So the Epicurean and I were sitting on the back porch at work - gotta love small companies - when we both decided that a glass of Ardmore Highland Single Malt, (non-chill filtered, peated, 46% alcohol by volume) and a cigar would be a good thing. Now the Ardmore is an unusual combination of sweet in the nose and front of the tongue, fire from the alcohol, and smoke from the peat. Not as smoky as one of my beloved Islay malts, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
I reached into my copious coolerdor and fished out a couple of 5" CAO Black cigars (apparently named "Storm") with their cedar sleeves still intact . CAO Blacks are a top-5 for me for three reasons: a tremendous consistency from cigar to cigar, medium bodied smoke with hints of cedar and leather, and an ability to stay smokeable down to the nub. It features a Connecticut-seed Ecuador-grown wrapper, with habano filler from Nicaragua and Mexico. It's got good solid flavor throughout.
But this cigar won't destroy a newcomer to cigars. In fact, it would be a lovely way to descend into this particular vice. When smoked slowly, it is very mild. The Epicurean thought it was a decent smoke too, perhaps a bit light for him, although he shredded the wrapper pretty fast on this one. At least he didn't eat it.
For me, a must-have in the humidor. 4.5 out of 5!
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