“Crafted From Legacy. Dark & Ancestral”
~ Ancestry Cigars
The Cigar
Our 2023 Whiskey Network Cigar Of The Year winner, Enid ‘Full Body’ Blanton is back in action, celebrating over five years of success for her awesome Chicago-based cigar brand, Ancestry Cigars. Enid started Ancestry Cigars in 2019, to honor her grandmother, Marion H. Clifton (March 22, 1922 ~ October 8. 2018) and her father, Ralph L. Thomson (February 17, 1928 ~ February 7, 2019).
Even after losing her mother, Merle A. Stephens (May 7, 1950 ~ July 1, 2021), Enid remains all-in on her family’s cigar legacy, which also pays homage to slave bondage, and its intimate origins with tobacco cultivation. You’ll notice the chains of slave bondage and tobacco leaves encircling the Ancestry Cigars logo.
Ancestry Cigars are produced at the Rodriguez Olivan Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic, so we can trust these are incredible cigars. Factory owner Ismael “Ish” Olivan is at the top of his game, with his amazing multi-cultural blends.
Enid is a U.S. Air Force Veteran and Illinois’ first African American cigar brand owner. So her decision to name her latest cigar after one of Egypt’s few female Pharaohs, Hatshepsut, embodies Enid’s strength, resilience, and the female spirit.
Hatshepsut (hat-SHEPP-sut), which means “Foremost Of Noble Ladies,” was a powerful Queen! Her twenty-year reign (around 1479 -1458 BC) was unprecedented at the time. According to Google, “her reign is characterized by peace, wealth, and economic prosperity, and she is remembered as a prolific builder who expanded trade routes and commissioned numerous constructions across the country.” Hatshepsut even dressed like a male soldier to assert her authority, fighting alongside her soldiers. How badass is that!?
Even though evidence of Hatshepsut’s reign was often hidden after her death, for political and cultural purposes, her legacy now lives on through Ancestry Cigars, and this incredible African Maduro.
Time to smoke and drink!
The Whisky
I’ve been sipping whiskey for over fifteen years, and have tasted hundreds of whiskies from around the world. I often get on a bourbon kick in the summertime, however, the majority of the year I’m loving single malts. Recently, I’ve been exploring rare and unique single barrel and independently bottled expressions. These bottles captivate my heart because they are often bottled at cask strength, and stray (in flavor) from the regular core range whiskies on the shelf. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, so I stock up!
My most savored and coveted bottles are coming from The Whiskey Lab, which was recently featured by Staff Writer Tommy Simpson in our Whiskey Network Interviews section. Definitely check that article out to learn about and from The Whiskey Lab’s Founder, Jay Roberts. The guy is simply crushing it, alongside his consortium of independent bottlers. Among them is Ferg & Harris.
“Ferg & Harris is a curator of exceptional luxury whisky experiences, seeking out the most remarkable single year cask, single malt whiskies and elevates them to new heights through meticulous cask finishing. Each bottle is a testament to our unwavering pursuit of quality, a symphony of flavor that embodies the artistry and tradition of Scotch whisky.” ~ TheWhiskeyLab.Com
Tasting Notes From: TheWhiskeyLab.Com
Nose: Scents of toffee, baked figs, rich raisins at the start, with lighter fruity notes following.
Taste: A quick hit of sherry sweetness on the palate that coats the mouth and throat. Robust sweetness and subtle woody notes are also gifted by the barrel. The finish adds great depth, with stewed raisins among its simmering fruits.
For this pairing I chose The Whiskey Lab’s “Secret Speyside Distillery” twelve-year expression, which was finished in Pedro Ximinéz Sherry Hogshead for six months, and bottled at 55.7% ABV. This is an approachable, complex dram, yet even at its high ABV, it’s very elegant and balanced. Speyside is known for softer and lower ABV single malts, but this whisky is a banger, perfect to pair with this banger cigar!
