Auchentoshan 12 Year has a vibrant, refreshing aroma that will evoke the back room in a florist’s shop. There are the floral notes but also a whiff of the green, stemmy parts and a distinct bit of clove. It smells snappy and clean. This clean sensation continues on the palate into a very spirity, sweet menthol infused finish. The colour of this 12 year is a pale honey, and although it is bottled at 40% and does finish well balanced, the pure spirit character and lack of sweetness makes it seem  a little stronger than it is. An invigourating dram that could be a gateway for gin martini drinkers.

While VSI isn’t new to tobacco, it only recently started offering premium hand rolled cigars in February of 2009.  Up until then, Villiger has offered high quality machine rolled cigars.  While this may seem like contradiction, VSI’s use of quality tobacco and high production standards ensured that they put out a good product.  Those standards have carried over into their hand rolled cigars.  Proof of that is evident in the long history of success between the two families that continues today, and will show through in this review.

The first cigar in this series of reviews is La Capitana, the newest edition to their lineup.  I was gifted a 4-pack in a handsome sealable bag that served to keep the cigars fresh and protect them with a soft lining built into the bag.  Some call it marketing, but I like it.  The cigars themselves are robusto sized, measuring 5×50.  The wrapper is a rich dark brown, almost black, Habano Colorado leaf with Nicaraguan tobacco for the binder and filler.  There is mild tooth and veins along the wrapper with oil glistening off of the leaf.  The abundance of natural oils also gives it a strong scent that has a heavy earthy tone with bursts of pepper and cedar.

A good torch let me toast the foot quickly, and a good cutter left a nice clean cut at the cap with a smooth draw.  The initial taste is of hardwood smoke and black and red peppers.  Sweet spices soon follow, lasting into a hay-like finish.   The flavors change a little when I roll the smoke on my tongue.  A sweet earthiness develops with the smokiness, blending with the spicy peppery notes.  There’s a little more body and robustness when I do that, but it’s tempered by the earthiness.  As a whole, there’s a nice harmony to the flavors, with some fair consistency.

The flavors change a little as the cigar progresses.  The peppery spices come more to the front, and the cigar starts to build up to become fuller bodied.  The sweetness lends itself to the spicy note as well.  It becomes a warm sweet spice, like when I open my grandmother’s cabinets in her kitchen, right before the strong black peppercorns that she keeps towards the back kick in and give a tingle that builds.  The woody and smoky notes shift towards the finish, and the entire transition is smooth and gradual.

Overall the cigar as very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to seeing these become widely available.  The flavor profile bears some similarity to La Flor Dominicana, but a little milder without such sharp contrasts in flavors.  The cigar definitely builds up to a fuller bodied smoke that’s flavorful without being a powerhouse kick in the teeth of flavor.  While I wish I had smoked on earlier to write about, I think it was better that I let the cigars rest for some time before lighting one up.  It seems the cigar had time to settle, and the flavors are smoother and mingle better because of it.  I’d recommend trying these if you enjoy a flavor profile that’s similar to what LFD offers, but in a smoother and gentler package that still holds robustness in flavor.  The construction was excellent, leading to a slow and even burn that let the cigar last over an hour with steady puffing.  Not once did I have to correct the burn or relight it, and the smoke remained cool and smooth.

I want to give a special thanks to Anne Dinkins from VSI for sending me these cigars to review.  I enjoyed the cigars thoroughly, as much as the Escudo pipe tobacco.  I would highly suggest looking through their website to see what else they offer, as everything I’ve tried from them has been pleasing.

One way in which Glenrothes distinguishes itself from other Speyside brands is by bottling its whiskies in vintages rather than using age statements.  Hence in your local whisky shop you might find The Glenrothes 1998, 1988, 1994, etc. as well as the vatted malt “Select Reserve.”  We’ve tasted the Select Reserve as well as a few of the vintages in the past, so were excited by the recent arrival of the 1995 vintage in North America.  Released last year in Europe, us new-worlders had to weight for this vintage, which Glenrothes describes on their packaging as follows:

Appearance: Medium golden, clear and bright
Nose: Floral, citrus and butterscotch notes with a hint of spice, white pepper and cedar-wood syrup
Palate: Rich, sweet, soft flavor, leading to rich spiciness
Finish: Sugared citrus peel soft fruits, medium dry with abundant spices

Here’s what we thought: Matured in 30% first-fill american sherry casks, the 1995 is a surprisingly light amber in color. However, the butterscotch and vanilla from the sherry appear instantly on the nose, complimented by cereals, orange peel, cinnamon and nutmeg.  On the palate the orange peel and vanilla become more prominent, with sugary dark fruits coming through.  The mouth-feel is syrupy, with a sweet and lingering finish through which oranges and vanilla continue to appear.

