“If I cannot drink bourbon and smoke cigars in heaven, then I shall not go!”
—Mark Twain
The Cigar
Single Cask Nation’s Joshua Hatton is so smart to give Yoni Miller of Drammer’s Club, full reign on creating his brand’s cigars. Yoni, a very educated whiskey consumer and cigar connoisseur, was very deliberate in not only selecting this Aganorsa Leaf cigar blend (Nicaragua), but also took great risk in aging the cigar’s tobaccos in whiskey barrels. This third Single Cask Nation cigar release, a Nicaraguan Puro, was aged for less than one month, in a five year old MGP bourbon barrel. “This project is always one of the most challenging to execute. Ensuring the barrel contributes just the right amount to the flavor and aroma requires extreme attention to detail and my personal supervision over the entire progression, a process which on average takes two years before we are ready for release.” Terence Reilly, Aganorsa Leaf’s VP of Sales and Marketing.
The Whiskey
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.
Here we have FEW’s bourbon uniquely finished in a vermouth barrel, bottled at 60.2% ABV, solely for the Drammers Club. “Drammers is a private club of thousands of people who appreciate fine spirits. We gather regularly in cities around the world to appreciate the good stuff, often joined by the people who made it and other leaders in the industry. We like to say that the drinks, even as fine as they are, are the excuse for why we get together — the people in the room are the real reason.” ~ Darmmersclub.com
Nose: Deep dark fruitiness over cinnamon and caramel glazed oak.
Palate: Nice thick viscosity, nice spice up front, this is Christmas fruit cake in a glass. There is some chalkiness mid palate that only helps the flavor linger.
Finish: Cherry pie with a slight lingering vanilla note.
*Everything becomes smoother, sweeter, and candylike with water added.
2023 Exclusive Habano
Brand: Single Cask Nation
Factory: Aganorsa Leaf, Nicaragua
Vitola: 6×48
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 & Criollo 98
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 & Criollo 98 Double Binder
Body: Mild to Medium Boldness
Price: $14
Available at 2GuysCigars.com
Visual/Pre-light Draw
Light brown shade Habano wrapper is extremely oily and soft to the touch, with tough looking toothy veins. The white and silver band displays the Single Cask Nation logo perfectly, with a fancy gold secondary band displaying ‘Aganorsa Leaf Habano,’ surrounded by tobacco leafs. We get cedar wood notes over dark fruity and chocolatey fresh hay on the side sniff. The dry foot odor is very fruity, bold and even floral. You’ve got my attention Aganorsa!
There is no spice when prepping the head of the cigar for my favorite Chicago Flag embossed Colibri V-cut. I just absolutely love a good V-cut on most cigars, this cut seems to deliver a cigar’s flavors perfectly to the palate. My opinion only. There are awesome and bold notes of cranberry and raisin over bold oats on the dry draw
I love it!
First Third
Immediate creamy vanilla notes coat the palate. I immediately retro-haled, realizing this is an easy smokin’ cigar. The retro is creamy, nutty, and had a bit of that classic Nicaraguan spicy kick to it on the finish. Also, we’re definitely getting a hint of pistachios over some saltiness. I love when a cigar’s saltiness makes my palate salivate for more versus drying it out. A dry palate is an obstacle, in my opinion, to noticing all the awesome flavors the tobacco blend has to offer.
Now some smoked oaky notes glide across the palate and melt like butter, while the foot smoke odor produces notes of softly charred playground wood chips, over subtle notes of cocoa powder. Central thought: something about the smaller ring gauge on this mild to medium bold cigar, gives it the utmost perfect draw, and flavor delivery. Nice job Aganorsa!
Cigar to the whiskey: Melted chocolate over raspberries and dark Luxardo cherries, with nice brain tingling vanilla spice, over lightly charred vermouth on the finish.
Second Third
That perfect and lengthy ash falls off with dignity. Back into the cigar! We get more creamy and charred cedar wood notes that dominate the experience. I absolutely love this smaller ring gauge, the way it sits perfectly on the lips, producing the perfect draw on the cigar. This is not surprising as I am a fan of smaller ring gauge cigars, such as those smaller ring gauge focused cigars produced by our friends at Rojas Cigars. Now some creamy marshmallow and buttery vanilla notes overtake the cedar wood notes, and I love it. Kudos to Yoni and Terence, as the barrel aging of the tobacco really elevated the flavors of this cigar blend.
Whiskey to the cigar: Those thick and dark fruity vermouth over caramel notes, melt to creamy and perfectly charred, cream cheese filled Crème brȗlée. Fantastic!
The best way to see, visually, how the flavors of a cigar’s tobaccos blend and transition together, along with how they interweave with a whiskey, is illustrated perfectly in Jon Hopkins’ new and trippy “Ritual (palace)” music video.
Welcome to my cigar and whiskey pairing, spiritual ‘Ritual,’ enjoy the view:
Final Third
That beautiful shiny golden secondary band comes off, now back into the cigar. The cigar is full-on butter on the palate. The draw remains perfect, tightening ever so slightly, to slow the roll of the cigar’s perfectly straight and even burn. Not complaining! The rero-hale’s nuttiness has turned to pure creaminess, and that spicy Nicaraguan char remains on the finish. Finally, we get a nice transition to a beautiful and fresh barnyard hay note that lingers on the palate. The foot smoke odor has turned to creamy notes of light, fluffy, and fruity cotton candy. Amazing!
This cigar is a true masterpiece! The cigar’s blend of tobaccos and deliberately smaller ring gauge, has come together perfectly for a perfectly complex, balanced, and flavorful smoking experience.
Cigar smoked whiskey: Everything becomes sweet and candylike, a cherry bomb smoked sweet vermouth infused cocktail if you will. Absolutely delicious!
Overall, This cigar and pairing is a true testament to the amazing things that can and will happen, when the whiskey industry meets the cigar industry!
Cheers!
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Thank you FEW Distillery Founder, Paul Hletko, Drammers Club Stamford Chapter Head, Yoni Miller, Indianapolis Chapter Head, Sean Crain, and President Charlie Prince, for joining us Chooches on the Great Cigar & Pipe Show.
This episode is jam packed with craft information, on both the whiskey and cigar sides, of another perfect pairing.
Watch the show below to learn from the best:
Photography by: James Archie
