Last spring, we had the chance to visit Europe for a few months, which inevitably led to immense increases in our knowledge and experience regarding whisky, cigars, and wine. Besides drinking whisky and smoking cigars in Paris, we also had the chance to taste a huge variety of cigars and whisky in other areas of western Europe, of which unfortunately only a small fraction made it here onto TAG in the form of reviews.
One of our most memorable moments was a tour of the Speyside region of Scotland, where we toured …
The Luis Martinez factory in Esteli, Nicaragua holds its roots in Cuba. According to the manufacturer’s website, Don Luis Martinez started making cigars in Cuba in the late 19th century before fleeing from the revolution in 1892. Rather than regurgitate the company line on these cigars, let me reproduce it here: “The brand new Luis Martinez Nicaraguan Silver Selection is a cigar born from the jet black, mineral rich soil of Central America. It is the careful blending of tobaccos from this region that give this cigar its medium body …
Are those pump hoses on the distillery floor or a velvet rope? Dallas Dhu has been preserved as a Historic distillery in Scotland, aka it is a Tourist Trap. These days tasting a product from Dallas Dhu is a true rarity since no malt has entered the copper stills there since 1983 when the distillery went out of business. Unless you actually visit in which case the whisky left in barrels when the distillery closed is used as samples for visitors.
In the world of independent scotch merchants, brokers and bottlers, Duncan Taylor is one of the most important names. For me, this was the first private label scotch that I ever tried, and I tried 3 of their recent bottlings all from single casks: Caol Isla 1981 27 year old, Dallas Dhu 1981 27 year old, and The Dalmore 1990 17 year old.
Founded in 1938 in Glasgow, Duncan Taylor did most of its business as a cask broker until very recently, when the company’s focus switched to developing its own brand, with the distilleries as a …
