Montecristo No. 1 and The Glenmorangie 10yr

[Kingantz]

Ah a beautiful day in the South with the thermometer reading 65F on the back porch. Clear blue skies with a slight breeze blowing, a bit crispy in the shade. With the day being as gorgeous as it was, I thought I would have a dram of scotch accompaniment with the smoke I selected. The reason for this is, I was gifted both by a very generous BOTL (thankyou oh lord of time and space! ).

The drink was The Glenmorangie 10 year old single malt Highland and the smoke a Montecristo No. 1, not sure of the age. I poured the scotch into a snifter glass adding a smidgen of a splash of Avian, which I found was probably not necessary after tasting. A nice light straw color swirled in the snifter as I nosed it.

The nosing on the Glenmorangie was a sweet malt with floral hints. Some smoked oak enticed my senses as well. I was very much looking forward to the tasting! The Monte was firm with a couple of very hard spots towards the head around the band. Construction was a bit rough with slight veins throughout. The head had the usual triple cap and the foot? Ready to toast!

I punched the cap with the medium ring of my Swiss Army punch and the pre-light draw was of cool mature tobacco. The draw was a bit on the tight side, a little more so than I prefer. I toasted the foot and put fire to it.

Turns out the overly tight draw was actually perfect as smoke flowed forth unhindered with a medium fullness. Not much spice, but a perfect strength. Flavors of cedar and woodiness immediately hit my palate along with a wonderful floral aroma and possibly some dark chocolate somewhere underneath. I brought the dram of Glenmorangie to my lips and the floral aroma of the scotch intertwined wonderfully with the monte. Sweet honey and toasted malt filled my taste buds as the delectably delicate liquid passed over my tongue. Wonderfully sweet, absolutely delicious!

The monte burned wonderfully with a dark gray ash forming. Again, the overly tight draw held nothing back as the smoke flowed with only a slight bit of extra effort. I’m thinking this monte has a couple few years on it at least. Close to the halfway point, I got a lingering taste of some sort of fresh baked bread, possibly ginger.

Unfortunately, I ran out of the Glenmorangie long before the Monte was done. Almost a terrible shame I didn’t have more, saying almost as I would have become quite intoxicated as the pairing of these two was excellent! Floral notes, oak, malt, so many flavors that matched each other perfectly. This was an excellent afternoon!

[ColtM1911A1]

I've got to take a trip down to SC some time soon during early spring; I envy your weather versus mine this time of year...

Good choice in drink and a Monte, though those sticks are a hit and miss' for me; can be quite good when the smoke is a hit, however. Thanks for the nice posting...

Jack

Minnesota -- USA

[bassman]

Been very pleased with the strength & earthiness of 06 & 07 MC#1s.