Up for review today is the Camacho Coyolar, a re-release of the original Coyolar which was discontinued in 2013 when Davidoff revamped the Camacho brand. I can’t say that I ever smoked the original Coyolar, and I’m generally a fan of the products Camacho puts out, so I’m excited to review this cigar.
Product Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Camacho Coyolar Rothschild
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Size: 4 1/2 x 50 (Rothschild)
Appearance and Construction
The cigar comes presented in a strong, if blunt, black band. Camacho has run this visual branding play a few times now, with the Camacho Triple Maduro, Camacho Blackout, and Camacho Powerband all using black primary bands. Is it an attractive band? Sure, but it was damn near impossible to photograph and even to the human eye the name is only apparent when the light hits it just right. Not what I’d consider a good tactical play on the brand side.
In any case, the outer Honduran wrapper is mostly smooth with a few visible veins. When squeezed, the cigar has a moderate amount of give and is packed mostly consistently, though there are some minor soft spots about two thirds down the cigar.
The draw is perfect, and the cold draw is surprisingly flavorful, with a blast of fruit (something akin to mango/peach, which I’ve never encountered in a cigar before), and some mild spiciness. The foot is a bit more standard, with some minor chocolate and dried wood notes.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
The Camacho Coyolar opens with thick, medium to full bodied smoke. Lots of flavor and great smoke production. The profile is dominated by spice, black and red pepper, heavy leather, and some semisweet chocolate. The pepper is felt mainly on the tip of the tongue, the back of the throat, and on the retrohale. It’s very enjoyable, but I can already tell it’ll be overpowering at times as well. The retrohale is full leather and pepper, which reminds me a bit of the Camacho Triple Maduro.
Half an inch in, the body is above medium but the flavor is up to full. And I’m conflicted. Though I’m enjoying the flavors, I’m also aware that my palate is on track to get exhausted well before the cigar ends. For this reason, this would be a cigar I’d recommend pairing with a sherry cask finished single malt like Glenmorangie Signet, Glenlivet 18, or the Glenrothes Vintage 2004.
As the cigar heads into the second third, the flavors morph a bit along with the texture. The pepperiness settles down a bit and is replaced by peanuts. On the palate, pepper and spice are dominant, along with leather and a twinge of orange rind. The flavors aren’t often in perfect balance, but when they are, they work together well.
Construction wise, the ash is mostly solid but with a bit of flakiness. The burn is a bit wavy.
Burning into the final third, leather and spice are dominant. Otherwise, little changes and the cigar is ready to be retired right on time.
Conclusion
Camacho continues to produce high quality, enjoyable cigars. The Camacho Coyolar has all the hallmarks of a full bodied Camacho smoke. Extremely rich, quite strong, with good complexity and enjoyable flavor.
On the negative side, the smoke is often out of balance, which costs it a few points. As much as I’m a fan of full bodied flavors, the Coyolar gets a bit out of hand at times producing a smoking experience that’s at best overwhelming and at worst downright uncomfortable. Needless to say, I was glad I was smoking a rothschild size and not a toro.
Bloody Butcher Bourbon from New Liberty Distillery caught my eye, or more accurately, my ears, a few weeks ago on a visit to Park Ave spirits in Midtown. I heard one of the salesman giving a heartfelt recommendation to try Bloody Butcher Bourbon, so after the other customer stepped aside I snatched one of these beautiful bottles up.
The claim to fame for this particular whiskey is its use of the bloody butcher varietal of dent corn which has been grown since the 1800s but almost never used for bourbon (Widow Jane distillery is one exception). The corn itself is known for having one of the reddest complexions of any heirloom corn varietal.
New Liberty is also unique among many distilleries in that it is located not outside of town next to a solitary river but just a few minutes from downtown Philadelphia. The building that houses the distillery’s still and rick house was once a stable, presumably for the pre-automobile transportation industry.
Product Specifics
Producer: New liberty Distillery
Mashbill: corn, barley, rye
ABV: 47.5% (93 proof)
Age: 9 months
Aged in: new charred American oak barrels
Here’s what the New Deal Distillery website has to say about Bloody Butcher Bourbon:
In the early 1800s, European settlers in the southern United States blended their corn with a native variety. The result was Bloody Butcher corn: instantly recognizable for its striking deep red kernels and legendary fruity, buttery flavor. Unsuitable for industrial scale farming, this heirloom variety is grown by only a few farmers.
New Liberty Bloody Butcher Bourbon celebrates our nation’s early agricultural heritage. We sourced Bloody Butcher corn from Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, PA, just 25 miles from our distillery, and combined it with malted rye and barley from Deer Creek Malthouse. This blend of corn, barley, and rye gives the bourbon a balanced flavor, with notes of milk chocolate, butter, leather, and stone fruit on the palate, and a dry spice on the finish.
Appearance
As you can see, in the glass the whiskey has a bright, full gold appearance with just a touch of reddish amber. In the bottle, it is a deep red, similar to stained cherry wood. The shape of the bottle is fairly straightforward, but it sports a really beautiful paper label decorated with a dark red corn motif.
Nose
A really nice nose, quite unique for a bourbon. Stone fruits up front, with additional chocolate chunks, oak, and maraschino cherry aromas. Unlike most bourbons which are very caramel/vanilla forward on the nose, this is a more fruit-forward whiskey which I like a lot.
Palate
Very similar to the nose. Bloody Butcher bourbon starts off on the palate with some oak and light vanilla notes. As the liquid coats the palate, the heavier fruit notes come into play, alongside some leather and a generic corn flavor. Above any others I get a nice dark cherry note which complements the more traditional bourbon notes immensely.
Overall, the flavor profile is unlike any other bourbon I’ve ever had.
Finish
The finish is where this whiskey shows its youth. There’s quite a bit of ethanol burn, along with vanilla, rye and some nice spiciness.
Conclusion
Bloody Butcher bourbon is a solid “buy” recommendation from me, particularly if you’re into bourbon and even more particularly if you are a follower of the American boutique whiskey scene. The flavor profile is truly unique among bourbons. I loved the cherry influence on the nose and palate.
The uniqueness of this whiskey reminds me a bit of the Copper Fox Peachwood American Single Malt. Though the two share nothing in terms of flavor or character, they both set out to produce something really unique on the whiskey scene, and both succeed (Bloody Bourbon more than CF Peachwood).
All that said, I think that a much older, carefully crafted whiskey using a similar set of ingredients could make for a truly mind-blowing American whiskey, so I’ll be looking forward to further releases from New Liberty.
Today, I’m interviewing Craig Vanderslice of www.cigarcraig.com. Cigar Craig is one of the first blogs that I started reading when I started smoking cigars in the late 2000’s, and it’s a website that takes a down-to-earth approach to cigars.
In my interview with Craig, we discussed how he first fell in love with cigars, how he keeps up with the work of running a cigar blog, some of his favorite posts ever, his favorite cigar bloggers, and more.
MC: Let’s kick it off with some standard background. When did you start smoking cigars, and why did you start your blog?
CV: I started smoking premium cigars around 1995. I had been enjoying cheap cigars every Friday at lunch with a coworker and it was the cigar boom of the 90s so we decided to see what the big deal was with a premium cigar. We bought some Macanudo Hyde Parks and smoked them and got the bug. I don’t think I went back to the Garcia Vegas and Backwoods after that. Around the same time I was getting into the whole internet fad, and did some cigar research and found a cigar newsgroup on usenet, which was the ancestor of forums and Facebook basically. I ended up participating in that for ten years, travelling all over the country to attend herfs (the term “herf” was coined by that group, it’s taken on a life of it’s own) and met a lot of great people. Steve Saka and Christian Eiroa were contributors at the time. I got tired of the demeanor of the usenet group around 2006 and stopped contributing.
In 2009 my wife bought me the cigarcraig.com domain and I decided to start a blog as my creative outlet. It started very rough, but after taking my first trip to cigar country in 2011 it started getting visits and I settled into a regular schedule. I’m proud to say that if you search for “cigar blog”, “cigar bloggers” or just about any permutation of that in any major search engine, CigarCraig.com places very high in the results, in many cases the first result. I believe this was just a result of consistency and using appropriate keywords.
MC: Writing a blog takes a lot of work on a weekly and sometimes even daily basis. What’s kept you motivated to keep your blog up to date all these years?
CV: I spend much more time on research than actual writing! I like to think my site is a blog in the purest sense, it’s a web log of my cigar journey. This can be a recap of the cigars I’ve smoked, store visits, events either at stores or festivals, interviews with industry people and celebrity cigar smokers (it’s been a while since I’ve done a celebrity interview, working on that), and accessory reviews. Lately I’ve been sharing more press releases verbatim, while I have the time on my hands to do it. I should actually write an article based on the press release, but I’ve been taking the lazy route. I think it’s the variety that keeps it from getting boring, both in the industry and with my personal style. Also knowing I have a faithful readership that, for some reason I can’t fathom, looks forward to reading my nonsense! I deeply appreciate all those who choose to waste their valuable time reading, so I often have contests to reward the loyalty, or just send random stuff to people, it’s fun to share.
So what keeps me going is the interactions with the readers, having the opportunity to smoke new cigars and play with new accessories, and having sponsors who believe enough in what my site does to support me.
MC: What’s your favorite post on CigarCraig. Either one you feel the most proud of or that you’ve gotten the best response from readers on?