Overall, this is a very pleasant dram. Priced only a few dollars more than the quickly-disappearing 1994 vintage, retailing for $82, this whisky is suitably priced for a 16 year old, and makes a great dram especially for those who enjoy sweet and citrusy whiskies with a solid dose of of butterscotch and dark fruits underneath adding complexity and depth.

Let’s start with how it looks, since I plan to display this Humidor proudly on my desk or shelf. Before I even got to the humidor itself, I was impressed by the presentation of the Adorini packaging, which made opening it feel very special. Some glossy full colour documentation and a protective black bag were nice little touches that emphasize the quality of their product. Removing the humidor from its bag, the cherry wood gleams from up to 20 coats of hand-applied lacquer. The wood grain is flawless, intriquing and luxurious. The sensation of luxury is heightened when you grip the lid and ease it open. The gentle sliding of perfectly fit-together wood is accompanied by a waft of the spanish cedar lining inside. Adorini’s use of gold plated quadrant hinges hasn’t just made the inside look good, but has made opening the humidor an exercise in functionality. Inside you find the usual humidor fare: an acryl polymer humidifier and hair hygrometer. There are a few bonus inclusions such as the cedar dividing plates, label clips for the dividers, and a series of ventilation ribs lining the humidor interior.

The Humidor Guide included in the packaging gives a lot of background and technical information both for the Adorini product and humidors in general. I followed their advice for prepping the humidor with distilled water(included). I wiped the inside down with the distilled water, filled the humidifier and waited a few days to transfer over my cigars from my old humidor.  Then I transferred most of my stock over. While 150 cigar count may be a bit of an exaggeration, most humidor cigar counts are more of a comment on relative volume anyways. With some creative organization, they fit quite snugly, but with ample room for airflow. I fit approximately 25 Robusto sized cigars, about 25 Corona Gorda size, and about 15 Lancero sized cigars before things started to feel like I needed to be creative in my organization. The upper rack can be adjusted by moving little wooden ledges in the ribbing up and down, allowing for some customization of the usable space.

It’s been several weeks and I’m quite happy with the Santiago so far. It was originally keeping the humidity inside a little high, at around 78%, but adjusting the plate opening on the humidifier fixed it to about 75%. Still a little high, although I will reserve judgement there until the humidor has had a bit more time to stabilize. I was expecting a bit of an influx of new wood aromas in my cigars that would take several months to blow off, however, this has not been the case at all. Clearly the cedar inside has been well selected and has a pleasant if mild aroma. In general the sensory experience of having a humidor like this is where the investment in a quality humidor really pays dividends. The exquisite richness of its appearance, the flawless nature of its wood construction and lid mechanics, and the gentle complexity of the wood aromatics combine in a way that is tough to describe. I’m very proud to display this humidor.

I do have a few criticisms about the Adorini’s design and features. The cedar dividers and tag system is a brilliant idea. However in this particular sized humidor I found that it was so easy to fill the space to the brim that there simply wasn’t the luxury of sorting space. It was easier for me to just stack different sized cigars side by side. The upper rack also presented a unique challenge for organization, because of the large space in the center that is designed to accommodate a digital humidifier/hygrometer. I’m torn about this large central hole. In one sense, it limits the storage and in particular the size of cigars that can be stored on the top shelf. The ability to peer down into the lower level and have improved airflow, though, is a big positive. Lastly, the magnetic plates that hold the humidifier and hygrometer on the underside of the lid provide a unique way to keep those elements inside the box without intruding on cigar storage-space. Having such quality instruments dangling, and sometimes sliding,  precariously from the underside of a precision built box seems somehow contrary.

Overall I feel quite happy about the humidor. It feels like I own the pinnacle in classic cigar storage design. This product can be found on Amazon, but if you watch for sales or troll e-bay you can probably find one for under $300.

On a visit to Cuba last spring, I had the opportunity to smoke many cigars with a close friend of mine.  Every day, we’d make at least one trip to the tobacconist, taking turns selecting the cigar we’d smoke that day (or hour).  On my turn the first day, I selected two Cuaba Tradicionales for us to smoke.  Later that day, my colleague chose two Romeo y Julieta Churchills.  This experience brought a multitude of pleasant surprises.  Firstly, selecting cigars for another person forces you to explain your choices, helping to clarify your own preferences and biases towards cigars.  Secondly, having someone else select a cigar for you will expand your palate and expose you to cigars you might not otherwise have tried, because with your current biases they might be too small, too large, too strong, too mild, maduro, etc. etc.

This past weekend I had the chance to spend an hour on my front patio smoking two Graycliff 1666 PG‘s, generously sent to us by the fine folks at StogieBoys.com. The dark Jaltapec maduro wrapper provided for much discussion: my cigar burned perfectly and evenly, while my brother’s cigar burnt well but the wrapper split and peeled at several points.  From this observation alone, we discussed at length the consistencies and inconsistencies of various cigars and cigar makers.  Containing filler tobaccos from Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, we both loved the taste of this cigar, but each picked up on different flavors. One flavor in particular I initially pegged as raisins, only to be refined by my brother’s palate which indeed recognized the flavor as prunes.  This back and forth discussing the nuances of the cigar refined and polished our palates, yet also improved our appreciation of this fine cigar.

So next time you’re going to smoke a cigar with a friend, I suggest you find a pair of matching stogies in your humidor, and both smoke the same cigar.  Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, try smoking the same cigar in two different vitolas, or perhaps two cigars of the same brand and vitola, but slightly different blend. From these experiments, you’ll learn that expanding one’s palate comes not only from smoking a wide variety of cigars, but also from smoking cigars with others and learning from their palate, whether it’s their first cigar or their thousandth.

This particular cigar is an 1844 Reserve in a toro size, measuring in at 6 x 52.  It uses a milk chocolate brown Ecuadorian Cubana wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and Dominican filler.  The wrapper has moderate veining, but nothing excessively large or unsightly.  There is very little tooth to the wrapper; it’s there, but very slight unless looked at closely.  The wrapper has a light oily shine and just looks like it’s going to have some good flavor to it.  I pick it up and notice that the wrapper has a slightly rough texture, but at the same time has a smooth feel from the oils as well.  It’s not unpleasant, just different from the definite rough or smooth textures I’m used to.  Squeezing gently I notice that it’s firm to the touch and well packed.  After getting a good look and feel for the cigar I bring it to my nose I get a sweet floral, cedary, and earthy scent.  It’s a very pleasing scent, and that combination is what I look for in a good cigar.

Toasting the cigar is very easy and quick with a good torch lighter, and cutting the triple cap is just as simple with a good cutter.  I take a slow easy puff and am greeted with smooth light-medium bodied smoke.  It takes a little before the flavor really starts to develop and flesh out, but after the first quarter inch I get a good feel for the flavor profile.  I pick up notes of sweet spices at the start that tease the tongue and give it a mild tingle.  There’s a slight tanginess that mixes with the spiciness, and leads into notes of leather and wood that lasts into the finish.  Citrus joins the tanginess, and provides an interesting but nice contrast to the flavors.  Overall it’s a nice and subtle mix of flavors that provides some good complexity.  There’s no dullness to the flavors, and while they’re more on the mild to medium bodied side, there’s little doubt as to what I taste.

The flavors don’t change too much, and mainly change in intensity rather than new ones developing.  The changes are subtle from one to the other, with the spiciness building up gradually from start to finish, along with the tanginess.  Despite the differing flavors, they mix and mingle together well.  They find a way to come together in a way that doesn’t offer any off mixes, and the contrast is refreshing in that I can clearly pick up on the different flavors.  Overall I quite enjoy the flavors, and am pleased from start to finish.

The construction on the cigar was top notch, and produced a burn that was slow, cool, and even.  I was able to get well over two hours out of this one cigar, with no harshness, bitterness, or bite.  I tend to understate the importance of having good construction like that, but it really is something that’s necessary for a good cigar.  Without good construction, the wrapper may come apart or split, or the draw may end up getting plugged, and that all leads to an unsmokeable cigar.  I had none of those issues whatsoever.  Now here comes the final factor in whether or not this is a cigar that’s worth picking up: price.  I received this cigar as a gift from a friend, but he was good enough to leave the price on the wrapper for the review.  The price from a tobacconist is $6.50, a steal when you put everything together.  Nice flavor profile, excellent construction, and over two hours of smoking enjoyment.  That’s easily worth that price, and I’d gladly pick up another.  I’d happily suggest you do the same if you get a chance.

Special thanks to Eddie at Tobacco Country USA for sending me this cigar to review.  If you’re ever in Jacksonville, NC, then I highly recommend visiting one of his shops.

