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Best of Season 11 · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  Speaker A: It on the next episode of Sips, suds and Smokes. So up first, we're going to have our best of suds.
• 0:08
  Speaker B: It's time to wrap up our 11th season of sipsuds and Smokes.
• 0:13
  Speaker B: Today we'll look back at some of the beers that wowed us and talk about the year in beer.
• 0:19
  Speaker A: We're going to get to hear from our sips cast members.
• 0:23
  Speaker C: What can I say? It's been a great year.
• 0:26
  Speaker C: Um, we've had some fantastic wines, we've had some fantastic whiskeys, and we're looking forward to, uh, 2024.
• 0:35
  Speaker A: Next up in this segment is going to be our cast members for our smokes categories.
• 0:41
  Speaker D: Cigars that we have found this year, whether it was made this year or not, that we've just really enjoyed.
• 0:48
  Speaker C: Most podcasts only go to ten, but ours goes to eleven.
• 0:53
  Speaker E: We'll be right back after this breakup.
• 1:17
  Speaker C: Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios.
• 1:21
  Speaker A: Why? Because that's where the good stuff is.
• 1:24
  Speaker C: It sits. Suds and smokes with your smoke and.
• 1:28
  Speaker A: Host the good old boy suds. Suds. Suds. Uh, it's time for more suds.
• 1:56
  Speaker A: Welcome to this episode of Sip Suds and Smokes. This is our best of season eleven.
• 2:02
  Speaker A: We're going to do things a little bit different for season eleven. All of our best of, uh, discussions are going to be in this one episode.
• 2:11
  Speaker A: So hang on. It's going to be a great power hour of a lot of great products that if you didn't get to hear about them all, this is a one stop shop. So we're going to have, uh, our best of Suds cast members to talk about some of their favorites from season eleven, a few of, uh, my favorites in coffee and rum. Then we're going to get to hear from Maidman, Bob and the rest of the cast members talk about best of sips in a couple of categories including whiskey and wine.
• 2:39
  Speaker A: And then following up, we're going to get to hear from our smokes cast about their best of products with good old boy Barker and some of those cast members. So hang on, we've, uh, got a lot of great information to go over today.
• 2:53
  Speaker A: Uh, if you don't catch it on the first run, come back. You'll be able to replay this, take some notes. We have a lot of great information in our show notes about all of this discussion as well. So, um, up first we're going to have our best of suds and here is goodlegal juliana to introduce this segment for you.
• 3:13
  Speaker B: Greetings and salutations it's time to wrap up our 11th season of sips thousand smokes. Today, we'll look back at some of the beers that wowed us and talk about the year in beer. I'm one of your hosts, good old gal juliana.
• 3:28
  Speaker B: And joining me today at the table is good old boy Mike.
• 3:31
  Speaker A: So, uh, eleven is one more fingers than I have in my hands, so that's pretty amazing, right? Yeah, that really is pretty cool.
• 3:38
  Speaker C: Reverend Mark, my, uh, he's all broken up over time.
• 3:47
  Speaker F: Really flies when you're having a good.
• 3:49
  Speaker D: Time with KP Paul.
• 3:52
  Speaker B: Good boy, Dave.
• 3:54
  Speaker C: Most podcasts only go to ten, but.
• 3:56
  Speaker A: Ours goes to eleven. Do you need some senior beer? Wow.
• 4:01
  Speaker B: Well, today we're going to play some clips from previous episodes that showcase some amazing beers that we've had, and we'll add a little commentary around them. But this year has been a challenging one for beer. Declining sales with a younger demographic, a, uh, continually leaning towards cocktails.
• 4:20
  Speaker A: Can I have that?
• 4:21
  Speaker B: Uh, mimosa beer, cocktails, mocktails and nonalcoholic drinks. Mergers, foreclosures, and the lingering effects of COVID have all left their mark on the beer industry. But just as it survived the temperance movement, prohibition, and lactose sours.
• 4:38
  Speaker D: The beer will survive.
• 4:40
  Speaker B: Exactly. The beer will survive all these current challenges. And that, plus the warm feeling we get inside after two or three, is why we love it.
• 4:51
  Speaker B: All right, let's get going. So, let's talk about the first beer that we thought was great. Dave. The next one that we are going to talk about is, stands to reason.
• 5:03
  Speaker D: A little different from the last beer.
• 5:05
  Speaker B: They're smoked lager, a roush roush beer, Will.
• 5:09
  Speaker A: And a dunkle roush beer.
• 5:11
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 5:11
  Speaker B: And five, uh .1% abv. Again, a 5.1 times three.
• 5:17
  Speaker G: Um, the nose alone on this, I was hooked.
• 5:20
  Speaker A: And the flavor does not disappoint.
• 5:23
  Speaker D: So this was from our Suarez New.
• 5:25
  Speaker C: York style Suarez family brewing takeover, uh, from May 5 of this year.
• 5:32
  Speaker B: Yes. Thank you for introducing.
• 5:33
  Speaker C: Oh, I'm sorry I stepped all over your little toesies, nerd.
• 5:36
  Speaker B: Okay. I love Suarez family. I was so happy to get it delivered to El Grammy's house so that I could bring it home to us, since it doesn't come to Tennessee.
• 5:48
  Speaker B: But it was a wonderful smoked beer.
• 5:52
  Speaker C: Yeah, and we had a couple of really good smoked beers this year. Um, some at Bereque and at their, you know.
• 6:02
  Speaker D: Um.
• 6:02
  Speaker C: But that Suarez episode, that is probably one of the best flights, end to end, that we've had.
• 6:09
  Speaker A: Well, this is a style I always find that is very difficult to pull off well, but they did it so well. I can't begin to tell you how many smoked beers that we've had that just. It's one or the other. They're over a kill the smoke, just bludgeons whatever was there. Or it's like, dude, seriously, is there something else here? Because I don't taste it. So it's a very difficult balance to always hit. And so it was really great that you ran into not only just a good smoked beer, but a smoked lager, which is not a very common thing that you would probably choose. I would say probably the more common episodes are things that are done with roasted malt, like porters, probably at the top of the list. Like a scottish ale. Yeah. Um, or something that just has a lot more sugars on it.
• 6:59
  Speaker A: This is one of these things with a lager. It's elegant. You don't really have a whole lot of sugars to kind of mask and play around with. And so having something that's smoked in a lager, pretty cool.
• 7:12
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 7:13
  Speaker F: And I would say that actually showcases the smoke, if you get the balance right, because, uh, the smoked porters that I've had is just too much going on on both ends.
• 7:23
  Speaker C: Is it chocolate? Is it know?
• 7:27
  Speaker B: Yeah. And it was a perfect balance. And honestly, I think it was a welcome style that we've neglected for a while. Um, so I'm glad that they brought it out, and I'm glad that we were able to have some, just one.
• 7:40
  Speaker C: More great brewery in the Hudson Valley area of New York.
• 7:43
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 7:43
  Speaker A: So our rating on this was.
• 7:45
  Speaker C: It was a five. Mhm.
• 7:53
  Speaker B: Okay, beer number two. First beer that we are going to talk about is the, uh, Cezanne.
