TypicalSituation

Just a house Manhattan today. Nothing too fancy.

Another for the collection

Win.

Indeed the guy is incredibly generous. Made me a custom bird and trout knife and when he found out I was a cigar smoker and hiker he crafted me this set. He doesn't sell knives only gifts them as he said if he charges money it becomes a job instead of s hobby. Either way I enjoy using the cigar knife! [emoji1]

Just wanted to share a beautiful piece of work a hunting friend of mine did for me. Hand crafted knives, one is a cigar knife to take the cap of the cigar, the other being a bush craft style knife. Both completely hand made, and a hand made sheath to boot. Single sided sharpening for a right handed hold, smooth cut.

Very true. Some wineries are so particular about it, they won't allow Brewers who use wild yeasts in the brewery. Lambic Brewers use old wine barrels and inoculate them with wild organisms because they can burrow as deep as a quarter inch into the wood saves. A wineries nightmare is a brewers heaven!

There is a huge host of Brett. Brett lambicus, brux, and cloussini are the e typically seen in the brewing world. Any Brett will grow. It is capable of eating all types of sugars. It is also very very difficult to get rid of. I do an immense amount of brewing. Usually 300 to 400 gallons a year. From the fermenter on, I have separate equipment for everything. Hoses, fittings, racking arm, etc. The wine world hates it because even in as small as 4 cells, it can grow and propagate. Brett is excellent at scavenging oxygen, and a few breweries have tried bottling with the lowest limits of Brett in their beers to help prolong shelf life (the idea was the Brett would eat the residual oxygen in the bottle). But even at 4 cells in the sealed bottle, the Brett was noticeable before the staleing effects of the oxygen was noticed. Anyway, sorry to be long-winded. I love brewing and especially brewing wild ales and have read more books, articles, thesis papers, and studies than I should admit! [emoji2]

The addition of Brett is actually intentional. They brew a clean beer and add it at bottling time. I love lambic, gueuze, and American wild ales. Orval is still perhaps the best example of intentional Brett usage in a brewery.

Orval is a beer that changes over time. It's a very dry beer that is bottle conditioned with brettanomyces. Fresh, you cannot taste the brettanomyces (lots describe it as horse blanket, funky, barnyard, etc) . 6 months in you begin to taste it as the residual sugar is eaten by the brettanomyces. That barnyard flavor builds overs the years. Orval has bottling dates on their bottles. Grab with different dates and try them side by side. You'll swear they are different beers.

Initial apology for not having the entire box code. Was lazy about it when I received these and only noted the year. I had the afternoon off work and decided it would be the perfect double down Bolivar afternoon, BRC then a BBF. I've got nowhere to be and time to kill. Drink of choice, water. Beautiful milk chocolate wrapper with a touch of sheen. Clipped with my palio and lit with a xikar single flame torch. First third was a leather and cedar show. The occasional earthiness came in, and a touch of milk chocolate showed up for a brief moment. Second third continues to tease with a light milk chocolate, cedar, leather and the underlying earthiness. Toasted to tobacco and a bit of harshness are creeping in late in the second third. Final third comes to a short and abrupt ending, when I try to swat a bee off my arm and drop my cigar. I can't say I was too heartbroken, as the brc was getting a touch harsh. Loved the first half of the cigar, but for my personal taste, I'll be letting the rest sit for at least 6 months before trying again.... Certainly can't wait to see how it turns out, as every time I smoke one of these, it gets better and better.

The torch not lighting is a function of the gas being cold I think. Read about it once but don't recall the exacts. I'm a waterfowl hunter and enjoy a cigar or 2 in the blind, but have to put the lighter in with my hand warmers for a good while before firing it up. My xikar doesn't play nice at 0 degrees.

Man, I forgot all about those cigars. Great packaging!

Thank for the insight!

While I've never bought any, I haven't noticed a rhyme or reason to what cigars get classified as such. Does the vintage program lay any cigar down, or only certain sizes/brands? I've seen most brands represented, but I'm just curious if there is a list of "approved" brands designated for the program, or if it's just on a whim?

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing!