This past year has been a tough year to handle with COVID and lockdowns. Not to mention politics and 24 hour news upon news upon news. Let’s not even mention an election in there, ugh. Therefore, this past year many friends and I discussed a night out when all was well. So, after many days and months of deliberation and vaccinations the Cigars & Stogies Inaugural Whiskey Fest came to fruition. What a great amazing night with friends and cigars and food. Read on…
Planning
Figuring out a date was a tough one at the beginning but I decided on July 2nd as that was the easiest date for most people. I wasn’t sure who to invite as I wasn’t sure who smoked cigars or would not mind being around cigar smoking. As you can tell from the website, which is mine by the way, I like cigars. So my good buddy Bill along with my wonderful wife Pam brainstormed one evening and thought of a few people we need to invite. Some could make it and others could not. Some had to cancel at the last minute and some arrived at the last minute.
I need to put a shout out to my friend Tadhg as he had a rough call night and was going on vacation the next day at 4AM so he could not make it. However, he will be at the next one I am sure of it.
Food Menu
The evening started that morning with me cooking a filet mignon tenderloin at 5:30AM so it could cool in time for filet mignon sandwiches that evening. While I was in clinic dutifully working away my wife was at home cooking the menu for the evening. It was a feast fit for a King and there were no leftovers except some grapes, Ha.
She planned for a week or two making sure she could put together something special for everyone. What an amazing person to make sure us guys were all fed and not just with chips and grapes. Everything had to be right for the food from the plate it was on to the cook of the meat and the timing of the flatbread.
Of course after it was all prepared she went to meet with Chris’ girlfriend Shannon to sip wine and enjoy some food away from the guys. Then right before my very eyes as I was putting together some last minute bourbon placements it was all done and the doorbell rang. The first guest…
Filet Mignon Sliders
Garlic roasted Filet Mignon Sliders with three sauces. Horseradish, Mustard Aioli and Stone Ground Mustard.
Chorizo Sausage Impanatas
An amazingly small but powerful punch of flavor wrapped in an amazing homemade pastry dough.
Fig and Goat Cheese Flatbread
This needs no more explanation. Just let the words make you think of the flavor. Yeah, it is that good!
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone needs a dessert. Enough said.
Inaugural Whiskey Fest -The Cigars
Bill shows up early to help me prepare and I thank him for that because I needed an extra set of eyes and ideas for the evening. All was planned where to put the bar and the food, etc… Then it moved on to what cigars to smoke. I was going to pull out one of my new boxes of cigars I bought at the Famous Smoke Shop and we could all smoke one and then give a collective tasting summary of the cigar.
However, I have many cigars in a stand up humidor so I thought I would let everyone pick their own cigar. I think that worked out better because everyone’s palate and tolerance for a cigar are different and it came down to three cigars that were smoked the most. See below…
Romeo Y Julieta Capulet
This is a big cigar at 6 x 60. It smokes well and is mild so it is a great cigar for an evening with friends that you are not sure can handle a big cigar. Read my other reviews on Romeo y Julieta here.
Perdomo Champagne 10th Anniversary
Great cigar with a medium body flavor and not too mild. It goes well with bourbon and more intense food flavors.
Acid Cigars Kuba Kuba Candela Wrapper
What an amazing after dinner smoke. Nice and mild and sweet taste. Everyone loved this cigar.
The Bourbons
Over the years I have collected some nice bourbons and scotches but I wasn’t sure what to serve the crew that was showing up. So, I went to the best source in the world…. BILL!
Of course he comes through like a champ and puts together this amazing collection of bourbons that blended perfect with the food and the smokes. He breaks out a bourbon I have never even heard of.
Hancock Presidential Reserve. OMG. This is amazing stuff and I have no idea how you are going to get a bottle, but for those that were fortunate to the be there this was a once in a lifetime snort.
Don’t worry the Hancock was in good company. His friends were Weller Special Reserve, Colonel Taylor Small Batch, Stagg Jr. and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. This collection of whiskey paired well with the food but it was if the cigars and bourbon were made for each other.
Hancock Presidential Reserve
Amazing flavors of cherry and wood. A great find if you are lucky.
Weller Special Reserve
If you've never had this, then find a friend and beg for a glass. Very smooth and always a friend to have in a glass.
Colonel Taylor Small Batch
One of my favorite all time bourbons. He beats me up every time though...
Stagg Jr.
Great Bourbon with some high strength proof. Very smooth and nice.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
New addition to my collection and what a great smooth flavor with a whiskey with a punch... 139 proof.
Inaugural Whiskey Fest -The Evening
4:00PM - 6:00PM
The night started with Bill showing up and helping me put things together as I mentioned above. We then had a quick snort of a Macallan 12 year old scotch because there were 2 oz. left in the bottle. So we split it to get our engines going.
The food and the outside bar were all put together and I decided to text my friend Jerrod to make sure he could make it. Of course my reply was ” I think I am here”. That is perfect for Jerrod because he likes to get together and have a good time so it was fitting that he was the first to show.
After a quick tour of the house he started off with a Hancock Presidential Reserve and throughout the evening he moved on to a great sampling of bourbons and enjoyed them all. I know Jerrod likes beer so it wasn’t surprising to see a Stella Artois in his hands by the end of the night.
John showed up soon after it all started and jumped right in after his tour of the house. Sampling a few bourbons throughout the evening and eating. He mentions he loves horseradish so I will have to remember that for future parties. John never seems to meet a stranger and always has a good time around everyone. A lesson in life there somewhere. On a side note we did have a discussion about putter grips and he perused my collection of putters and putter grips. I hope he gets the right one, if there is one…
6:00PM - 9:00 PM
Next to show was my long time buddy of 20 years Chris and my nephew Tyler. Now the party started. I started with a Perdomo and I saw a few Romeo y Juliet Capulets let loose. We all discussed topics from everything and as always we solved ALL the worlds problems. We especially solved a lot of the healthcare woes of the country, but hey who is going to listen to us… My nephew Tyler just started his anesthesia residency and there was plenty of advice given to him from the guys I’m sure.
Bill was right in the middle of it all. Being from Texas he is like the International Man of Mystery. He has been all over the world and lived all over the world. He speaks three languages that I know of and is knowledgeable about every topic! He gave us ALL an education on bourbons. Holy cow does he know a lot about bourbons. I shared many stories of our escapades together and we all had a great laugh and fun at the stories.
Many Laughs Later…
Now that we all ate multiple plates of food it was time for after dinner treats. The Acid Kuba Kuba is a perfect after dinner cigar. It is just like a dessert being sweet and flavorful but also packing a mild cigar punch. Just perfect for even ones who do not smoke many cigars.
Chris came with the most knowledge of the evening about Gamestop stock. After a few back and forths with me egging him on why I should not buy the stock he convinced me to pay more attention to this stock. I even read four articles online about the stocks future the next morning with a Motrin and Ginger Ale breakfast (not to mention coffee). If I don’t get in on it, then maybe he will invite me to his private island when he cashes in.
9:00PM - 12:00 AM
Finally it starts to wind down as the guys had to go home and prepare for their fourth of July weekend. I thank them all for showing and mentioned I could not wait to put on another party for us and get the rest of the guys over for a bigger party. Who knows how this thing will grow…
Chris and I live in the same neighborhood and as I mentioned above Pam went to his house for an evening with Shannon. So Chris and I carried the party up there for one last nightcap. After a few more drinks and a circuitous walk down the hill to our house we crashed for the night.
The next morning I remember everyone saying the same thing to me before we parted ways… “We have to do this all over again” We will guys.. We will…
All the best,
Doctor B.