“The Perfect Gift For The Person Who Has Almost Everything”
~ Johnny Soyak
Inventor, Cigar in the Bottle
Us Vs Them
The time has come, the time has come for us to step outside our comfort zone and try some Cognac. This 40% ABV extra special small batch Cognac is an exclusive blend by Drouet et Fils Single Estate, a fourth generation artisan Cognac distillery located in the small village of Salles d’Angles, a few miles from the town of Cognac, in France.
The minimum required age for VSOP is four years. This Single Estate Cognac has been extra-aged for five-to-ten years and hand-bottled in Johnny Soyak’s patented hand-blown glass bottle. Each bottle contains a single Vartan Reserva Special cigar, strategically placed in its unique glass chamber, featuring a Boveda two-way humidifier. The cigar’s integrity is maintained for ten years inside the bottle’s glass chamber.
“Produced in very small quantities and distilled with great precision and passion, Drouet Cognacs are pure, yet suave, and are benchmark examples of how stunning this spirit can be. Drouet is quickly establishing itself as one of Cognac’s top family-owned estates, attested by its impressive accolades in recent years.” ~ Cigar in the Bottle
Nose: Subtle and delicate hints of caramel over creamy sea breeze orange marmalade.
Palate: Nice thick viscosity, condensed milk chocolate covered cantaloupe.
Finish: Some earthy orange marmalade melts away to a nice light hints of earthy spice.
It’s a nice Cognac, now let’s go on the attack, with Barrel Craft’s new Mizunara cask-finished blend of straight bourbon whiskeys from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. This limited release cask strength 58.21% ABV blend has a derived mash bill of 76% corn, 20% rye, and four % malted barley. Personally, I am a huge fan of Mizunara Oak and Mizunara finished whiskies. This is my current favorite bourbon, and bottle number three for me. Its buttery like those Pappys, but with a nice cask strength spice to it.
These Japanese oak barrels tend to leak over time, so are typically used for finishing whiskey one-to-two years. They also tend to give whiskey a very fruity and palate-pleasing coconut characteristic. Glendalough 13 Mizunara (Irish), Writers Tears Mizunara (Irish), and Chivas Regal Mizunara (blended Scotch) are all excellent budget friendly examples to try.
This Barrell Craft Mizunara Bourbon retails at $89.99 SRP and I am loving every sip!
“Casks made from rare Mizunara hardwood are a true work of art. The wood is meticulously cut, and the barrels carefully raised due to the wood’s characteristics. Mizunara finishing imparts subtle notes of sandalwood, herbal spice, and coconut to bourbon, and precision is required to craft a harmonious blend.” ~ Barrel Craft Spirits
Nose: Buttery caramel spread over baked bread, with a hint of mango on the finish.
Palate: Medium viscosity, immediate spice over creamy frozen mango margarita mix.
Finish: Explosion of mixed tropical Skittle notes melt away to a nice lingering fruity spice.
Reserva Special
Brand: Vartan Seferian, Owner of Ambassador Fine Cigars
Blended By: World Renowned Master Blender, Hendrick Kelner
Blended To: Pair with Grand Pommier XS VSOP Cognac
Cigar in the Bottle Inventor & Founder: Johnny Soyak
Vitola: 6×52 Toro
Filler: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Yamasa, Dominican Republic
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Age: 5 Years
Body: Mild to Medium Boldness
Cigar in the Bottle Price: $200
*Preserved for ten years in the glass chamber with a Boveda 2-way humidifier
*Intended for high-end establishments, casinos, and gifts
*Not sold separately
From this Vartan Reserva Special Cigar we can expect a wide range of mild and creamy tobacco notes from its Dominican Republic fillers, with some earthiness from its Yamasa region wrapper. Then we have an interesting Ecuadorian-Sumatra binder leaf. Sumatra tobacco migrated from the Indonesian Sumatra Island, where it is known as “black tobacco.” Ecuador Sumatra, made by blending Cubano and Sumatra varieties, is a mild and sweet leaf that produces sweet floral and earthy notes of cinnamon.
We can anticipate a very flavorful and mild-to-medium smoking experience. When it comes to cigar pairings, we can take it in three main directions: cigar to drink, drink to cigar, and cigar smoked spirit. Let’s see which spirit claims victory, in this best of three directions, each direction featured separately in each third of the cigar, with both spirits.
