It used to be there were two busy times of the year to work in or around the bourbon industry in Louisville- Derby Festival and Bourbon Festival. Other than that things were pretty quiet most of the time. These days the action is nonstop, so finding a time to sit down with Michael and Wayne to do a cigar pairing study can be a challenge. Case in point- I’m writing this month’s notes instead of Michael because he’s on his way to board the American Queen in St. Louis to teach passengers about bourbon history during a yearly Bourbon Cruise.

The cigar we chose for this pairing was a Drew Estate Liga Undercrown Shade Belicoso. This cigar features an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade-grown wrapper, a Sumatran binder, and Dominican Criollo 98, Nicaraguan Criollo, and Corojo fillers. It is available at most shops that carry Drew Estate products, though these came…