I’m very particular about anything I consume. I try to shy away from processed foods, will spend the extra couple of bucks on a better cigar, and like what I like when it comes to by alcohol. I love stout beers, and I love Guinness when I drink my stouts. This article by William Bostwick [...]

An Introduction: This bottle is brought to the masses by Davergne Ranvier (or François Dauvergne & Jean-François RANVIER, more formally), a wonderful and rapidly up-and-coming wine duo from the Luberon appellation (an appellation is a region that strictly adheres to the French wine laws of the area, including regional boundaries as well as growing and [...]

Like most wines and spirits, the old saying goes, “it gets better with age,” but after reading this article on Slate.com we now may beg to differ. Both Isaac and I have had the pleasure of sipping both the Pappy Van Winkle 20 year and 23 year. We both agreed that, not only was the [...]

Truly: A Maker’s Mark It’s only appropriate to start this review with what’s synonymous with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, the red wax. Easily the most recognizable feature in the industry; it essentially works as a logo. Compare it to the Nike’s Swoosh logo for instance. If you spot the Swoosh on anything really: shoes, shirts, sweatpants, or backpacks. You [...]

Initial Thoughts After I learned a bit about the man behind this cigar, I was intrigued. Would it taste tough, oily and aromatic? Would there be woody notes in the flavor? Would I feel like a tourist while I smoked it? The Guayacan line is another cigar distributed by Emilio Cigars. Seems we’ve been on an Emilio kick [...]

Initial Thoughts Every now and again a buddy of mine, we’ll call him Jeremy, comes to town from Memphis. Jeremy runs a great blog over at Blind Eye Cigar Review and he’s also on Twitter if you’re into that. Well, Jeremy can be a hell of a guy somedays. His last visit to Nashville we hung out [...]

Initial Thoughts Siz gave me this cigar to review and seeing that it’s mostly made (if not entirely made) in Nicaragua, I LOVE that. I can’t say enough good things about the cigars and tobacco coming out of Nicaragua right now. So consistent and so flavorful. Since ‘Robaina’ was a part of the name, I’m sure Alejandro [...]

Getting Started: Choosing Bulleit to review was an easy call.  It’s always been one of my favorite bourbons and it only seemed appropriate to tee this one up.  As fortune would have it, I was due for a business trip to the Volunteer State and I began this trip with a pit stop at my [...]

Initial Thoughts Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve smoked a cigar. After taking about three weeks off to battle a sinus infection and get all of it out of my system, I’m finally ready to get back in the saddle and burn down a stogie. I’ve been waiting patiently to smoke and now I [...]

An Introduction: The A Portela Mencia 2011 comes from the Valdeorras region in the Northwest of Spain; fewer than 100 miles North of the Portuguese border. The region – primarily warmer in climate with a decent amount of annual rainfall – is situated among granite-rich hills. The vines (planted in 1976) which produce the Mencia grapes [...]

Initial Thoughts I hadn’t heard of GPC before getting this stick. I believe Siz got this from Gary (Emilio Cigars) at a local event here and then gave to me to review. Naturally, I was excited to try this (new to me) stick and see what was behind this wrapper! On GPC’s website they describe the idea [...]

Initial Thoughts On Elogio’s website, they state that they only use select long filler Nicaraguan tobacco grown exclusively in Candega and Jalapa. This gets my engines going; there’s nothing I like more than a bold, Nicaraguan taste! The site also talks about this specific Serie LSV wrapper, which is grown on a small farm in Somoto by Carlos and [...]

History: Buffalo Trace Distilleries is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Records indicate the making of bourbon since 1774 shipping it down the Mississippi River. Even during the Prohibition they were permitted to operate to make whiskey for “medicinal purposes.” The site for Buffalo Trace Distilleries was picked because of its location on the Kentucky River. Buffalo [...]

An Introduction: Historically, Beaujolais – a region originally settled by the Romans and nestled in the Southeast of France – wines are known for their lighter body, fruit-forward characteristics. The ’09 Henry Fessy Beaujolais-Villages however strives to break the mold of uniformity and take on characteristics of other Southern French reds like Côtes du Rhône and Bordeaux, inhibiting dryer, [...]

