Earlier this year, I reviewed the Yellow Label and Small Batch from Four Roses. Both scored quite well. To complete my circuit through the Four Roses core line, today I’m reviewing Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. Before we begin, big thanks to Baddish Group for the samples for this odyssey through one of the great names in American whiskey. And as always, I retain all rights to speak my mind, for good or ill.
Product Specifics
Whiskey Reviewed: Four Roses Single Barrel Whiskey
Fun fact here about Four Roses. They go into quite a bit of detail on their mashbill on the Four Roses website, going so far as to break down the recipe by whiskey.
Appearance
Classic bottle design, with a large embossed logo above the primary band. In the glass, the whiskey is a golden copper tone.
Nose
Concentrated notes of caramel, rye, dry oak and apricot.
Palate
Just heavenly. Medium to full bodied on entry, with caramel, salted butter, and strong oak. As the flavors progress, I pick up notes of toasted bread, cocoa, and some light fruit notes that I can’t quite make out. Some rock candy on the tip of the tongue too. In some ways this reminds me of the kind of experience I get with better premium cigars (the Davidoff Millennium comes to mind). Lots of flavor, great complexity, all highly concentrated. Not easy to achieve.
Finish
The finish is long and moderate. Not much different from the notes on the palate, but with a bit more breadiness.
Conclusion
Even though they each occupy a separate niche, Single Barrel probably goes down as my favorite of the core line offerings from Four Roses. It’s got quite a fair amount of complexity, loads of flavor, all at the cost of very little burn in the mouth. If you’re a bourbon drinker, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll love Four Roses Single Barrel.
Final Score: 92
Disclaimer: though by no means my first bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, this bottle was gifted to Fine Tobacco NYC by Babbish Group. Though we’re thankful for the gesture, we retain full rights to say exactly what we think: good or bad.
Newer cigar smokers might not realize it, but Nat Sherman wasn’t always known for producing high quality premium cigars like the Nat Sherman Timeless, which has spent multiple years on the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 list. In fact, before Michael Herklots joined the Nat Sherman team in 2011, the brand was, in my estimation, subpar. That all changed when Michael Herklots came on as the Executive Director of Retail and Brand Development. He reinvigorated the 42nd St retail location by bringing on friendly and knowledgeable staff, updating the retail space, and greatly expanding the range of brands offered in the humidor. On top of that, he took the lead in blending and launching a number of successful lines, most notably the Timeless blend as well as the newer renditions of the core Nat Sherman lines.
In 2014, the company announced it would be releasing a cigar to commemorate the 75th birthday of CEO Joel Sherman. The Joel Sherman 75th Celebration scales in at 7 1/2 by 46, definitely a unique shape, and was released with a total quantity of just 25,000 cigars.
I’m a bit late to the party with this particular review, but after smoking this cigar it’s really quite impossible not to write a review and describe what an incredible blend I think it is.
Product Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Joel Sherman 75th Celebration
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: 7 1/2 x 46
Appearance and Construction
The Joel Sherman 75th comes presented with a regal looking, textured gold double band. The gold and maroon primary colors find some additional contrast with the red hands of the clock in the center of the primary band.
The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper is a light, peanut butter brown color with a moderate oily sheen. The wrapper has a few minor imperfections but the cigar is rolled consistently and has a slight give when squeezed.
Off of the foot there are strong aromas of wood, salt and pepper, and a nice pop of grilling spices. After clipping the cigar with a straight cut, I test the draw and it is absolutely perfect. Just enough restrictiveness. The cold draw reveals finely ground black pepper, Oak, bread, and slight granola.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
After toasting the foot, the cigar is ready to go. As I take the first few puffs, I’m greeted by dense but medium bodied, flavorful smoke. On the palate, the smoke gives strong impressions of sweet Oak, fresh bread, bitter espresso, some pepper and a buttery texture. The notes have a lot of complementarity, but that’s not where the flavor ends. The aroma is strong, and curiously offers up its own separate set of notes: cream, floral, and wood.
What’s remarkable is how strong the flavors are in the smoke, all while the smoke itself is light and creamy. It’s a special kind of complexity.
An inch and a half in, the ash is still holding on. Flavor is shifting as well, with the texture morphing into more of a toasted bread flavor. There’s also an apricot note in the mix as well that pairs nicely with the bread note. Construction is absolutely impeccable. Perfect burn, great ash.
Into the second third, the body has picked up just past medium, but the strength of the flavor is bordering on full territory. So much so that this really is a cigar you want to pace yourself on. The faster you smoke it, the stronger the flavor (and that’s not always a good thing when you have balance to consider). Flavors include toasted bread, roasted almonds, black pepper, lemon peel, and bitter chocolate.
Wow.
And just when I didn’t think this cigar could get any better, it does. The final third shifts momentously in flavor and texture. The toasted bread becomes charred Oak with a healthy side of black pepper, nuts, and touches of leather. I burn this cigar to the nub and it’s one that I am very sorry to set down.
Conclusion
The Joel Sherman 75h is a masterful cigar. Perfect construction, amazing flavor and an unbelievably complex progression throughout the course of the smoke. If you find it, buy it in whatever quantity you can. It’s a cigar to hold on to for the most special occasions, and it absolutely deserves its high rating.
One of the great benefits of being a cigar blogger and event host is that I get to try great new products and meet the people behind them. Casta Cigars is one such brand. In February of 2018, we hosted a great pairing event featuring Casta Cigars and Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch at the Carneglie Club in Manhattan. We heard great feedback on the cigars so it only seemed natural to get some of the backstory in the form of an interview with Jon Kindig, the co-founder of Casta Cigars.
MC: Alright Jon, let’s start with the basics. Where are you and your family originally from?
My family is Swiss German. We received a land grant from William Penn and settled in Lancaster Pennsylvania in the late 1600’s.
MC: How long have you been a part of the cigar industry, and what brought you in?
JK: I have been in the cigar business for over a decade, and have been smoking cigars for almost 30 years. I owned a mid-sized HVAC business in the 2000s, and when the mortgage crisis took a toll on my business, I decided it was time to move on. I was in my early 40’s and was trying to figure out what to do with my life. A childhood friend said “ Jon, you love cigars, why don’t you make your own cigars.?” Having a huge passion for cigars, I thought ‘why not?’ My great great grandfather Alvin DeLong grew tobacco for a living in the Manchester area of Pennsylvania. So I guess tobacco is in my genes.
MC: Was there a particular moment when the opportunity of owning your own cigar brand was presented to you, or did the idea develop over time?
JK: As I mentioned above I was ending one career and looking for the next. And wanted to do something my heart was in. And thought no one currently using rare tobaccos. And the emphasis on cigars lately seems to have gotten very commercial. I realized there was an opportunity to use great tobacco to make small batches of cigars. Even though we’re considered a “boutique brand” I almost like to think of our cigars in the fashion of micro brews. We use better ingredients, charge a little more, and generally provide a better smoking experience.
MC: Are you a full time cigar brand owner, or do you have other work that you do alongside running Casta?
JK: Cigars are my full time gig. While living in Dominican Republic learning all I could about the cigar industry, I was approached many times by experts living there. And asked If I could repair or install systems, Air-conditioning systems. My reply was always the same. I could, but that chapter of my life was finished. I was completely dedicated to creating the best cigars.
MC: Where does the name Casta come from? Tell us a bit of the backstory there.
JK: The name Casta translates from the Spanish word casta, which means breed. I thought yes, good word, cigar smokers are a certain breed of people. My family, also was in the horse business for many generations. We provided the horses and Clydesdales that were hitched to the Conestoga wagons that took the settlers out West. We had many thoroughbred horses. And in my mind I like to think of our cigars as thoroughbreds.
