single malt scotch

Florida DR Crawfish Boil 2017

Mark your calendars everybody because it’s almost that time of year again. The time for the DR crawfish boil. This year its happening on April 29th at DR HQ S&M Smoke Shop in Fort Pierce. It starts at 5:00 and goes until we feel like stopping. As usual we’ll be supplying the food you bring the booze!

This year we are happy to have Moya Ruiz to be the cigar sponsor for this event and Nelson himself just might be stopping by to party with us. As always there will be great cigar giveaways, raffles and discounts on products. Last year was a great event and we are hoping to make this event even better. Look forward to seeing you all there again.

As always there is a ton of space at Steve and Missy’s and the humidor is always stocked for us!

Here’s the address and phone number for the event:

1001 S US Highway 1
Fort Pierce, FL — 34950
772 801-5104

Oliva Baptiste Toro

IMG_7162After reading the press about the new Baptiste made for Famous Smoke Shop by Oliva I finally got to try a couple. If you followed the press release you already know that the name of the cigar was inspired by the character, “Andre Baptiste,” the ruthless Liberian dictator played by Eamonn Walker in the 2005 film, Lord of War. Pretty clever I’d say.

But enough of being clever, lets really talk about this cigar. Like usual we’ll start at visual and physical inspection. The wrapper leaf is a Habano with a natural color. It is fairly smooth and has very minimal veining. The cigar is yielding and spongy to the touch (which for me is how I prefer my tobacco as I tend to chew the end of mine a bit.) but not so soft that it feels damp.

The smell from the body has notes of leather, cedar and a light coffee. From the foot the odor is more prominent and pepper can be detected. Cutting the cap was easy and there were no cracks that could be noticed. Lighting was easy and only took one match to get it going. From the first few draws there was plenty of smoke that weighed well on the tongue to let you know it was there.

The first third was delightful, good body of flavor including coffee tones along with a bit of bitter dark chocolate. The draw was light and required minimal effort as well as the ash stayed tight and even.

On the second third the flavor really opened up. An amazing full flavored red chili flavor came to the front, not that the other flavors are gone but the spiciness is just amazing.

On the last third of the cigar an unexpected sweetness that reminded me of warm caramel snuck in with the spicy flavor creating a unique flavor. This flavor lasted to nearly the end of the stick with only the caramel flavor leaving at the very end but the spice remained.

All in all this was a great cigar and for the price point it be ridiculous not to at least try it. It has a fantastic dynamic of changing flavor throughout the whole stick that should be experienced. The draw stayed easy through the whole cigar and a burn that was even for the duration of my smoke and paired great with my bourbon. Head over to Famous Smoke Shop and pick up some, you wont be disappointed.

 

Strength: Full

Shape: Toro

Size: 5 1/2 x 54

Country: Nicaragua

Wrapper Color: Natural

Wrapper Origin: Ecuadorian

Wrapper Leaf: Habano

Website: Famous-smoke.com

Price: 5 for $19.99 or a box of 20 for only $78.99!

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints

From Instagram With Love

IMG_7296 While cruising through my time line, I noticed a lot of photos on Instagram of happy customers and their bottles of Alexander Murray Scotch.  After almost a year of curiosity and interest, I felt compelled to purchase my very first bottle. With a variety of scotches to choose from, I decided on the Alexander Murray 8 year Caol Ila. I waited almost two weeks to get it but when it arrived I couldn’t have been more excited.

When I had a free moment, I popped the cork on the bottle. I performed the quintessential scotch drinker move and took in a nice sniff. It was beautiful! I was hit with a very clean and distinctly peaty scent. Being an Islay fan, I was more than elated when this scotch passed the sniff test. I reached up and grabbed the first scotch glass I could get my hands on, dropped in a couple of cubes of ice and watched the golden goodness fill the void.

IMG_7313My first sip was nice and somewhat surprising. The sniff test boasted this strong peaty scent but the flavor was not its equal. The flavor had just enough peat those even ruffians who don’t care for Islay scotches could feel safe purchasing this beverage and enjoying it. There was virtually no back burn and the flavor was very pleasant. Before I knew what happened, I was staring at an empty glass. Needless to say, I was content with my purchase.

Ruffians, if you care to have a solid drinking, slightly peaty, glass of relaxation, I would recommend procuring a bottle of Alexander Murray 8 Year Caol Ila.

 

Acknowledgement: Silver Medal Winner of 2015 San Francisco Spirits Competition.

 

WebSite: www.AlexanderMurray.com

 

Price: $75-$85

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 pints.