THE WORD "CALVADOS"
“calva”, latin from “calvaria”: bald
“dorsa”, latin from “dorsum: crest or summit 

On the sea charts of the Norman coast from the 17th century, the Latin expression 
"Calva-Dorsa" indicated two cliff zones with peeled crests, distant from ten nautical 
miles between Arromanches and Anneles.The "Calva-Dorsa" constituted the first 
visible spot from open sea when the sailors were returning towards their home 
harbours. This Latin idiom became through the sailors language contraction: "Calvados".


THE BIRTH OF CALVADOS AS AN ALCOOL

Sir Alexis de Gouberville described the first official reference to cider distillation in his 
diary on March 28th 1553. 

In 1790, when France began to be organised into departments, the members of the 
Constituting Parliament hesitated on naming that of Caen. Since all the possible names 
closely resembled those of the Old Regime,  the name Calvados was created from the 
chart indication “calva dorsa”

THE APPLE AT THE ORIGINS OF CALVADOS

The temperate climate and the undulating meadows are ideal for the production of cider 
apples. There are more than 150 varieties of apples, 48 of which enter into the production 
of Calvados Père Magloire. The apples are classified into 4 categories; sweet, bittersweet, 
bitter, and tart.