• 7:59
  Speaker A: All right.
• 8:00
  Speaker B: 6%. Their first cezanne brewed with 100% pilsner malt, french stresselspalt, and hallowtel blanc hop.
• 8:11
  Speaker A: Feel like I'm standing in a bucolic field.
• 8:13
  Speaker H: By calling it your first cezanne, are you challenging the universe there?
• 8:19
  Speaker A: Or maybe I don't like that insolent tone.
• 8:23
  Speaker B: M. And they use an expressive belgian yeast strain. It is a rustic expression of straw and hay, grass and white grape aromas, while open fermentation nurtures the notes of bubble gum and black pepper.
• 8:39
  Speaker C: All the adjectives.
• 8:40
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 8:42
  Speaker A: What a great, you know, it was really great to come back and listen to know, prior comment that we had about this. The name of the beer is tales of the late rising rooster. It's a takeover at Dovetail, uh, brewing in Chicago. Um, this particular episode aired in late March of 2023. Um, so, uh, this was a 100% pilsner malt. Say, uh, son, which the thing is that you cannot hide anywhere. There is nothing that you can do but screw this up. You're either going to hit it out of the park or it is just going to go really bad super quick.
• 9:23
  Speaker C: 100%.
• 9:24
  Speaker A: And I think that there were a lot of great beers from dovetail. I think this was a flight that we really went through that was really tough, but this was a beer that really stood out to us. I really love this. Any other quick comment?
• 9:39
  Speaker F: Yeah, I would think also with the italian pilsner being so low that, uh, the dry hop aspect of it just really gives you a certain sense of freshness and being in the country.
• 9:52
  Speaker A: What was our rating on this?
• 9:54
  Speaker C: It was a five.
• 9:58
  Speaker A: Cool. Definitely. Go check out dovetail two.
• 10:02
  Speaker C: Not one, but two german brewmasters. Yes.
• 10:04
  Speaker B: Okay, beer number three. We're now going to move on to the second one which is a collaboration between barique in our backyard here in nashville, Tennessee and Beerstad in Denver, Colorado.
• 10:17
  Speaker C: Beerstad, home of the slow pour pills.
• 10:19
  Speaker B: Oh yes. It is their seven, um, and a half percent mybok.
• 10:25
  Speaker B: So Bill and Ashley from Beerstad came, um, out to Nashville in February, made some wart, had a good time with the nice guys at barique, and, um, they decided to come up with the mybok. It spent eleven weeks lagering in frigid temperatures in neutral oak barrels.
• 10:46
  Speaker D: Define frigid.
• 10:49
  Speaker C: Almost said something would have got me.
• 10:53
  Speaker B: And this mybok is a waft of springtime with its multi sweet aroma and floral grassy layers.
• 11:00
  Speaker C: Go, mark, go.
• 11:02
  Speaker F: Okay, so this was my favorite of all time.
• 11:05
  Speaker A: And mine.
• 11:06
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 11:07
  Speaker F: And I love the fact that barique, pretty much everything they do is a, uh, one off.
• 11:12
  Speaker A: There you go.
• 11:13
  Speaker F: It's not coming back. Maybe it will, but savor it while it's here. And this one really hit the mark. Also my bach is m one of my very favorite german lagers and certainly is my favorite fest. Beer Oktoberfest is great, but to me the other fest is the mayfest.
• 11:31
  Speaker F: And yeah, I wait all year long for these to come out when it's fresh at that time of the season in the spring.
• 11:39
  Speaker B: And the fact that they collabed with beer's dad is just really magical. It is.
• 11:45
  Speaker A: Yeah. And it just is one of a host of know that really was quite magical across the board for barique. Uh, before we move on our rating for this real quick, it was a five and it's so cool that Reverend Mark actually brought this beer for us to sip today because, oh, my goodness. This is so good.
• 12:07
  Speaker B: I know. It's really magical.
• 12:09
  Speaker A: We had one more beer from barique that actually hit our shortlist. Was, um, in the episode called that's not a real cezanne. And it was the petite sipper sour table cezanne. And, ah, another just, um, it was a watermelon, laid laden, just a remarkable beer, 3% abv. And, uh, to take it all the way home, um, they actually won a gabf medal, their very first at barique this year.
• 12:39
  Speaker A: Um, so I can't say enough really good things about, uh, barique, these two beers, and just, um, a real treat that we actually get to have these folks in our backyard. Thank you, Joel. I really appreciate it.
• 12:51
  Speaker B: Joel. We love you.
• 12:53
  Speaker B: Okay, beer number four.
• 12:56
  Speaker A: Let's go in the middle d.
• 13:00
  Speaker A: Oh.
• 13:00
  Speaker B: Funny that you say that, pills boy baggins.
• 13:06
  Speaker A: There we go. Also from crooked crabs.
• 13:08
  Speaker H: I'm looking forward to this.
• 13:09
  Speaker A: Pilsner, the pills. Bo Baggins. Bohemian pilsner from crooked crab Brewing company in Otterton, Maryland, 4.9% abv.
• 13:18
  Speaker A: Do you have an unquenchable thirst from scaling the slopes of Mordor? Satisfy it with refreshing pills, Bo Baggins. Uh, our first ever bohemian pilsner, brewed with pilsner and Vienna malts for crisp, clean, and drinkability in a five plus charisma.
• 13:35
  Speaker A: Fermented colder than the peaks of the misty mountains with a traditional czech lager yeast, then hopped exclusively with czech sauce for a delicate, floral, spicy, noble hop character.
• 13:49
  Speaker A: Drink responsibly because you have a long journey ahead of you.
• 13:54
  Speaker C: So along with, uh, Suarez family and obviously barique, crooked crab room was one of the big delights of 2023 for us. Um, that episode alone, they had the three strongest beers.
• 14:08
  Speaker D: The pillsbow Baggins, the shuckabuck lager, and.
• 14:12
  Speaker C: Then the toastma oats. All great.
• 14:14
  Speaker I: Were amazing.
• 14:15
  Speaker D: They came to a beer fest later that year, brought some more amazing beers.
• 14:19
  Speaker B: To Nashville, and we waxed poetic on.
• 14:21
  Speaker A: How much we love.
• 14:22
  Speaker C: We were huge fans.
• 14:24
  Speaker D: Um, the Pillsbow Baggins, we actually rated.
• 14:26
  Speaker C: A five and can't say enough good things about crooked crab man.
• 14:33
  Speaker B: Okay, beer number five. The second beer that we are going to talk about is the king premium lager. This one is 4.7% abv. Clean, crisp, and easy drinking as they come. Truly a beer of the people.
• 14:50
  Speaker B: Um, they gave this gem plenty of additional tank time to lager itself to perfection. It's brewed with bohemian pilsner malt and hopped exclusively with german noble hop varieties of hallertau, metalfrue and tetanag cold fermented in their new house lager strain.
• 15:10
  Speaker A: Impressive.
• 15:13
  Speaker C: Oh my. Oh, yeah.
• 15:16
  Speaker C: Mhm. This is not terrible. Not at all.
