Comte Louis de Lauriston

Situated in Domfrontais AOC, where a significant portion of pears are used in the blends. The spirits here are distilled at home by farmers, using traditional local methods, then delivered to the cellars, where they are aged and blended. The cellars were built in 1962, when more than 90% of Domfrontais brandy was clandestinely, illegally produced. The “comte” on the label is not just a name: the actual count was asked to step in to arbitrate an aggressive resistance by locals against the excise-tax collectors who were surrounded with tractors and farm tools. The count agreed to maintain a cellar under which the producers could store and market their Calvados legally, as the cooperative Chais du Verger Normand. In 1992, Christian Drouin took over the production and sale of the brand, and in 2008 Guillaume Drouin became chairman of the cellar.