The Joy of Christmas

When the angels went away from them to heaven,

the shepherds said to one another, 

“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem

to see this thing that has taken place, 

which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, 

and the infant lying in the manger.

When they saw this,

they made known the message

that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed

by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things,

reflecting on them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God 

for all they had heard and seen, 

just as it had been told to them.

-- Luke 2:15-20

At last it begins. After an Advent of preparation, the joyful season of Christmas is finally here. The last piece of our holiday decorations — the Christmas tree — was completed on Christmas Eve. While the trimmings, both inside and out, are set in place over the course of several weeks, the tree remains the capstone, traditionally finished just in time for the Feast itself.

Our celebration will continue through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, as it always has. Each year, I find it a small but familiar disappointment to see lights and decorations vanish the day after Christmas. It seems that many no longer regard the birth of Our Savior as an event worthy of more than a single day of rejoicing. Christmas is not a day, but a season — one worth celebrating fully.

"Adoration of the Shepherds" by Gerard van Honthorst. (OSV News photo/Bridgeman Images)

I wish all of you a very merry and blessed Christmas. May the joy of Christmas remain with you throughout the year.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

A Christmas Eve Eve Smoke: Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary

It’s the calm before the storm. The evening before Christmas Eve is a moment I especially look forward to and savor. Once the Feast of Christmas arrives, the house comes alive with activity — family, food, drink, and all the merriment that accompanies the celebration. On this “Eve of the Eve,” I try to slow things down with a relaxing cigar while anticipating the days ahead. It’s also a reminder that there are still a few gifts left to wrap, though that’s only a brief distraction.

This Christmas Eve Eve, I decided to crack open a box of Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada that I’d picked up last month. I’ve always enjoyed the Serie V line, and this anniversary release offers a fun variation.

The 135th Anniversary is a limited-edition take on the standard Serie V, released to honor the Oliva family’s 135-year legacy in tobacco farming, which began in Cuba. First released in November 2021, the cigar is now a recurring limited release. The 5 1/2” x 54 vitola features a tapered foot, with the ring gauge narrowing from 54 down to roughly 30 at the tip. The blend remains familiar: an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, just as in the regular-production Serie V.

I paired the cigar with a seasonally appropriate Christmas Ale from Bell’s Brewery. Styled as a traditional Scotch Ale, it delivers rich toasted malt and caramel notes. Despite its lighter appearance, the beer is full-bodied and warming, clocking in at a robust 7.5% ABV. It’s a fitting sipper for a cool winter evening, and one I look forward to picking up each year. Its malt-forward profile stands apart from the spiced “Christmas Ales” that dominate the shelves this time of year.

An 80-minute burn time lined up perfectly with the pacing of the Christmas Ale. The cigar burned evenly, if a bit faster than expected. While milder at the outset, the Serie V 135th Anniversary quickly settled into its familiar richness. Notes of cocoa, coffee, and roasted nuts paired perfectly with the beer’s deep malt character.

A special cigar, a seasonal beer, and the quiet anticipation of the holiday combined for a relaxing and flavorful smoke and sip. With the rush of Christmas just around the corner, it was an ideal way to wind down before ramping up.

Is Christmas Eve Eve officially noted on the calendar? It certainly should be.

Cheers!

Smoke and Stillness at Advent’s End

Advent unfolds with a familiar rhythm — candles lit, days counted down, anticipation slowly building. And yet, when Christmas week arrives, it always seems to come sooner than expected.

Here we are, just a few days out from the big day. Despite the usual last-minute to-do lists, there’s still time to pause and enjoy a good smoke and sip. Even the weather is cooperating — at least by December standards — with comparatively warmer temperatures.

From the humidor, I selected a Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend in the Corona Largo vitola. The Bishops Blend line is one of my all-time favorites, and my humidor typically holds a selection of sizes. This 6 1/4″ × 46 cigar offers an enjoyable 90 minutes or more of flavorful smoking.

Released annually in limited numbers, the Bishops Blend consistently hits my preferred flavor profile and often finds its way into these Musings. The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper, an Ecuadorian Habano binder, and a filler combination of Nicaraguan tobacco along with Connecticut and Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Medium-full bodied, the cigar delivers rich, complex notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, pepper, and espresso, balanced by a touch of sweet earthiness.

The accompanying pour for the evening was a Virginia ABC single-barrel selection of Sazerac Rye. This is a rye I frequently use in Old Fashioneds and other rye-forward cocktails. It’s budget-friendly, moderately spicy, and also quite enjoyable neat. This particular single barrel carried the familiar Sazerac profile, though I noticed a distinct spearmint-like note on the finish.

With Advent nearly complete and Christmas close at hand, the brief stillness lingered as the evening came to a close — offering a moment of reflection and relaxation before the season turns fully toward celebration.

Cheers!

