Est. Jacksonville, FL
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The Art of Pairing.
Independent tasting notes, pairing guides, and honest reviews — for the enthusiast who drinks with intention.
Latest Reviews & Guides
Plasencia Year of the Horse 2026: The Zodiac Cigar That Actually Earns Its Braid
Davidoff's Year of the Horse wrote a check the burn couldn't cash — Plasencia's own zodiac release, with three artisans hand-braiding every cap, sets out to prove the format can still be worth the money.
Camacho Limited Edition 2026: A Perfecto Built as a Tribute to Its Own Blenders
Davidoff just announced a four-country, 56 x 6 perfecto shipping September 3 — here's what we know, what I think it's up against, and what I'll be pouring next to it.
Bourbon & Beyond 2026: A Bourbon (and Cigar) Guy's Guide to Louisville's Biggest Weekend
Foo Fighters and Chris Stapleton get the headlines, but the Kroger Big Bourbon Bar is the real reason I’m driving up from Jacksonville — here’s how to do the weekend right.
Crowned Heads Décimo Aniversario 2026: The Blend Comes Back Bigger
The celebrated Las Calaveras blend returns in three new sizes and a bigger allocation — I got an early D52 and put it up against my notes from the original.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2026: What to Know Before You Head to Bardstown's 35th Anniversary
New Riff is the featured distillery, tickets run up to $6,995, and after a year of covering releases from a desk in Jacksonville, here's what actually matters once you're standing in Spalding Hall.
Diamond Crown Julius Caeser The Troublemaker: A Perfecto Worth the Hand-Carved Trouble
J.C. Newman had to carve a custom dowel just to mold this shape — I smoked three sticks to find out if the hassle shows up in the draw.
Redemption 18-Year-Old Bourbon: The Ancients Series Returns for Fall 2026
Lawrenceburg, Indiana juice aged nearly two decades, 2,400 bottles, and a $400 price tag — I tracked down a pour before the fall drop disappears.
Montecristo Doble Diamante Red: A $150 Cigar That Argues With Its Own Price Tag
Altadis' second three-figure Montecristo swaps in an all-Nicaraguan AJ Fernandez blend and a gorgeous red box — but after three sticks, I'm still not sure the smoke matches the sticker.
Aganorsa Supreme Leaf Euro Toro: The Cigar America Wasn’t Supposed to Get
For a decade, these vitolas only existed in European humidors — PCA 2026 finally cracked the door open, and just 1,000 boxes are crossing the Atlantic.
Davidoff Puro Dominicano 2026: The Black Label’s First New Cigar in a Decade
Davidoff resurrects an all-Dominican puro as a full-time release for the first time since 2016 — six tobacco regions, 32 combined years of leaf aging, and a $23 price tag that finally lets Davidoff compete outside the top shelf.
Diesel Uncaged: AJ Fernandez Puts the Bite Back in a Full-Time Blend
Diesel’s first new full-time release in years pairs a Nicaraguan habano criollo wrapper with AJ Fernandez’s usual precision — at $7 a stick, it might be the best everyday full-bodied smoke on the shelf right now.
Starlight Distillery 10-Year Reserve Cask Strength: 100 Bottles for a 25th Anniversary You Can’t Just Walk Into a Shop and Buy
The Huber family bottled just 100 units of this 120.4-proof anniversary reserve and sold it exclusively at their Indiana tasting room — here’s whether the hunt was worth it.
Padrón 60th Anniversary: Cigar of the Year, Finally in My Rotation
It took over a year of asking every shop in Jacksonville before I got my hands on the 97-point Natural — here’s whether it lives up to the hype, or the horror stories.
Garrison Brothers’ 2026 Laguna Madre Just Got a $410 Cask-Strength Sibling
On August 8, Garrison Brothers releases its annual Laguna Madre alongside a first-ever Cask Strength Single Barrel — 135.4 proof, $409.99, and gone before most of us finish our coffee.
Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey: Sazerac’s $300 Bottle That Argues With Itself
Sazerac’s annual homage to the last great Seagram blender mixes Canadian and American whiskey into something that shouldn’t work — and mostly does.
Old Forester Triple Char: The 117 Series Just Found Its Best Idea Yet
Old Forester’s first fully Main Street-distilled bourbon triples its char time — and the result is the best release the 117 Series has put out yet.