CV: Oddly, a post I wrote on my travel to Reykjavik, Iceland (linked here) about cigars there has been getting daily visits for the last year and a half. It comes up first in Google searches for cigars in Iceland, I guess the fact that there’s one shop in Reykjavik and no discernible cigar culture so there haven’t been a lot of articles written on the subject.
Probably the post I’m most proud of for the writing and the comments and discussion it produced goes back to 2012. I was frustrated (and remain so, not too much has changed!) with the IPCPR and wrote what I think was a well reasoned rant on the subject of “new media” being members and attending the trade show. The comments were from a who’s who of media, manufacturers and retailers. It was some of my best work, I think and it did lead to some changes for the better with the trade organization, although, six years later there are still IPCPR members who would rather not see bloggers at the show. It’s mystifying, and I’ve chosen no to be a member any longer as a result.
MC: Are there any other cigar blogs that you read or find worthwhile?
CV: I have had the good fortune of meeting many fellow bloggers and cigar media types, and consider them friends, so this is a loaded question! Certainly Halfwheel and Cigar-Coop are outstanding resources and come up in a lot of searches when researching specific cigars. While I don’t regularly visit a lot of other blogs, I check in to a bunch from time to time. Most of them offer a unique perspective. Some do a great job of reviewing cigars, others excel at presenting news items and everyone has their place. There are some that go off the rails a little I think, but overall there’s something for everyone out there.
MC: “Off the rails a little.” I love it. I’ve certainly seen some of that firsthand and far from being frustrating it’s mostly just entertaining to watch.
Let’s talk about the brands. In your time writing about cigars and meeting industry reps, you’ve likely had a chance to see a lot of companies fail and succeed. What in your mind is the ingredient that makes a successful brand in the cigar world?
CV: Great question! Today I think the brand owner or ambassador or manufacturer has to be personally involved at the retail level. Rocky Patel set the standard and has had pretty good success. Omar de Frias followed Rocky’s model and his Fratello brand enjoys a lot of success. Perhaps just being engaged with the consumer via social media is enough as long as the product is spectacular, in the case of RoMaCraft. Cromagnon started out being available largely through Skip Martin’s Twitter engagement. When Ernesto Carrillo launched EPC cigars his website was basically a map with tweets mentioning the brand popping up from wherever in the world they originated.
We have an unprecedented level of interaction with the principles in the cigar industry, and I think that reinforces a lot of brand recognition. I know, whether it makes sense or not, I enjoy cigars more when I have a personal relationship with the people who make the cigar, or are responsible for the blend.
MC: Man, that’s so true. I had a similar experience recently with Sans Pareil / La Instructora cigars. For a while I had been pretty skeptical, even after reviewing the La Instructora Box Pressed No 2 and enjoying it. But after meeting Aaron Saide at one of my private tastings and enjoying two hours of conversation with him, I experience his cigars in a completely different way (I’m still sitting on four or five unreleased La Instructora blends).
In any case, we’re at that point in the interview where I’ll go ahead and ask that most important and most hated question: what are your top two or three cigars? You know, the cigars that continue to blow your mind year after year, even after smoking dozens or more?
CV: There are a handful of cigars that I never tire of and pick up when I need a “sure thing”. Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo, Fuente Hemingway Classic come to mind as cigars which are as tasty and satisfying today as they were 20 years ago. Drew Estate’s Nica Rustica is a go-to also, I love the no nonsense, straightforward flavor of this, and similarly the CAO Flathead. Over the last years or so I’ve defaulted to the Cornelius and Anthony Cornelius Toro for a special occasion smoke. It’s a refined and complex medium bodied cigar.
MC: Ah man. I’m so with you on Cornelius and Anthony. They make phenomenal cigars. The Daddy Mac is in my top 25 of all time for sure. Let’s send our readers off with something fun. What’s a fun fact about cigars or the industry you have in your back pocket that you think my readers would be surprised to learn?
CV: Fun fact? Sheesh. That’s a tough one. One thing that I find interesting that many may not know is that is costs about the same to make a Corona as it does to make a Churchill. Because the consumer equates size with value, most manufacturers can’t sell the small sizes at the same margins as larger sizes. So, if you think about it, when you buy a Corona, technically you are getting a better value. Maybe that’s not real interesting…
MC: that’s definitely a fun fact! For all of my readers here – you’ll get many more fun, quirky insights on www.cigarcraig.com so don’t forget to visit the site and subscribe via email.
Craig, thanks for taking the time to share about yourself and your work on www.cigarcraig.com.
Up for review today is the Zulu Zulu White by Gran Habano Cigars and master blender George Rico. The Zulu Zulu project itself has been around since 2011, though its branding has been updated considerably in recent years. Both the Zulu Zulu Black and Zulu Zulu White both feature eye-catching primary bands, as well as an outer wrapping featuring custom artwork which I unfortunately didn’t capture on the photos here. For those curious, you can see the artwork here.
