Aged nine years, all from a single barrel, and an amazing color. All that awesome and I haven’t even gotten to the taste or aroma. That’s right, time for another short and to the point review of something full of alcohol!
I haven’t had a lot of bourbon in my time, but I’ve got to say, this is my favorite so far (if it were bad, honestly, I probably wouldn’t waste my time writing about it!). Bourbon, in my experience, is darker than Scotch. This has a really nice, rich color to it. It’s just atractive — a darker-honey color, a similar shade to a medium cigar if cigars were liquid.
The aroma is the next thing I noticed about this. Since it’s got a higher than usual alcohol by volume content (60%!) I was afraid it would burn my nose. So far my nose is unmolested — but the smell is great, unique and distinct, with a bit of honey and a hint of smoky flavor.
The flavor, to me, is mostly a woody caramel with some vanilla and smoky notes rounding it out. The alcohol doesn’t burn the mouth, but it’s definitely present and warms all the way down without being overpowering. It’s a smooth flavor, far smoother than I expected given the above-mentioned alcohol content. I take it with a small amount of ice, no water, and sip slowly. I still like to enjoy a drink over the course of the evening.
So far: Looks good, smells good, tastes good. What’s missing from a cigars and legs review?
Ah yeah, how does it go with a cigar?
Awesome. Awesome enough that, when I noticed I was running out, I bought another bottle of it. Sure, it’s not an every day drink so the bottle will last a good long time (I wish I could find it in a bigger bottle, though!) since I’m rapidly increasing my selection of drinks available. But some nights, this is just what the cigar calls for. Again, it’s all about flavors complimenting each other. A slow, sipped drink and a slow smoked stogie. That’s two thirds of the Cigars and Legs experience. (The legs are another post entirely.)