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee: Steve Saka’s Anniversary Smoke Delivers
Ten years after walking away from the corporate cigar world, Saka’s first national release with an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed wrapper might be the most complete cigar Dunbarton has ever put out.
CAO Amazon Basin 2026: The Rainforest Blend That Still Delivers, 12 Years In
CAO’s canoe-shipped Bragança tobacco returns for another lap — bold earth, cocoa sweetness, and a five-country blend that still earns its cult following.
Yellowstone Limited Edition 2026: Two Port Casks, One Grand Canyon, and a Bourbon Worth the $99
Stephen Beam blends 7- and 14-year Kentucky bourbons finished separately in Ruby and Tawny Port before marrying them at 101 proof — the 11th release in this series might be the best one yet.
Davidoff Year of the Horse 2026: A Beautiful Box, A Good Cigar, Not a $65 Cigar
Davidoff’s second lap through the Year of the Horse brings a gorgeous humidor and a genuinely interesting Ecuadorian-heavy blend — but the price tag is writing checks the burn can’t quite cash.
Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Wheated Bourbon 2026: The “Year of Wheat” Opens Strong
Heaven Hill declares 2026 the “Year of Wheat” and opens its most transparent series with a $100 bottle you can trace back to the exact field the corn grew in.
Blade and Bow 12-Year Solera Reserve: A Wheater Goes to Europe and Comes Back Different
Diageo runs a 12-year Stitzel-Weller-blooded bourbon through a four-wine solera system, and for $65 it doesn’t taste like a gimmick.
Old Forester 117 Series High Angels’ Share Rye: A Triple-Char Experiment Worth Chasing
Old Forester triples the char time on this small-batch rye — and instead of ash, you get toffee.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye A126: Heaven Hill’s Best-Kept Secret
At nearly 12 years old and 120.4 proof, the first 2026 batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye is the sleeper hit of the year — and it’s sitting right next to the bourbon on the shelf, largely ignored.
Indian Motorcycle 125th Anniversary Cigar: A Limited American Icon Worth the Hunt
Five hundred boxes. A Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper. Dominican fillers aged five-plus years. Indian Motorcycle’s anniversary smoke might be the most interesting $20 stick of 2026.
Rocky Patel Sapphire 2026: The Crown Series Hits Its Stride
Over 100 prototypes, tobacco aged back to 2014, and a San Andrés wrapper that delivers the kind of sweetness you used to have to pay $25 for — the third gem in Rocky’s crown series is worth the hunt to your local retailer.
Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm 2026: When the Mashbill Changes, Everything Changes
The second release of Maker’s Mark’s wheat whiskey experiment arrives at 116.4 proof with a radically different grain bill — fruit-forward, fascinating, and worth the $100 even if it makes you miss last year.
601 La Bomba Warhead: Independence Day 250 Years
Espinosa’s limited 4th of July commemorative is a full-bodied Nicaraguan powerhouse that earns its place in a once-in-a-generation celebration — light one on the 4th.
Old Fitzgerald Spring 2026 Decanter: The Best $150 Bottle Heaven Hill Makes Right Now
The 17th release in the Bottled-in-Bond Decanter Series arrives with 10 years of age, 100 proof, and tasting notes that remind you why this brand used to be impossible to find.
Brick House Maduro Commodore: The $11.50 Cigar That Commands Your Evening
J.C. Newman’s bold new 5.5 x 70 just started shipping — and it might be the best-value maduro released in 2026.
Still Austin Bottled in Bond Red Corn 2026: Texas Goes Seven Years Deep
The Austin distillery’s 2026 Bottled in Bond release adds another year to the barrel and keeps doubling down on Jimmy Red Corn — a heritage-grain story that’s finally got the age to back it up.
Lost Lantern 1776 Edition: The First Bourbon Blended From All 13 Original States
For America’s 250th anniversary, Lost Lantern sourced straight bourbon from every one of the original colonies — 1,776 bottles, 121.4 proof, and a concept so good it almost upstages the whiskey itself.
Perdomo Legacy Father & Son Shade Grown: PCA 2026’s Breakout Cigar Is Already Worth the Hunt
Perdomo’s first limited edition is a father-son collaboration — and the Shade Grown just took top honors at the PCA Trade Show in New Orleans.