• 15:20
  Speaker B: Okay, so we rated this beer a five. And the thing that I really enjoy about barrier, which was another gem that I found that I was able to ship to Grammy and bring down here to Tennessee, was that everything from barrier was just spot on. Really tasty.
• 15:41
  Speaker C: Except their website. It sucked.
• 15:42
  Speaker B: Whatever. Other than that. Okay, fine.
• 15:44
  Speaker C: It's fine.
• 15:45
  Speaker B: But it just also proves that loggers were key. Like, to a lot of us, there.
• 15:50
  Speaker C: Were no ipas in our tops.
• 15:52
  Speaker A: Yeah, that's interesting observation.
• 15:55
  Speaker F: Uh, just about everything is a lager or a pilsner. Almost everything.
• 16:00
  Speaker A: It was not planned at all.
• 16:02
  Speaker B: No, it wasn't. But it was just the way of how we were drinking for 2023.
• 16:07
  Speaker A: I am super shocked with that observation.
• 16:10
  Speaker A: Yeah, well, I think it was a very tough year for beer across the board. But I think the thing that struck out with me with all of these really great beer choices is that in spite of all those challenges, we're still very capable of enjoying a lot of great beers. So I hope that these beers will hit your short list. Go back and try them out and enjoy them.
• 16:31
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 16:32
  Speaker C: 100%.
• 16:33
  Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Well, guys, thanks so much.
• 16:36
  Speaker A: And I'm going to have some more than my bach.
• 16:38
  Speaker B: Well, of course. Okay. Good old boy Mike, any last closing thoughts?
• 16:43
  Speaker C: No.
• 16:43
  Speaker A: Uh, be sure and check out some more really great beer, uh, that are on our list. We have a couple of beers that were not on our discussion today. Be sure and check those out on our, uh, episode notes today as well.
• 16:54
  Speaker B: Reverend Mark, thanks for being here. Any last thoughts?
• 16:57
  Speaker F: Yeah, I'd say, um, I don't want to end on a negative note, but we did see the closing of anchor and that's the most important. 127 years of brewing in Sapporo sold them out. So let's hope that someone will pick it up shortly.
• 17:13
  Speaker C: There you go.
• 17:14
  Speaker B: Cheers to that.
• 17:15
  Speaker A: Those Canadians.
• 17:17
  Speaker B: Good old boy Dave.
• 17:20
  Speaker C: Looking forward to season twelve, man, this.
• 17:22
  Speaker B: Is good old gal Juliana. Thank you so much for your support this past year as we finish out season eleven. Looking onward and upward to season twelve. Keep on chuggling and we'll catch you next time.
• 17:37
  Speaker A: Hey, this is good old boy Mike and I thought that I'd share with you one of my favorite rums that I had here in season eleven.
• 17:46
  Speaker A: We actually didn't get to talk about rum as much as we normally like to here on the show, uh, for season eleven. But fret not, that doesn't mean that we didn't have lots of great rum. Uh, we just had, uh, to make some choices about what things we'd actually talk about on air.
• 18:03
  Speaker A: So I thought that I'd take a moment and share with you. My favorite product for season eleven is from black tot. It is the master Blenders reserve. This is an annual release.
• 18:14
  Speaker A: The one that, uh, we enjoyed this year was from 2022.
• 18:17
  Speaker A: And part of the, uh, timing about how this product comes into the US market is it has a real long delay, uh, before it actually shows up here, uh, for retail. So even though this product was released in 22, it actually didn't arrive here into the US market until 23. So this is actually a third iteration of this master's blend.
• 18:42
  Speaker A: The master blender is Oliver Chilton.
• 18:45
  Speaker A: And what a masterful product that this is. Every single year they're different, each particular release and some unique characteristics for every single one of these releases. I think the thing that I really enjoy most about this product is that it really gives Oliver a chance to really bring everything to bear on what he wants to work with.
• 19:10
  Speaker A: It literally is like sending into a chef into a kitchen and saying, hey, it's all yours. Do whatever you'd like. I have absolutely no preconceived notion of what this should taste like at all. Just bring your very best. And so with that is exactly what Oliver has done. Some of my tasting notes around this, know it is kind of sweet. I, uh, think baked banana bread is probably one thing that really caught. There are a lot of other things that are sweet in this. Maybe a touch of lactose, um, honey are some of the other sweet elements that come around in this that's really balanced off with some things that bring, uh, a lot of earth and bitterness. There's like, know, tobacco, leather, um, and then there's, uh, some spices kind of on the top of this, like, um, know, you know, kind of dancing on your tongue. One of the other unique aspects that Oliver does is he actually saves a portion of the prior year master blender reserve and actually incorporates that into, uh, the next year. So there's actually some of the 21 that is the base or not the base, but it is almost 20% of the entire blend. Some of the other, uh, rums that are included in this particular are from Barbados, uh, Guyana. Jamaica and Trinidad are some of the other, uh, rums that are in this blend. So listen, this is a little difficult to find. Uh, like a lot of things from black dot. Uh, but I think it's well worth the hunt. And you'll actually see this on the back bar and available by the glass in select bars as well. So if you see that, don't pass it up. Um, it's probably not going to be terribly cheap, but I guarantee you that it'll be worth, um, both the chase as well as whatever you may pay to enjoy this. So, again, that's, uh, black tot Master blenders reserve for 2022. It's released on Black Tot day, um, as well. But, uh, you'll be able to hopefully find that and enjoy that.
• 21:15
  Speaker A: My, uh, sips rating for this is a five, of course. All right, let's, uh, get on with some other products to talk about here on the best of season eleven.
• 21:26
  Speaker A: Now we're going to get to hear from our sips cast members with made man Bob.
• 21:35
  Speaker C: Hey. And we're back. And this is our sip segment for best of the year. So we're going to ask Brent what was his choice for best of the year? Thanks, Bob. Obviously, you had as many of these as I have. Yeah, I think so. Apparently, this is the a Smith bowman cast strength, batch number 272.25% abv. And for you math people, that's 144.5 proof. This is aged a minimum.
• 22:04
  Speaker C: This is aged a minimum of ten years with barrels hand selected by master distiller Brian Pruitt and diller David Bach. The second release of the series is bottled uncut and non chilled filtered. It's got this beautiful copper color to it on the nose, you know, it's got some heat to it.
• 22:21
  Speaker C: It just like, singes your nose hairs a little bit while you take it in. You get a lot of cherry, um, a little bit of hint of leather, caramel, some toast on there. Then when you get it on the palate, it's like. This is just smooth. Creaminess covers your whole palate. You get apple, cherry, some roasted nuts, some floral notes. You got a really nice strong wood char. Um, it just covers your mouth. And if the finish just doesn't stop. I mean, I can go on and on with this. You sip it ten minutes ago and you might need to sip it again now because, uh, it is such a lovely one.
• 23:01
  Speaker C: I couldn't put it down. That's why I picked it as best of the year. The only problem I have with batch number two is that they sent us a small sample. In batch number one, they sent us a whole 750.
• 23:14
  Speaker C: That is a problem. I'm happy to have any, but maybe next year. The whiskey ferries will send a whole bottle, please and thank.