Visual / Pre-light Draw
This definitely looks like a premium cigar with minimal veins on its nice milk-chocolate-colored Yamasa wrapper, which is very oily and smooth to the touch. Its main upper maroon band displays Vartan in a nice gold-colored cursive while its lower secondary black band displays Reserva Special. Both bands are elegant, signaling to the smoker this is a luxurious cigar. We get chocolate-infused hay notes on the side sniff, and moist dark chocolate pudding on the dry foot odor. The head of the cigar is smooth as can be with no spice on the palate while prepping it for my favorite Colibri V-cut, which produces bold berry and oat notes with a perfect little kiss of spice on the finish.
Before we get into it, turn up the volume, press play to set the competitive tone, and read on with my favorite LCD Soundsystem Us Vs Them track, live from Madison Square Garden:
First Third
After a proper and slow soft-flame lighting of the cigar, and sweet barbequed chocolate notes on the foot smoke odor, we immediately get marzipan: I’m a fan. The cigar is smooth and creamy, with a perfect balance of light chocolate and earthiness. The retro-hale is very nutty with a nice smoked spice on the finish. The creaminess and now fruitiness of the cigar is palate coating, while all its awesome tobacco notes linger on the finish. Very delicious, balanced, and obviously a premium hand-rolled cigar!
Cigar to Cognac: Sweet and fruity vanilla notes come to the forefront, very candy-like, very balanced and delicious, with notes of Werther’s caramel hard candy on the finish.
Cigar to Whiskey: Also very sweet and darker bolder notes of caramel dominate here.
The cigar made both spirits very sweet, but the Cognac had more complexity in this direction and first third of the cigar. Cognac for the win here.
Second Third
As suspected, this cigar is smooth and mild, and getting creamier. I love it! The draw is perfect while it maintains a nice even and slow burn. Those delicious and creamy marzipan notes still dominate the palate, while the cigar’s lengthy ash requires a quick tap off. Then some nice vanilla and fruity notes appear, awesome! The cigar is just so balanced and creamy. A very high end yet easy, enjoyable, and relaxing smoking experience.
Cognac to Cigar: The fruitiness of the Cognac becomes very creamy and moist on the palate. This is like toasted crème brûlée all day! Fantastic!
Whiskey to Cigar: Spicy and sweet caramel notes turn to bold dark chocolate cake with more spice on the finish.
The high 58.21% ABV of the Mizunara finished bourbon blend seems to dominate when paired with the cigar, versus the perfect balance and awesome toasted crème brûlée notes of the Cognac pairing. There are awesome flavors coming from both spirits, but it’s the Cognac once again here for the win.
Final Third
The cigar is still burning perfectly as its boldness becomes more medium. We get bolder toasted notes of marzipan, and more spice on the retro-hale. There are more vanilla bean notes coming through as the cigar remains creamy with a toasted finish on the palate. Everything seems ramped up, forcing the smoker to sit back and take it easy. Yes I am a little buzzed at this point, but that’s exactly the point! Cheers!
Cigar smoked Cognac: Candied strawberries and tropical notes of kiwi on the finish. Super cool!
Cigar smoked Whiskey: Bold and toasted sweet caramel notes with heavy spice on the finish.
Again we get great flavor with both spirits, but simply more balance and complexity with the Cognac. Here the Cognac takes the cake.
Conclusion:
I thought Barrell Craft’s Mizunara finished bourbon and higher ABV would bring more fruitiness to the table, but the lesser 40% ABV Cognac is definitely meant for this mild-to-medium cigar, in all three directions.
While the Mizunara bourbon is highly recommended for purchase, especially for those preferring a little buttery spice in their life, this experiment confirms the importance of matching the boldness levels of your cigar and spirit, when pairing them together.
Grand Pommier XS VSOP Cognac for the win.
Nice Job Johnny & The Entire Cigar in the Bottle Team!
Cheers!
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Thank you Johnny Soyak for joining us on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show, along with special guest and friend of the GC&PS, Malibu Cigar Lounge Owner, Rick Loehr.
This awesome episode dives deep into cigar pairing strategies, for different spirit types, with an epic and hilarious appearance by world famous actor Gary Busey, who has published a new book called:
“Buseyisms”
Gary Busey’s
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
Photography by: James Archie