Elijah Craig 21-Year-Old Single Barrel: A Legend Returns After More Than a Decade
Heaven’s Hill rarest single barrel just came back from the dead — and at 21 years and 94 proof, it was worth the wait.
E.P. Carrillo Deep Blue 2026: Limited, Layered, and Worth the Hunt
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s most ambitious limited edition in years delivers a 6x56 Nicaraguan powerhouse that reveals new layers with every inch — and it might be the best cigar of 2026.
Michter’s 10 Year Single Barrel Rye 2026: A Premium Rye Worth the Annual Hunt
At 92.8 proof and $210 a bottle, Michter’s most anticipated rye is back — exceptional nose, complex palate, and a pairing with the Arturo Fuente Opus X that earns a slow evening.
Booker’s Milkshake Batch 2026: A 124-Proof Tribute to Booker Noe
The second Booker’s release of 2026 carries a backstory straight from the Noe family kitchen — and tasting notes that might be the sweetest, creamiest pour in the lineup’s 35-year history.
Garrison Brothers Ranch Reserve: Texas Bourbon Finally Gets Its Sherry Moment
Eight years in American oak, four more in Spanish sherry casks — the new Ranch Reserve series is the most ambitious thing out of Hye, Texas yet, and I think they pulled it off.
Daniel Weller Spelt Wheat: Buffalo Trace Rewrites the Wheated Playbook
The second chapter of the Daniel Weller experimental series uses one of the world’s oldest grains — and at $550, the results are genuinely worth the conversation.
Blood Oath Pact No. 12: Italy Meets Kentucky (and a Liga Privada to Seal the Deal)
Lux Row finishes Kentucky rye bourbon in Montepulciano and Sangiovese casks — the result is one of the most distinctive limited releases of 2026, and it pairs beautifully with a Liga Privada No. 9.
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition: The Legend Gets a Worthy Successor
Wild Turkey’s inaugural Austin Nichols Archives release honors the cult “Cheesy Gold Foil” era with a 16-year, 120-proof barrel proof that earns the $400 asking price.
Sweetens Cove Father’s Finish 2026: Wine Barrels, 98 Proof, and a Cigar for Dad
Peyton Manning’s bourbon brand drops a Father’s Day limited edition finished in cuvée wine barrels — we pour it neat, light a My Father Le Bijou, and see if this one earns a spot in the gift rotation.
Little Book Chapter 10 “All the Wiser”: Ten Years In, Freddie Noe’s Best Yet
The 10th anniversary release blends six Beam bourbons at 122.6 proof — and paired with the right cigar, it might be the most interesting bottle of 2026.
Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 22 Year: The Oldest One Yet
Heaven Hill’s 2026 annual release hits 22 years of age and 129.2 proof — and it might be the most serious bourbon they’ve ever put in a bottle.
Russell’s Reserve 13 Year: The 2026 Release Is Worth Every Penny
Wild Turkey’s tribute to Eddie Russell’s 45 years drops at barrel proof 121.2 — and paired with a Tatuaje Black Label, it might be the best $200 you spend on bourbon this year.
Alec Bradley Thirty Years: Thirty Candles, One Genuinely Great $12 Cigar
Alec Bradley skips the nostalgia tour for its 30th anniversary and hands Raíces Cubanas a blend that overdelivers at every price point it’s sold at.
New Riff 2026 Single Malt: Six Mash Bills, Five Casks, One Wild Bottle
New Riff ditches the usual bourbon playbook for an American single malt built from six mash bills and five cask types — and somehow it all makes sense in the glass.
Buzzard’s Roost Red, White & Roost: The July 4th Bourbon That Earns the Holiday
A barrel-strength double oak single barrel that showed up on June 24th — because some bourbons don’t wait for the party to start.
Four Roses Anthology Chapter One: Origin — A 21-Year Masterpiece Worth the Hunt
Four Roses just released the oldest bourbon in their 138-year history — a 21-year, 124.9-proof limited release of only 400 bottles. I tracked one down and poured it next to a Padrón 1926. Here’s whether it earns the $500 price tag.
High West Bourye 2026: The Bourbon-Rye Blend Worth the Hunt
High West’s annual limited release returns with more age, higher proof, and a complexity that makes the $125 price tag feel honest.
Barrell New Year 2026 Meets the CAO Amazon Basin
A seven-state blend at 110.3 proof against a cigar grown from rainforest tobacco — I poured them side by side to see if the big swing pays off.