Cheers!
Musings Over a Barrel
Since 2007
Ramblings on cigars, whiskey, craft beer, shooting sports, and life.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
A Delicate Balance: Hibiki Harmony and Oliva Serie V Melanio
Cheers!
Monday, July 14, 2025
A Bold & Sweet Pairing: E.P. Carrillo La Historia E-III and Old Elk Double Wheat
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Friday, July 11, 2025
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Too Hot for the Porch: AVO Syncro Nicaragua in the Lounge
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Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Port, Spice, and Smoke: Isaac Bowman Meets the Oliva Melanio
For a recent cigar and bourbon pairing, I reached for a couple of familiar old friends: Isaac Bowman Port Barrel Finished Bourbon and the Oliva Serie V Melanio.
The Isaac Bowman is produced by A. Smith Bowman Distillery, located right here in Fredericksburg, VA. Despite the distillery’s proximity, their core expressions can be surprisingly hard to come by — even here in Virginia. The Isaac Bowman Port Finish, fortunately, is generally found on store shelves, but that doesn’t make it any less desirable.
I’ve long been a fan of port-finished bourbons as companions to full-flavored cigars, and the Isaac Bowman is no exception. The bottle bears no age statement but is believed to be aged in oak for 4 to 5.5 years, followed by a 3 to 6 month finish in port barrels sourced from both Virginia and Portugal (using a mix of American and French Limousin oak). It’s bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV).
The port influence is immediately evident on the nose, offering notes of dark cherry, sweet apple, and vanilla. The palate carries those same port-aged qualities forward — delectable hints of sweet fruit, brown sugar, creamy vanilla, and a touch of mild spice. The finish is long, warm, and very satisfying.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio has made more than a few appearances in these Musings and on my Instagram feed. I can’t recall a time when I didn’t have either the Serie V or Serie V Melanio — usually in several vitolas — resting in my humidor. It’s a versatile, well-rounded cigar that pairs just as well with whiskey as it does with beer or coffee.
This cigar features an Ecuadorian-grown Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, including Jalapa-grown ligero. Medium to full in body, it delivers a beautifully balanced profile of peppery spice, caramel, coffee, sweet nuts, and chocolate. The lingering mouthfeel is creamy and smooth.
This particular stick was from a box of Robustos I purchased in April 2024. It was brimming with the expected rich flavors and maintained an excellent, cool burn from start to finish.
The combination of the cigar and the port-finished bourbon was an absolute delight — perhaps one of the best pairings I’ve enjoyed in recent memory.
Cheers!
Friday, July 4, 2025
Five O'Clock Friday: The Hazy Craze
Here's hoping your weekend beer options are numerous.
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Celebrate Freedom, Defend Liberty
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“For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Bold Flavor in a Small Package: Dunbarton Polpetta Petit Puros
I typically drink my coffee hot and black, even on warm days. But on this particular afternoon, the heat had me craving something cooler — so I brewed up iced coffees for my wife and myself. Then I reached into the humidor for a quick smoke.
The Dunbarton Polpetta Petit Puros is a cigar I hadn’t tried before. It recently showed up in two different cigar-of-the-month subscriptions, so it had definitely caught my attention.
Cheers!