• 23:25
  Speaker C: Can you, can.
• 23:28
  Speaker C: You know, batch number one was amazing.
• 23:31
  Speaker C: So you knew batch number two was going to be great. This is over the top amazing.
• 23:35
  Speaker C: All right, so let's see what, uh, justin had for his best pick of the year.
• 23:40
  Speaker E: So the best pick of the year was Daniel Weller. Emmer Wheat. It's 47% alcohol by volume or 94 proof. It's non age stated. This expression is named in honor of Daniel Weller, grandfather to William Lou Weller. The inaugural release of this annual experimental series is made with emmer wheat, an ancient egyptian grain that's mainly used to make beer and bread. Archaeologists have found evidence of emmer wheat domestication over 6000 years ago and its symbols etch into the egyptian pyramids. The whiskey was distilled in the E. H. Taylor Jr. Microstill at the buffalo trace distillery. So this nose is like the best blue moon style beer and bourbon you've ever had. And that orange zest must be the ember wheat difference on the palate. It's like bold oak, but then waves of sweet honey and fruit, baking spice and leather. And the finish is amazing. It hits different parts of your mouth after every sip. So I love this stuff.
• 24:59
  Speaker C: Well, there's a lot to mean. It was a unique release and something that I don't think any of us are going to be seeing anytime soon. Mean, you've seen the little still that Harlan has there. You're not making a lot, uh, of that little bitty thing.
• 25:15
  Speaker E: He's a barrel a day distillery, right?
• 25:17
  Speaker C: Yeah, maybe. Uh, when we got this one, it was a privilege just to even be on the press list for this one. But, uh, the chance to try it was something that we certainly couldn't pass up and it did not disappoint.
• 25:33
  Speaker C: Um, delicious. Yeah, definitely delicious.
• 25:37
  Speaker C: Well, we're going to see what did harm pick?
• 25:40
  Speaker A: Harm?
• 25:40
  Speaker C: Uh, picked for his best pick of the year was the Klein leash. Twelve year old from the Diageo special releases 2022. So we got some clips to play from that episode. I think you missed the boat on this one. This one is the one that just didn't.
• 25:57
  Speaker A: This is the best Klein leash I've ever had.
• 26:00
  Speaker A: I'm not a huge Klein leash fan. This is the one.
• 26:04
  Speaker C: Yeah. No, this is a beautiful, this is the neo of Klein leash. I'm with you.
• 26:09
  Speaker A: It coats your palate.
• 26:10
  Speaker C: Uh, this is the best Klein leash I've ever had.
• 26:13
  Speaker C: I'm with you on that one leash.
• 26:15
  Speaker A: The general release is a 14 year old Klein leash.
• 26:18
  Speaker A: And I've always been like, yeah, it's there.
• 26:21
  Speaker C: It's a solid whiskey. There's nothing wrong with it. But this, without a doubt, is the.
• 26:24
  Speaker A: Best one I've ever had wrong with it. But there's nothing that recommends it.
• 26:27
  Speaker A: It's okay.
• 26:28
  Speaker C: This one I want. Boom. Um.
• 26:30
  Speaker A: I want to go out of my way to get this one.
• 26:34
  Speaker C: Well, that one was a good one. That one I still can remember. And unfortunately, we drank all of it, so we don't have any left. I wish we still had some left, but, uh.
• 26:48
  Speaker C: Uh, that one, they're smaller samples.
• 26:50
  Speaker C: Um. And they were so good. Those are gone. But I think he might have a bottle hidden at the store under the counter somewhere. So we'll see next time we get over there. And then, uh, Maury, let's see.
• 27:05
  Speaker C: What was, uh, Maury's pick for the year was, I believe, the old forester birthday bourbon. Uh, the first whiskey today is the 2023 old forester birthday bourbon at 48% abv, 96 proof and twelve years old, the old forester birthday bourbon is released every year on September 2 in honor of George Garvin Brown's birthday, the man who founded old Forester in 1870. This is the 23rd annual release, and it's aged twelve years. The mash bill is 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley.
• 27:48
  Speaker C: Uh, the details are as follows. On May 5 of 2011, 103 barrels were filled. They were aged on the fifth floor of warehouse I for twelve years.
• 28:04
  Speaker C: In terms of color, the color is rich and it's a beautiful copper on the nose, burnt caramel, brioche, cinnamon.
• 28:20
  Speaker A: Talking to the microphone.
• 28:24
  Speaker C: Mouth coating, viscous.
• 28:27
  Speaker C: He's always trying to find words, so, uh, we'll cut him off there.
• 28:33
  Speaker C: The best part was that he picked another one that he thought was one of the better ones of the year. But he wasn't on that show, so I'm still trying to figure that choice.
• 28:42
  Speaker C: Anyway, um, so it's like the multiverse in marvel. That could be. Yeah.
• 28:47
  Speaker C: Yeah. Maybe he put on that little ant man suit and disappeared. Maybe him and Thanos are having it right now. Yes.
• 28:54
  Speaker C: That's what it is. That's it. Thanos is.
• 28:57
  Speaker C: Anyway, so we'll move on to our last whiskey of the year.
• 29:03
  Speaker C: So that is my pick. And for my pick of the best whiskey of the year, I picked from our friends at Aaron, the Aaron single malt, 25 year. This, um, one was absolutely stunning. It's 46% abv, 92 proof, non chill filtered. This is a release made from a mix of, uh, bourbon barrels and sherry casks that were distilled in 1995 and have been finished for a year in sherry hogsheads. This is the oldest release ever from Isle of Aaron. And, um, I mean, they've only been around about 26 years, so this is literally some of the oldest casts they've had.
• 29:42
  Speaker C: And they've been killing it with all the releases that have been coming out lately. And we've all been big fans of what they've been doing. But this one was just special.
• 29:52
  Speaker C: The nose is just sweet.
• 29:54
  Speaker C: Oak, nutmeg, little bit of black cherry, uh, that sweetness on the nose, a little bit of baking spice. And on the palate, hold on. Mhm.
• 30:15
  Speaker C: On the palate, it's just.
• 30:18
  Speaker C: Oh, gosh, it's marzipan. And toasted almonds get cinnamon on the edges of the tongue.
• 30:27
  Speaker C: I get, uh, mandarin oranges, little bit of honey, a little bit of apricot, a little bit of fruitcake.
• 30:36
  Speaker C: Um, it's creamy. Deliciousness. Yeah. It's just so good, so fresh, so clean.
• 30:45
  Speaker C: M 25 years, you wouldn't expect it to be this fresh and clean like it is. Yeah, it's bright, right? It's bright. Um, we've had a few whiskeys we've described. Well, you remember when we did nicodes that first time, it was like sunshine. This one is very similar to that.
• 31:02
  Speaker C: I mean, the flavors are all there, but it's just so bright and vibrant and in your face at 25 years, um, an absolutely beautiful whiskey. So that's my pick for best of the year for our whiskeys.
• 31:16
  Speaker C: What did you guys have for your runner up? I had the four roses small batch this year.
