Eight Shires Accomak Shire Spiced Rum with Blackened S84 Shade to Black

I decided on a lighter palette for my palate during a weeknight sip and smoke. A coworker had given me a bottle of Eight Shires Accomac Shire Spiced Tavern Rum on the occasion of my retirement. I do enjoy spiced rum on occasion, but had yet try this one. Admittedly, I was not familiar with the Williamsburg, VA distillery, despite its geographic proximity.

Accomac Shire Spiced Rum is described as a "Caribbean style spiced rum using 18th century style spices and molasses." I've read that the molasses is imported from a south American company that uses 18th century methods. The distillery also employs some older equipment similar to that used in colonial times. 

The 83 proof rum is a light amber color. I smell baking spices from the glass. The flavor is mild with notes of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. It's an enjoyable beverage. I could almost imagine serving it warm, with some apple slices and cinnamon sticks on a cold winter night. 

For the cigar portion of the evening I grabbed a Blackened Cigars S84 Shade to Black Toro from the humidor. This cigar came in the June Luxury Cigar Club shipment and had been in the humidor for eight weeks. The 6 x 52 cigar from Drew Estate is a followup to the popular Blackened Cigars M81. 

The smooth stick boasts an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper. A Connecticut River Valley Broadleaf Maduro binder, with Nicaraguan Maduro and Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro filler leaves completes the picture. The blend appears to be the same as the M81, excepting the wrapper leaf change. The proportions of the binder and fillers are never revealed so this may or may not differ between the two blends.

The cigar is widely listed as a medium to full bodied smoke. I found it to be somewhat on the milder side. The wrapper really seems to influence the flavors. After an initial few puffs of pepper and cedar, the profile notes settled into the bread, butter, and peanut realm. There was an underlying layer of sweet milk chocolate and some mild baking spices. The burn was excellent and the smoke production steady.

I'd rate the Blackened Cigars S84 Shade to Black in the mild to medium body range. It did pair nicely with the spiced rum. I would not pair it with a more robustly flavored spirit. That said, I suspect the cigar would satisfy the fan of milder smokes who are looking for something a little different.

Cheers!

Friday Smokes and Drinks

It's hard to believe it's Tuesday, and I'm just getting around to reminiscing about last Friday. It was a busy but fun weekend, spent visiting family and traveling without a laptop.

I "put a lid" on the week early Friday afternoon to enjoy a before dinner cigar in the waning warmth of a moderately warm November day. The weekend kicked off with a Rocky Patel Grand Reserve. The Grand Reserve was first released in 2018 for distribution in Europe. It proved to very popular, and was just released to the U.S. in the summer 2020. The blend for the cigar is undisclosed, the only details being the tobaccos were aged for two years before being rolled at the factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

This 5½ x 50 Robusto is a light, milk chocolate in color and exhibits an even burn all the way through. The flavor profile was that of creamy coffee and nuts. The cigar has a sweet note as well. When I first smoked the cigar this summer, I found it quite smooth and mild. This time, I detected a hint of cedar spice and would definitely rate it as medium bodied. The beverage accompaniment was a warm chai latte.

After a break for dinner, I returned to the porch to continue the welcome period of rest and relaxation. The sun having set, it was necessary to crank up the propane heater and pour something with a little more "warmth." Colleen has been doing some pre-holiday baking that involves rum as an ingredient. Seeing the bottles on the counter this week put me in the mood for a taste so I grabbed the bottle of Don Q Oak Barrel Spiced Rum. I find this to be an easy sipper, with notes of brown sugar and clove. There's a sweet vanilla and oaky aspect to the profile as well. 

The cigar for the evening, was the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. The 6 x 54 Torpedo features a dark San Andrés wrapper. The binder and fillers are from Nicaragua. The Serie V Maduro is a full bodied smoke featuring rich, creamy chocolate with cedar and nuttiness in the finish. The ligero leaf added to the filler gives it a bit of strength. The cigar burned beautifully, producing about a 90 minute smoke

The rum and cigar worked decently well together. The milder rum flavors may have been slightly underwhelmed by the full bodied cigar, but overall the flavor profiles were a good match. The fact that I smoked the cigar down until it was literally burning my fingers is testimony to that. But all good things must eventually come to end. It was the same with the bottle of Don Q which must now be replaced.

National Rum Day

Never one to miss a celebration, I was happy to lend my support to National Rum Day on Sunday. After we enjoyed an afternoon hike through a local Battlefield park, I decided to pair a rum with my Sunday cigar. I had a bottle of Don Q Oak Spiced Rum in the cabinet, which was paired with a Hamlet Tabaquero Solomon from Rocky Patel Cigars.

I'm not a regular rum drinker. This bottle was purchased for a specific recipe we were trying, but I've since enjoyed it occasionally on the rocks with a cigar. The spiced rum has notes of brown sugar and cloves, over a sweet vanilla and oaky base. The 90 proof bottling is smooth and eminently sippable.

The uniquely-shaped 7⅝" x 58 perfecto is always a pleaser. I had it a few times and enjoy both the flavor, and the fact that is is simply a nice looking cigar. The cigar is tapered its entire length, and sharply closes to a small tip at the head. The first bit hits with a kick, and then the flavors open up as more filler comes into play. The blend consists of a San Andrés wrapper, a Nicaraguan filler, and a combination of San Andrés and Brazilian Mata Fina double binder. Creamy sweetness, milk chocolate, cedar, earth, and oak all come through. Nearing full body by the end, the two hour smoke is a pleasure.

The smoke, and a few pours of rum done, I marked the weekend complete. I was as prepped as I can be for another week of "the grind," all in anticipation of the next weekend!