POIRE WILLIAMS

Poire Williams is a colorless eau de vie made from the Williams pear. It is generally served chilled as an after-dinner drink.

Many producers of Poire Williams include an entire pear inside each bottle. This is achieved by attaching the bottle to a budding pear tree so that the pear will grow inside it.

The Williams pear is known as the Bartlett pear in the United States.

Williamine is brand of Poire Williams; the trademark is owned by Distillerie Louis Morand & Cie, who distill the drink on their premises in Martigny, Canton of Valais, Switzerland from nearby orchards. 

APPLE BRANDY

It is a brandy made by distilling hard cider or fermented apple pomace. Applejack (American Brandy) is sometimes produced by a different method which is now rarely used. This method involves freezing the fermented cider and then removing the ice. 

APPLE VARITIES

POPULAR APERITIFS & DIGESTIFS

CALVADOS:

Calvados is an apple brandy from the French région of Basse-Normandie or Lower Normandy. Calvados is distilled from specially grown and selected apples, of which there are over 200 named varieties. It is not uncommon for a Calvados producer to use over 100 specific varieties of apple to produce their Calvados. The apples used are either sweet (such as the Rouge Duret variety), tart (such as the Rambault variety), or bitter (such as the Mettais, Saint Martin, Frequin, and Binet Rouge varieties), with the latter category of apple being inedible. The fruit is picked (usually by hand) and pressed into a juice that is fermented into a dry cider. It is then distilled into eau de vie. After two years aging in oak casks, it can be sold as Calvados. The longer it is aged, the smoother the drink becomes. Usually the maturation goes on for several years. A half-bottle of twenty-year-old Calvados can easily command the same price as a full bottle of ten-year-old Calvados.

DIGESTIF

A digestif is an alcoholic beverage that is taken just after a meal, purportedly as an aid to digestion — hence the name, which is borrowed from French. If a digestif is a bitters, it will contain bitter or carminative herbs that some believe will aid digestion.

In contrast to apéritifs (which are taken before a meal), digestifs usually contain more alcohol. Digestifs are usually taken straight (neat) and are most often spirits such as amari, bitters, brandy, grappa, tequila, or whisky. Some wines (usually fortified wines) are served as digestifs — for example, sherry, port and madeira. 

APERITIF

An apéritif (also spelled aperitif) is an alcoholic drink that is usually served to stimulate the appetite before a meal, contrasting with digestifs, which are served after meals.

Apéritifs are commonly served with something small to eat, such as crackers, cheese, pâté, olives, and various kinds of finger food.

This French word is derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.” There is no consensus about the origin of the apéritif. Some say that the concept of drinking a small amount of alcohol before a meal dates back to the ancien Egyptians.

Main records, however, show that the apéritif first appeared in 1786 in Turin, Italy, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented vermouth in this city. In later years, vermouth was produced and sold by such well-known companies as Martini, Cinzano, and Gancia.

Apéritifs were already widespread in the 19th century in Italy, where they were being served in fashionable cafes in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Naples.

Apéritifs became very popular in Europe in the late 19th century. By 1900, they were also commonly served in the United States. In Spain and in some countries of Latin America, apéritifs have been a staple of tapas cuisine for centuries. 

POPULAR BRANDS OF CIDER

1.ARGENTINA: Real, Victoria, Del Valle, Rama Caida

2.AUSTRALIA: Strong bow, Mercury, Cold stream

3.AUSTRIA: Mostviertel

4.BELGIUM: Stassen, Strongbow Jacques, Konings

5.CANADA: John Molson. Ice Cider

6.BRITAIN: Biddenden, theobolds, strongbow, blackthorn. Bulmers, Frosty Jack, White Strike, Diamond White

7.USA: Martinelli’s, Woodchuck,