“Its Time To Cut, Light, & Smoke!” ~ Zeal Team Six
What Makes It Special
It’s time to cut, light, and smoke again, with Zeal Cigar stars Bradley Reith and Justin Burnett aka ‘Know It All JB’. Originally from Ohio, Bradley and JB record their hilarious Youtube/Rumble ‘infotainment’ style videos, right from their Zeal Cigar shop studio, located at 15802 N. Cave Road Suite #2, in Phoenix, Arizona. Known as the Zeal Team Six Nation, in honor of our nation’s armed services, this awesome online and in-store cigar shop is Veteran-owned and family-run.
I personally credit Bradly and JB, for helping me learn critical cigar basics, via their original ‘Cut, Light, and Smoke’ videos. Thank you guys!
As the world continues to spiral into economic turmoil, Zeal Team Six comes to the rescue with its uplifting informational videos and extremely low house brand prices. The popular Spice Cream, King’s Comeback, and Primordial house brands, among others, range from only five to seven dollars per cigar, and they are all amazing!
To help us ride out the storm, shipping is included for online orders over $99.95, and newsletter discount codes are e-mailed out regularly. They also carry many other brands such as Drew Estate, Alec Bradley, Micallef, and Camacho. During these dubious times and economic downturn, live smart, subscribe, and shop these amazing values at www.ZealCigars.com.
“Twisted Fate Cigars are a true masterpiece, meticulously crafted with an unwavering commitment to excellence. These cigars boast a unique blend of premium tobaccos, carefully selected from different regions around the world. With a flawless construction and impeccable attention to detail, Twisted Fate Cigars (either in box-pressed barber pole or short perfecto) offer a smoking experience like no other. Each puff reveals a harmonious blend of flavors, where richness meets complexity. The smooth draw and even burn further enhance the enjoyment, making Twisted Fate Cigars a true delight for aficionados seeking a sophisticated and unforgettable smoking experience.”
TWISTED FATE
Brand: Zeal Cigars
Vitola: Pillar (Box-Pressed) 7×60
Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican
Wrapper: Habano & Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan & Dominican
Body: Medium Boldness
Price: $8
Visual / Pre-light Draw
This is a big ol’ barber pole! Its twisted and contrasting Maduro and Habano wrappers are slightly oily and somewhat smooth to the touch. The cigar has tough looking veins and a firmly box-pressed construction. The side sniff alternates between fresh hay and chocolate. The dry foot odor is moist with bolder notes of chocolate infused hay. There is no spice on the palate when prepping the head for a nice vertical Colibri V-cut. The dry draw produced notes of oats and chocolate covered blueberries.
First Third
Lighting this bad boy up I noticed immediate dark notes of roasted coffee on the foot smoke odor. After a classic Brad Reith purge of the cigar, there are immediate fluffy notes of chocolate marshmallows. There is no spice on the earthy and fluffier French vanilla bomb retrohale, as the cigar’s perfect draw and high volume smoke, delivers these amazing flavors perfectly to the palate. Then a cool and very noticeable transition to charred hazelnut coffee notes, with an awesome campfire foot smoke odor. Wait, wait…now another transition to chocolate cake that melts away to a creamy custard-like, caramel covered Mexican flan. The cigar’s burn is self correcting, its gray ash is strong, with a charred nuttiness lingering in the background, over creamy yellow cake, and the retro-hale becomes very chocolatey.
What an amazing first third, jam packed with cool transitions and amazing flavors!
Second Third
That perfect ash finally fell off with dignity. The foot smoke odor becomes creamy and chocolatey. The cigar is creamier and fuller with oaky notes of graham crackers, with softly charred vanilla notes on the retro-hale. What I love most is how the cigar transitions back and forth between creamy oak notes, unsalted peanut shells, and dark chocolate. This is a very delicious cigar that keeps the smoker engaged with the cigar’s changing flavors. Time to introduce the FEW bourbon. Oh definitely…“This is the Day” (By: Austin Edwards) for an unexpected twist of fate!
Final Third
This three hour smoking experience has been incredible! The cigar becomes even creamier than before, producing an even higher volume of smoke input and output. Those charred and oaky peanut shell notes continue to transition back and forth to sweet chocolatey classic Maduro notes, with a hint of hazelnut on the finish. The retro-hale becomes smooth as ever with creamy vanilla notes, and the cigar’s medium boldness remains.
This cigar requires some time, the perfect opportunity to slow down, reminisce about life, and all its twists of fate.
The cherry caramel bomb notes of the bourbon get twisted into a swirl of cherry and vanilla. This is the best part of the pairing as this bold bourbon is mellowed by the soft vanilla notes of the cigar. This part of the pairing is like drizzling cherry syrup and marshmallows into a sweet vanilla milkshake.
The Pairing
FEW Spirits, a grain to glass craft distillery, opened in 2011 in Evanston, Illinois. Founder and Master Distiller, Paul Hletko, describes FEW to be “the best bourbon you’ve never heard of.” FEW’s whiskey production focuses on fermentation, in honor of Paul’s Grandfather, who’s brewery was confiscated during World War II.
The distillery also pays homage to Chicago, with labels depicting scenes from its famous 1893 World’s Fair. The distillery also coincidentally shares Temperance Movement Leader, Frances Elizabeth Willard’s initials, which is possibly a result of Paul’s comedic and mischievous character.
Sampling the FEW 46.5% ABV Bourbon, on the nose I get oaky wood chips, slight fruitiness, with a nice hint of caramel. On the palate the whiskey has a nice medium viscosity, approachable spice balanced by creamy caramel, with lingering fruit spice over chocolate on the finish. Very delicious!
Cigar to the whisky:
The soft oaky notes of the cigar are blanketed by fruity and creamy orange notes of caramel and dark chocolate on the finish. This part of the pairing is like having a bowl of creamy double chocolate ice cream.
Whisky to the cigar:
The cherry caramel bomb notes of the bourbon get twisted into a swirl of cherry and vanilla. This is the best part of the pairing as this bold bourbon is mellowed by the soft vanilla notes of the cigar. This part of the pairing is like drizzling cherry syrup and marshmallows into a sweet vanilla milkshake.
Poor person’s smoked whiskey: Charred cherry cream filled oreo cookies!
Real Deal Zeal, Acknowledgment, & Live Pairing
Zeal Cigars owner and bourbon lover, Bradley Reith, relies heavily on his faith as a “committed Christian.” Bradley said he entered into ministry to help people and the brand’s name is derived from the Bible verse: “Zeal for the Lord will consume them!”
Bradley reminds us that “God wants you to be cheerful in your giving and He puts no number on that. We value our customers as people and try to serve them with the excellence God’s gifted all of us, knowing that God will take care of our profits if we honor Him.”
Thank you Bradley Reith, Justin Burnett, FEW’s Paul Hletko, Riley Henderson, and our friend Frankie Fallico, for joining us Chooches on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show, we had a blast!
Be sure to check out this hilarious live ‘infotainment’ pairing event here:
Photography by: James Archie