With that background out of the way, let’s get on to the review, shall we?
Product Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Zulu Zulu White Label by Gran Habano
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5.6 x 46
Appearance & Construction
The first thing I notice about this cigar is the the thick, minimalistic white band. Not only is it eye catching, it also lends a sophistication to the cigar that many much gaudier bands don’t. The outer habano wrapper is dark brown and oily, with a few noticeable veins.
When squeezed, both samples for review were quite soft in places, a sign of inconsistent packing. The draw is mostly loose, about a 5/10 in terms of restrictiveness. A whiff off the foot reveals hints of spice and earth, with the pre light draw delivering distinct spice, earth, and sweet woodsy notes.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
After toasting the foot, the Zulu Zulu White opens with rich, spicy, medium bodied smoke. The texture of the smoke has a nice cream element that comes across as almost chewy. Flavors in the first third include creamy chocolate, barbecue sauce, leather, roasted almonds (some vanilla there too), and spice on the palate and on the retrohale.
Smoke production is really fantastic. Not having to fight just to produce enough smoke is a great start for any cigar.
Overall, the first third very enjoyable and unique, and the cigar manages to be fairly full in flavor while also being extremely aromatic on the nose.
Heading into the second third is where some construction issues start to become apparent. The cigar begins burning much too quickly while not producing much smoke, and its clear that there’s a decent sized tunnel somewhere in the bunched filler tobacco. At the same time, the wrapper has begun burning unevenly, causing a couple of quick touch ups to be needed.
From a flavor standpoint, the profile is mostly unchanged though the spice present has taken on a cinnamon like character which pairs nicely with the creamy vanilla note. The leather as well has shifted to a slightly drier cedar note.
Into the final third, the flavor profile takes on a bit more spice and falls somewhere between medium and full. At the same time, likely because of the construction issues, the smoke heats up considerably and I’m forced to put the cigar down before I’d typically like to.
Conclusion
All things considered, the Zulu Zulu White is a unique and enjoyable smoke. While not the most complex cigar, it puts forth a flavor profile that I found very enjoyable and in some cases surprising. Unfortunately, both samples had construction problems that substantially altered the experience, which knocks a few points off of what otherwise is an exceptional cigar.
In this post, I’ll recommend the top three Arturo Fuente cigars to purchase based on price, availability and quality.
If you’re on this page, you’re either likely a new cigar smoker trying to prioritize which Fuente cigars you smoke first, or you are here because you are looking to purchase cigars for a family member or friend and you know they like Arturo Fuente cigars.
The good news is, Fuente cigars are popular because they are outstanding. The cigars are packaged beautifully, they are high quality and carry lots of brand recognition, and they have good options at both ends of the price spectrum. The brand has also been featured on Cigar Aficionado’s annual Top 25 list, even winning first place in 2017.
So let’s get down to it. If I were to make recommendations on which Arturo Fuente cigars to buy, the following would be my top three.
My top three cigars from Arturo Fuente
Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Double Chateau
The Fuente Sun Grown Double Chateau sits at the lower end of the price spectrum for Fuente cigars. But the quality is absolutely there. The Fuente Sun Grown Double Chateau is rich and extremely smooth, and features notes of cedar, coffee, touches of salt, vegetal notes and dark chocolate.
Perhaps the most recognizable cigar from the Fuente family, the Fuente Hemingway Short Story is perfect for shorter smokes. Its tapered size (which changes the proportions of the blend as the cigar burns) affords a complexity of flavor basically unheard of for cigars in the $5 price range. Smoking the Short Story, you’ll experience balanced flavors of wood, pepper, and subtle sweetness.
A bit pricier than the Sun Grown Double Chateau, but still very moderately priced at about $10 per cigar. Less subdued than the Double Chateau, expect a brighter, more robust smoke, with creamy coffee notes, floral, touches of pepper and cinnamon.
Fair warning: this cigar is popular enough that it is often backordered!
Those are my top three cigar recommendations for cigar smokers looking to experience Fuente cigars. Of course, there are much more expensive and rare Fuente cigars like the Opus X, but I haven’t listed them here because they are nearly impossible to find in significant quantities online. For Opus X, your best bet is to call the major cigar retailers in your area and ask if they have it in stock.
In 2018, The Glenrothes released the Glenrothes Vintage 2004, a whisky that is aged in Sherry-seasoned American Oak casks. This expression is limited to just 3,150 bottles in the U.S. market, making it a limited release.
Today, I’ll be taking this whisky for a test-drive and seeing how this whisky stacks up to the distillery’s marketing language.
