Today’s review comes courtesy of Lou B. who you can find in the comments section every now and then. I met Lou at a herf a little while back and he’s been holding some awesome Cigar-B-Cue’s where we eat, smoke, drink and talk. At the last little gathering, Lou handed me a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and said that I had to try it and squeeze in a review if possible. We chatted a little about how my history with most Rocky Patel sticks is a little shaky but I would give it a shot.

So here I am today about to light up this cigar. I have had a few Vintage 1990′s a while ago but it’s been a rather long time so other than a few notes I made for myself I don’t have much to go on. I actually decided to ignore my old notes and go at this one blindly!

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 is the oldest cigar in his vintage line. This particular blend is made with Maduro Broadleaf wrapper dating back to 1990. So the wrapper on these cigars is near 12 Years old and apparently the filler is at least 5 years old before being rolled. That makes for a very well aged cigar right out of the box so let’s hope it has the smoothness you would expect on such a well aged smoke.

It seems that the Vintage 1990 line is also available in a wide variety of vitolas that come boxed in quantities of 20. I even stumbled upon some being sold as bundles so you can save a few dollars there too. The vitola Lou gifted me with happens to be their Churchill which also has a box-pressed look to it. The cigar also seems a lot smaller than the claimed 48 ring gauge, possibly due to the pressing. I’d say this cigar is almost around 42 or 44 ring gauge from a quick glance.

Now this cigar also has quite the reputation which can sometimes hinder a cigar. It’s been given a 92 rating by Cigar Aficionado and even been named to the Top 25 Cigars of the year twice. So this sets the bar fairly high when you read something like that before lighting up. But regardless of that, I’m going into this review with a clear mind and hoping for a good smoke. This one’s for you Lou!

Cigar: Rocky Patel Vintage 1990
Drink: Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2011
Vitola: Churchill (7 x 48)
Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Price: About $8.00
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is velvety smooth and has the color of milk chocolate bar, it’s actually quite appealing to look at
• There are some veins and seams running along it’s length but none of them look large enough to pose any problems
• The vitola on this cigar is pretty interesting, but despite that the single cap looks to be expertly applied and clean
• The foot follows in the same ‘footsteps’ (cheesy pun, I know…lol) and is very well packed
• That also links into the fairly firm feel of the whole cigar, there is a tiny give when squeezed but not much, I think I’ll blame that on the box pressing process
• The cap clipped off nice and easy but left me with a bit of a tight draw, hoping that doesn’t continue and it opens up soon
• Glad to report that the draw opened up nicely within the first inch

Burn:
• The toasting was easy and fairly even, getting me off to a good start easily
• I usually get some funky burn lines on box pressed cigars but through the first couple inches this one is flawless
• Not much to report here, as I get to the halfway mark I’m still moving along flawlessly
• Still more nothing to report, lol. No wavy lines, no canoes, no tunnels, just the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of resting smoke coming off this cigar, could be a little too much if I were in an enclosed room
• Even with a tight draw, I’m still picking up a fairly good amount of smoke from each puff
• The ash on this cigar is a nice even tone of light gray and is keeping itself fairly clean and tight
• Got to just about an inch before the ash fell off
• Next ash got to about an inch again before I tapped it off cause it was looking ready to fall
• Seemed to get a pretty consistent 1 inch ash on these that stayed clean

Tasting Notes:
• Running the cigar under my nose gives an easily noticeable aroma of coffee, but mostly of cedar. It’s light and pleasant, not overpowering
• The foot does away with the coffee but does carry the aroma of cedar and maybe a little bit of greenery
• I get the same greenery and cedar flavor as I take a pre-light draw after clipping the cap. Also an odd liquor type of flavor, almost like infused but you can tell it isn’t, interesting to see if that will carry into the smoking experience
• Initial flavors are mostly woodsy and earthy notes, maybe with a hint of coffee in there
• The coffee flavors are developing a bit as the cigar burns, still very mellow but they are there, maybe with a bit of cocoa too
• The start of this cigar as been fairly mild for the most part, maybe just approaching medium and the retrohale has almost no bite but gives a smooth cedar and coffee finish
• The liquor flavor I was getting is making slight appearances here and there, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but it’s keeping the experience interesting. It’s sort of sweet and mixed with the coffee flavors I guess my closest comparison would be Kahlua or something similar
• The whole cigar seems to be quite well balanced to me, I’m getting a good variety of flavors that keep changing up on me and keeping me interested, none of them are overpowering the others
• The array of flavors has stayed the same through to the last third but the fact that they keep taking turns being the dominant one has kept me interested and enjoying the whole cigar so far
• Flavors got a little more intense near the nub, but no harshness or bitterness so I got to enjoy it to the very end

