Part 3 of the finished whiskey series takes us to my current favorite line of finished whiskey: Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend. I know u/prepreludesh would be disappointed if I didn’t have a Cigar Blend early on in this series (and maybe one or two more later on) so here we are with the oldest batch I have #8.
Cigar Blend is a blend of middling to old MGP bourbon, including some that is finished in Cognac and Sherry casks, which is then finished in an Armagnac cask to give it a robust finish that holds up to a cigar pairing.
Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Batch 8
Age: NAS
Abv: 112.82 proof
Price: $225 ($169.99 MSRP)
Neat
Nose: Rich and sweet with leather, vanilla and brown sugar notes backed by a subtler spice.
Taste: Deeply complex with layers of sweet, rich and spicy notes including butterscotch, vanilla, leather, charred oak and baking spices as well as rye spice. Thick and velvety mouthfeel.
Finish: Extremely long slightly dry finish with warm spices, sweet vanilla and faint leather and oak
Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle
With a Cigar
Cigar: Alec Bradley Magic Toast
Nose: Strong enough that I can still smell the leather and sweetness over the cigar smoke
Taste: Definitely muted by the cigar but the sweet and spicy combo is still there as is the mouthfeel.
Finish: This is the best part as you keep tasting the long finish as you draw on the cigar
Conclusion
This wasn’t my favorite batch of Cigar Blend but it was still excellent and very much fulfilled the goal of pairing with a cigar. It has all the upside of well aged MGP with some additional notes from the Armagnac and a much longer finish than I get with a lot of 10-12 year MGP. It was a little spicy and dry for my taste especially compared to batches 12, 14 and 18. I paid over retail for this batch and wouldn’t do it again though.
TL;DR: Weakest Cigar Blend of the batches I have, still fantastic. One of the longest finishes I’ve had on a bourbon.