Brand evangelist, digital marketer, cigar and spirits expert specializing in consumer tasting and educational events. Matthias made the long trek from his hometown of Portland, Oregon to New York City in 2007, and in nine years has hosted more than 120 events and helped promote and launch dozens of cigar and whiskey brands in the U.S. In 2016, he joined the Cigar Journal Tasting Panel, blind-reviewing pre and new release cigars.
Douglas Laing & Co, an independent Scotch Whisky distiller, blender, and bottler, has introduced a new edition of their Island Malt called Rock Island Rum Cask Edition. This follows the Rock Island Mezcal Edition from 2022, which was finished in Mezcal casks.
The Rock Island Rum Cask Edition has been matured in Plantation Rum Casks from the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad. The whisky is a blend of Single Cask Single Malts from the Scottish islands of Orkney, Arran, Jura, and Islay.
According to the company, the whisky has notes of ‘salted caramel, toasted oak, brown sugar, and a touch of smoke.’ It has been bottled at 46.8% ABV without coloring or chill-filtration, following Douglas Laing & Co’s usual practices.
The bottle features colorways of blues, reds, and greens, along with gold foil detailing, reflecting the islands involved in the process.
The collaboration with Plantation Rum is part of Douglas Laing & Co’s approach to whisky making. Emma Reid, Rock Island’s Brand Manager, commented on the combination of flavors from Scotland and the Caribbean.
Jonas Indesteege, Brand Manager at Plantation Rum, spoke about the partnership between Alexandre Gabriel, creator of Plantation Rum, and Douglas Laing & Co, emphasizing the shared production techniques, traditions, and innovations.
The Rock Island Rum Cask Edition is priced at £65 and will be available globally.
In a significant milestone for the cigar industry, veteran tobacco expert Eladio Diaz is launching a celebratory cigar in honor of his 70th birthday. This comes after Diaz, a former associate of Davidoff, established his own Dominican factory, Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera, in 2022.
The new cigar, aptly named the Eladio Diaz 70 Aniversario, will make its debut at the upcoming InterTabac trade show in Dortmund, Germany. Initially intended for the European market, the cigar showcases an intriguing mix of tobacco from different origins. It combines an Ecuadoran wrapper, a Mexican binder, and five various types of Dominican tobacco in the filler. The exact varietals of these tobaccos are being kept secret by Diaz, who has crafted the cigar to present a medium-to-full bodied strength.
Historically, Eladio Diaz has been known for blending special cigars for his birthday celebration. These were not commercially available but were given as gifts to friends and visitors. The tradition continues with the Eladio Diaz 70 Aniversario, albeit with a new twist – these cigars will be available for sale.
The number seven plays a significant role in the making of this blend. Diaz began his journey with tobacco at the age of seven, marking 63 years in the industry this year. Moreover, the cigar measures 7 inches in length and comprises seven different tobacco leaves. In a reflection of this theme, the cigar will be sold in boxes of 14 (a multiple of seven), with a total production limited to 1,400 boxes.
Diaz, expressing his sentiments about the new cigar to Cigarjournal, said, “It is a slightly sweet and spicy tobacco, which seeks a complete stimulation of the mouth, with a very harmonious creamy sensation, balanced and complex in a medium-high body.” He added, humorously, that the cigar “burns regularly and is not badly built at all.”
The presentation of the Eladio Diaz 70 Aniversario at the InterTabac show marks a significant evolution in Diaz’s journey. He, along with his wife Griselda Cabrera, his sons Héctor, Emmanuel, and Alexander, and close collaborator José Ignacio Vásquez, originally intended the Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera for the production of private labels. Now, Diaz is transitioning from solely manufacturing for others to establishing his own brand in the market.
In addition to the celebratory Eladio Diaz 70 Aniversario, the company is also planning a regular production line expected to be sold in U.S. stores before the end of the year, demonstrating the brand’s aspiration to grow and cater to a wider global audience.
The Loch Lomond Distillery has secured the title of “most awarded distillery” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023, collecting multiple Double Gold and Gold Awards for its malt whisky brands.
Located near Scotland’s Loch Lomond, the distillery has a history that spans over 200 years. It produces three distinct whisky styles: Loch Lomond Whiskies, a Scotch single malt; Spearhead, a single grain whisky; and its recent product, Noble Rebel, a blended malt Scotch whisky.
At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023, these brands collectively received 21 awards, resulting in the distillery being named ‘Most Awarded Distillery of the Year’.
Over the past few years, Loch Lomond Distillery has seen an increase in market presence due to focused efforts and investment.
The distillery’s achievements at the competition have underscored its standing as a consistent and quality whisky producer. It earned a total of nine Double Gold Awards, seven Gold Awards, and five Silver Awards for various core range and limited-edition products. The Double Gold winners included the Open Course Collection and the Open Special Edition, two releases marking the partnership between Loch Lomond Whiskies and The Open Golf Championship.
Loch Lomond Distillery adopts a unique approach to whisky making and uses different engineering methods to create distinct flavor profiles.
