“Mill on the Hill” is the meaning of the Gaelic word that gives this aromatic single malt its name, since the distillery sits beside the mill on the banks of Allt a Choire, a tributary of the great river Livet, in Scotland. Far from being a powerhouse scotch whisky the Tamnavulin 12 Year is rather mild and refreshing on the palate.

Let yourself be seduced by the bright amber color and the mellow herbal notes with peat, heather, and hay on the nose. On the palate the single malt is lightly spicy to me; some cinnamon and nutmeg come to mind, with citrus zest and other floral notes. I like the “roundness” on this whisky, which reminds me of an old and mature Bordeaux wine; the result of the twelve year maturation.

I pair this one with a light smoke, one not too dark or earthy, and not a powerhouse for sure. Pairing it with a Don Diego or a Belmore Torpedito, the latter available in Europe, has been very nice indeed.

Now the third and final installment of my exploration into the European attitude for non-Cuban cigars: France’s Best Cigars of 2005 (part III): Honduras. I must say that I have personally enjoyed this little research, originally spurred by a general observation of an important lack of non-Cuban cigars in even the best European tobacconist shops.

So, having explored France’s Best from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua (aka: other territories) here are the winners of the 2005 trophies from Honduras:

The runner up, receiving four stars out of six, is the Flor de Copan Linea Puros Robusto (Tubo). Not to be confused with the regular Flor de Copan line, the Linea Puros is a definite effort at achieving a more robust blend for richer, fuller-bodied cigars. This cigar is described as having a rustic appearance that gives an impression of strength. They describe the smoke as clean, sweet and chocolaty, with a light initial spiciness that recedes soon afterwards. Not a strong cigar, in their opinion, its only flaw seems to be a rather strong sour character when drawn upon too eagerly. This puro promises to be a cigar both sweet in aroma and medium-bodied by virtue of its dense smoke.

Now for the winner, with five stars out of six, we have the Flor De Selva Robusto, a cigar whose only weakness came in the form of a relatively fragile wrapper that tears easily when removing the band. The smoke was described as cool with woody notes at first, gaining in complexity in the second half with caramel notes and ending with more peppery and toasty notes, with no trace of bitterness from start to finish.

Not bad at all, plus at just over five euros a stick, it makes me want to run out the door and grab a few myself.

And there you have it, all the non-Cuban winners of 2005; some quite puzzling choices in some cases, in others, well… just not the ones that would come to mind to U.S. aficionados. At any rate, France’s best of 2005 Non-Cuban cigars certainly have been eye opening to me.

Cuban Trinidad cigars have to be one of the world’s most mystifying brands. Long famed to be the Cuban government’s preferred gift to foreign state visitors and emissaries, the brand has since gone commercial and offers three main formats: The Fundadores, the Coloniales and the Reyes. A more recent addition, the Robusto Extra is the largest of them all.

There is no doubt at a glance that this Robusto Extra is a very well put together cigar. From the delicate wrapper, the pigtail cap, and the overall feel, you know that it is a premium brand indeed. The pre-light aroma is of very light buttery and cacao notes.

Because of the lightness, I expected a very mild smoke, and I was right. A quick light revealed an aromatic smoke with all so subtle notes of a semi-sweet woody and nutty character. I found, however, no trace of spice or even a tingle, which sort of separates this cigar from the other Cuban cigar brands.

The first third is very faint. This cigar can definitely not be paired up with single malt. It took an entire two inches of very even burn, before the smoke began to develop any complexity. The ash held up very nicely and the burn was impeccable.

Sadly, though, by the time I began to find the smoke interesting, the cigar began to have combustion problems and a bitter taste began to out do the aroma and taste of the tobacco. Make no mistake, it is a fine cigar, but in the end I found it too light-bodied for my taste.

I can not see how the cigar would improve any with age. Factoring in the price of this cigar as well, I would not recommend it unless perhaps to a smoker of very light-bodied cigars with a large overflowing wallet.

Well, a rather recent discovery of mine is how magnificently well a cigar can be accompanied by medium-bodied aged rum. It’s not the first thing that comes into mind when looking for a “cigar” drink, since most aficionados talk of cognac or whisky, yet I was very surprised by how diverse rums can be; some having very silky textures and, especially the aged rums, various complex characteristics imparted by the wooden barrels it is aged in. Since rum is produced in nearly every country where cigars are made, perhaps it should follow more naturally that these two should marry perfectly.

I tried the Bacardi 8 premium aged rum with a Padron Anniversary Torpedo Maduro and quite enjoyed the rum’s oak and caramel notes with the cigar. Since then, I have added rum to my list of favorite “cigar” drinks.