I picked up a bottle of Connemara 12 on a recent trip and decided to give it a try right away. In case you haven’t had this before, it is traditional Irish whiskey. What makes it so traditional, you ask?  Well, the peat. Need I say more?

Peated whiskey is made from barley that has been kilned over peat fires. Connemara 12 year old peated whiskey hails from Ireland’s Cooley Distillery and has already been awarded several distinguished prizes around the world.

I find this single malt to be very powerful on the nose. What starts as strong peat evolves to more perfumed notes of dried apples and chamomile blossoms. At this point, you know you’re in for a very unique whiskey experience.

The palate is, again, quite unique. There’s a clear evolution from fruit notes to bittersweet spices. First I get something like lyche fruit that goes to nutmeg, almonds, and cedar. There is a very distinguishable undertone that reminds me of banana flavored starburts. A very smoky cedar finish lingers elegantly for a good while.

I decided to pair this with a lighter bodied cigar, as I thought that anything too pungent might just clash with the strong aromas of the whiskey. I ended up picking up a Davidoff Serie R and it was a great choice. All in all, it was a fine evening.

Alright, I want to show off my new acquisition from LightersDirect. It’s a table top lighter; meaning that it’s not something you’ll want to take in your shirt pocket, but which should be found among every aficionado’s cigar gear, and here’s why:

These things are as awesome as they are solid. There’s definitely a major “wow” factor that comes with a table lighter, but the real attraction is in how practical they are for perfectly and effortlessly lighting a cigar.

Take my new Lotus T3 table lighter with its triple flame for example. Not only does it look great on my desk, but the extra large tank capacity means I can use it more than twice as much as my regular lighters without having to refuel. Any other triple flame lighter would run out of gas after just a few cigars.

The massive triple flame of the Lotus T3 actually means lighting that cigar much faster and evenly. I was really taken back by how quickly I could light those large formats with this, and how effortlessly even the resulting burn is.

The T3 is solidly built with all metal construction as evidence my the sheer weight of it. Refilling is easily done through the metal valve which is available through the bottom of the base. No special screws, means no special tools or screwdrivers needed to refill; just tilt the thing, flush and fill the tank.

Everyone needs of these, definitely!

Having had a good experience with its Vintage 1999 line, I pulled the Graycliff Château Grand Cru from the humidor with good expectations. Being in Europe, it’s hard for me to gauge how popular these cigars really are, since we rarely find non Cuban cigars at our tobacconist, but one thing is clear: Graycliff really does make a great tasting cigar.

Profile wise, in contrast to the Vintage 99, the Château Grand Cru is much nuttier with less darker notes like cacao or caramel. The smoke is dense, creamy and plentiful. I would pair this cigar with a glass of fine Champagne or Alsacian Riesling.

The wrapper is sweet on the nose with obvious notes of red pepper corns and spices. The cigar is rewarding form the start. The first inch or so is chock-full of toasted almond notes with some pepper hints.

You will love the sweet aroma of the Grand Cru. The even burn means no retouching with the lighter, which keeps the aromas pleasant.

The flavor profile evolves past the half way mark toward cedar accompanied by roasted nuts and light spices in the background. These notes stay in place through to the end, with perhaps a small hint of licorice if you take it far enough. The finish consists of sweet wood and nuts.

I recommend the Graycliff Château Grand Cru heartily to everyone. The lack of sheer power means it should be enjoyed by even the novice.

Check it out at Cigars Direct, where I got this lot, and as always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

I saw this story today and wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it on over five major news sites. Apparently, the mayor of London has come under police investigation for nothing less than owning a cigar case! No, not just any cigar case.

Police demand to know how he came into possession of a red leather cigar case belonging to former Iraqi deputy premier Tariq Aziz. Both Aziz and Hussein enjoyed the occasional stogie as evidenced by numerous photos and video footage of the two lighting up, often with fine cognac or whiskey.

The mayor, who is a former journalist, admitted to having found the case among the debris of Aziz’s home, following its bombardment in 2003. He wrote about the finding at the time, and kept it as a trophy of his trip.

Now, let me see if I’m getting this right. We try to kill the guy, bomb his house out of existence and put him on trial for his countless crimes against humanity for which he is likely to get noose around his neck, and British police get pushed over the edge over who took a cigar case following a gigantic explosion? As far as I’m concerned, Aziz is lucky he won’t get hanged with the cigar case shoved up the wazzo!

I guess they better remember this to avoid “war criminal” status when the Castro regime finally comes crashing down: “You can kill the guy, but lay off the humidors!”