• 31:22
  Speaker C: It's great. First off, all of the small batches are great. And when you compare them, it's kind of like, which one's better? You kind of need to have a lineup. But this is just, uh, every year it comes out. I look forward to it.
• 31:36
  Speaker C: We usually get a taste it up there in Kentucky the first time, and again, we were able to again this year. And delicious. Yeah.
• 31:45
  Speaker C: And like you said, the best part about it is everyone is different. This year is very different from last year, and last year was very different from the year before. They're always great, but they're always unique.
• 31:56
  Speaker C: Right. Which, when you want to try to say that one is better than the other, it's like. Well, it's really tough because how different they all are. Yeah, exactly. So what was your runner up?
• 32:09
  Speaker E: The huge shock that king Kentucky knocked it out of the park again. It was amazing.
• 32:15
  Speaker E: Full, bright, full bodied bourbon and then, uh, signatory Glenn Livitt 2007. I like Glenn Livitt as a distillery, but this one was just Glenn Livitt squared.
• 32:33
  Speaker C: So good signatory. Uh, that's the amazing thing with the independent bottlers. Sometimes they're bottling stuff from distilleries that is better than it comes from the distilleries themselves.
• 32:44
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 32:44
  Speaker C: And we had some great Glenn lit. We had some great ones from them. Yeah, we had some great ones from Gordon McPhail. We had some great ones from, uh.
• 32:50
  Speaker C: Uh, we had a lot of good scotches this.
• 32:53
  Speaker C: Yeah. Which really kind of surprised me. I almost think that we had better scotches than we had bourbon. And that's an unusual thing for me to say, that definitely one day we have had quite a. We've had quite a list, and, I mean, we've got a lot of stuff queued up for the coming year as well. So we've got some really stunning stuff. And we've got some really unusual stuff, uh, that's queuing up also for this year.
• 33:18
  Speaker C: So, uh, with any luck, once that all gets know, the listeners are going to get to hear some really interesting stuff. We've got some new whiskeys from India. Um, I'm on the track of some whiskeys from all places Switzerland.
• 33:32
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 33:32
  Speaker C: So that'll be interesting. And also some wine, a blonde whiskey.
• 33:36
  Speaker E: Hopefully it comes with a watch.
• 33:38
  Speaker A: Oh, see, I'm thinking watch.
• 33:39
  Speaker C: You're thinking a blonde comes with a Rolex and a bank account number.
• 33:44
  Speaker C: So that's our best picks for whiskey, uh, of the year from Sips crew. So we also do the wines with the sips crew. So we're going to go on to our first pick for best of the year.
• 33:56
  Speaker C: Um, and that one is going to be, um.
• 34:00
  Speaker C: Let's see, that one's going to be harm.
• 34:03
  Speaker C: And his pick for best of the year was, uh, the Odette reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2020.
• 34:12
  Speaker A: This is not my style of white wine at all, yet I freaking loved it.
• 34:17
  Speaker A: It's not over the top buttery cougar juice, like I would normally call this stuff, because it's actually more balanced than.
• 34:24
  Speaker C: Oh, it's much more balanced.
• 34:25
  Speaker A: Yeah. Like you were saying, it's buttered toast. The oak spice is there.
• 34:30
  Speaker A: It's like freshly baked brioche right out of the oven.
• 34:33
  Speaker A: And I got toasted almonds on the nose as well.
• 34:37
  Speaker A: And it's like warm hazelnuts and almonds.
• 34:39
  Speaker A: And then on the palate, you said brioche and peach.
• 34:42
  Speaker A: And then I also got lots of roasted nuts. It's a little oily on the palate.
• 34:47
  Speaker C: It does have a little oiliness.
• 34:49
  Speaker A: Yeah. M all that mallow. And normally, I don't like this much mallow, but this is so balanced with the fruit that it's undeniably delicious.
• 34:59
  Speaker C: Lily did a beautiful job.
• 35:00
  Speaker A: You can keep drinking this. You keep coming back to it won't be like, I've had one glass.
• 35:05
  Speaker C: I'm done.
• 35:05
  Speaker A: I'm full.
• 35:06
  Speaker C: This is.
• 35:07
  Speaker A: This is refreshing and gorgeous.
• 35:10
  Speaker C: Yeah. It was an amazing Chardonnay. It really was.
• 35:13
  Speaker C: And Jess and I were lucky enough to actually get to drink some of it at Odette with the winemaker. And it was better there.
• 35:23
  Speaker E: Yeah, it was.
• 35:25
  Speaker C: When the person who made it is literally sitting at the table going, would you like them to pour? It always seems to get. It goes up one tick in the scorecard.
• 35:32
  Speaker E: Well, they give you the amazing fruits and cheeses and salami that just make it even better. They know what they're doing over there.
• 35:42
  Speaker C: Yeah, but that Odette was.
• 35:45
  Speaker C: Well, look at it this way. Harm actually reached out and tracked some down and actually carried it in the store as long as he could.
• 35:54
  Speaker C: Hard to get. It's not on every store shelf, but he actually sought it out. And you know him, if he did, it's got to be some good stuff.
• 36:01
  Speaker C: So we're going to go to Justin and see what his best pick of the wine of the year was that we did on the show.
• 36:08
  Speaker E: So I picked the Camus special selection, napa valley Cabernet sauvignon 2017.
• 36:14
  Speaker C: I've heard of this.
• 36:16
  Speaker E: Yes, you have.
• 36:19
  Speaker E: We had a veterans release that was pretty similar to this. And, uh, this is 100% cabernet Sauvignon, 15.4% alcohol by volume. The Camus special selection is the only wine in the world honored twice as wine Spectator magazine's wine of the year, from both 1894 and the 1990 vintage.
• 36:43
  Speaker C: 1984.
• 36:44
  Speaker E: Sorry, 1984.
• 36:47
  Speaker E: I was like, yeah, wow, 1894 Camus Wagner is really looking great.
• 36:53
  Speaker C: You see how short my fingers are? It's like I can type at all. I think he had too much chemist when he was typing it up. I don't think there's ever too much chemist. Yeah, I was about to say, but, yeah, right amount. This was an excellent wine. We, uh, really enjoyed this one. And as Justin said, um, they've done a special commemorative bottle for us. Uh, the entire Wagner family, uh, Chuck and his son and his daughter, have been amazing people and have really helped us, uh, more than I can possibly ever thank them for, uh, in supporting our charity work with honor flight.
• 37:29
  Speaker C: So, um, they've honored our World War II veterans, uh, on more than one occasion and have been amazingly generous to us. So thank you to the folks at Camus for helping us with that, and also thank you for, uh, sending us a fabulous wine review. Thank you.
• 37:45
  Speaker C: So we'll go on to our next one.
• 37:48
  Speaker C: And that was Maury's pick for best of the year, which was the Dow soul of the lion 2019. Uh, we've done quite a few wines from this producer, which is Dow. So this is the 2020 Dow sold a lion, and we've done the last two or three releases up to this point, I believe. Um, it's 80% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc, 7% petite brdot. It's aged for 22 months, and 100% new french oak, 15.2% abv. The, uh, soul of lion is made for George and Daniel, Dow's father, an enduring symbol of strength and courage in their lives. First released in 2010, soul of the lion established pasaroblaze as a rising star for world class Cabernet. And I would absolutely say that is 100% true.