A bit of backstory on the Glenrothes, from the distillery website:
The Glenrothes is an award winning Speyside Single Malt of exceptional quality. Hidden from the main street in the town of Rothes, the distillery lies at the foot of the Mannoch Hills beside the Rothes burn. The water that we use in the process of making Glenrothes comes from two natural springs, the Ardcanny and the Brauchhill, just a couple of miles upstream.
Not mentioned is that this is a distillery that’s had something of a complicated relationship with fire. The distillery was hit by fires in 1897, again in 1922, and a third time in 1962. Fortunately, instead of giving up , the last fire prompted the company to expand its facilities (and hopefully upgrade its fire suppression systems).
Product Specifics
Whisky reviewed: The Glenrothes Vintage 2004 Single Malt Scotch
The Glenrothes Vintage 2004 comes bottled in the traditional short and stout Glenrothes bottle. The liquid in the bottle is fairly dark, the deep color of bottled honey. In the glass, the whisky is a lighter apricot color.
Nose
The nose is very Glenrothes but with an unmistakable sherry influence. Take a whiff and you’ll pick up juicy, fruit-forward aromas of stone fruits, banana, leather, and baking spices. There’s very little heat on the nose, which is a plus.
Palate
The Glenrothes Vintage 2004 enters round, smooth, and somewhat understated, with fruity notes of apples, pears, vanilla, and a touch of ethanol. Moments later, as the liquid moves around the tongue, the flavors expand and bloom into brighter notes of dry oak, baking spices, and a very light chocolate note.
Finish
The finish is moderate in length and quite satisfying. First because it is smooth and doesn’t pack much heat, secondly because it features an enjoyable combination of spice and lingering malty sweetness (though there’s also a very faint bitter yeastiness way in the background that doesn’t fit).
Conclusion
The Glenrothes Vintage 2004 competes well in the $65 price category. It’s puts forward a clear flavor story and delivers enough complexity to put it a shelf above its more entry-level sibling, the Glenrothes Vintage Reserve. It does have some elements I don’t find endearing (a twang of bitterness on the finish), but nonetheless is deserving of good marks because of its clarity and overall enjoyability.
Final Score: 88
Disclaimer: though by no means our first bottle of Glenrothes scotch, the bottle for this review was supplied by The Glenrothes. Our opinions (good and bad), remain unaltered and entirely our own.
Up for review today is the Gran Habano La Conquista La Nina, a cigar that’s probably most notable for the detailed artwork adorning its primary band. After sitting in my humidor for about six months, the time seemed right to pull it out for an early afternoon smoke. What I didn’t realize before getting settled to write the review is that I’d be smoking a cigar with a profile perfectly suited for an early-afternoon smoke.
Product Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Gran Habano La Conquista La Nina robusto
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Columbia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Size: Robust (5 x 52)
Appearance & Construction
The outer Corojo wrapper on the La Conquista is light leather brown, with a few significant veins and smooth texture. The band is large and ornate, with a scene depicting what looks to be a soldier or king with subjects bowing to him. From an artistic standpoint, especially compared to most other art-focused bands, this band is quite good.
As for the cigar,off the foot is I pick up notes of old cedar planks and some earth, while the pre light draw reveals some mild natural tobacco sweetness. The draw sits right in between slightly too loose and slightly too restrictive. That is to say, it’s perfect!
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
The La Conquista La Nina opens with some wood, spice, charred meat and gentle sweetness. On the finish is a wood pulp note that slightly bitter and none too enjoyable. Smoke production though is excellent, and the character of the smoke is that it is light (definitely mild bodied) but nicely textured. This makes it a great candidate for pairing with a cup of coffee or espresso early in the afternoon.
As the ember hits the second third, the smoke shifts and takes on a character that I find very attractive. The texture of the smoke is extremely fine, and the flavor profile has shifted to become sweeter and more elegant. Flavors and aromas mix together creating impressions of snickerdoodle cookies, light woodiness, and floral notes. The retrohale balances the mildness out with just the right amount of white pepper. The fact that this cigar does this while remaining so mild is impressive.
This profile doesn’t stay too consistent as it fades in and out with the intervals presenting a more generic profile of wood, pepper, and natural tobacco flavors. A bit disappointing, but still enjoyable.
Into the final third, the La Conquista recovers and settles on a profile of light woodiness, floral, fresh cookies, albeit without the spice on the retrohale to balance the profile out. Still, a great profile and a nice end to the cigar.
From a construction standpoint, the burn did become wavy at times, but always corrected itself and never required touch ups.
Conclusion
La Conquista by Gran Habano Cigars is a winner in my book. It’s not a cigar that will be enjoyed if you’re looking for a full bodied smoke, but as an early afternoon cigar it offers a lot of flavor with great complementarity. And though it had a few unenjoyable moments, the positive elements outweighed those moments by a long shot.