Crossing the Rubicon: A New Direction for Cohiba

I was excited to see the Cohiba Rubicon included in the October Cigar & Pipes Cigar of the Month shipment. The Rubicon is a new line from Cohiba, which General Cigar Company began shipping in August of this year. After a 10 week rest in the humidor, I lit up the 5 1/2″ x 55 box-pressed Robusto on a warm evening earlier this week.

The Rubicon is a budget-friendly, regular-production offering from a brand better known for premium — and typically pricey — cigars. The Robusto retails for around $8.00, which, if the quality is there, makes it quite a bargain — especially in today’s market, where many mid-range cigars start in the $12–$15 range.

The Cohiba Rubicon is a good-looking stick, even if the orange-and-black band borders on a bit gaudy. The box-pressed cigar feels substantial in the hand, likely due to the wide 55 ring gauge along its flat edge. The blend is composed of six tobaccos from five countries, featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and fillers of Dominican Piloto Cubano, Honduran tobaccos from La Entrada and Jamastran, and Estelí, Nicaragua. In addition to the Robusto, the line includes Toro and Gigante vitolas, all priced under $10.

The cigar opens at medium body with notes of sweet nuts and coffee, accented by a light touch of cedar — a profile that feels almost like a morning smoke. As it progresses, both body and complexity build steadily. By the midpoint, the Rubicon ramps up into the medium-full range, bringing darker flavors of molasses, dark chocolate, and espresso. The spice evolves as well, settling into a well-integrated black pepper. The transitions over the roughly 85-minute smoke were both noticeable and enjoyable.

Overall, I found the Cohiba Rubicon to be a flavorful and fairly complex cigar with excellent construction and burn. While it may not go head-to-head with Cohiba’s higher-end offerings — or other premium-priced cigars — it delivers a satisfying experience at a very approachable price point.

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in northern Italy, he reportedly declared alea iacta est — “the die is cast.” Perhaps this welcome entry from Cohiba signals a similar commitment, setting a new standard for premium cigar makers by offering genuinely enjoyable smokes at everyday prices.

Cheers!

From Screen to Smoke: Martin Kove’s The Prodigal Son Cigar

Actor Martin Kove, best known for The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, is an avid cigar smoker. In collaboration with Paul DiSilvio, founder of La Casa Grande Cigars, and Sanj Patel, owner of Sanj’s Smoke Shop, Kove has developed a cigar line called The Prodigal Son. Named after an upcoming television series and a four-part comic book in which Kove is involved, the cigar was announced earlier this year but has seen only limited availability so far.

As I learned earlier this year, my brother-in-law happens to know Martin Kove and, through his acquaintance with both Kove and Paul DiSilvio, managed to obtain some of the new cigars. He generously sent a few my way, and I’ve had them resting in the humidor for about a month to recover from their travels.

The cigar’s blend remains undisclosed. Beyond the collaborators, the only concrete details are that the cigars are produced at Tabacalera Jurarip in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. The initial release consists of a single 6 × 52 Toro, with distribution limited to just three retailers: La Casa Grande Cigars (Bronx, NY), Sanj’s Smoke Shop (Bloomfield, NJ), and Smoke Inn locations in South Florida. Wider availability is reportedly planned for 2026.

    

Given that Martin Kove is himself a cigar aficionado and had a hand in approving the final product, it wasn’t a huge leap of faith to have high expectations. I’ve smoked a couple over the past week and have not been disappointed.

The cigars are well made, featuring an even pack and a smooth, oily maduro wrapper. The draw on both samples was spot-on, the burn consistently even, and the smoke output plentiful. Immediately upon lighting up, I detected a distinctly Dominican tobacco character, marked by medium-bodied woodiness and an underlying chocolate-like sweetness. As the cigar settled in, notes of cedar and mild pepper began to coat the tongue and mouth — perhaps hinting at some San Andrés influence. The profile is complex without overwhelming the palate.

Approaching the final third, I noticed a marked increase in strength along with the faintest hint of a nicotine rush. This was unexpected, given the cigar’s medium-bodied profile and the fact that I rarely feel nicotine effects, even from cigars rumored to be exceptionally strong. The spice character evolved as well, picking up touches of cinnamon and added sweetness, evoking thoughts of Christmas cookies — that impression perhaps influenced by the season.

The first time I smoked The Prodigal Son, I sipped only water. With the blend undisclosed, I wanted a clear sense of the cigar’s flavors before choosing a pairing. For the second cigar, enjoyed a few days later, I poured a glass of J.H. Bards Skipper’s Select Toasted Barrel Bourbon. It had been about a year since my last pour from this limited-release bottle, but memory suggested it would be a good match.

Skipper’s Select is one of several whiskies produced by the Blacksburg, VA distillery to benefit the Triumph NIL fund for Virginia Tech athletes. This expression honors Skipper, the iconic cannon fired by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets whenever the Hokies score a touchdown at Lane Stadium.