• 38:38
  Speaker A: Before the Dow guys, the brothers, I.
• 38:40
  Speaker C: Thought Pastor Lobos was for mediocre wine. Yeah.
• 38:43
  Speaker C: But changed it. They came in. And they're not the only producer making. No, once they came in, everyone else there upped their game, and they did. And we've been fortunate to try the soul of lion, I think, for the last three years in a row. Um, and that 2019 was absolutely fantastic.
• 39:03
  Speaker C: So we're going to move on to our last wine. And that was my pick for best wine of the year. And my pick was from Davis Estates, uh, the 2005 phase five.
• 39:15
  Speaker C: Davis, uh, estates, founded in 2011 by Mike and Sandy Davis when they purchased land from the Saviez family that had previously been part of a winery with route dating back to 1900. The following year, they purchased an adjacent property, make up the 155 acres of the current estate. The original barn dates back to 1916, so they redesigned all the buildings there to actually look like it. Uh, the phase five was 100% cabernet Sauvignon, aged for 28 months, and 225 liter french oak punches 85% new, absolutely stunning wine. Uh, you drank it and it stayed with you for an hour. It just did not go away. It just kept going and going and going and going. Um, and I'm still dreaming about it, and I wish we still had some, but unfortunately, we drank it all. So what can I say? It's been a great year. Um, we've had some fantastic wines. We've had some fantastic whiskeys and we're looking forward to, uh, 2024. So thank you all for joining us.
• 40:19
  Speaker A: Hey, this is good old boy Mike. And this is our best of sips that actually covers coffee. Now, we had a couple of coffee episodes in season eleven and there were some really great products that we talked on those episodes.
• 40:33
  Speaker A: But I'm actually going to pick my very best of product for something that we actually didn't cover on, uh, any of the radio show itself. So this coffee that I've picked as the best of season eleven is from Haiti. It is singing Rooster, and singing Rooster has uh, several, but this one is the savain zombie and this is from southeast Haiti. It's a really fascinating know. I think the thing that really struck me the most about this coffee is just such a huge flavor bomb. I mean, there is so much going on.
• 41:13
  Speaker A: I probably characterize this as kind, um, of a little grassy caramel, maybe a slight hint of herbal spice. Um, is probably what you would get off this.
• 41:24
  Speaker A: But it's really going to have those awesome stronger chocolate notes that a lot of haitian coffees are known for. And I really found myself continually just going back to this, checking it out at ah, different roast points and everything that I tried, be it a lighter roast or a darker roast, everything just kept on bringing more and more to, uh, the flavor profile. Yeah, I would say that a lot of people enjoy, uh, haitian blue Mountain, so that's kind of difficult to get a hold of. And if you don't want to probably pay premium bucks for that. Uh, this is a really great choice and really something that you should, uh, check out for sure.
• 42:04
  Speaker A: So singing rooster is kind of an interesting. It's a nonprofit that actually brings haitian products into the US. They're based out of Madison, Wisconsin. And they bring in not only just coffee, but like art and cocoa and some other things directly and actually funnel that all back to farmers and communities in Haiti. So uh, it's kind of a cool set up as well. Um, this is 100% arabica bean as well. So uh, it's actually kind of a larger bean size. So it's 1716 screen size. So you're actually uh, going to get a lot of good bang for your buck out of this as well. So be sure and check that out again. Singing rooster, it's called the savain zombie.
• 42:46
  Speaker A: Uh, is the particular version. There are some other singing rooster coffees that are available, but this particular one really caught my attention. My uh, sips rating for this is going to be a five and, uh, be sure and check it out. Well, we're rolling right on along and hopefully you're enjoying a lot of these discussions.
• 43:06
  Speaker A: Next up in this segment is going to be our cast members for our smokes categories. So now we'll turn it over to good old boy barger.
• 43:16
  Speaker D: Hey, welcome to sips and smokes. This is the best thing
• 43:19
  on at 02: 00 a.m. Insert favorite tv show here. And, uh, we're here today for our best of 2023 cigars that we have found this year, whether it was made this year or not, that we've just really enjoyed this year. And, man, we've each got three cigars for you, we're going to throw at you, and we'll only talk about one each, but we're going to have some good time here in the next 15 minutes. Today with me is my good old boy Justin. Justin's not here.
• 43:47
  on at 02: Edit that out. Good old boy Benjamin.
• 43:50
  Speaker I: Howdy ho, neighbor.
• 43:51
  Speaker D: Good old boy Nader salad.
• 43:53
  Speaker A: I was about to say, have you lost a lot of hair lately?
• 43:56
  Speaker D: And good old boy Mike.
• 43:58
  Speaker A: Yep, I'm still here.
• 44:00
  Speaker D: All ah, right. Due to contrary belief.
• 44:02
  Speaker D: Well, let's just jump right into it. We are. I am going to tell you my top three cigars for this year. So I'm going to start with a, uh, timeout habano, which is my number one cigar this year, and it is fantastic.
• 44:17
  Speaker D: We'll get into that in a minute. The second is the wildfire revitalist revivalist man speaking is hard today, folks. Let me just throw that out there. And then third for me is going to be the Havana castle black, their house blend. That's a cuban seed, uh, with nicaraguan binder and filler. And it is fantastic. And you can order it online from them, but they're only sold in Ontario, Canada.
• 44:41
  Speaker A: Interesting choice. So none of those have the same wrapper binder combo, do they? Yeah, they're all three different.
• 44:47
  Speaker D: Yep. Uh, such as my personality.
• 44:49
  Speaker D: What do you got for me, Benjamin?
• 44:52
  Speaker C: Yeah, cool.
• 44:52
  Speaker I: Uh, so the three that I have, uh, and I'm going to go three, two, one. Uh, the cavalier inner circle, uh, the wildfire arteois.
• 45:03
  Speaker D: Great, right?
• 45:04
  Speaker I: And then my number one this year is the Lucione Habano. Uh, okay. Yeah, man, that's a killer smoke for me. That's, uh, damn near Desert island.
• 45:15
  Speaker I: Uh, but I have smoked way more of those this year than I care to admit.
• 45:19
  Speaker A: Honestly.
• 45:20
  Speaker D: Heard that. Worth its weight for sure.
• 45:23
  Speaker I: 200%.
• 45:24
  Speaker D: What do you got? Good old boy Nate.
• 45:26
  Speaker G: So, uh, my number one cigar of the year would be the foundation cigars olmec natural.
• 45:32
  Speaker D: Okay.
• 45:32
  Speaker G: Um, my number two kind of piggy in the back off of Ben. There would be, um, actually the sister to the inner circle, but the cavalier domain rouge. And then I would say number three would be the warped nicotina. Um, the foundation olmec natural. Um, it's a mexican San Andreas Claro.
• 45:55
  Speaker G: Um, it has nicaraguan binder and filler. To me, though, it's just like a rich desserty smoke. Even the natural, it's very flavorful, complex. Uh, cocoa, coffee. To me, the double corona in that, it's incredible.
