I really enjoy great whisky and great cigars.
An-Cnoc 24YO single malt scotch whisky
A truly wonderful whisky. The An-Cnoc series of 12yo, 18yo and 24yo whiskys are a how whiskys should be (or how they are marketed but sometimes not matched to reality) in that: {a} each of them are really good; {b} they all have similar characteristics; and {c} age makes a difference such that you can easily tell the older the whisky the better it is. The fragrance of the An-Cnoc 24yo is a mélange of delightful flavours including the crusty top toffee portion of an excellent crème brûlée, deep dark dried plums, and tart sherry and oak fumes from the cask wafting throughout. Once in your mouth, the flavours are even more wonderful with the texture of ice wine or dessert wine. To drink it alone, one could easily imagine having this with caramel fudge cake or Christmas cake. Imagine indulgent, add bliss, let linger.
SMWS surf and snowboard
SMWS stands for Single Malt Whisky Society - check them out they have great stuff. Basically they go around to different distilleries and buy selected whiskys to put in their own casks. Then they give each limited edition barrel a funky name before bottling. This one is my favorite SMWS bottle. It is so explosive on the nose with peppery spice, tart fruits, something in between honey and maple syrup. Then you taste it and the grenade explodes. All those aromas are given form and it's just wild - young fresh and vibrant like a blond tattooed surfer chick having her way with you.
Cigar pairing - Montecristo Lînea 1935 Leyenda
This is a monster cigar in size with an exceptional flavor profile. The first third is somewhat light (if only as compared to the rest of it) and nutty, the flavour builds in the second third with coffee been sweetness followed by a robust earthy last third without any stage being overwhelming. This cigar paired exceptionally well with the An-Cnoc 24yo creating complementary flavours that I didn't imagine separately - a blue ocean pairing if you will..... Unfortunately the cigar did not fare so well with the SMWS surf and snowboard as the flavours clashed with the power of the whisky fighting the rebel forces going up in smoke.
Let me know if there is something in particular you would like reviewed.
