A Taste of Fall: Montecristo Espada Conquistador Ricasso

It’s beginning to feel a bit like fall. The screened porch is cool, but the heaters aren’t needed yet. Evening smoking sessions are enjoyable, as long as I don’t think too much about the winter that will follow this pleasant period.

For a cooler weather after-dinner smoke, I grabbed a Montecristo Espada Conquistador Ricasso. This addition to the Espada line was introduced in June 2026. I added some to the humidor only about six weeks ago, but figured that was enough rest time to light one up.

Expecting a sweeter, medium-bodied profile from the Nicaraguan puro, I poured some Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon for its oaky flavor and easy-sipping profile.

The Montecristo Espada Conquistador Ricasso is a 5 x 54 Robusto with a deep brown Jalapa leaf wrapper. The binder hails from Ometepe, while the filler tobaccos come from Condega and Estelí. The cigars are manufactured by Plasencia Cigars.

The cigar is decorated with three bands, which frankly look quite nice but essentially hide the cigar. Once the paper coverings are removed, the glossy, smooth wrapper is revealed.

The initial flavors are more muted than expected. Dry earth and woody notes are accompanied by just a touch of pepper on the finish. As the smoke progresses toward the midsection, toasted bread and some dark cocoa come into play, with a bit more spice added to the mix.

The Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon is a bottle I’ve been sipping slowly for a couple of years. At a reasonable 100 proof, the bourbon has a substantial dry oak and roasted character. Vanilla, caramel, and baking spice provide some balance.

The oak-forward character of the bourbon worked well with the dry, woody character of the cigar. The profiles of both remained well balanced. While the cigar stayed generally in the dry-earth realm, the bourbon’s oak lifted the pairing. As the cigar’s toasted flavors gained prominence, the bourbon’s mild spice finish helped maintain that balance.

Only toward the end of the smoke did the cigar seem to lose its character. The finish became flat, reminding me of dry leaves. The cigar exhibited a lopsided burn along the same side throughout, which I touched up frequently in an attempt to maintain an even burn. I did not do this as the cigar got shorter, which may have contributed to the more muted finish. Perhaps with more time in the humidor, the remaining sticks will offer a different experience.

Despite the lackluster ending, I found the combination of Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon and the Montecristo Espada Conquistador Ricasso enjoyable. The two exhibited similar profiles, with a pleasing woody character throughout. Inducing thoughts of earth, wood, and fallen leaves, it made for a fitting fall pairing.

Cheers!

Coffee, Campari & the Knuckle Sandwich

For our Sunday afternoon cocktails last weekend, I decided to make some Coffee Negronis. The coffee-flavored cocktail seemed particularly fitting for the cool afternoon.

The Coffee Negroni is based on a recipe from Anders Erickson.

Coffee Negroni

1 oz Dry Gin 

¾ oz Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur

¾ oz Campari

¼ oz Sweet Vermouth

Stir the ingredients with ice and serve up or over a large rock.

Express orange oil over the cocktail and discard the peel.

The cocktail has a darker, more roasted dimension than a classic Negroni. The Campari’s orange bitterness remains prominent, while the coffee adds espresso-like notes of roasted beans, dark chocolate, and a slight char. The roasted bitterness is nicely offset by the dark sweetness of the sweet vermouth, with everything accented by a bright citrus note. I took a small sip before expressing the orange oil, and that seemingly small addition made a noticeable difference, adding a fresh citrus note that brightened the entire drink.

I was also planning to enjoy an Espinosa Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2025 Toro, which seemed like it would be a natural accompaniment. The cigar came from a box I purchased in June 2025. It’s been a while since I’ve grabbed a stick from that box, and I’d been thinking about lighting another one for some time.

The Knuckle Sandwich line is the result of a collaboration between chef Guy Fieri and Erik Espinosa. The Chef’s Special edition is released annually. The 2025 version features a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers, presented as a 6 x 55 box-pressed Toro. The wrapper feels dry in the hand, but every one I’ve smoked has performed flawlessly.

The cigar is full-bodied, with earthy spice and espresso predominating. Layers of dark chocolate and dark fruit sweetness provide some balance to the bitter coffee notes.