• 46:10
  Speaker D: Awesome. Well, what about you?
• 46:12
  Speaker A: So we skipped a couple of things. Why did you pick some of the ones that you had on your short list?
• 46:18
  Speaker D: Well, for me, it was not only complexity, but it was ease, ease on my draw, the light, the flavor profile, just all around great cigars. And actually, the domain rouge was my number four. So it was a tie between that and the Havana castle.
• 46:35
  Speaker A: Yeah, I guess I would have thought that we all have taste profiles that we tend to like and gravitate towards.
• 46:44
  Speaker A: I, um, just would have thought you would have picked things that would have aligned right towards the word petite lancero.
• 46:50
  Speaker C: For sure.
• 46:51
  Speaker D: Tell you what, if more people would produce petite lanceros, there might be on this list.
• 46:55
  Speaker A: Are you saying that there was not enough skirt involved with.
• 46:58
  Speaker D: I don't think I saw many petite lanceros come out this year.
• 47:02
  Speaker G: Not too many.
• 47:03
  Speaker D: Yeah.
• 47:04
  Speaker A: So the cigars that you did pick in your top three there, was there a common size or, uh, shape that you kind of gravitated towards?
• 47:11
  Speaker D: So the robusto was kind of my go to this year. Uh huh. Seeing as in I'm running slim on petite lanceros. That's a shameless plug.
• 47:21
  Speaker I: You might want to go to, like, a petite corona.
• 47:23
  Speaker A: So you're saying short, uh, and squatty, as opposed to long and thin?
• 47:26
  Speaker D: Yeah, that's right.
• 47:28
  Speaker I: I'm sure you can identify with that.
• 47:30
  Speaker D: Yeah, that's my mo.
• 47:32
  Speaker A: What are we talking about? Girth?
• 47:36
  Speaker D: I wish to register a. I think, you know, for me, that.
• 47:42
  Speaker D: Timeout, Habano. I can't say enough about it. If you guys have not had a chance to pick it up. It was an exclusive in Texas, and it's trying to get its way out.
• 47:53
  Speaker D: So if you have not had a chance to get them in your store, contact Neil and get them in your store, because he is awesome and he brings r with him.
• 48:03
  Speaker A: So I wanted to chime in about, uh, that cigar from Neil as well. If I had picked three that would have been in my top three and I think part of the reason why was it was just especially that uh, product was introduced at the PCA conference in Las Vegas that we attended. If you didn't listen to that episode, you should go back and listen. Absolutely it's a wonderful, it's a long episode but uh, it's definitely well worth it. And we talk about that cigar. But the thing that I really loved about what Neil pulled off is that in that room with that many cigars, in that many uh, where people had picked the same binder filler wrapper combo, his still stood out heads and tails above a lot of people that had the exact same uh, mean you would think right off the hand you're like well it's the same. No it's not.
• 48:57
  Speaker D: For me, what it was was he's only got two cigars, a maduro and Habano right. And there's only three or four sizes in each of them, I think three sizes, yeah and so that's all the product he's got so he can focus on creating a quality product instead of pushing more things out.
• 49:17
  Speaker A: Well and I think that's the wake up call I think for not only those established brands but I think for newcomers as well is to say um, just because you're doing more the same, that doesn't mean you can't be distinctive all at the same time. A lot of head nodding around the room.
• 49:32
  Speaker I: Yeah there's a lot to be said about quality over quantity.
• 49:37
  Speaker C: Right.
• 49:37
  Speaker I: And doing things the right way, that's just a general life lesson across the board. But I think Neil really dialed in what he would expect from a cigar and released that instead of doing some partnership with somebody because he wanted to get in the cigar game and that type of thing. Meeting him at PCA, the guy cares, right? Uh, he still has that sense of grassroots startup. I'm going to hand deliver these cigars to whomever will buy them currently kind of mindset. Ah, and that cigar did not disappoint. I smoked it at PCA in a long day of smoking many cigars and then barger and I were fortunate enough to purchase some here not too long ago, um, and got to revisit those cigars and what a pleasant full circle moment to come back and get into that cigar.
• 50:44
  Speaker I: I felt bad about having smoked it when I did in Vegas versus not having a clean right and really getting to experience what he's created there.
• 50:55
  Speaker A: So Benjamin, what was your number one and why'd you pick that one again?
• 50:59
  Speaker I: Yeah it was the illusion. Habano. Um, so this is a nicaraguan puro with, obviously, a habano claro wrapper.
• 51:06
  Speaker I: Obviously, elusione is not new to the game by any means, but they did do some, uh, rebranding and kind of shuffling of the cards of what is going to be more, uh, consistently available. Uh, and this habano, for me, um, I do prefer something that's a little bit more full bodied. Uh, and also, like, medium plus full strength. Uh, and this one checks both those boxes for me. And this is probably something that I've enjoyed over this entire year of smoking cigars, is that habano wrapper spiciness is just warm enough, right, to kind of keep you cozy and keep you interested. And, uh, that's something that I've really leaned into and enjoyed. Uh, I've definitely been more of, like, a heavy, kind of, like, maduro style smoker in the past.
• 51:57
  Speaker I: Um, sure. Just that little sprinkle of cool habano spice has done a lot for me. And so this, uh, illusione, seriously, hands down, boxworthy, knocked it out.
• 52:10
  Speaker C: Nice.
• 52:11
  Speaker I: Cool stars. Home run.
• 52:13
  Speaker D: What about you, Nate?
• 52:14
  Speaker G: Exactly how I feel about it.
• 52:16
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 52:16
  Speaker G: For me, I've been with smoking foundation since they've released their stuff in 2015. But the Olmec, to me, it's not an affordable cigar.
• 52:28
  Speaker G: I mean, it's around the $17 range. But it's a cigar that every time I smoke it, it burns perfect. It tastes perfect. Somebody who works selling cigars all day, it's a cigar I like to light up when I'm not working because it's like I know what to expect so much in its complexity, I'm able to actually relax and enjoy the cigar.
• 52:51
  Speaker A: Sure.
• 52:51
  Speaker G: To me, there's just a lot of depth and you don't have to think about it.
• 52:54
  Speaker C: No.
• 52:54
  Speaker G: And so, yeah, to me, it's a perfect cigar just to sit down and truly smoke and enjoy.
• 53:00
  Speaker D: That's exactly my thoughts on the timeout as well.
• 53:03
  Speaker A: So is that a commute smoke or I sit down and smoke it?
• 53:07
  Speaker G: I mean, the double corona, the size I'm talking about, it's seven x 52 box press. So, I mean, it's a long smoke. So you're hanging out for a minute.
• 53:18
  Speaker A: Well, uh, I had at least, um, in addition to the tom out cigar, uh, my top pick was actually the agonorsa ana facario, the Connecticut, um, wrapper on this cigar.
• 53:30
  Speaker A: Great smoke. And, uh, I guess the thing that really just captured this for me was we were going through so many cigars um, after PCA.
• 53:43
  Speaker A: And I was moving in between things that I would smoke casually and then things to try uh, to screen that we're going to cover here on the show. And this particular cigar just really captured my attention. I just loved how well balanced it was.