I recommend giving the La Conquista a try and potentially stocking up.
Up for review today is McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey. It’s a pot distilled single malt whiskey that I’m proud to review seeing as this spirit hails from my home state, Oregon. Now, if you’re reading and aren’t well versed on the history of whiskey, America isn’t known for making great single malts. That reputation has traditionally been ascribed to Scotland and more recently to Japan. But the whiskey up for review today is proof that enterprising and innovative American distilleries like Clear Creek (owned by Hood River Distillers) are finally producing product that can stand toe to toe with Scotland’s great distilleries.
Distiller: Clear Creek Distillery / Hood River Distillers
Mashbill: imported peated Scottish barley
ABV: 42.5% (85 proof)
Age: 3 years
Aged in: “air dried” Oregon Oak
Appearance
McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt comes in a bottle that brings up a lot of nostalgia for me. The design of the label is in line with other great local brands (McMenamin’s comes to mind), and the center of the label features a quaint illustration of Multnomah Falls, a hike I made many times growing up.
In the glass, the liquid is a light, honeyed gold.
Nose
Quite light. Aromas wafting up from the glass include a unique Oak note, moss, and a faint charcoal barbecue-like scent. What’s interesting to me about this whiskey is that though you can smell the peat from a few feet, it’s not nearly as aggressive off of the glass.
Palate
Just marvelous. Not too aggressive on entry though the whiskey does betray its age a bit. Flavors kick off with moderate peatiness, malt and round oakiness (presumably the Oregon oak influence). It doesn’t stop there, offering additional flavors of apples, pine, and, if you can bring yourself just to imagine it, the inside of an old wooden cabin in the heart of the Cascades.
Ok that last one might be a stretch. Point being: it’s good.
Finish
Sweet, long, and a bit astringent. You’ll want to have a glass of water on hand if you’re going to be drinking much of this whiskey.
Conclusion
McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt is a classic American single malt, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a native Oregonian. It absolutely refuses to behave as young as it is, sipping like a much older whiskey. It delivers abundant and nuanced flavors that engage the palate and ignite the imagination: exactly what a whiskey should do.
Up for review today is a limited edition blend from Don Pepin Garcia, the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary toro. This cigar is one of many limited edition cigars released by the company over the last few years. The LE 2018 cigar commemorates the opening of Garcia’s factory in Miami, and comes at a price of $20 for the robusto and $24 for the toro. Certainly not cheap cigars, with the price reflected in the 3-year aging of the cigar’s tobaccos and the impressive unboxing experience that comes with each cigar being sold in individual coffins.
Product Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Toro (6 1/2 x 52)
Appearance & Construction
The Habano leaf on the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary toro is a rich, marbled brown, with no major veins or cracks. It has very little texture, but quite a lot of oil covering it. The branding is, as you can see, pretty spectacular. The cigar comes in individual coffins and sports one large, gold, red, and blue band. If the goal was for the cigar to look celebratory (and it undoubtedly was), then the team got it right.
Taking a whiff off the foot, I pick up notes of dry cedar and coffee beans. The pre light draw is extremely flavorful, with lots of fine ground white pepper, sweet granola, and earth.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
The Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition opens with a refined and moderately toasty medium bodied flavor profile. The cigar produces ample smoke, with primary notes of dark chocolate, almonds, dry cedar, floral, and a creamy finish. There’s also a lot of white pepper on the palate and on the retrohale. By the end of the first third, I’m really enjoying the cigar. Strength-wise, it’s definitely well below what I had assumed would be a full bodied knock em/sock em profile.
As the cigar progresses to the end of the first third, the burn becomes a bit wavy, with a mostly white ash. Strength and body drop down a touch to the bottom reaches of medium bodied.
In the second third, like clockwork, the strength ramps up a bit, and the profile shifts markedly. The dry cedar note shifts to a softer, more concentrated oak. Alongside that is a dark, fruity note kind of like cherry. Construction remains great, and smoke production increases as well, making for an enjoyable smoking experience.
As the cigar burns through the final third, body and strength increase to full. Unfortunately, the flavor profile doesn’t maintain balance, particularly the spice and pepper notes which are overwhelming. A few minutes later in the final inch, the smoke heats up quite a bit, providing a good opportunity to set the cigar down.
Conclusion
The Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro is a good limited edition cigar to pursue, particularly if you are a fan of Don Pepin blends. For most of the smoking experience, it performs with finesse and complexity, but can’t seem to maintain consistent balance. The final third left much to be desired in this respect.
For that reason, though I can recommend purchasing this cigar as a piece of cigar history, this blend doesn’t capture a stellar rating.
I’ll start off here by saying that interviews aren’t a common thing here at Fine Tobacco NYC. Generally they’re a bit tedious to put together and I’ve often found reading interviews that they can at times be extremely long without saying much of value.