On left: Casta Mago. Right: Casta Big Boy
MC: In an industry that experienced a boom in the 90’s and a continuing renaissance on the boutique brand side, what sets Casta Cigars apart from the major brands?
JK: Casta Cigars is focused on providing a great smoking experience. Cigars are a passion for us! I wanted to set us apart from everyone else. Especially when the cigar industry seems stuck in time to a degree. I wanted to bring a fresh new vibe to the industry. We want to to appeal to the modern and younger cigar enthusiast “millenials” who are looking for eye appeal and honest straight-forward information. We also want to appeal to the traditional cigar smoker. Everything about Casta breaks from the cigar “norm”, from our bands to our packaging and our goal to stay as green as possible. For example, no wrappers, recycling boxes instead of sending them to a landfill somewhere, and promoting humidor use. The serious smoker should always have one.
MC: Your website describes Casta Cigars as something of a small-batch minded company. Why have you decided to keep production in limited runs?
JK: Our goal was never to be the biggest cigar company! Again we like to consider ourselves the micro-brew of cigars. Small batch, high quality, awesome smoking experience. That’s a hard standard to maintain in itself, especially when you get too big.
MC: Another interesting part of the story is the ages of the tobacco that you are working with. Your website claims the tobaccos in your cigars are aged upward of 15 years. How did you come by such rare tobaccos?
JK: Our fifteen year old Brazilian tobacco was introduced to us by Lancaster Leaf Co. (correction all our tobacco is all 15 years aged). When I explained to them that we wanted to be different and use something that no one else in the industry is using, they introduced us to some rare tobaccos (most of which are not currently being used by other cigar companies, primarily because of cost and availability). Differentiating ourselves from everyone else was absolutely the way to go. I feel a true cigar enthusiast will pay little more for something that is unlike anything they’ve ever smoked before.
The 75 year old tobacco came from Domestic Tobacco of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Geoffery Ranck (owner of Domestic Tobacco) was a personal friend of the family. I mentioned to him my desire to produce high quality, small batch cigars in the Cuban fashion. He told me that in one of his tobacco warehouses he had the perfect tobacco, which his father had purchased. The rest is history.
MC: Any last thoughts for our readers?
Yes. Please support the fight to exclude premium cigars from “the end of cigars” legislation!
The AVO 22 released in 2018 is a re-release of the AVO 22 which was originally released in 2002. Why 22? The cigar is a tribute to the day of the month Avo Uvezian was born on, the day of the month his sister was born on, and the day he came to the USA, a 22nd. The cigar comes on the heels of the Avo Improvisation 30 Years, a cigar that was highly anticipated but (for me) fell flat.
So, I’m hoping the AVO 22 can cover some of the areas the Improvisation 30 Years needed some development in. In particular, balance (the Improv. 30 Years was dominated by salt and wood). But first, some background on the tobaccos…
The Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper has a couple of major veins but maintains a completely silky texture. There’s a ton of aroma coming directly off of the wrapper: salty spiciness, dry cedar, paper, and peanuts. The bands, as always with AVO, are spot on: an elegant combo of white, black, silver, orange, and gold.
After clipping the cigar with a straight cut, I test the draw and find it is fairly restrictive, though I image it will likely loosen up a bit after the tapered end burns through. There’s quite a bit of flavor on the pre light draw, mainly wood and spice, which gets me excited to light up.
Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
The AVO 22 kicks off with mild bodied, lush smoke. Smoke production is good, and gets even better as the ember burns through the tapered foot. The character of the smoke is interesting: very creamy, noticeably sweet and floral, but with a toasted cedar note that complements the cream out nicely. Touches of spice on the retrohale round the whole profile out.
