Late Night With Basil Hayden Toast and Oliva Serie V

This was the pairing on a rare late night smoke recently. We're typically an "early to bed, early to rise" household. While perusing my whiskey shelf I spied the Basil Hayden Toast bottle sitting in the bottom corner. Its placement was reflective of how long it's been on hand -- the prime spots tend to hold more recent acquisitions. 

Basil Hayden Toast also gets overlooked most weekends due to its low proof, just 80 proof. This time I gravitated to it for that very reason. The aroma is very light, almost nonexistent. With concentration I get hints of caramel and oak. The flavor profile is also mild, but pleasant. Toffee and caramel predominate. There are cinnamon spice and brown sugar notes arriving in the finish, which lingers for a short while.

I went with an old standby for the accompanying cigar. Oliva Serie V is a smoke that I generally have on hand in several vitolas. It works well with both coffee and bourbon. It stands up to higher proof whiskeys, and at the same time doesn't overwhelm the milder ones either. The 6 x 56 Torpedo has an attractive Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with Nicaraguan tobaccos making up the binder and filler. Clipping the sharply pointed cap reveals a firm but open draw. The cigar gives flavors of coffee, creamy chocolate, nuts, and cedar. It's robust but medium bodied. 

The late night pairing was a fine end to the evening. The cigar gave nearly two hours of pleasure. The easy sipping bourbon provided the perfect nightcap. 

Cheers!