First of all, I’ve always found it a little preposterous that there could be hard and fast rules for drinking any beverage, even one taken as seriously as wine or whisky. The name of this website would suggest a higher level of pretense to this subject; would a Gentleman sip Chateau Petrus over ice through a straw? I have a bit of a libertarian whisper in my ear saying,” if you can afford it, do whatever you want with it.” The point of these guides has always been to provide …

As scotch sales surge there are fortunes to be made again in the whisky business, and many established brands are bought and sold, rebranded, or receive an influx of new marketing and ideas. The Morrison Bowmore group is a good example of this, with their brands Bowmore, Glen Garioch, McLelland’s, and Auchentoshan. All of these bottling have received modernized updates to their labels and packaging, making them easier to read and recognize on a bar or store shelf. Each label also represents a certain market segment that is easy to understand for the consumer: Auchentoshan is …

I was offered an excellent chance at a fairly new line of cigars from a company I had not tried, Villiger Stokkebye International’s La Capitana.  VSI has been in the tobacco industry for well over a century, as far back as 1882.  The company was founded by two families, Jean Villiger of Pfeffikon, Switzerland and the Stokkebye family of Denmark.  The two families combined to form VSI, and have been offering their products to the US market for over 30 years with great success.  Villiger cigars sell over 500 million …

The Macallan and Highland Park, but also the well-known blends The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark, in which much of The Glenrothes’ production ultimately ends up.  Fortunately Glenrothes has moved more and more in recent years towards single malt bottlings, and today we are tasting the 1995 vintage.
One way in which Glenrothes distinguishes itself from other Speyside brands is by bottling its whiskies in vintages rather than using age statements.  Hence in your local whisky shop you might find The Glenrothes 1998, 1988, 1994, etc. as well as the vatted malt …

For several years, my cigars have rested patiently in a humidor that I made from lining an old Penfolds Grange box. This humidor was functional, something I was proud of, and a good conversation starter. It was unique. The cigars locked inside, however, are hand crafted treasures made to the highest standards by traditional, professional cigar manufacturers. A humidor of more noble character was in order. Not necessarily just one with improved aesthetics; there should be some accompanying improvements in functionality. Good ventilation inside the humidor and stable humidification  were …

I would argue that smoking a cigar solo is the best way to unwind and spend time collecting one’s thoughts, gaining an inner calm while the cigar entertains your physical senses.  However, when it comes to delving into the depths and nuances of a particular cigar, as well as enjoying the great conversation that cigars bring, smoking with others is a superb way to spend time.  Normally, when smoking with colleagues, we will each pull a cigar or two from our own, or eachother’s humidors, comparing and contrasting our choices …