We’ve been preaching the gospel of Camut for as long as we can remember here at K&L. As we often tell customers, there are few genres of wine and spirits from which we can unequivocally declare a "world’s best," but in the case of Calvados there’s Camut and then there’s everything else. At the beginning of the new millennium, it seems Emmanuel Camut was offered a bottle of traditional balsamic vinegar by some Italian friends of his. He was taken by the word "traditional" on the bottle because, as he would come to find out, it belonged to a protected appellation of vinegars that followed rigorous guidelines as to production. The vinegar was only sold in 100ml bottles and it was both elaborate and expensive, representing only about .01% of all Italian balsamics. The experience was transformative, apparently; he had never known balsamic vinegar of this quality. Being the artisan producer that he is, Emmanuel decided to research the process of making "traditional" balsamic vinegar and applied it to the base material he knew best: apples. Emmanuel uses two 200 liter copper pots heated gently by a wood fire. Whereas the Italians use a variety of grape that results in roughly 17% sugars, Emmanuel’s apple must is composed of interesting Norman varietals and only results in 5%, and thus three times the concentration. Aged for over 10 years in various oak casks of different shapes and sizes, this is the world's premier balsamic vinegar. Use it sparingly in drops to accent all foods.