Normally, I don't drink bourbon so early in the morning, but as a Wisconsin girl I have had my occasional bloody Mary's while going out to breakfast or brunch. So I figured one bourbon this morning would not be so bad. As I promised, I am following up on my Kentucky trip with posts about the specific bourbons I purchased there. This morning was the perfect opportunity, since it was supposed to finally be warm.
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| A cheroot to pair with a sweet Kentucky Bourbon |
When I went out on my porch at about 8:30am, it was 61 degF but it had been raining all morning, and nothing complements cigars and drinks on my porch better than a fire. So with the damp, drizzle-on-drizzle-off conditions this morning, it took me a half-hour to finally get the fire going. Eventually at 9 am, I was able to assemble my drinks, lighter, cutter, and cigar to partake in a wonderful experience.
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| Darn fire finally going in the rainy morning |
The first bourbon I bought was the Maker's Mark Private Reserve French Toast. You can only get this stuff at the distillery in Kentucky. I figured I could not go wrong with a French Toast flavored bourbon in the morning with a cup of coffee and a cigar. This bourbon tastes like how it sounds, with hints of sweet syrup and cinnamon, which paired well with my highlander grog coffee and cigar.
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| Maker's Mark Private Reserve French Toast |
As for the cigar, I was inspired by Clint Eastwood. My husband and I recently watched "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," and then my son and I watched, "A Fistfull of Dollars." Although they say Eastwood hated cigars, he makes them look so damn good! I researched online what smaller cigars he smoked in those "Man With No Name" Spaghetti Westerns, and they were supposedly cheap machine-rolled Toscanos or other similar brands. Well, I did not want to pair this awesome bourbon with machine-rolled cigars, so I did further homework online and found Handmade Cheroots from Cigar Daily, which were a little bigger than what Eastwood smoked, but they piqued my interest. The reviews on the website were lukewarm. Some said things like, "they did not taste that great, but you get what you pay for." Others thought they were decent cigars for a great value. I paid $9.99 for a ten pack, so they were pretty cheap, and I was a little nervous that they would not be any good. But you only live once, right?
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| What the hell? Why not? |
I have to say, as soon as I started to toast the end the cheroot smelled really good. And then that bite on that first draw was a bold tobacco taste, with a distinct and subtle sweetness. This means it paired really well with the French toast Maker's Mark and highlander grog coffee! It drizzled on outside, but my fire was hot enough at that point to keep burning, and I was a happy cigar smoker. It has been a while since I posted about a budget cigar (see my post from October 2022 about the Baccarat Repeater), and even though this post is about the Maker's Mark French toast bourbon, this cheroot really stole the show!
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| The Handmade Cheroot - pretty good, actually! |
I highly recommend the Handmade Cheroot, and I highly recommend the Maker's Mark Distillery if you're on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Stay tuned for more about the other bourbons I bought in Kentucky.
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