Cigar Spirits: Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon Single Barrel Select (Saints & Sinners Barrel No. 1)

Whiskey and cigars are a natural pairing, but the connection isn’t usually explicit. Two exceptions include the Cigar Malt Reserve by Dalmore and this barrel selection from Saints & Sinners, the private cigar club for Tatuaje fans.

Saints & Sinners launched in 2011, when I first joined. For $150 each year, members get a cigar kit with 15 smokes (frequently with rare or exclusive picks), access to a private online forum, and plenty of swag (usually cigar accessories, a shirt, and more). Registration for new members opens in early June with only a limited number of spots available.

Occasionally, members also get the opportunity to purchase other items, such as Tatuaje owner Pete Johnson’s private label Tatouage Bordeaux wine. More recently, the club offered a single barrel selection of Eagle Rare 10 Year bourbon, available in 375 ml. bottles that sold for $19.99.

The selection came about after a trip to the Buffalo Trace distillery in June. As I’ve observed before, barrel picks are often particularly excellent bourbons, assuming the person doing the picking has a decent palate. If nothing else, they are getting to try a half dozen or so barrels from which they pick the one they like the best.

Eagle Rare 10 has long been a staple on my bourbon shelf, especially with it available for around $30 for a 750 ml. bottle. For many years,including when I first discovered it, it was distilled at the Old Prentice distillery, which is now Four Roses’ distillery. The brand was purchased by the Sazerac Company in 1989 and for the better part of a decade the bourbon sold as Eagle Rare has been distilled at Buffalo Trace.

Standard Eagle Rare is a classic with heavy wood, lots of vanilla sweetness, and just a bit spice. The Saints & Sinners pick features all of that, but with a particularly aromatic nose featuring mint and caramel, and a palate that has maple, wood, and toffee. The finish is classic Eagle Rare with charred oak spice and vanilla.

You really can’t go wrong pairing any cigar with this tasty, well-priced bourbon. That said, I have to recommend a Tatuaje cigar given that this is a Saints & Sinners Club selection. Personally,I’d turn to the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu or La Riqueza Cabinet with this bourbon, though there wouldn’t be any bad pairings from the Tatuaje offerings.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys