Baker’s Bourbon
Aged seven years and bottled at 107 proof this bourbon is a creation of some distant relative of Jim Beam. Fortunately for this distant relative, grand nephew (new one on me too) Baker (cool name) Beam (structural name), he has made something that is better, much better really, than his grand uncle’s namesake whiskey. But let us not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Baker’s is honey colored with a strong, sweet bourbon scent to it. Belying the fact that it’s 107 proof the first couple gulps are very smooth and the only way you can tell that this is a high proofed bourbon is by the gentle tingling sensation washing through your esophagus.
The flavors are surprisingly mild but that isn’t to say that they aren’t good. I think nuanced may be a better phrase to use than “mild” in this situation. I don’t get the vanilla notes that are mentioned on their site but I do get this buttered bread type of flavor mixed with some honey or mild fruit flavors. They have also described this as being a “silky” drink and I think that makes sense.
Before I started drinking the Baker’s I lit up a 601 La Bomba; you know, the one with that two inch long pig tale at the end and the aggressive flavor profile. It’s a good match for this bourbon. Being a strong-ish cigar with some very admirable qualities it can stand up to the Baker’s without a problem. I do think it’s a good idea to smoke a stronger cigar with Baker’s and this is especially the case when you’re drinking Baker’s bigger, better brother: Booker’s (I’m guessing that’s named after the great-grand step nephew of Jim Beam – or something like that).
Perhaps the best thing about reviewing liquor, besides the actual process of drinking, is that I don’t have to go through the whole “this third, that third” rigamarole when describing it. You can fairly quickly figure out whether or not you like a particular drink and this is one of those whiskeys that I like.
This is a good drink for a number of reasons. First, it has some good flavors to it. It’s smooth enough for my liking but also has a high enough proof to give it a little edge. And it’s a good sipping bourbon, something I like with my cigars. But it’s strong so that precludes lesser cigars as a pairing, which isn’t really a bad thing because who really likes smoking lesser cigars?
Overall, Baker’s is not one of my all-time favorites but it’s definitely a worthwhile drink. However, at this price, somewhat short of $50 a bottle, it won’t be something I go to very often.
AFGL: Eddie, Traviata and Super Bowl
A Few Good Links for this week will cover Eddie Ortega’s new venture, a new edition to the La Traviata line and something about a football game.
1. Eddie Ortega has left EOBrands to start the eponymous Ortega Cigar company. Eddie isn’t going for the limited edition nor the mass market crowd. Instead, he’s going after the happy medium in between the two saying that he wants somewhere around 300 accounts with retailers. He hopes that this will be a mutually beneficial relationship and that quality will remain high. I’m sure I speak for most cigar smokers by saying “I hope so too.”
And why would anybody think otherwise? EOBrands produces the 601 brand of cigars as well as Cubao, which are both highly thought of by many cigar smokers; Eddie’s cigars should be as good. Here’s a little peak into what he’s up to:
All the brands comprise a rich and complex blend of tobaccos grown in South and Central America with Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli and Jalapa giving it the prevalent flavors topped off with an excusite (sic) choice of Mexican Maduro; Ecuador Habano; Connecticut Broadleaf or Connecticut Natural.
2. There’s a new La Traviata on the way and it is the La Traviata Luminoso Maduro. This cigar weighs in at 4.5″ x 50 with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and should go for slightly more than $5.00 a stick. Personally, I liked the Ecuadorian wrapped La Traviata better than the maduro but maybe this one will change my mind.
3. The Super Bowl is this Sunday barring any Tom Clancy-esque hijinks by nuclear physicist Islamofascists. I don’t have a dog in this fight (is that okay to use that analogy when talking about football nowadays?) and never do when it comes to football. Still, it is an event that cannot be passed up.
What cigar(s) are you going to smoke during the game?
Illusione f9 Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Nicaragua | Binder: Nicaragua | Filler: Nicaragua | Box of 25: $158.00 | Single: $7.50 | Lonsdale | 6 ¼″ x 44
0/3: This one is known as the f9 Finesse, which can lead to some lame joke making like “this cigar looks like it was made with a lot of finesse” or “there’s a real finesse to these flavors.” But you’ll get none of that here!
