Noces Royales is a premium French liqueur that blends the sweetness of Poire Williams (Williams pear) with the robust elegance of Cognac. Crafted in the historic Cognac region of France by Spiritique, its name translates directly to "Royal Wedding," celebrating the perfect marriage between the fruit and the prestigious wine spirit. Pears were famously the favorite fruit of Louis XIV and the Versailles court, making this a highly regal flavor profile.

Product Specifications

• Spirit Type: Pear Cognac Liqueur

• Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 30% (60 Proof)

• Key Ingredients: Premium Cognac, natural Williams pear juice, and pear sugar

• Purity: Shelf-stable with no artificial additives, stabilizers, or flavor extracts

Flavor Profile & Tasting Notes

Noces Royales presents a highly balanced and refreshing drinking experience:

• Appearance: A clear, vibrant yellow-gold liquid highlighted with warm amber tones and orange glimmers.

• Nose: Intense, vivid aromas of freshly picked, ripe Williams pears mixed with floral overtones, light rose, fresh apricot, and a hint of almond spice.

• Palate: A well-rounded and smooth opening that maintains a perfect harmony between sweetness, alcohol warmth, and crisp fruit acidity. It finishes with a lively, "crunch-in-the-mouth" freshness.

The name Claque-Pépin comes from a type of apple variety, which when ripe, rattles when shaken. The name translates to the seeds (pepin) which rattle (claque). The property is located in the Normandie region, nestled between the Domfrontais and the Pay d'Auge, in the 17th century farm next to the ancient chateau of Serans, formerly the family estate of the Louvet family.

Claque-Pépin officially began in 2005. However, current owner Benoît Louvet has been immersed in the world of distilling and ageing for many years. He began his "apprenticeship" fairly young with his grandfather Vital. After working for a few other Calvados producers as cellar master, he decided to start his own artisanal production and perpetuate the art of making calvados, cider, and local Normand apéritifs, while respecting the Normand tradition and the environment.

Production

Calvados is made from cider. Those farmers who are licensed to “boil,” travel from farm to farm with their vintage stills (alambics), distilling the cider into calvados.

Operation of the Alambic:

The cider enters the still through the heat exchanger in the upper region and descends tray by tray. The heat transforms the most volatile elements in the cider (water and esters) into vapor. This vapor then travels in the opposite direction, where it is concentrated with the alcohols, esters, and flavors. This is then concentrated in the smallest column from which the eau de vie emerges at 72%.

Appellation:

The property and orchards are ideally situated in the Calvados AOC, just in between Pays d’Auge and the Domfrontais, producing cider and Calvados with the round and refined flavors of Calvados of the Pays d’Auge and the spicier notes typical of Calvados of the Domfrontais.

Benoît Louvet grows apples and pears but also buys from a few growers around, especially in the Domfrontais, an area he loves. After he makes his cider, an itinerant distiller comes to the farm to distill Benoît’s ciders to his specifications.

The young calvados are redolent with apple and pear, maintaining the subtle aromas of the fruits. The older calvados reveal flavors of orange blossom and candied fruit, as well as hints of balsamic spice, wood, cigar box, and chocolate.

For four generations, the Daucourt family has shared a passion for spirits, experience of distillation, rigor of the production and has always imposed themselves at the origin of new industry trends, (Jean-Marc XO Vodka, X-Rated Fusion Liqueur).

Inspired by their Irish mother, their idea was to create a French whisky using the family distillery's traditional gooseneck pot stills, which are typical of the Charente region.

Jean-Marc and Edouard made their dream a reality by creating a truly French Whisky, and becoming pioneers in this new spirit category!

Production

Yeast: A cultured yeast whose strain is 120 years old.

Distillation: Distilled twice in Charente copper stills.

Water: From the purest Charente springs, naturally filtered for centuries through the limestone layers in the soil of the region.

Tasting Highlights - Min. 10 years old

Warm and honey gold color. Scents of almond paste and fruits; on the palate, the wood is light and not overpowering, allowing flavors of tropical fruits, apricot, and vanilla to emerge. The finish is medium long and elegant.

Reviews

Gold Medal (Bartender Spirits Awards, 2021)

4 stars, Highly Recommended.
"Lovely mahogany color; flawless clarity. First nosings encounter ambrosial, wonderfully vibrant scents of ripe nectarines and pears, as well as spiced pear torte; secondary sniffs pick up more mature, wood influenced notes of oak sap, sawdust, pine 2 x 4, mushrooms, and cinnamon. Entry is nicely acidic so the first taste is fresh, clean, and crisp and this is followed by dried fruit flavors, namely dates, black raisins, and figs; the midpalate is the sweet-spot, in which the various aromatic and gustatory aspects merge into a singular flavor that's mature, bittersweet, tinged with baking spice, moderately oily / fatty, and harmonious. Toasty, sap- and maple-like, and a bit bitter on the finish as the taste profile retreats slightly from the full-out experience of the midpalate. (Paul Pacult, The New Kindred Spirits 2021) 

94 points. (Wine Enthusiast, 2012) 

"Excellent / Highly Recommended, 93 points" (Ultimate Spirits Challenge, 2011)

"Highly Recommended / Best Buy" (Wine Enthusiast, 2002) 

"4 stars / Best Buy" (Spirit Journal, Dec. 2001)