Four additional batches of Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon were shipped to retailers nationwide last week.
Check out tasting notes from Master Blender Nancy Fraley below:
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #19: Soda Fountain Root Beer Float
Batch #19 is chock full of root beer, creamy egg custard with vanilla beans, sassafras bark, wintergreen, dried tarragon notes, pencil shavings, Mexican chocolate, salted caramel, and rose potpourri, which together with whispers of Seville orange marmalade and mixed salted nuts, makes for a rather contradictory and aromatically intriguing bundle of complex flavors. A few drops of water will help to tame the effects of the high proof and bring forth a cornucopia of bold, lingering flavors of cherry-flavored Coca Cola, peanut butter brittle, dried rose petals, chipotle pepper flakes, and roasted cashews on the palate and to the finish.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #20: The Dark One
Batch #20 is a dense, brooding, and bold expression of Cigar Blend Bourbon. A chocolate lover’s dream, the initial waves of aroma cascade into intense notes of devil’s food chocolate cake, ice cream sundae drizzled with hot chocolate syrup, and dark chocolate covered cherries. The chocolate is followed by more dark notes of thick, creamy-headed Guinness stout, black strap molasses, pecan pie filling with chocolate chips, aged Tawny Port-flavored pipe tobacco, barrel aged Balsamic vinegar, and prunes in syrup. While the Armagnac notes do not overpower the bourbon, they do add prominent flavors of black currants and medjool dates coupled with almond paste. The finish is persistent, with giant rogue waves of cocoa powder and black cherry cobbler with a buttery, flaky crust.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #21: Icing on the Spice Cake
The initial nose on Batch #21 is exceptionally sweet, with enticing aromas of sticky toffee pudding, spice cake drizzled with blackberry blossom honey, cinnamon rolls, rum raisin, prunes in syrup, white icing, and stuffed medjool dates with toasted, shaved coconut. All of these notes press on the palate, coupled with the addition of Jamaican allspice, orange with cloves, citrusy Madagascar cinnamon, candied ginger, coconut milk, blackberry jam, and hazelnuts. The sticky toffee pudding returns in the finish, with fruit flavors of dried apricot, blackberry, and stewed prunes lingering from the Armagnac cask influence.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #22: The Gentleman’s Study
Batch #22, while coming from the same coupe mere as batches #19 – 21, was housed in a freshly dumped Armagnac cask that gave it a somewhat different flavor profile from the other three casks. This batch has an air of refinement, muscularity, and dynamite power on the nose and palate. It is the liquid version of a Victorian-era “gentleman’s study,” draped in dark mahogany. The classic bourbon caramel pudding and vanilla bean notes remain solid, coated by a long-aged vintage Armagnac profile of prunes in syrup, well-worn Chesterfield leather sofa, cigar humidor, English Christmas cake, brandied cherries, nutty “rancio” aromas, and brown baking spices. The finish is long, luxurious, and contemplative. Best savored with a good book, fine cigar, and smoking jacket. Slainte!