The pairing offered a nice overlap of espresso and dark chocolate, along with some welcome contrast. The bitterness of the Campari stood up to the cigar’s richness, while the sweet vermouth and coffee notes seemed to amplify the chocolate and espresso flavors coming from the cigar. The flavors were familiar without being repetitive. The Knuckle Sandwich and Coffee Negroni didn’t simply duplicate each other, but instead seemed to lift and complement one another.

I’ve enjoyed cigars from the Knuckle Sandwich lineup with various bourbons, ryes, and ales. This Coffee Negroni and Knuckle Sandwich pairing has me excited to trying similar cocktails with other cigars as we move into the cooler — and eventually cold — weather of the coming months. 

Cheers!

Year of the Horse and a Barrel-Proof Evening

I picked up this Rocky Patel Year of the Horse when visiting a cigar lounge back in June. I’ve been looking forward to smoking it, and after more than three months of rest in the humidor, the time had finally come. We were experiencing some early fall cool weather, with the thermometer reading 60° and a “feels like” temperature of just 53°. A bold cigar and drink seemed like just the ticket.

The Year of the Horse is a limited-edition, box-pressed 7 x 48 Churchill made for the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Horse. It features a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler leaves. The black, gold, and red sleeve and band give the cigar an impressive appearance. Sliding off the large sleeve reveals a chocolatey brown San Andrés wrapper that’s a bit rustic in appearance. The roll is neat and even, although the tobacco has some visible veins.

I was a little apprehensive about the draw through the long, slender Churchill, but the airflow had just the right amount of resistance. Smoke production was good, and the burn remained even, requiring no touch-ups throughout the long 95-minute smoking time.

After some deliberation, I decided on an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (Batch A124) pairing. This particular pour is one of my favorite non-cigar-blend bourbons to sip with a full-flavored cigar. Eventually, I’ll have to look for another choice, as the level in the bottle is steadily dropping.

Batch A124 was the first of Elijah Craig’s three annual barrel-proof releases from 2024. Bottled at 119 proof and carrying a 10-year, 9-month age statement, it’s one of the younger and lower-proof releases in the series. It delivers a robust sipping experience of brown sugar, dark caramel, vanilla, and charred oak, with lively cinnamon and rye spice building toward the finish. Vanilla and a hint of tobacco linger alongside the oak and spice, resulting in a long, sweet finish that’s satisfying without becoming syrupy.

I figured the dark, rich combination would provide a nice counterpoint to the chilly, steady rain of an early fall evening.

The cigar kicked off with earth, espresso, and some sweet spice notes, jumping out of the gate solidly in the medium-bodied range. The initial sips of the bourbon, with its caramel, vanilla, and oak, were more pronounced, and the Elijah Craig took the lead despite the richness of the cigar.

The pairing became more balanced as the Year of the Horse progressed and the flavors continued to develop. The cigar moved into the full-bodied range as a more roasted and spicy character evolved. I started sipping the bourbon a bit more frequently as the cigar gained strength. The components were working in harmony now.

As the smoke neared its conclusion, the pairing took on even more intensity, with the Elijah Craig’s 119 proof providing a long, warming counterpoint to the espresso, cocoa, and toasted flavors of the Year of the Horse.

Indeed, this was a near-perfect combination for a dark and damp early fall evening. There’s warmer weather predicted for the upcoming week, but the evening was a reminder that more cool nights are on the way.

Cheers!

The White Noise of Cigar Smoking

I was enjoying a cigar at a local lounge recently when, for some reason, I became very aware of the hum of the air exchange system. Normally, that hum is simply part of the background — some white noise that I don’t really notice.

That got me thinking about the ubiquitous “white noise” of cigar smoking.

Naturally, any decent cigar lounge needs efficient air circulation and filtration. But most of my cigar enjoyment doesn’t happen in a cigar lounge. It happens at home, usually on the screened porch.

During the warmer months, I typically have several fans moving air around the porch. In addition to the ceiling fan, I usually run a couple of oscillating tower fans, and their hum is constant. This summer I added a box fan at one end of the porch to push even more air through the space. Together, all those fans create a surprisingly pleasant breeze, even in the middle of summer.