• 53:58
  Speaker A: Uh, um, it had great construction off this.
• 54:01
  Speaker A: And I was so pissed when it was over. I was just like, oh my God, do I have like six more of these? Because I would, you know.
• 54:10
  Speaker A: And part of it is that you're going in between things you like, things that are just okay and things that are amazing all the time as you're screening products that we're going to talk about here on the show.
• 54:22
  Speaker A: And uh, I had actually had a couple of other things that I had enjoyed before this. But for this to really stick out in the middle of a sea of things you're going through, uh, is always really rough.
• 54:34
  Speaker D: Uh, and remember, the agonorsa episode airs December 22.
• 54:38
  Speaker A: So actually uh, it's already out. When you're hearing this particular episode, um, you can hear about the entire agorsa product line. Um, this particular, the anniversario. The blend is ah, Carillo. Um, it is uh, Estelli. And the fillers are a mix of corojo, um, from both halapa and Estelli.
• 55:01
  Speaker A: So um. Really a uh, really great blend itself.
• 55:06
  Speaker A: I think the last stick I wanted to talk about briefly was actually one of the sticks that was um, from the boutique, uh, cigar association. And that uh, stick. Know, we had so many iconic pictures and I don't want to mention the brand again because I think what was interesting about that particular experience was that it had seven different tobaccos in it.
• 55:28
  Speaker A: And so many cigar uh, blends that I noticed were very repetitive in nature. What people were using, especially for a lot of new sticks.
• 55:40
  Speaker A: And to come out and actually choose seven different tobaccos, I thought that that was a bold move. I didn't particularly like the um. You know, I thought that that was an interesting observation that somebody would say, I'm not going to do more of the same. I'm going to do something very distinct.
• 55:57
  Speaker D: Definitely creative cigar for sure.
• 55:59
  Speaker G: Hey, and speaking of Mike's favorite sizes, petite lancero aganorsa. Also this year happened to put out a ten x 100. So I think that should be up next on the review list.
• 56:11
  Speaker D: Oh, that's a big cigar. Yikes. What do they call it?
• 56:15
  Speaker G: The lunatic.
• 56:16
  Speaker D: There you go.
• 56:17
  Speaker G: It's a lunatic one.
• 56:19
  Speaker D: Yeah, we'll have to do a whole episode on that while we sit and smoke the whole thing. I hope somebody's got about 4 hours to waste.
• 56:25
  Speaker A: Uh, so you're talking about the lunatic from agorsa?
• 56:27
  Speaker G: Yeah, because they came out with the n one coffin, one cigar, like 40 some od dollars and it's a ten inch by 100 ring.
• 56:35
  Speaker A: I don't think we covered that. I wonder how particular on the takeover, uh, episode.
• 56:40
  Speaker G: I don't know that that was a sample cigar.
• 56:43
  Speaker D: Yeah, no, we'll save that for Christmas for sure.
• 56:46
  Speaker D: All right, well, we only got a minute left here, so let's just go ahead and say, wow, this year has been really awesome with the industry, with cigars, with gaining relationships and helping others gain their relationships and moving forward with this podcast. Thank you very much for your listeners. We really appreciate everything that you do by listening to us. Tell your friends, share the podcast, go in there and review us, tell us what you think.
• 57:14
  Speaker A: We got a lot of amazing content, um, in the smoke space this year and that's due to a lot of hard work by barger. And uh, I think what I'm looking forward to is I actually see what's ahead of us and I'm very excited, uh, about a lot of things that we get to discuss in season twelve. So definitely, um, check out what we put out in season eleven, but hang with us. I mean, you were going to get to hear about a lot of great stuff.
• 57:40
  Speaker D: That's awesome. Well, I want to thank my guest. Good old boy Benjamin.
• 57:43
  Speaker I: Thanks for having me. You all keep smoking them.
• 57:45
  Speaker D: Good old boy Nate. Keep it lit. Good old boy Mike.
• 57:50
  Speaker A: Hey, keep on smoking.
• 57:52
  Speaker D: And I'm going to say I got ink on my hands from this ink pen, but yeah, keep on smoking whatever it is you're smoking.
• 58:01
  Speaker A: Good old boy Mike here again to talk about some of our best of season eleven picks. And this particular topic is our best gin choice for season eleven. Boy, I tell you, this is, uh, another one of those categories that actually we didn't have a gin episode in season eleven, but that does not mean we were not still drinking a lot of gin. It's probably one of my favorite categories, certainly in terms of things that I probably drink a bit more routine and know. Uh, I was in, uh, Europe for a couple of months and I would say that I was really on the hunt to try and locate some really great spanish, um, gins in particular. Spent, uh, a lot of time, uh, there in Spain, in and around Barcelona, and ran into some good, uh, great gins, of course, in that region of the world.
• 58:58
  Speaker A: But I think probably one of the more difficult things that I've found with spanish gins is they're made locally, they're distributed locally and they're a little difficult to find. So uh, one of our best of that was on the big gin taste off was know we recorded that episode almost uh, three years ago and it is just now becoming available in the US market. So that's some of the know that you're going to find with especially gins that are made in uh, the spanish market.
• 59:30
  Speaker A: So I was in London for uh, some time as well. Actually attended the London wine fair, but actually got to taste a lot of gins certainly while I was there in London, went to Sipsmith, which of know if you're going to be there in London to check out Sipsmith, and I got to actually sit down and try some of the Smith products that I'd actually not previously had and really fell in love with a uh, particular version of sipsmith, which is their London dry, but it is the vjop, which is the very juniperie overproof, uh, version that they have there at Sipsmith. I really uh, thought it was know I love things that are very juniper forward and this was definitely, you know, they had uh, some other flavored, know like zesty orange or lemon drizzle to go along with some of these very traditional recipes that they had as well. So I would definitely say that the typical tasting note off this is definitely lemon and juniper and pepper, which are just kind of the pillars of London draw gin itself. But that uh, particular version really kind of caught my attention.
• 1:00:45
  Speaker A: So definitely if you're there in London, you should know, take some time to actually go to the distillery and check out their bar. It's really great. And you'll get to taste some cocktails maybe that fit really well with Sipsmith as well.
• 1:00:59
  Speaker A: So my sips rating for the sipsmith VGaop is going to be a five. So be sure and check that out as well. Well that's going to take care of everything here for season eleven. Really hope you enjoyed all of these wonderful products that we got to talk about for season eleven. Come back, enjoy those, uh, at your leisure. Hey, this is good old boy Mike asking you come back, enjoy another exciting season of sips and smokes, and I'll ask you to keep on sipping.
• 1:01:32
  Speaker H: We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor and tap it, the subscribe button.
• 1:01:41
  Speaker C: Give it a little tappy, tap, tap, tap a room.
• 1:01:44
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• 1:02:41
  Speaker C: Sipping.
• 1:02:41
  Speaker A: This has been a one tan hand production of sip suds and smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of some of the finer slices of life. From the dude in the basement studios.
• 1:02:53
  Speaker C: Your host, the good old boys, will see you all next.