The ash holds for about an inch and a half, which is surprising given that tapered vitolas tend to be a bit more precarious on the construction side. The flavor and strength heading into the second third are both below medium though not quite mild. The flavor has shifted a bit, with the creamy floral note turning into something a bit closer to sweet cake dough. The aroma is also fairly sweet, but has a cracked black pepper note.
At this point, the AVO 22 is starting to remind me a bit of the AVO Improvisation 30 Years (one of the few AVO cigars I’m not fond of). The difference here is that the AVO 22 seems much more thought out, with more flavor and complementarity.
The final third is where this cigar gets more interesting. The black pepper note ramps up a bit, and there’s also a new flavor, something like lemon meringue that’s subtle but definitely there. The creaminess in the texture fades quickly, replaced by a dry cedar texture. In the last inch and a half, the strength ramps up to medium, with the palate dominated by cedar, black pepper and undertones of sweet grass and floral.
A nice end.
Conclusion
I can see why the AVO 22 was so popular when it was originally released all those years ago. It has a lot of finesse, even though the flavor profile doesn’t change radically throughout the course of the smoke. At around $17, this cigar has some tough competition. But it’s worth purchasing, and, if you’re an AVO enthusiast, maybe purchasing a box.
Fun little kicker here. Avo Uvezian was a masterful piano player. He’s known for having played with Frank Sinatra and written many of his own tunes. I found out just tonight while writing this review you that you can listen to the man himself play by searching Avo Uvezian on spotify.
Alan Rubin has been performing well with his Alec Bradley brand of cigars since he began in the industry. Each new line brought forth different flavors, styles and themes as well high praise in the cigar world. In one of his new releases the Alec Bradley Post Embargo Alan seeks to bring the notion of Cuban versus non-Cuban cigars a thing of the past. In this line Alan recognizes that his cigars are equal to that of Cuban cigars and that the public idea of Cubans being above all is not the case. The Alec Bradley Post Embargo certainly can make its claim that it is a cigar to be revered no matter what country it comes from. Enjoy!
Blend Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Alec Bradley Post Embargo
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran / Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran / Nicaraguan
Size: 6” 1/4 X 54 Toro
Appearance & Construction
The Alec Bradley Toro has a gorgeous milk chocolate brown wrapper with minimum veins. The cigar has a few soft spots and is expertly rolled. The band has “Alec Bradley” across the top in white and red with “Post Embargo” on the bottom. The patriotic band has the flag of Cuba on the right and the American Flag on the left with the Alec Bradley logo in the middle uniting the two. Alan Rubin has succeeded in making his statement that Cuba and other countries should be united in cigars at least.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
The Post Embargo begins with a little saltiness on the wrapper and a heap of toast to start. The draw is excellent and the toastiness turns to leather on the palate. Savory notes are detected very quickly and the profile is really attractive thus far. The leather seems to build up balanced by an earthy character on the mouthfeel.
Midway the Post Embargo delivers bing cherry along with a sweet and savory lingering finish. Notes of Almonds are picked up and the earthiness returns on the retrohale. A bit of coffee emerges adding to the complexity of this cigar. Every puff seems to yield an array of flavors hitting you all at once. This is clearly a cigar of character as the leather starts to build up with a mix of nougat and toast.
The final third gave some bitter undertones to start which diminished the flavor. Quickly this was corrected with more of that savory character noted earlier. The leather continues with less nuttiness than before. The cigar finishes with an interplay of earth and wood rounded out with a creamy finish.
Conclusion
I’ve smoked Alec Bradley cigars since their release with the Prensado and Tempus being some of my favorite and most original flavor profiles. The Alec Bradley Post Embargo Toro offers leather, toast and savory notes in abundance. If this was the signature of the blend then Alan Rubin nailed it. I would say this can compete with Cuban cigars as I like to view a cigar on its on merit regardless of its province. Will there still be the debate of whether Cuban cigars are better than non-Cuban? Until the Embargo is lifted I would say most certainly. My advice? Light up an Alec Bradley Post Embargo and judge for yourself.