Final Thoughts:
So I have to admit I came into this cigar with some hesitation due to my past experiences with Rocky Patel sticks. I’ve had a few good ones, but most were not in my flavor profile. Even with Lou’s claims of how much he enjoyed this I was a little worried. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed this cigar! I wouldn’t put it into my top 10 but I would keep it on regular rotation as a reliable mild/medium bodied stick if I can find it on sale or maybe in the bundles. It had an interesting set of flavors that were very well balanced and it burned superbly. I don’t really have anything negative to say. If there was one critique I could make it’s that the flavors were not very pronounced. They were there, but you really had to sit and concentrate to pick up on them. Maybe this is due to their extended aging? I’m not too sure… You could easily enjoy it’s smoothness without paying attention, but if the flavor were a little more intense, this might have been a top 10 contender for me.

Pairings:
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the Innis & Gunn Brewery and everything I’ve tried from them to date. Their Oak Aged Beers are simply the best I’ve been able to find so far with a sweet caramely smoothness. Every year they also come out with a Winter Seasonal, and as I mentioned in my last review, I’m a bit of a sucker for Winter Seasonals. So I had to get this, their Winter Beer 2011! The crappy part is that it’s only available in a Sampler pack here. Although I really enjoy their other beers in the sampler, it comes with a glass. I think I’m up to 5 or 6 Innis & Gunn glasses now because I keep buying the sampler packs they have for their seasonal beers… lol. But enough about my ranting, this beer keeps to my expectations for this brewery and brings a TON of flavor to the table. Along with the classic Oaky notes, you can pick up some citrus, vanilla, toffee and the signature caramel smoothness. All of their beers seem to pair best with a good mild or medium bodied cigar, so it fit very well in with the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. Other good pairing would be a similar beer like a blonde or amber, and possibly a nice cup of coffee.

The sample of Scotch Whisky I will be reviewing today was sent to us by Master of Malt. Master of Malt is an online retailed specializing in Whisky although they also sell a variety of other spirits. The company is based out of East Sussex, United Kingdom and they ship almost anywhere in the world. The package arrived in Canada in record time and the bottles were extremely well protected. ne of the winderful features offered by Master of Malt besides their huge selection of spirits is the ability to get many of the spirits in a small 3cl/30ml sample bottle similar to the one pictured. This is called the “Drinks by the Dram”. Please visit www.MasterOfMalt.com to see with wide selection of spirits and read the bounty of information they have there. you can also follow them on twitter: @MasterofMalt

The Maker: Arran Distillery
The Beverage: 12 Year Old Single Cask (Master of Malt)
The Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Beverage’s Home: Scotland, East of the village of Lochranza on the Isle of Arran
The Situation: Relaxing on the couch

The Story:
The Scotch Whisky being reviewed today is a 12 year aged spirit from the Arran Distillery. The particular one I sampled is a Master of Malt Single Cask special edition series. The standard 12 year from Arran is also available. Arran Distillery is actually fairly young being founded in 1993 and starting production in only 1995. It is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky that is distilled by Arran and bottled by Master of Malt after being specially aged in a single cask. The alcohol content weighs in at 54.7% alc./vol.

The Bottle:
The sample we received came in a small clear bottle with a black cap. The bottle is delicately sealed with what appears to be a wax coating. This ensured the cap did not unscrew and the bottle did not leak at all in transit. The front of the bottle has “Vintage” style label containing the “Master of Malt” name and the name of the contained Scotch Whisky.

The Eyes:
This Scotch Whisky is very clean and transparent. It has a very warm golden-amber tone to it. It’s very pleasing to the eye and inviting. I’m enjoying this particular blend “neat” tonight with no added water or ice.

The Nose:
Some fruity and smokey notes immediately evident on the nose. The fruity notes are the most dominant initially and linger on the nose ever so slightly.

The Tongue:
This wonderful looking Scotch Whisky coats the tongue nicely and lingers with some interesting flavors. Initially you get a big hit of sweet malt, followed by a bright fruity finish. There’s a slight smokiness and even woodsy-ness that can be detected. The spirit tingles on the tongue as the coating slowly fades. It actually leaves you with a mouthwatering citrus finish that is very enjoyable.

