CalvaClub 2024 : the past ahead

Once again this year, Cal­vaClub had a date with history—a deeply pop­u­lar tra­di­tion, often thought of as a relic of the past, yet still alive in the hearts of French bar­tenders: the “Café Calva”.

For this fourth chapter of Cal­vaClub, the chal­lenge was both simple and daunt­ingly ambi­tious: to rein­vent this quint­es­sen­tially French custom.

It was a bold endeavor that brought togeth­er 70 bar­tenders from all over France, with 12 final­ists earn­ing their place at the Manoir de l’Évêché in Lisieux, the grand finale’s stage.

But Cal­vaClub is much more than just a com­pet­i­tion. It’s a moment sus­pen­ded in time, where con­nec­tion, learn­ing, and a shared pas­sion for Calvados take on a whole new meaning.

Day 1 : The Cup

To honor the Café Calva, there had to be a cup. Guided by Séver­ine, the final­ists got hands-on with pot­tery, each craft­ing their own unique design. The work­shop, filled with laughter and focus, put their cre­ativ­ity and patience to the test.

The final res­ults? We’re eagerly wait­ing to see (with plenty of curi­os­ity and excitement).

After this ori­gin­al chal­lenge, a deli­cious break with Tarte Tatin and a local dinner offered a taste of region­al fla­vors, enhanced by the Pomme Peignée , a reima­gined Café Calva by Colin, last year’s champion.

The day wrapped up with a casino night, where black­jack and roul­ette decided the next day’s present­a­tion order: Lucas would kick things off, and Victor would close.

Day 2: the challenge

Before step­ping into the spot­light, the final­ists took a detour to Calvados Groult to uncov­er the secrets of its craft.

Estelle, the estate’s owner, wel­comed the group, shar­ing the story of the domain: tra­di­tion­al orch­ards, double dis­til­la­tion over a wood fire, “cathed­ral cel­lars,” and solera aging.

How could anyone resist the chance to create their own Calvados using the estate’s eaux-de-vie ?

Back at the Manoir, it was com­pet­i­tion time.

In just 10 minutes, each final­ist had to pre­pare six identic­al cock­tails while present­ing their vision of the Café Calva.

Green coffee, cas­cara, chicory, nitro infu­sion, maceration—the tech­niques and ingredi­ents came togeth­er in a whirl­wind of cre­ativ­ity during three intense hours.

In the end, Julien emerged vic­tori­ous with his Petit goût amer, an ode to the terroirs of France, edging out Luc and Timothée.

A well-deserved win, clos­ing an unfor­get­table week­end with a bang, thanks to Albert Newton’s (🍎) elec­tri­fy­ing pop performance.

Cal­vaClub is a vibrant trib­ute to a living her­it­age, a cel­eb­ra­tion of cre­ativ­ity, and the endur­ing legacy of Calvados.

The next chapter of this beau­ti­ful adven­ture is already in the works.

Calvados con­tin­ues to evolve—and so do those who cel­eb­rate it.

Cheers!