The cigar looks adroitly made by someone with a skillful hand. It’s oily, dark brown wrapper conceals filler and binder tobacco that is less densely packed than most cigars. A webwork of veins crisscrosses the wrapper.
And a big thanks to JJ for gifting me this cigar.
1/3: Yes, there is a reason why most other cigar smokers like these cigars. Salty leather, cherry and graham cracker. It’s a medium-full bodied cigar with very forceful flavors.
2/3: With flavors much like the first half the second half is continuing on in its goodness.
3/3: More of the same during this third. The only difference is a faint sweetness on the retrohale but it isn’t much.
4/3: I liked this cigar because of the leather and graham cracker flavors. The burn was pretty even but the draw at times just disappeared because it was too loose. That probably hurt this cigar more than I realized at the time. When it was going well it is definitely a very good cigar.
4 points
Punch Cigar Rights of America Cigar Review
This one has been in the humidor a while; just sitting on its tray minding its own business… until now! Being part of a CRA sampler I got a long time ago it’s slightly oily, wonderfully constructed, maybe too tightly packed but it does look like a great cigar. Plus, it is a Punch, so I’m sure it will be, at the minimum, a solid cigar. This is in a toro size.
Spartacus Flame!
Definitely more than a “solid” cigar, this one is. Forthright spice, fleeting cherry and a few woody notes make up the flavors in the beginning of this cigar. I’m going to go ahead a peg it as a full bodied cigar, but just barely.
There is this smoky flavor that creeps its way into every nook and cranny of my taste buds. It is a nice extra dimension of flavor; it complements the other flavors well.
While the flavors are above average what I like the most about this cigar is that there is an edge to it. I like it when a cigar has a little edge to it.
In the beginning it was a full bodied cigar but after the first inch it dialed the strength down to the medium-full bodied range. After the halfway point I noticed a certain amount of earthiness creep its way through. This cigar has a good draw and a good burn.
As is the case with all the other cigars from the Cigar Rights of America sampler I will abstain from giving it a score. It suffices to say that this was a great cigar and well worth the price that I paid for it. If you haven’t already done so I would like to urge you to join CRA and help them stem the tide against those anti-smoking zealots that are becoming ever more brazen.
Ave Maria Short Cigar Review
Full Disclosure: I received this as a sample from Cigars Direct. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Brazilian Habano Oscuro | Binder: Nicaraguan Habano Ligero | Filler: Nicaragua (Esteli, Condega & Jalapa) Habano | Box of 12: $195.00 | Single: $20.00 | Torpedo | 7″ x 54
0/3: It comes in a coffin. The fact that some cigars come in “coffins” has always been a little disconcerting for me. Who wants to smoke something out of a coffin? But it’s a cool coffin because when you lift the lid there is this little piece of wood attached to top that raises the cigar from its slumber so that you can easily pick it up.
The cigar itself looks really nice. Very dark brown wrapper, almost mahogany. Looks well made and is very oily to the touch. There are some veins but what you will probably notice first about this cigar is its ostentatious band. It’s a mishmash of heraldic symbols from the Crusades. I wonder if this has gone over well with many of the brick and mortar cigar stores that are owned by people of Arab descent?
1/3: Very refined flavors hit my palette immediately. Slight black pepper on the retrohale that sticks around for a while, dry oak and a general warmness of flavors. It’s quite good.
2/3: During the second third a smoky woodiness starts to come through. The black pepper starts to fade into nothingness and there is a mild sweetness bordering on floral lurking in the background like a stalker (a fun one, if there is such a thing).
3/3: There really isn’t much of a change from the second to the final third. It’s still tastes very good.
4/3: Medium bodied with an excellent draw and a fairly even burn; this cigar is very good. Standing in your way is the fact that this is a fairly expensive cigar. The matter of value I leave up to you as I review only the cigar and not my perceived value of the cigar. All I can say is that I absolutely enjoyed it and thought it was a very worthy cigar.
4 points
