Top 5 Liquors of 2023

Top 5 Liquors of 2023: Number 5 – Four Roses Small Batch Select

Over the course of the year I had a fun time tasting the alcohol that would become the Top 5 Liquors of 2023. Perhaps on certain days, a little too much fun.  The requirements to be named liquor of the year were simple. I had to review them in the course of the year from January 1st, 2023 until the publishing of this list. The score awarded to the bourbon wasn’t the only requirement in […]

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Top 5 Cigars of 2023

Top 5 Cigars of 2023: No. 1 Charter Oak Pasquale

Our Number 1 Cigar in our Top 5 Cigars of 2023 belongs to Nick Melillo, owner of Foundation Cigar Company. Released in 2023 as one of 2 releases honoring his grandparents who he attributes his love of cigars to. The Charter Oak Pasquale features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s the third box pressed cigar on our list and is completes a list of 5 cigars all from Nicaragua. Measuring 5.5 x 48 the […]

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Top 5 Cigars of 2023

Top 5 Cigars of 2023: No. 2 Red Meat Lovers Ribeye

We like to joke around that 2nd place is first in a long line of losers but in actuality the Number 2 Cigar of the Year is anything but a loser. Originally released as a limited edition for the Red Meat Lovers Club at Smoke Inn in Florida the brand was in so much demand that it became a regular release in 2023 and made our list of Top 5 Cigars of 2023. Featuring a […]

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Top 5 Cigars of 2023

Top 5 Cigars of 2023: No. 3 Tatuaje 20th Anniversary Grande Merveille

We continue the Top 5 Cigars of 2023 with the brand I cut my teeth on so to speak. Prior to discovering this Pete Johnson brand I was a casual cigar smoker without a brand that I gravitated to more then any other. Until back in the day of the cigar forums when I took part in a cigar pass and someone introduced me to Tatuaje. This brand changed cigars for me and sparked a passion […]

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Press Release

Press Release: A. Smith Bowman Distillery Releases Third Batch of Annual Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey

A. Smith Bowman Distillery, Virginia’s oldest distillery, today announces the return of its award-winning Cask Strength Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Now in its third year, the annual cask strength offering showcases the excellence in craft distilling bourbon enthusiasts have come to expect from A. Smith Bowman Distillery.< A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon is the result of continuous year-long tastings to blend the best barrels available. Hand-selected by Distiller David Bock, this year’s release is […]

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Press Release

Press Release: AVO Cigars Collaborating with DJ D-Nice For Limited Edition Expressions in 2024

Avo Cigars, a leader in hand-made premium cigars, will collaborate with world-renowned DJ D-NICE for the limited edition “Avo Expressions 2024.” Only 2500, 15 count boxes will be created of this exclusive brand. The Avo Expressions line of cigars was created with the purpose of collaborating with individuals who are true experts in their craft, following in the footsteps of the late Avo Uvezian, the founder of AVO Cigars. Avo Uvezian was a musician and […]

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Top 5 Cigars of 2023

Top 5 Cigars of 2023: No. 4 RoMa Craft Volstead VO 1920 Belle Livingstone

We continue our Top 5 Cigars of 2023 with a cigar from Mike Rosales and Skip Martin who are collectively known as RoMa Craft Tobacco. Coming in at Number 4 is the Volstead VO 1920. The line is named after the Volstead Act which was also known as the National Prohibition Act, which was an act of the 66th United States Congress that defined intoxicating beverages and prohibited their manufacture, sale, or transportation. It was […]

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Top 5 Cigars of 2023

Top 5 Cigars of 2023: No. 5 Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Maduro Belicoso

It’s that time of year when bloggers or cigar media if you will name their Top Cigars of 2023. Our prerequisite is simple, the cigar had to be reviewed in the past calendar year. The score plays a major factor but we also consider how often we reached for the cigar post review.  This year, 2023, our selection was small as we changed the website to include cigar reviews mid-year combining our love of liquor […]

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Nicaragua Cigar Review

Cigar Review: Don Lino Africa Punda Milia

If you had to name a few things that Nestor Miranda loves outside of family they would be cars, specifically the Shelby AC Cobra which was what his 70thy Anniversary Limited Edition was released in. Chivas Regal, his favorite adult beverage and Big Game hunting for which the Don Lino Africa represents. Each size of the Don Lino Line is Swahili and represent a specific animal. Today’s review is the Punda Milia which means Zebra. […]

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Brooklyn Bakery
Bourbon Review

Bourbon Review: Lost Lantern Brooklyn Bakery

A few weeks ago we ran a press release from Vermont’s Lost Lantern. We weren’t shy and asked for a sample of Brooklyn Bakery being it hails from a distillery in Kings County, aka Brooklyn. My hometown where I spent the first 40 years of my life. The press release stated, “Kings County Distillery, the oldest distillery in New York City, creates some of the country’s most acclaimed and sought-after whiskies using New York-grown grains. […]

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