Late-Winter Evenings: El Pulpo & Valentine’s Chocolate

We continue to enjoy some moderately warmer weather and ever-later sunsets — welcome signs that there’s more time to linger outdoors with an after-dinner cigar. Earlier this week, the El Pulpo from Artesano del Tobacco, paired with some Valentine’s Day candy, made for a sweet treat as the sun settled below the horizon and the evening air began to cool.

The El Pulpo is a smoke I’ve been enjoying often of late. Balanced and rich, notes of dark chocolate, black coffee, and roasted nuts are supported by a palate-pleasing dark sugar sweetness. Though the burn wavers at times, the cigar produces copious, flavorful smoke and remains an easy one to revisit. As the smoke progressed, the bitter notes of coffee and dark chocolate moved from medium-bodied into the fuller range. At the same time, the sweetness deepened in the finish, maintaining balance.

Chocolate treats rarely fail when enjoyed alongside a darker-flavored cigar. The creamy chocolate and hazelnut fillings in the candies were satisfyingly decadent, their sweetness complementing the cigar’s deeper notes. Not a bad way to spend an evening as the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to stretch.

Cheers!

Seventeen Years in the Cellar: Samichlaus 2008

Each year, on the Feast of St. Nicholas, we traditionally break out a few old bottles of Samichlaus Bier that have been aging undisturbed in the cellar. “Samichlaus” means “Santa Claus” in the Swiss-German dialect of Zürich. Brewed only once a year on December 6, the beer is aged for nearly a full year and released in time for the following year’s celebration. This formidable 14% ABV doppelbock is produced by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg of Austria.

This year, our toast came on the eve of the Saint’s feast day. Digging through the boxes of old beer, I pulled out the oldest Samichlaus I had on hand — a couple of bottles from 2008

Delightfully, the beer had aged very well. It still exhibited low carbonation, producing a thin, short-lived head. A small bit of sediment was present, and the beer poured a translucent caramel color. Deep, rich aromas of toffee, fig, and dates rose from the glass, with little evidence of the 14% ABV on the nose.

Sipping the well-aged lager was a pleasure. Dark notes of fig and toffee carried through into the flavor. Drinking almost like an aged port, each sip ended with a gentle alcohol warmth. A mild malt sweetness lingered with a slightly sticky finish.

After enjoying several sips of the Samichlaus, I lit up an Oliva Serie V Melanio. The Serie V has been well covered in these Musings. It is a remarkably versatile cigar, providing a suitable accompaniment for all manner of libations — coffee, bourbon, and beer included. In this instance, its coffee, caramel, and nutty notes melded beautifully with the dark fruit sweetness of the Samichlaus. A few bites of peppermint bark candy added a festive final touch to the celebration.

We still have some older bottles of Samichlaus, along with other fine beers suitable for aging, tucked away. I haven’t bought much in recent years with the intention of long-term storage, but there is still enough old stock on hand for many more aged beer tastings in the future.

Cheers!

Sips, Smoke, and Peppermint Bark: A Surprising Trio

Most of my cigar enjoyment over the past week has come in the form of quick smokes after dinner — usually paired with coffee, a small pour of bourbon, or even just water. When the weekend rolled around, I finally set aside time for a longer, more relaxed sip-and-smoke session on the porch. I reached for a Black Label Trading Company Last Rites Toro and the bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon.

The 6” x 50 Last Rites Toro, a vitola added to the line last June, was part of the July Cigars and Pipes COTM package. The Last Rites was once one of my go-to cigars at the Olde Towne Tobacconist at the Farm before it closed a couple of years ago. Just lighting one up brings back memories of good times with friends in the cigar lounge at the brewery.

The cigar wears an oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. The full-bodied smoke delivers notes of dried fruit, coffee, and mild pepper spice throughout. It’s flavorful and well-balanced from start to finish.

As I headed out to the porch, my wife offered me a piece of Peppermint Bark — a treat she enjoys every Christmas season. She happened to have a box still tucked away in the pantry. I’ll have a piece on occasion, though it’s not usually one of my favorites.

The Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond was once an allocated bourbon under Virginia’s antiquated ABC system, but it now sits regularly on the shelf. Aged seven years and bottled at 100 proof, it’s a fine bourbon at a very reasonable price. Aromas of caramel, vanilla, and oak fill the air as it rests in the glass. The sip begins with moderately intense oak and baking spice, followed by sweet vanilla and dark cherry. The finish lingers with caramel sweetness that pairs beautifully with the cigar’s flavor profile.

Mixing puffs of the cigar with sips of bourbon — interspersed with bites of peppermint bark — made for a surprisingly enjoyable tasting experience. I often read that cigar “reviewers” should taste cigars without food or drink to experience the “true” flavors. Good thing I simply share my experiences rather than trying to be an industry critic. (In fact, if you ask ChatGPT about this blog, it’ll tell you the same thing!)

The evening on the porch was extremely pleasant. It gets dark early now, so I’m smoking by lamplight instead of the sunset. I’m still fine-tuning the balance of ventilation and heating in the newly enclosed porch. The recent addition of an air purifier is doing wonders to clear the smoke, and I’m optimistic that I’ll be needing fewer clothing layers when winter truly sets in.