Initial Thoughts Knowing the flavor the Oliva V Serie brings to the table, I was also curious to see if there were any differences with this smaller sized torpedo. I was also excited to see how it paired with the wine that Patrick chose (see the footnote for that as well as his review of the wine). [...]

Initial Thoughts I’ve seen the L’Atelier line in the review section of Cigar Aficionado magazine several times and I don’t think that any ratings were below 90. I was really excited to try this cigar; the wrapper hybrid is unique and certainly with all the buzz and discussion, I was eager to get my mouth on this thing [...]

Initial Thoughts The small ring gauge and small length of this My Uzi Weighs a Ton Bait Fish reminds me of the cigarillos that come in the small tins meant for quenching the thirst of cigar smokers who don’t have much time but still want to enjoy a cigar. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this little guy since [...]

Initial Thoughts As I mentioned earlier, I hadn’t heard too much about this company or these cigars. I love trying new cigars and expanding my knowledge so tonight, I’m going to do just that. After reading a bit more online and on Ezra Zion’s website, I found that this newer company has already boasted several accolades including ‘Best [...]

Initial Thoughts This year was a big year for the Oliva V Melanio it seems like everywhere you turned people were reviewing it and talking about. It took me a while to finally get on the bandwagon and get out there and find one of these sticks. Personally, I’m a big fan of the regular V [...]

Initial Thoughts There are certain stories floating around there about the different families and the traditions in the cigar industry. I’ve constantly heard stories about the Garcia family. They make so many great cigars for other people and their own brand, but I had never one a cigar with the man’s name on it. I’ve [...]

Initial Thoughts I was very curious about these cigars when I first saw them. Obviously with their size, they naturally remind me of the NUB line. I was also looking forward to comparing the flavors between the three sizes and, since each smoke doesn’t take all that long, I wanted to smoke at least a couple in [...]

Initial Thoughts This Bellaterra Double Deuce is the second cigar from Bellaterra that I’ve smoked. As I said in the review of the Black and Tan they are a Nashville brand and I’m always looking to try some local brands and see what they have to offer. I got this cigar the same night as the Black & [...]

Initial Thoughts I came across this bottle of Sam Houston Whiskey one day at my local liquor store. In fact I went down during lunch to pick up a bottle. I started a new tradition at my new office called Whiskey Friday. Each week I try to convince someone to go buy a bottle of whiskey [...]

Initial Thoughts As I said, I’m really looking forward to this cigar. I’ve read a couple reviews on this stick since it was introduced at the IPCPR last year and all of them sounded like the flavor would appeal to my taste buds. Anything that has some spice, depth as well as some sweetness is right up [...]

Initial Thoughts I’ve heard several good things about the Joya de Nicaragua / Cabinetta Serie and was thrilled to try it, dissect it and write a review about it! Again, the cigar is quite eye-catching with the dual wrapper. I gotta be honest, I wondered if this was just a gimmick to actually make it stand out [...]

Initial Thoughts I have a few friends who work with General Cigar and I received this cigar from one of them to try. I believe that was back in early October. I put it in my humidor and honestly forgot about it until Siz was talking about it the other day. I thought, ‘I’ve got to smoke it [...]

Initial Thoughts This Bellaterra Black & Tan Double Robusto is a very unique looking cigar. I came across these cigars because the company is based in Nashville and one of the sales reps reached out to me wanted me to try the cigars. I’m always up for trying out new local stuff and seeing what it has [...]

Initial Thoughts Belle Meade Bourbon is the resurrection of a brand that was originally created by Charles Nelson & Sperry, Wade & Co. back in the pre-prohibition era. It’s recipe contains a high rye content and bottled exactly at 90.4 proof. There is a great backstory behind the resurrection of this brand and the Nelson’s Green Brier [...]

Initial Thoughts  Traditionally, every distillery owes a percentage of the bourbon to the angels. This agreement is known as the Angel’s shares. But when Lincoln Henderson created a bourbon with exquisitely subtle “expressions” that came from joining bourbon tradition with port wine heritage, they felt they should have gotten a bigger share. And Angel’s Envy was born. [...]

Initial Thoughts How does that old saying go? The only constant is change? Yeah something like that. That’s exactly what the fellas over at Joya de Nicaragua must be feeling. This year they released this cigar initially under the name Cuenca y Blanco after Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca & Jose Blanco. Then after being notified of [...]