The Cigar
Balmoral Anejo XO Oscuro Rothschild Masivo is a Full Robusto with Oscar dark Mexican San Andres Wrapper. A Dominican Binder and a specially blended Filler from Brazil, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. This cigar is listed as having notes of dark chocolate, espresso, and black pepper. The MSPR is $8.50.
Neither Darrell or Bill got chocolate or espresso. A third away into the cigar, the construction shows as being good giving off an earthy type flavor and definitely pepper. The chilled rum and the cigar were clashing a little. Once that was taken care of, Darrell was still not able to get the chocolate or espresso. Bill’s take is that the cigar is so full it is overriding everything and he can’t really get much from it from the middle towards the end.
The Liquor
We paired the cigar with the Kaniche XO Artisanal Rum. This is a Maison Ferrand product which is in the family of Plantation and Pierre Ferrand Cognac. This Barbados Rum is distilled in column and pot stills. It is aged in bourbon casks and finished for 18 months in Cognac casks to bring out flavors of coconut and spices with butterscotch aromas. It won the Double Gold Medal in the San Francisco Spirits Competition in and has an MSRP of around $30.
The Kaniche comes across really good chilled. Not getting the butterscotch, but spices are there. Mixed reviews on the coconut. However, this rum warm does not fight with the cigar we paired it with. More of the flavors of the rum present themselves after warming up.
For the liquors Darrell enjoys using the miniature snifter. You can check them out on the affiliate page of our website.
The More
Cigar Rights of America (CRA):
If you have not already, sign up for Cigar Rights of America. You get two Premium Cigars and they have form letters that you just put in your name and email address and click send. These will go to your Congress person and there was even one for the White House. They go to D.C. so you don’t have to. It is always good having someone fighting for you so you can enjoy what you enjoy without undo burdensome regulations and taxes. Keep American’s in jobs and support what you love to do!
2020 Winter Whiskey Tasting:
If you have not already, go to our events page and select the city of your choice for the 2020 Winter Whiskey Tasting. This event will be hosted in five cities (Dallas, St. Louis, Denver, Chicago, and Minneapolis) on January 25th, 2020. Get your tickets now. While the specific location of each event are TBD, they will have venues and you will not want to miss this. They have ticket price ranges for everyone. From $35 up to $60. Depending on the level of ticket you get you can taste from 2 hours for 15 tasting up to 3 hours for 20 tastings. There will be food available, giveaways, and more. From Scotch, Irish, Single Malt, Rye. . . this is a great way to start the year off. We will be a the event in Dallas. We look forward to seeing you there.
Legislation to help Craft Distilleries:
HR. 1175 and S 362 – Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019. This legislation is due to sunset. It creates the same type of progress tax on craft distilleries as it currently in place for beer and wine. This would be like giving craft distilleries a $275K tax break on the 1st 100K gallons. Contact your Congressman and let them know to push and support this important legislation.
Texas smoking age changed to 21:
As of Friday, June 7th, 2019 Texas moved the smoking age to 21 Years Old. Many other states have done this. California and Hawaii in 2016. New Jersey in 2017. Maine, Massachusetts and Oregon in 2018. Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont, and Virginia in 2019. Washington goes into effect in 2020 and Utah is going effective in 2021.
We spend a few minutes on what seems to be the delay of youth into adulthood. They are making later drinking, smoking and in some places driving from 18 to 21. For the most part the argument comes out that if we are delaying adulthood until 21, then why are we not going to move out the voting age and minimum military service age to 21. We know this is not going to happen, but it would be nice having consistency in how we treat folks between the ages of 18 and 21. We don’t really understand the reasoning for moving adulthood to a later age.
Cigars For Warriors:
Their Mission is to provide premium cigars and accessories to US Troops serving in Active Combat Zones. You can find donation centers at just about any Brick and Mortar Cigar shop or lounge. CFW also hosts events, so if you are in the area where an event is being hosted, then drop by and donate some cigars (and other things) to help show some love to our troops in a far away land under the stress of combat.
What level of liquor do we want to review?
How many very common liquors like Evan Williams and Crown Royale should we review with respect to small distilleries that the masses have trouble getting? What about liquors that have been around for while, but it not at the forefront anymore such as the Grand Old Parr or Old Grandad? While a lot of things are regional, what are your thoughts on what we should review from a liquor standpoint? Let us know by sending us a message or comment on post.
Look Back:
From 2015, Darrell looks back to a cigar he had on his birthday that year. It was a Montecristo 80th Anniversary 6 x 48. It was a gift from Bernell (sorry if we misspelling your name). He had one and was so very nice and bought some for everyone in the lounge that night. The great thing about this is not just a great cigar, but shows just how generous cigar people can be. Not just with cigars, but other aspects of live as well.
Next Weeks Episode:
The next episode will feature the Psyko Seven 5-1/2 x 50 from Ventura Cigar Company and Vanua Fijian rum. They both sound like interesting items to pair together.
Be sure to tell us when you think, what you would like us to rate/review or anything else that is on your mind. Once you do you will be automatically entered into the CLM Give Away. You can do so by posting on this episode, Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter
