac hails from Gascony in southwestern France, Calvados originates in Normandy’s apple orchards. The Pays d’Auge subregion, where this expression was produced, holds particular prestige among Calvados appellations.