The first "Pomme Prisonniere" was marketed by CALVADOS CHRISTIAN DROUIN in 1981. Since that time, "Pomme Prisonnière" has been so successful that the trade mark "Pomme Prisonnière" is now often mistaken for a generic name.
The story of "Pomme Prisonnière" is worth telling …
Traditionally, farms in Normandy used to possess a carafe containing a pear preserved in Calvados. It was a matter of pride for the master of the house who had managed to grow the pear in the flask, and it never failed to arouse the curiosity of visitors. The fruit could be preserved indefinitely provided that it was always covered with Calvados. This explains why it is still possible in some farms to find flasks of Calvados that are more than a hundred years old ! By chance, just a few miles from the distillery, we came across a fruit grower, Didier Alleaume, whose family had kept the tradition alive through four generations, imprisoning pears in carafes for the pleasure of a few privileged friends. Together we decided to give new life to this old Normandy tradition by uniting the arts of the grower and the distiller in order to produce the "Imprisoned Pear". Almost at once we were attracted by the idea of associating apples with Calvados. However, if growing a large pear in a flask is already a difficult exercise that requires considerable experience, encouraging an apple to develop and grow in a carafe is almost impossible.
Apple trees flower abundantly; thousands of flowers give birth to thousands of fruits, but only 5% of the fruit embryos become apples. The others just fall from the tree. If one waits for the aborted fruits to fall before placing the carafes over the young apples there is a risk that the neck will be too narrow. To measure the remaining difficulty, one simply has to compare the length of the neck of the flask with that of the apple stem. We nevertheless made the attempt, and were the first to offer an "Imprisoned Apple" in Calvados. Despite a failure rate that is high, we can offer a limited number of "Imprisoned Apples" for sale.
For many people, the imprisoned apple remains a mystery : how on earth could an apple get into a carafe full of Calvados ? Its packaging, illustrated by four watercolours by André Vial, reveals the key to the puzzle.
A new box for the "Imprisoned Apple".
In April, apple blossom covers the trees with a pink and white mantle; honey bees in search of nectar carry the pollen from flower to flower.
In May and June the embryo of the fruit takes form in the heart of the fading flower. Non-fertilized fruits abort and fall shortly after flowering, and it is then that the flask must be attached to the branch so that the little apple can grow inside it.
During the summer the apple grows inside the carafe, caressed by the sun´s rays which filter through a protective net. In September the carafe is detached from the tree; it is carefully cleaned and filled with "Cœur de Lion" Calvados from the Auge region. During the long months of maceration the flavours of the apple blend with those of the Calvados.
To preserve the "Imprisoned Apple" in its full glory all one has to do to preserve the "Imprisoned Apple" in its full glory all one has to do is to top the level every time one serves a glass of Calvados - with more "Cœur de Lion" Calvados Pays d´Auge, naturally.
"You can also eat the apple … but for that you will have to break the flask. And if you are greedy enough to do so you will feel as sad as the child who contemplates the pieces of the piggy-bank he has just smashed". |