In the case of Gene Kizhnerman from Taste the Dram, though, the interview makes a bit more sense because he is knowledgeable both about spirits but also about the business of owning and maintaining a blog (and a blog that I regularly read). So for those readers here who have considered starting a blog or some kind of review site but haven’t gotten around to it, this interview could give you some insight into what it takes to run a blog, particularly in the spirits space.
All that out of the way, let’s get on to the interview.
Alright Gene, I’m going to do my best to avoid completely generic interview questions, but we’ll see how goes. Let’s get the complete basics out of the way. Where are you from, and what is Taste the Dram?
I am originally from Moscow, Russia and I came to the United States as an immigrant refugee when the USSR fell apart with my family back in the early 1990’s. Lived in New York ever since. Taste the dram was something that I started a few years ago when I first fell in love with my girlfriend Rebecca. Before Rebecca I had a major hatred for anything whisky related. From nightclubs to shots of Jameson and Johnny Black, I had no idea what good whisky was all about. I had this notion that you just shoot it fast and hold your breath. Long story short, I met Rebecca and on our first date we spoke about her love for whisky. Particularly the Balvenie 21. Now as I stated before I thought I hated anything whisky related, but here I was, trying to impress this girl. Our second date I took her to the Flatiron Room (this was the place known for whisky). At this point it was still very difficult to enjoy this spirit. It was harsh and spicy and just too much for me to handle.
On our third date, a friend recommended we check out a local bar restaurant in our area called Wheated. I think this is where Taste the dram was officially born. We met the owner of the bar and he was very knowledgeable about the spirits. He recommended I start off with a lighter approachable Japanese Whisky, the Yamazaki 12. At first sip, I thought to myself, wow yea, I could enjoy this. Then something crazy happened. An ambassador for Laphroaig and Beam Suntory walked into the bar and happened to be good friends with the owner. Out of nowhere he heard my story of being new to whisky, and bought us a round of the Bowmore 25 and the Auchentoshan 21. When I tried these spirits, I was blown away by the complex flavors and the robust profiles of the whisky. You can say I was hooked from the first sip.
Taste the dram is an online digital magazine that features spirit reviews, interviews, and spirits related lifestyle.
Why did you start Taste the Dram?
So Taste the Dram started more as a hobby. I started an Instagram and started posting the whisky I was tasting at Wheated and other whisky related establishments. From there a few months later, I began my website Tastethedram.com. I thought people would appreciate the reviews of whisky I was putting together, and make their ordering whisky at the venues more approachable. I wanted there to be a real website with real reviews. A lot of these blogs have whisky reviews but they post photos they find from online websites. So there was no real way to tell if they truly tasted the bottle they are reviewing or just making stuff up.
From there it kind of took a life of its own. I began to reach out to distilleries and venues and other spirits eventually. And I noticed people really reacted positively to the stories we were offering. So we just kind of kept it going.
As someone who writes my own blog, I know it can take a lot of work to keep content rolling. It gets even harder when holidays roll around or life stuff comes up. What keeps you writing and producing content day after day?
I have turned this into my passion and something I truly enjoy. Also I get a lot of great feedback from my readers and followers and I know I cannot disappoint them. I try to keep the content fresh and not repetitive. There is a lot of work that goes into the articles we write. Usually we have to meet with the companies or persons we are interviewing. We prepare a detailed list of questions that pertain to their business. We then record the entire conversation, which sometimes consists of hours of work. Then we manually retype the recording, edit, add photos and post. Sometimes one interview from conception to execution can take 5-7 days. It’s a time consuming process. But it’s well worth it.
I’ve had a few readers write in and ask how they can get started with their own blog. What would some of your tips and recommendations be for someone looking to convert their passion for whisky into a blog?
I would say do it because you want to and not because you’re expecting to get money from ads or get free things out of it. Sure over the last year, we have been invited to attend and do coverage of many events at no cost to us and we have been sent free bottles. But let me tell you, it takes a lot of manual effort on our end, which pays for itself.
Content is key. You have to figure out how you will stand out from all the other blogs. Everyone has a niche. For me personally I try not to compete with the other whisky blogs out there. I simply cannot. I do not have the resources or the man power. I am a one person show. That is why I try to bring the content that I feel is both engaging and interesting and I will not have much competition from other blogs.
Lastly you really have to enjoy to write. As you know Matthias SEO is big in getting more and more readers to your site. And writing 2-5 sentences and keeping it brief will not build you any engagement. Also consider you will be paying for the domain, monthly hosting and other expenses. You almost have to enjoy writing as much as you enjoy breathing to have any type of success in this industry.