All three brands—Loch Lomond Whiskies, Spearhead, and Noble Rebel—maintain their unique processes. Notably, the Loch Lomond Distillery uses both traditional Swan Neck Stills and unique Straight Neck stills in its whisky-making process. This use of Straight Neck Stills allows the Master Blender to alter the flavor during distillation, resulting in a lighter spirit with a distinct fruit flavor. The distillery is also one of only four in Scotland to have an onsite cooperage, allowing complete oversight over barrel repairs and charring.
Colin Matthews, Chief Executive of the Loch Lomond Group, stated that the distillery’s recent investment has facilitated the expansion of their whisky making capabilities and the development of new styles. The more than 20 individual awards received by their whiskies highlight the work done to define their ranges, a noteworthy development in their strategic plans.
Loch Lomond Whiskies, one of the top 25 fastest-growing single malt brands, is a Scotch whisky known for its unique blend of fruit, honey, and soft smoke notes. It has created several limited-edition golf-inspired single malts that were recognized at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Spearhead, a single grain whisky, is distilled from 100% malted barley in a copper Coffey still, and then finished in infrared toasted barrels.
The distillery’s latest offering, Noble Rebel, a blended malt Scotch whisky collection, was launched in February 2023 and has achieved noticeable market presence in the UK.
The awards received by Loch Lomond Distillery at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023 span its various brands and products, demonstrating its ability to deliver consistent and quality offerings.
J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has begun shipping the first release of its celebrated Yagua cigars for 2023. A total of 1,250 boxes are en route to 396 premium cigar retailers across 46 states. The second and last Yagua dispatch for the year is slated for November.
The unique Yagua cigar has garnered an unexpected, almost cult-like following, much to the surprise of fourth-generation owner, Drew Newman. “The acceptance and demand for Yagua continually amaze me. We didn’t initially create Yagua with the intent to sell. I had my reservations, thinking that cigar connoisseurs might not appreciate it because it deviates so much from the standard norms of cigar-making. Yagua is irregular in shape, it might even be considered unattractive. We use underfermented tobacco in its creation, and no two Yaguas are identical.”
The Yagua is a nostalgic tribute to a type of farm-rolled cigar that Lazaro Lopez, General Manager of the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Nicaragua, recalls his grandfather crafting on his family’s tobacco farm in Cuba in the 1940s. Over a meal in 2019, Lopez narrated this memory to Newman:
“My grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves straight from the curing barns and roll cigars without using any molds or presses,” Lopez recounted. “To give his cigars a semblance of traditional shape, he would bundle them together, tying them with fragments of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. Upon deciding to enjoy his personal cigars, he would untie the bundle. The result was an array of uniquely shaped cigars, which he relished. I vividly recall the rich aroma and flavor of my grandfather’s cigars.”
Echoing this old-world method, twenty Yagua cigars are tied together while still moist using a Yagua palmiche palm leaf after being rolled. Each Yagua box delivers a bundle of 20 cigars, still swathed in the palm leaf. The Yagua cigars are of 6×54 dimensions.
“Crafting the Yagua presents its unique challenges because we utilize an under fermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, blend the filler tobaccos differently, and sidestep traditional cigar factory tools and techniques,” Newman explained. “Since the wrapper is not fully fermented, we let the cigars age for a complete year post-rolling.”
Expanding upon their creative Contrasts range, Benromach Distillery from Speyside has unveiled two novel, limited-edition whiskies, both meticulously matured using innovative drying methods for the cask’s wooden staves.
The new additions, Contrasts Air Dried Oak and Contrasts Kiln Dried Oak, distilled in 2012 and bottled this year, are manifestations of Benromach’s exploration of the subtle variations in whisky flavor profiles through varying stave drying techniques.
Sporting an ABV of 46%, both whiskies continue the smoky signature style of Benromach, while each offers a unique twist. The Contrasts Air Dried Oak matures in oak air-dried for three years pre-toasting, imparting the whisky with luscious vanilla fudge notes accompanied by fresh peppermint and oak. Meanwhile, the Kiln Dried Oak variant offers a twist – after two years of air drying, the oak is placed in a kiln to expedite drying, enhancing the spirit-wood interaction. This results in a whisky with a sweeter, more malted biscuit nose, mixed tropical fruit flavors, and notes of lemon barley sugar.
Keith Cruickshank, Distillery Manager at Benromach, expressed, “Our Contrasts range is our playground to experiment and discover new flavors. The release of these two new whiskies is a result of a deliberate experiment to explore the flavor impact of different wood drying methods. It’s fascinating to witness how small modifications can significantly influence taste – that’s the captivating essence of the air- and kiln-dried variants.”
While Benromach typically employs virgin oak casks for their Contrasts Organic whisky, this experimentation provided an exciting opportunity to observe how their traditional lightly peated spirit interacts with this cask type and varying stave preparation methods.
Cruickshank adds, “We’re eager to see how whisky aficionados interpret the unique character of each dram, their preferences, and their reasons why.”