They also create a not-always-subtle layer of background noise.

When the weather turns cold, the oscillating fans get packed away and are replaced by a couple of Big Buddy portable propane heaters. Their little fans do a modest job of dispersing the warmth. With the porch windows closed, I also run a Jafanda room air purifier to help clear the smoke.

Different season, different equipment, same result: more background noise.

I usually have music playing while I enjoy a cigar on the porch, so the fans, heaters, and air purifier aren’t something I consciously listen to. After a few minutes, they’re just there. A low, steady hum woven into the rest of the cigar-smoking experience.

In fact, that hum has become enough of a part of the ritual that when I occasionally sit outside on the deck with everything turned off, the silence is almost more noticeable than the noise ever was.

The hum of the fans has become as much a part of “cigar time” as the smell of tobacco, the cut, the light, the sip of bourbon, or whatever music happens to be playing.

It’s funny how something you barely notice can become part of an experience.

Maybe that’s another part of enjoying a cigar. It’s not only the cigar, the drink, the weather, the music, or the company. It’s all those little things surrounding the moment — even the low hum of the machinery keeping the air moving.

The next time I’m sitting in a cigar lounge and hear that familiar hum of the ventilation system, I’ll probably notice it. And then, before long, I’ll stop noticing it again.

Cheers!

AI-generated image

Surprising Music History: Steely Dan and Schlitz

A jingle from the '70s to kick off the weekend.

Steely Dan, who knew? The jingle was recorded between the band’s 1972 debut album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, and their follow-up, Countdown to Ecstasy, from 1973. 

Cheers!

A Little Impatience: My Father La Lealtad

I first smoked the My Father La Lealtad a couple of months ago during a visit to John B. Hayes Tobacconist in Winchester, VA. The smoke was a little rushed due to time constraints, so I didn’t get to really dive into the cigar. It’s only been a week since I acquired a few La Lealtad for my humidor, but I lit one up recently, giving in to a little impatience.

The La Lealtad debuted in late April 2026 and is the second My Father cigar produced at the company’s Honduran factory, following the My Father Blue release in 2025. The wrapper is a shiny Ecuadorian Habano Rosado Oscuro leaf, while the double binder combines Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The filler also uses a mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Interestingly, this is the first My Father blend to combine Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco in both the binder and filler.

My cigars are the 6 1/8 x 52, box-pressed and sharply pointed Torpedo vitola. The rose-shaded wrapper enhances the presentation of the classic My Father bands.

A couple of cuts from the pointed cap gave me a nice draw with just the right amount of resistance. The smoking experience begins with a hefty dose of earth and cedar. As the cigar progresses, black coffee and espresso emerge, joined by cocoa and baking spice. As the smoke continues, the chocolate and coffee combination develops some leather along with an underlying sweetness that helps balance the darker flavors.

I paired the La Lealtad with a Rye Old Fashioned. In addition to J.H. Bards Rye, I used Blackstrap Old Fashioned Syrup from the Blacksburg distillery. A few dashes of Angostura bitters, a Luxardo cherry, and an orange peel completed the drink. It was a refreshing cocktail that paired nicely with the La Lealtad.

The 90-proof rye has enough proof and character to stand up to the La Lealtad without overwhelming the cigar’s flavor nuances. The rye cocktail brought oak and vanilla that complemented the coffee and cocoa notes from the cigar, while the sweetness from the blackstrap syrup helped round out the darker flavors. The combination worked particularly well as the cigar developed.

The cigar’s quality and construction also proved well-suited to a long smoke-and-drink pairing. The short rest time in the humidor did not appear to be a detriment. At one point, I was able to step inside and mix a second drink before returning to the cigar without needing to relight it or make any burn corrections. That’s an important quality when enjoying a cigar alongside a drink that you don’t want to rush.

Cheers!

Half Track Rolls into Hogshead

Previously I wrote about smoking the flavorful Surpassion King of Battle at Slow Burn. Last Friday evening, Surpassion Cigars debuted a limited-edition extension of the King of Battle line called Half Track. The new cigar is a 4 x 53 short robusto exclusive to Hogshead Cigar Lounge in Fredericksburg.