The formula of the style may seem like no great secret, especially for the red wines. Long ageing(3-10 years) in American oak barrels, modeled after the Bordeaux formula, followed by further long ageing in bottle. The Tempranillo grapes are harvested at modest alcohol, however, imparting a fine acidity married to very crunchy red fruit flavours, rather than the dark fruits of a heavier-ripened modern neighbour. The barrels themselves are also not as intrusive in their effect. The bold vanilla and coconut flavours common with any American oak-aged wine are more subtle, since the barrels are old and the flavour is extracted slowly and carefully. The extended ageing also means a lot of oxygen contact which imparts oxidative and volatile elements to the flavours. Tempranillo is also no twin of Cabernet: while it may possess some of the same basic flavours of currants and herbs, the way it evolves in bottle is a stark contrast. Cabernet has a hardness of tannin that as the wine evolves will transform a wine until it is eventually “open” whereas Riojas tend to have that open character right from the get go. So as they age instead of transforming completely they get steadily more complex, graceful and delicate.

Two wineries that have been standard bearers of the style are Lopez de Heredia, and La Rioja Alta. Each winery has a variety of Reservas and Gran Reservas that vary in price from $30 to $100. Not cheap, but given the iconic quality, status and ageability of the wines they are surely one of the best values in the premium wine market. The business model of these wineries is truly bizarre in this context, since the winery has to store many vintages of wine in both cask and bottle while it ages.

La Rioja Alta

Around since 1890, when the winery was built adjacent to the Haro Rail station by grape farmers looking to capitalize on exports as the Bordeaux market was collapsing due to vine diseases. La Rioja Alta owns its own vineyards, and produces 3 Reservas: Alberdi, Ardanza and Arana, and 2 Gran Reservas: 890 and 904.  All are predominately Tempranillo with varying proportions on Mazuelo, Graciano and Garnacha. The Alberdi I find to be fruity and accessible, while the Arana is tighter and more reserved. Ardanza has a richer, more sensual mouthfeel. 904 is magnificently bright and energetic, all of its components in perfect balance. 890 is mature and delicate but has the longest lingering finish. Whenever I taste a lineup of these wines, I am reminded of The Brothers Karamazov.

Lopez de Heredia

A true window on the past, this winery has seemingly not changed at all in its 130 plus year history. The Gran Reservas of Bosconia and Tondonia (named after the vineyards) age in their barrels for up to a decade, having been produced in the most natural methods available. This means no Chemical additives, added yeasts or enzymes and minimal sulphur additions. The result is purity of flavours, and 30 and 40 year old examples can taste extremely fresh. Lopez de Heredia makes a lot of white wine as well, also made traditionally. The flavours in the white wines may seem strange at first compared to the young fruity wines we are accustomed to. There are notes of unpasteurized honey, stewed lemon zest, and a funky mineral flavour. Yet surprisingly delicious.

This book, coming in at around 150 pages, including images and diagrams, is short in size but large in knowledge, covering everything from selecting seeds to harvesting, drying, and curing, to rolling your home-made tobacco for personal use. The book starts off with two obligatory chapters on “Getting Started” and “The History of Tobacco.”  If you’ve been smoking cigars for some time, you might tend to skip these chapters; however, I’m glad I didn’t as I learned several interesting facts.  One such tidbit is that the practice of flue curing, which involves using heat and moisture to cure the tobacco, was discovered by accident in 1839 after a worker in North Carolina fell asleep while tending a small curing fire.  The large fire didn’t ruin the tobacco, but instead imparted a pleasant aroma and rich golden color.

The third chapter covers various grades, types, and varieties of tobacco, including Virginia (or flue-cured), Cavendish, and Cuban amongst others. The subsequent chapters was one of the most interesting to me, focusing on organic growing for the home gardener.  This chapter goes from creating a journal to preparing your garden, covering such topics as how much sun is required (6-8 hours per day).  Significant attention is paid to developing high-quality soil using organic methods before French turns his attention to seedlings, transplants, and growing of the tobacco.

Following the chapter on growing, focus is turned toward controlling tobacco diseases and pests, such as blue mold, aphids, spider mites, and other natural inhibitors of your tobacco’s healthy growth.  Once you have your tobacco grown and all pests controlled, the next step covered in the book is harvesting, drying and curing.  For those with some previous gardening experience, this might be the most difficult of steps.  Up until this point, growing tobacco is not so different from growing other plants, but the stages of drying and curing require care particular to tobacco, so reading and re-reading of this chapter is recommended.

To conclude the book, French includes an appendix on rolling your home-made tobacco for consumption.  Covering the entire stage of tobacco growing from site prep to rolling, this book is a thorough guide to growing your own tobacco.  It is clearly and thoroughly written, making it a great resource for someone wanting to try their hand at tobacco production.  Also, French includes numerous hints and tricks from years of expertise, making this book valuable even for those already producing their own crops of tobacco.  For the cigar smoker with a green thumb, or an aspiring green thumb, “How To Grow Your Own Tobacco” is highly recommended.