Cheers!

The Bishops Blend Novemdiales: A Timely Smoke

When I awoke Monday morning to the news that Pope Francis had died, I knew exactly which cigar I would be lighting later. The Black Label Trading Company’s Bishops Blend Novemdiales seemed tailor-made for the occasion.

Novemdiales refers to the nine-day period of mourning in the Catholic Church following the death of a Pope. I had just one stick from the 2023 release left in my humidor, and this felt like the right moment to finally smoke it.

The Bishops Blend is an annual release from Black Label Trading Company, typically featuring a consistent blend year to year. But for their 10th anniversary in 2023, the company created something special. Enter the Novemdiales: a reimagined Bishops Blend sporting a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper instead of the usual Ecuadorian Maduro. It kept the traditional Ecuadorian binder and filler tobaccos from Connecticut, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania.

The 5 x 50 Robusto is distinctive, with its sharp, cone-shaped cap and closed foot. This full-bodied cigar offers a rich and complex flavor profile, opening with bold notes of dark fruit and bitter espresso. Deep undertones of dark coffee and cocoa provide a solid foundation, while a subtle molasses-like sweetness adds a layer of balance. Strong cedar and a moderate to pronounced peppery spice round out the experience — though after resting for 18 months, this particular stick had mellowed, softening the spice just a bit.

The Pope’s passing — not wholly unexpected after his long illness — came during the Easter season. As part of our Easter Sunday preparations, Colleen had made chocolate-covered peanut butter “egg” candies. I decided to enjoy one alongside the coffee I was sipping with the Novemdiales.

I’ve paired cigars with chocolate and mixed nuts before, but I was genuinely surprised by how exceptionally well this particular combination worked. The interplay of sweet and bitter flavors in both the candy and the cigar seemed to elevate each other. I devoured the candy far too quickly, but managed to resist the temptation for a second. I’ll try to enjoy another one with a smoke before they’re all gone.

An hour and a half on the porch, watching a flurry of birds — especially the hummingbirds at the feeder — and soaking in the mild spring air made for a truly peaceful evening wind-down.

Cheers!

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Easter Candy and Tatuaje Avion 13 Tuxtla

Forty-days of avoiding sweets, and then a bonanza! I often wonder if the tradition of chocolate at Easter started because Catholics were graving the things they gave up for Lent. The fabled Easter Rabbit still makes a small drop at our home, despite it being empty of (actual) children. I paired some of those sweet treats with a cigar on Sunday afternoon.

The Tatuaje Avion 13 Tuxtla is the last of a batch I purchased in July 2022. I figured it was probably getting close to, or past, its prime. The Tuxtla is a strong, bold blend by design and I didn't want to lose that.

Tatuaje Avion 13 Tuxtla is variation of the original Avion 13, which featured a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. The Tuxtla has a San Andrés wrapper. Both cigars have a Nicaraguan double binder and filler. The 6 7/8 x 52 box pressed perfecto is a large, well constructed, and attractive stick. The dark brown wrapper is oily in the hand. 

The foot lights easily and the burn spreads evenly as the cigar widens to its full circumference. The initial flavor is pepper and cedar. As the cigar heats up and the burn gets to the body of the cigar, espresso and cocoa join the mix. Eventually a mellow earthiness comes in to play. 

The Avion 13 Tuxtla started out as a full bodied smoke, though as I passed the mid-point, the profile mellowed slightly. I didn't feel the flavor was as strong as I remembered. That could be the nearly two years spent in the humidor. In any event, it was still plenty flavorful and enjoyable.

Cheers!

Now, about those peeps...

A better use for that leftover Easter candy.

Good for your diet too. 

Halloween and Beer

We loaded the candy bowl, poured a couple glasses of Southern Tier Pumking, and waited. Since Halloween fell on a Friday this year, we assumed there would be larger than usual crowds, and the Trick or Treating would go on later in the evening. Not long after I poured the beer, the doorbell rang and it began.

Pumking pours a bright orange color with a thin head. The aroma of pumpkin pie and sweet malt is apparent immediately. The expected pumpkin pie spices are present, but to my delight, the aroma of pumpkin flesh is there as well. The flavor is that of real pumpkin pie — the bready crust, the sweet pumpkin flavor, and just enough cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to complete the picture. There's a moderate amount of carbonation to liven things up. The 8.6% ABV is well-masked but gives just a welcome hint of warmth in the finish.

For the first part of my glass I was up and down answering the door. But as quickly as it started, the candy-hunting visitors stopped. There were but a few busy moments, everyone coming in groups. Apparently the latest thing is to decorate your car with Christmas lights and drive from house to house with a carload of kids. Even for driveways twenty yards apart the cars were reloaded to drive to the next stop. At one point our cul-de-sac was so backed up with cars that some had to back out of the street. It seems to me that walking, as we used to do, for Halloween would be a dangerous prospect due to the vehicle heavy traffic.

The beer glasses empty and the candy bowl still half full, the festivities ended earlier than expected. And there's a lot of candy left to tempt us in the coming days.