The Final Drop:
I was quite impressed by this particular Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Arran Distillery. At a fairly young age of 12 years it has a lot of competition on the market. And since the distillery only began production 14 years ago it is a fairly limited release of one of their first productions. In comparison to a lot of other 12-year Scotch Whisky’s this one had a wonderful coating flavor on the palate and was not overly harsh even when enjoyed neat.

The Pairings:
The Master of Malt Single Cask version of Arran’s 12-year Single Malt Scotch Whisky would pair very well with a variety of cigars. I would suggest finding something that is medium in body and can compliment the fruity sweetness. The two cigars that instantly come to mind would be the La Aurora 107 Corona, La Aurora 107 Robusto or the K.A. Kendall 7-20-4.

Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin Beer Gift Tin

The Brewery: Wychwood Brewery
The Beer: Hobgoblin
The Brewers Home: Oxfordshire, England
The Alcohol/Volume: 5.2%
The Situation: Relaxing on the couch
The Story:
Wychwood brewery is located across the Atlantic Ocean in the United Kingdom. It was established by Paddy Glenny in 1983 who purchased an older brewery plant build in 1841. Over time the company changed hands a bit and is now owned by Ian Rogers and Chris Moss. The Hobgoblin beer was actually their first big success and was first brewed in 1988 and first bottled in 1996. Currently, their website (www.wychwood.com) lists 4 production beers and 10 seasonal beers only available at certain times in the year. You can read more about the company and the legend being the “Wych Wood” Forest at their website.

The Bottle:
This beer comes in a large 500ml/16.9fl.oz and is constructed with a dark golden colored glass. Around the shoulder of the bottle is an embossed logo of a Wtich flying on her broom, the logo of Wychwood Brewery. Around the base of the bottle you can see “Wychwood” embossed all around. The label has an evil looking Goblin with a bloody axe. The bottle describes the beer as:

“Full bodied & well balanced with a chocolate toffee malt flavor, moderate bitterness & a distinctive fruity character & ruby red glow”

The package I opened tonight was a left-over Christmas pack at my local store. It came in a tall tin canister and contained one glass and one bottle of beer. It was on sale so I couldn’t pass it up. The glass is nice and tall and has a wonderful etched logo of the Hobgoblin.

The Eyes:
The bottle describes this as a ‘Ruby Beer’ and this is pretty much dead on. It has a golden ruby hue and is fairly dark. The glass is fully opaque and froths up nicely when poured.

Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin Beer

The Nose:
The smell is very refreshing and cool. I’m not detecting any particular aromas other than a fresh, malty beer. I can’t really explain how great it smells but there is definitely an inviting crispness as if it were brewed just yesterday.

The Tongue:
The burst of flavor when this wonderful ale touches the tongue is a great experience. There are so many things you can easily detect yet it feels fully balanced and quite enjoyable. The dominant flavor changes a little from sip to sip. One sip has a nice fruitiness to it and the next sip has a malty bitter chocolate sweetness, similar to what you would get from bakers dark chocolate. The bottle describes a toffee flavor but I’m not picking this up. The bitterness is spot on, not over bearing and not too watered down. The after-taste lingers for a short time and leaves a fresh fruity feeling on the palate with a bit of a dry finish. As the beer cooled down the bitter chocolate and malt flavors became more prominent.

Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin Beer

The Final Drop:
The beer is wonderfully refreshing but still full bodied, making this a great choice for any season and any time of day. There are some strong notes of fruit commonly found in lighter beers which make it a good change from your typical stout or porter, but also has the bitter chocolate flavor commonly found in some darker beers. It strikes a good balance between two types of beer and I’d consider it almost a hybrid.

The Pairing Possibilities:
At the request of one of our readers I’m adding this section to help give an idea of what to pair this drink with. This is one of those drinks that could possibly be paired with any cigar. It has the light notes that match a mild cigar and the dark bitter notes that typically match a good full bodied cigar. To strike that perfect balance, just as the beer does, I’d suggest picking up a smooth medium bodied cigar. Here are some suggestions and background notes you can read up on for some of the pairings:

Alec Bradley Prensado
Cruzado
Diesel Unholy Cocktail
Tatuaje La Riqueza