A Weather Delay, Green River Bourbon, & Tatuaje Cigar

The Father's Day weekend got off to an odd start. Well, maybe not so odd for Virginia. Windy and cloudy most of the morning, before the sun actually appeared mid-afternoon. That meant it was time to squeeze in cutting the grass. That overdue chore done, and dinner consumed, it was time to think about the evening's entertainment. Then . . . 

The sky darkened, the wind howled, and the house was pelted by hail. Half inch hail, and lots of it. The storm went on for about 20 minutes, after which I discovered the furniture on the screen porch was all wet due to the blowing rain. Fortunately the love seat along the house had been covered with pillows, and while they were wet, they protected the seat cushions. After dumping the water from an ashtray I was in business.

I looked in the humidor for a larger cigar since I was planning a longer, relaxing evening and picked the Tatuaje Avion 13 Broadleaf Double Perfecto. The  6 7/8" x 52 stick would give a couple hours of pleasure. The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler creates delightful notes of sweet chocolate, coffee, later adding a bit of cocoa mild pepper. I've had these cigars in my humidor for a couple years and there's still one left. It's worthy of restocking.

The Green River Kentucky Bourbon was a picked up in Maryland a few weeks ago. I saw it on the shelf and recollected hearing the name, but knew nothing about it. The $36.99 price tag made it an easy chance to take. According to the distillery, the 90 proof bourbon is aged a minimum of five years.  The flavor profile is pretty much what is to be expected in a classic bourbon -- caramel, oak, some brown sugar, all well-balanced.  There's a bit of spice heat on the tongue but it fades quickly and is not felt in the swallow.

This is a truly enjoyable bourbon. It's an easy sipper, it's flavorful, with enough body to be interesting. The price point makes it suitable as an everyday sipper, but it should not be relegated to the bottom shelf. I don't have too many under $40 bourbons on my shelves, and Green River proves good whiskey does not have to be expensive. The distillery is one of the oldest in Kentucky. It was renovated and brought back to life in 2014 after being abandoned for years. This is a brand I'll keep an eye out for when next shopping out of state. I don't expect this bottle to be around here long.

Cheers!