Let’s switch gears a bit. In the course of your work, you’ve met a lot of people in the whiskey industry, from established brands like Macallan to smaller boutique whiskey companies. Given what you’ve seen, what would you say the ingredients (or mashbill in this case) for a successful whisky company is in 2018?
Great question Matthias. There are probably over 2000 craft whisky distilleries in the United States alone. Even more globally. Then you have the big brands like Balvenie, Macallan, Lagavulin to name a few. Then the international market has made a huge push into the whisky market with spirits such as Yamazaki hailing from Japan, Kavalan from Taiwan even Paul John or Amrut from India. To be a successful whisky company in 2018, I think you need to have the following formula.
Create a quality product. This means that if you are a craft distillery don’t just start pushing out 6 month or 1 year bourbon or rye for instance. It’s going to be very hard for you to compete with shelf space with some of the bigger well known players such as Michters or Elijah Craig. Also, don’t just go into the business thinking you will be a millionaire. We have interviewed so many small craft distilleries, and most have done their homework and worked for another distillery and learned the craft. They sit on their products without seeing a profit because they want to release a 3-4 year aged product instead of white dog whisky.
Don’t try to expand too quickly. Make sure you are well known in your area where the whisky is made. If you make whiskey in NJ, don’t go for distribution in California. Make sure you’re the top distillery in NJ and NY and other surrounding states.
Do not try to be like everyone else. IF you do, you will fail before you even get started. Be different.
Social Media is huge! Social media allows whisky companies to reach a major demographic of potential buyers of their whisky. Build your social media presence and find the right platform that gets you the most visibility.
Build relationships, go to events, make your product visible and known. Also do not price gauge to make a profit initially that will turn the customers off in the long run.
There’s a reason some of the big companies like Macallan are the brand everyone knows about. Macallan does not spend money on marketing or billboards. When you make quality products at an affordable price, people will take notice.
Ok let’s talk favorites. What is your favorite core line single malt, and what is your favorite hard-to-find whisky that you’ve had so far?
Oh man so many here for me. Favorite core line single malt is the Glenfarclas 17. At $99 retail this 17 year old is a true sherry bomb. I personally love anything finished in Oloroso Sherry cask. I feel it brings those inviting notes of toffee, dark chocolate and honey. Another great one in that price range is the Aberlour A’bunadh. Cask Strength sherry bomb, just cannot go wrong.
I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of hard to find whisky, but I would say the once that stand out is the Rosebank 21 year old, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 71.42 Sinbad Preparing for a Journey – this whisky tastes and smells like salted popcorn. Lagavulin 1985 – 21 year old single malt bottled at cask strength was phenomenal.
What is one post on your website my readers should drop everything to read, and what is it about?
We’ve had so many over the years that it’s pretty hard to choose just one. But if I had to I would say check out the interview we did of a whisky influencer on instagram Nate Woodruff aka @Whiskywithaview.
Nate is one of those guys, former brand ambassador that is just a breath of fresh air. People see these instagram influencers as just someone who gets free things from whisky brands. But no one sees the hustle or the sacrifice it takes on the backend. I think Nate is a great example of what it takes to be a whisky influencer, and just a general whisky lover.
I have a lot of respect for anyone who can curate a beautiful Instagram or Twitter account in the whisky world. It absolutely takes a lot of time, hard work, and attention to detail.
What’s the most surprising or even shocking thing you’ve learned about whisky, or the whisky industry, in the time that you’ve been writing?
Nothing really too shocking just my personal observations. There are some craft distilleries out there that just started out because they thought it would be cool to make whisky. They had no prior experience or knowledge of the process. Their whisky actually tastes pretty awful and expensive for what it is. I will not mention which distilleries I am speaking of in particular but there are quite a few.
The one thing that I’ve always had an issue with in the whisky industry was the lack of women. Women have a better sense of smell than men biologically and are some amazing bartenders, distillers, ambassadors even spirit distillery owners. I wish more people interviewed these powerful and upstanding women of the industry. We have interviewed a numerous amount of women in the past that have contributed to such a major growth of the whisky industry as a whole, and we will continue to support them. Some of the best most outspoken and knowledgeable whisky ambassadors are women, to name a few Jordan Zimmerman (@jzimmerman_tx) formerly of Highland Park now works for Jura and Dalmore. Amanda Victoria (@ladyamandavictoria) from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Tracie Franklin (@glenfiddichtf) to name a few.
Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience, Gene. Where can people find you online and on social?
Thanks Matthias for doing this interview, I am really humbled by it. I am pretty active on instagram @Tastethedram and also my website Tastethedram.com has a lot of really interesting content. We have some impressive interviews coming your way soon. We have Interviews with Global Brand Ambassadors for Highland Park and Macallan, a few new craft distilleries, a few international whisky brands and local whisky/spirits restaurants around NYC, among many more in the near future.