Lastly, for those further interested, I include here the original press release for the book:

(Brentwood, TN) – Ray French, product director of Floragem, one the of most successful plant propagation companies in the world, is author of the upcoming How to Grow Your Own Tobacco: From Seed to Smoke (Cool Springs Press, September 2011). French is a master grower – with a complete and pure understanding of the ancient practice of creating the perfect soil. His growing habits are uncompromised and of the classic form: plant on time, create good soil, water with precision, prepare the climate, and watch the sun. He knows exactly how to grow.

French’s horticultural interests are vast and mixed.  In any given season, French’s travels may take him to Mexico on hunt for a rare tropical plant or the Netherlands for a summit with the world’s finest breeders. His quest for the rare and the beautiful gives him exclusive plant knowledge that precedes the market often by months or even years.  In this country, he plays a role in shaping what we buy and what we grow in our own gardens.

So, tobacco. French’s interests were peaked. With a finely tuned knowledge of sustainable agriculture, he was eager to apply the same principles of good gardening to organic tobacco growth. He tackled the notoriously tricky processes of drying and curing with the same simple practices (manage water and know the climate) and transformed his own three acre lot, patio and office space into a home-grown tobacco facility.

How to Grow Your Own Tobacco is French’s diary of sorts – documenting the process from seedling to transfer to picking, drying and rolling. His delicate handling of minuscule seedlings – with spoon and toothpick – is almost parental; and his pointed watering advice climaxes with a do-it-right-or-die scenario. Drying and curing chapters are marked with advice only a true agriculturist could know with drying strategies that any home grower can duplicate. “You can make a tent with plastic sides that hang over a portable heater with a wet pair of jeans draped over top to control moisture,” says French. “This process doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs your attention.”

Deep in his element, French eliminated all pesticides from the typical process of home tobacco growth and relied, instead, on his trusted solution of liquid soap, minced garlic, dried lemongrass and a chopped jalapeno. His yield, a combination of six varieties, is enough to save a typical smoker a year’s worth of commercial cigarettes, not to mention the consumption of some of the world’s deadliest toxins.

French is proud of his harvest, and admits the flavor is deeper and richer than any commercial cigarette. His Virginia Gold #1 performed the best in the soil of his Fairhope, AL, garden – but recommends and outlines a dozen varieties that any home grower can attempt. Even though tobacco typically requires several months and even up to a year to reach peak flavor, French liked the flavor of Virginia Gold #1 after six short weeks of drying. “Just grab a bundle from the rafters of your garage and cut it with a sharp knife,” he says.

How to Grow Your Own Tobacco is one of only a handful of resources available to those attempting a backyard tobacco crop. French brings his experience in large scale farming, botany, and a specialty in nursery crop production – to what is arguably a centuries old art form.

About the Author:

With a strong history of large scale farming dating generations, French graduated with a degree in Agriculture specializing in Nursery Crop Production and Botany from Auburn University. Upon graduation, French managed some of the largest commercial growers in the country. He is now a consultant for a large home improvement retailer and travels globally in search of new plants. In this role, French can claim credit as an integral part of bringing some of the most popular plants to market, such as the Knockout Rose, Encore Azaleas and SunPatiens.

Thankfully, there are options and choices for covering one’s walls that don’t require massive financial outlay, one being prints, or copies, of existing paintings or photography; however, visiting a few art galleries can still be a great way to figure out what you like, and give you some ideas on how you’d like to adorn your home. Do you prefer abstract art? Nature scenes? Black and white photography?  Once you’ve settled on a style, consider how you’d like the art to appear.  Forget about glossy rock-band posters, and focus on canvas prints.  While you probably think of canvas as being expensive and for one-offs only, modern technology has made canvas printing feasible for all budgets, whether it be a copy of a classic painting or your family photos.

Since my wife is a photographer, her and I decided to cover the living room in some of her shots taken from our various travels.  We printed one such photo, of the Saint-André cathedral in Bordeaux, on 16″ by 20″ canvas measuring .75″ deep, ordered from Easy Canvas Prints.  On the wall, the three-dimensionality of canvas is unsurpassed, with the wrapped edges lending extra life to the photo. So, pull down that old “Trainspotting” poster, and add some character to your living space; canvas prints are a great way to instill traditional, old-world class to your home without breaking the bank.

Until 2012, sláinte!