You may have noticed that for a little over 30 hours HumiBlog was down due to hosting SLQ failures. I have taken steps to change hosts and within a couple of days the transfer should be complete. In the mean time, there may be some glitches here and there.

Now, without further ado, here’s this week’s worthy single highland malt scotch: The Dalmore 12 Year from the black isle.

This whisky has an attractive golden mahogany hue that looks enticing from the start. There’s just something about dark single malt that I can’t resist. The nose is certainly intense and appropriately so, yet not without finesse. The malt tones are accompanied by notes of orange zest, cherry and oak. It also strikes me as slightly sweeter than other single malts.

The palate is full-bodied and full-flavored; there is real substance there. Rich citrus zest notes accompany the malt, spice and cream toffee notes in a well balanced fashion. The finish is equally smooth but full of flavor, with some notes of vanilla and sweet licorice as well.

I found The Dalmore 12 Year single highland malt to be full, fine and extremely satisfying. A great scotch deserving of the highest HumiBlog honors.

In this installment of Tobacco Leaves and Blends, we will continue discussing the selection and classification of tobacco leaves destined for the production of premium cigars. In part two of this series, we left off at the Escogida, where the crux of the classification process takes place, as each leaf is carefully inspected by the fine artisans of the trade.

As you can imagine, the details of this classification can be extremely confusing with over forty different sub-classes, each with a different name and function. This article, however, will attempt to provide a rather general overview.

It suffices to know that all the leaves are first arranged according to the order in which they were collected from the plant. Tobacco leaves are picked starting from the bottom of the plant and working toward the top, since bottom leaves mature first and are thus ready for picking sooner; a process that takes quite some time, given that generally only two or three leaves can be picked at a time. As you can see, this has a tremendous impact on the physical and chemical properties of each leaf, thus directly influencing its strength, aroma, combustibility and taste profile. This first classification, therefore, is naturally important.

The leaves will also have to be sub-classified to determine their overall quality. In general, there are three levels of quality, called primera, segunda and tercera. So far so good, right? Well, each of these sub-classes will be further classified into tiempos. A tiempo represents a group of leaves within the same sub-category that exhibit similarities in their overall texture and strength.

For binders and fillers, the four tiempos are called volado, seco, ligero, and medio tiempo. Leaves destined to be used as wrapper, will naturally have to be classified not only by texture but also by color. Therefore, in addition to the four tiempos already mentioned, there will be several sub-tiempos for the wrapper leaves. It may be easier to picture this by comparing the wrapper texture and color of say a Cohiba and a Partagas cigar. While Cohiba wrappers are thin, light-brown and oily, a Partagas wrapper will be dark-brown, thick and oilier than a Cohiba’s; they are picked from two opposite extremes of the sub-tiempo spectrum.

Now here’s what really gets me. One might think that this work is carried out in successive steps. I mean, that’s the only way I could ever conceive it being done. The reality, though, is far from it. Each of the women working at the Escogida will be able to pick a leaf and place it in the right pile around them; a pile that corresponds to the exact class, sub-class, tiempo, and sub-tiempo of the leaf!

As there are still several more steps to discuss, next week, in the fourth installment of Tobacco Leaves and Blends, we will continue with this journey into the making of a consistent Vitola.

Linked to: Cigar Intelligence Angency

There is something about the Partagas Serie D No. 4 that has the power to take me back to the first time I ever had one. As I light this up and take the first few puffs, I can almost feel the sun in my face and the warm breeze of that early summer day, sitting across the lake at the Bois de Boulonge Park in Paris. It’s just a kind of memorial of my early cigar smoking days and, therefore, a favorite cigar of mine.

What can I say? I just love this cigar. Though to the sight, with its rough rustic construction and slightly toothy and freckled wrapper, it may not be the most beautiful cigar, don’t be fooled; the beauty of this stick truly lies within.

The pre-light aromas are subdued. I’ve never had one that exhibited a lot of complex aromas on the nose before lighting up, yet the aroma that is present, I can only describe as solid. It’s almost as if it didn’t want to flirt much, preferring hold back until it can begin a full fledged seduction. Go ahead and taste the wrapper. The classic white peppery taste is a Cuban trademark.

A quick clip and a light really begin the experience. An aroma of wet earth, leather, and peppers hits the air. The draw started a bit tighter than I like on this one, but it soon became spot on. The solid ash burned relatively even. I let the ash build up to past the half way mark before tapping it into the tray in the form of a solid perfectly shaped pellet.

The smoke was a delightful right from the start: leather and earth took center stage for a while, together with some grassy notes that I can only describe as resembling that of red bell peppers. It soon began to give off notes of roasted almonds with a graphite twang that I find very interesting and unique. Later, in the last third the leather came on stronger with equal notes of good espresso, while still laced with the awesome white pepper notes which also accompany the beautiful cedar finish.

This is a cigar that never gets cumbersome on me. It has a solid body and dark notes all the way but, unlike other similarly bodied cigars, it never gets bitter or harsh. I enjoy taking this right to the nub. I didn’t rush this one; taking about an hour and a half to finish.

This week’s single malt comes from the Scottish isle of Jura that gives this whisky its name. I picked this one up at the duty free shop at Heathrow airport. I don’t know why this particular bottling is different than the usual Isle Jura, but one thing I can say: The color on this is of mahogany highlights, as you can see; quite a bit darker than other advertised versions. I must say the island malt does give this one a unique character that is very pleasant. It’s not a heavy hitter, more like a medium-bodied scotch, and I may I say, a real treat.

On the nose you can expect to sense light but fragrant notes of pine, rosemary and cinnamon. On the palate it is warm and slightly sweet with notes of pine, fruit and spices. It also exhibits very light hints of wood on the finish. At this price, this one’s a real pleasure to drink; incredibly smooth and spicy.

I paired this with a Partagas D#4, and it was delightful. I don’t think you can go wrong by matching this with your favorite cigar.