Asad and Manny from Surpassion were on hand at the release event at Hogshead to talk about their cigars and meet with customers.

Surpassion Cigars is a veteran-owned cigar company founded in 2024. Although the brand is relatively new, its founders bring years of experience in the cigar industry. Surpassion cigars are produced at Tabacalera La iSLA, a well-regarded boutique cigar factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The Half Track uses the same American Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, and blend of Dominican and American fillers as the King of Battle. The tobaccos have been aged for at least five years before being rolled. The cigars come packaged in a paper-wrapped bundle of ten and are available only at Hogshead.

I was interested to see how the shorter vitola would compare with the larger King of Battle.

The initial pepper kick from the Half Track seemed to hit a bit harder than it did with the original size. That difference was short-lived, though, as the flavors quickly settled into balance. The Half Track was remarkably similar to the King of Battle — a credit to the blenders for maintaining the character of the blend in a much smaller format.

Dark notes of espresso and cocoa, along with plenty of black pepper, delivered a full-bodied and flavorful smoke. The short cigar provided about 35 minutes of smoking time, making it a good choice when desiring the King of Battle profile without committing to a longer smoke.

After finishing the Half Track, I stayed at Hogshead to enjoy the conversation with the Surpassion guys and the other patrons. Eventually, I decided it was time for another cigar, but I wasn’t quite sure what to choose. I figured I'd save the rest of the bundle I purchased to enjoy later.

The Half Track/King of Battle blend is the most robust of Surpassion’s lineup, and I was hesitant about following it with something significantly milder. Manny recommended the Surpassion Valor. I had never smoked the Valor, so I decided to take his advice.

Valor was Surpassion’s first release. It features an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, and Dominican, Nicaraguan, and American fillers. Surpassion describes it as a medium-plus-bodied cigar.

Valor delivered notes of cedar, dark-roasted coffee, and a hint of sweetness. The flavors stood on their own and, interestingly, weren’t muted by the rich smoke that came before it.

Later, Asad told me that Surpassion’s cigars are blended with the idea that they should complement one another. At least based on these two cigars, I found that to be true. The transition from the full-bodied Half Track to the medium-plus Valor worked surprisingly well.

I had a very enjoyable evening at Hogshead and the Surpassion Half Track release event. It was fun to talk with the people behind Surpassion, learn more about the cigars, and spend some time with the other patrons — talking about cigars, of course!

Cheers!

HDA Veiled Mutiny with Blade & Bow: A Warm Evening Pairing

After enjoying the Hermanos de Armas Sentinel Limited Edition recently, I recalled that I had several other releases from HDA in the humidor. They’ve been there for more than a year, though certainly not forgotten.

I decided to light up an HDA Veiled Mutiny. Interestingly, HDA recently switched production from the Oveja Negra factory to Noel Rojas’s factory in Estelí. The cigars I have are the “vintage” ones made at Oveja Negra.

The Hermanos de Armas Sentinel Veiled Mutiny features an Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper, with binder and fillers from the Condega, Jalapa, and Ometepe regions of Nicaragua. The Toro I smoked measures 6 x 54, and it also comes in a 5 x 48 Robusto.

The cigar features a nice cocoa and bitter chocolate flavor profile. Medium-bodied, it also has an earthy leather character with mild spice underneath.

I poured some Blade & Bow Bourbon to go along with the cigar. Blade & Bow is a well-balanced sipper with notes of caramel, white fruit, and mild charred spice. It’s not an overly sweet bourbon, and its caramel notes seem to be accentuated by the cigar’s flavor. The bourbon’s flavor is prominent enough to be enjoyed, but it doesn’t overpower or mute the medium-bodied cigar.

The air was quite warm this evening, yet the Hermanos de Armas Sentinel Veiled Mutiny and Blade & Bow Bourbon pairing was light and flavorful, and perfectly sippable in the mildly stifling air. It was just the after-dinner cigar and bourbon combination the evening called for.

Cheers!