Another Cool Evening Smoke

After a long week of activities that did not include a chance to relax with a cigar, I was looking forward to the start of the weekend. I'd been eyeing the CAO Flathead V660 cigars resting in my humidor for a couple months, waiting for the opportunity to enjoy one. The large stick offers nearly a two hour smoke, and though I wasn't sure I'd want to be outside that long, I opted to light one anyway. 

I selected the Michter's Small Batch US*1 Bourbon to go along with the smoke. The Michter's is a 91.4 proof bourbon that provides plenty of flavor return for the lower proof and reasonable price point. There's a pleasing aroma of raisons, cherries, and vanilla. The taste has dark fruit, vanilla, oak, and pepper.  The finish is short with some lingering spice. 

As the name suggests, the Flathead V660 is a 6 x 60 box-pressed stick with an extremely flattened cap at the end. I always use a punch to cut the cap when smoking the Flathead. The large size and flattened shape gives an awkward feel in the hand. A Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper covers an Ecuadorian Connecticut binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The smoke has a rich, semi-sweet chocolate and espresso flavor profile. As I find with many large ring gauge cigars, the draw is wide open, even when using a small punch. This limits smoke production somewhat, but the stick maintained an even burn.

The portable propane heater took the edge off the cool temperature, and I did enjoy the entire two hour smoke. The Michter's and the Flathead providing an enjoyable pairing to wind down the week.

The evenings are cool and the dark comes early but the whiskey is "warm" and the smoke refreshing, so it's still a win.

Cheers!