The toasted barrel bourbon offers classic aromas of caramel and vanilla, enhanced by a mild char. On the palate, it delivers smooth fruit and sweet caramel notes with a pleasant wood-char finish. While the finish is relatively short-lived, it’s an enjoyable sipper at a mild 93 proof and paired nicely with the cigar.

Both The Prodigal Son cigars I’ve smoked thus far have been 2+ hour smokes — two very enjoyable hours indeed. I’ll admit to being somewhat cynical about celebrity-branded products, and I’d read plenty of pre-release hype surrounding this cigar. Once I was fortunate enough to have them resting in my humidor, I even hesitated before lighting one up. After all, I “know a guy who knows a guy,” and I hoped I’d be able to offer a genuinely positive review. After smoking a couple, I believe the line will be a hit with smokers, assuming it eventually becomes more widely available.

The Prodigal Son is a well-balanced, thoughtfully made cigar with a complex flavor profile. I’ll be watching with interest to see how the line develops. In the meantime, I’ll be happily enjoying the stock I have.

Cheers!

Blackened Whiskey and M81: A Metallica-Inspired Pairing

I recently picked up a bottle of Blackened Whiskey, curious to finally try this collaboration between the band Metallica and the late master distiller Dave Pickerell. Naturally, I paired the pour with a Blackened M81 cigar. The M81 itself is also a collaboration — this time between Drew Estate, Metallica co-founder and frontman James Hetfield, and master distiller Rob Dietrich, who has overseen Blackened Whiskey since Pickerell’s passing.

Blackened is a blended American whiskey, composed of straight bourbons, ryes, and other American whiskeys. Although it has been on the market since 2018, I had never gotten around to trying it. Interestingly, it was being served at the Metallica concert we attended earlier this year at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA — but only mixed with lemonade, with no straight pours available — so I passed.

The whiskey’s claim to uniqueness lies in its aging process. Barrels are placed in a room exposed to low-frequency, high-amplitude sound waves generated by curated Metallica playlists. These vibrations are said to increase interaction between the whiskey and the barrel wood, resulting in deeper flavor extraction.

On the nose, the whiskey presents relatively mild aromas of dark honey and caramel, along with soft sweet fruit notes. The palate delivers brown sugar, warm rye-like spice, and more sweet fruit, accented by a touch of smokiness. The long, spicy finish gradually grows sweeter as the evening progresses. Overall, I found the profile to lean toward the sweeter side, though a subtle spice keeps it from becoming cloying.

I’ve had a few Blackened M81 by Drew Estate cigars — a 5” x 43 Corona vitola — resting in the humidor since picking them up at a Drew Estate event in May 2024. These have been well-aged, as I held a couple back specifically for an eventual pairing with Blackened Whiskey.

The foot band proclaims “Maduro to the Core,” a reference to the wrapper, binder, and filler all being Maduro tobaccos, contributing to the cigar’s rich and intense character. The wrapper is Mexican San Andrés Maduro, the binder Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro, and the filler a blend of Nicaraguan Maduro and Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro, including bold ligero leaf.

The cigar delivers a robust flavor profile of dark chocolate, cocoa, and espresso, with black pepper undertones throughout. Perhaps due to 18 months of rest in the humidor, this particular example seemed slightly less intense than I recall from earlier experiences, though it remained full-bodied and richly flavored. As with the prior ones smoked, the draw was on the tight side.

Going into the evening, I expected the cigar might overpower the blended whiskey, despite the creators’ intention that the two be enjoyed together. Instead, the whiskey’s sweetness softened the cigar’s pepper and density — again, possibly influenced by the cigar’s age.

In the end, I enjoyed the Blackened pairing overall. The tight draw of the cigar proved distracting and limited some of the flavor expression. I’ll happily sip the whiskey neat again, though I suspect it would pair even better with a sweeter, creamier cigar. The ongoing search for better sip-and-smoke combinations is what keeps this hobby interesting.

Cheers!

Five O'Clock Friday: Booker Noe on Bourbon

I find this to be true myself.

Cheers!

Cranberry Gin Spritz for a Snowy Day

We enjoyed this festive before-dinner cocktail on a recent snowy day. It was inspired by a recipe I came across online and adapted based on what I had on hand.

Cranberry Spritz

• 1.5 oz. Gin
• 1 oz. Cranberry Juice
• 0.5 oz. Simple Syrup
• 0.5 oz. Lemon Juice 
• Prosecco
• Rosemary sprig, whole cranberries for garnish

Combine the gin, cranberry juice, and lemon juice in a glass over ice. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a rosemary sprig and a couple whole cranberries.

A “classic” spritz typically uses Aperol as the base. Swapping Aperol for gin creates a drier, more herbal, and crisper drink — and it also boosts the ABV substantially.

The cocktail is light and refreshing and, like most spritz recipes, quick and easy to make. This festive twist paired perfectly with the first snowfall of the season.

Cheers!