Hatshepsut
Brand: Ancestry Cigars
Produced By: Rodriguez Olivan Cigars Factory, Dominican Republic
Blended By: Ismael “Ish” Olivan & Enid Blanton
Vitola: 5×50 Robusto
Tripa (Filler): Dominican & Nicaragua
Capa (Wrapper): African Maduro
Capote (Binder): Dominican
Age: 5 Years
Body: Medium
Price: $13.50
Purchase Here
Visual/Pre-light Draw
Nice shiny medium brown African Maduro wrapper with tough looking, but smooth, veins. Excellent construction!
The black and gold main band carries the Ancestry Cigars logo, while its secondary black and gold band carries the cigar’s name: Hatshepsut.
We have a pigtail and closed foot; that’s old school! The side sniff is extremely chocolaty with nice hints of fresh hay. The same with the dry foot, but more moist and bolder notes of cocoa.
No spice on the palate when prepping the head for a straight guillotine cut. This cigar’s smaller ring gauge will perform best with a straight cut, to maximize its delivery to the palate. I also dry-boxed the cigar for two days, to capture the blend’s flavors at the right moment, as they attempt to escape the cigar in the dry environment.
Nice notes of grapevine and berries on the dry draw.
First Third
Fresh cocoa and freshly baked sugar cookies on the foot smoke odor. Definitely getting immediate notes of gingerbread cookies over light notes of cocoa and baseball mitt leather. I get notes of fresh vanilla wafers with a slight hint of cinnamon, reminiscent of that “cinnamonnamony” Crӧønchy Stars cereal from the 90s, the one featuring the Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show. The draw is absolutely perfect! Delivery of all these awesome cookie notes to the palate is perfect. The retro-hale is smooth as can be, packed with awesome vanilla and leather notes, no spice whatsoever. I’m even getting some sugar coated fried dough notes, the kind nonna used to make when I was a kid. Lets see what Speyside can bring to the table for this cigar.
Cigar to whisky: Sweet cherry-filled chocolates, reminds me of Queen Anne’s milk chocolate cordial cherries. Absolutely delicious. An obvious sign of a perfect pairing, both the cocoa of the cigar and sherry of the whisky are enhanced, neither drowning out the other.
Second Third
What an awesome cookie-dough-packed cigar so far. That perfect ash is really holding all the cigar’s amazing flavors together, but it’s so long I have to give a rolling tap off. Success! Now back into the cigar. The leather notes start to dominate the second third, but those sugary cookie and vanilla notes are still present. The retro-hale is even sweeter and smoother, with vanilla bomb notes coated in leather. Love it! This boldness level is perfectly medium, not a skip up or down. The cigar is getting creamier but consistent with those awesome vanilla, leather, and cookie dough notes. Time for a little more Speyside.
Whisky to cigar: Those creamy and sweet sherry notes turn to chocolate-covered graham crackers on the finish, as everything is really ramped up with some nice char of the cigar and spiciness.. Absolutely delicious. This is definitely a sweet dessert pairing.
Time to turn up for these Queens.
Be sure to never underestimate the power of a strong “Woman” by Doja Cat:
Final Third
The boldness level of the cigar picks up a bit, with higher volumes of smoke input and output. Now we’re talkin’! Those sweet cocoa notes start to come to the forefront, but still we have awesome leathery vanilla and sugary cookie notes. The retro-hale is even creamier yet, packed with sweet leathery and vanilla notes, no spice. Some sweet lightly charred pistachio notes enter the situation as all of the awesome flavors of the blend really come together.
Let’s tap off that lengthy secondary ash and smoke this sweet Speyside out!
Cigar smoked whisky: This is sweet smoked cherry pie all day. Even the smoke in glass is infused with oak and cherries. Amazing!
Overall…
These sweet products literally go hand in hand, creating the perfect cherry lover dessert pairing. This pairing of course, is fit for a Queen, the perfect follow-up to your upcoming Thanksgiving Day meal.
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Thank you Ancestry Cigars Owner, Enid Blanton for joining us Chooches on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show. This hilarious episode really encapsulates the fun and close bonds of the cigar industry. Definitely check it out here to learn more about this ancestral pairing.
Whisky & Cigar Photography by: James Archie
“The Whiskey Lab is built on a vibrant, diverse community of open-minded enthusiasts coming together to share their passion, exchange stories, deepen connections, and discover together.” ~TheWhiskeyLab.Com
