Cocktail Correspondent: Moe Gorge
Dear W. Hunter,
Salutations! Tout va bien ici en France. Yesterday, we spent the night in Honfleur, a small port town on the south side of La Seine estuary, just across the river from Le Havre.
Last night was stormy, rainy, and crepuscular — a fitting start to autumn and a fitting excuse, as any, for a cocktail.
My partner N. K. Rural and I set off from our lodging after nightfall for La Ferme Saint Siméon, a legendary and exquisite hotel perched above the harbour on a verdant hill, neighbouring the Normandy hinterlands. La Ferme Saint Siméon has its own bar open to both its own guests and the public, and the building the hotel is in itself has an intriguingly worded Wikipedia page worth perusing.
On our way up, rain poured down and unfolded in burbling cascades over the cobblestones of the empty village streets. We intermittently gazed over the hazy maw of Le Seine and, at times, upon an old lighthouse that broke the opacity of our view northwards.
When we finally installed ourselves at the hotel bar, we were met by a consummately professional bartender with excellent posture. Being in the Calvados region, we both ordered calvados cocktails. While waiting for our drinks, we enjoyed the armchairs and crackling fire of the hotel’s bar lounge.
I ordered the Calvaraïbres, a cocktail of shaken calvados, liqueur vanille, jus d’ananas, et citron. Despite the tropical theme, this paired wonderfully with the tempestuous evening.
Served in a large Collins glass on the rocks, I found my Calvaraïbres both light and aromatic. Notes of oak bloomed from the vanilla and bonded with the rich and tropical fruits of the principal ingredients. The frothy head of the shaken pineapple juice offered a billowy texture, both inviting and enveloping. A dried apple slice and gooseberry garnished the drink. The former enhanced the rustic and thematic elements, while the gooseberry brought a tart and vaguely minty exclamation in the form of a palate cleanser. The Calvaraïbres made itself a warm companion to the turbid harbour lights of Le Havre, seen through the hotel bar’s panoramic windows.
N. K. Rural had a Calvalcade, a mix of calvados, amaretto, cranberry, apple, and tobasco, but equal measures spicy and cordial. For details, you’ll have to ask her!
Bien à vous,
Moe Gorge
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