Archives for the ‘Blog Entries.Local’ Category

Welcoming Summer with a Kentucky Colonel

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 24th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
The first day of summer coincided with Father’s Day this year, making for a fitting occasion to spend a relaxing afternoon on the porch with a drink and a cigar. The weather was delightful with warmth and relatively low humidity.

Recently, while looking for simple bourbon cocktails, I came across the Kentucky Colonel. The drink is essentially an Old Fashioned that swaps the traditional sugar for a measure of Bénédictine, adding herbal complexity and honeyed sweetness.

Kentucky Colonel
  • 2 oz Bourbon
  • 1/2 oz Bénédictine
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Lemon peel for garnish
Add bourbon, Bénédictine, and bitters to a mixing glass. Combine bourbon, Bénédictine, and bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over ice, preferably a single, large cube. Express the lemon oils over the drink and drop in the twist.




I selected Bulleit Bourbon 10 Year Old for the bourbon component. The high rye mash bourbon has strong notes of oak and dried fruit. There’s enough spice to stand up to the Bénédictine without overpowering its herbal and honey notes. The cocktail offers a pleasing melding of bourbon caramel, vanilla, and oak with the honeyed sweetness and herbal complexity of the Bénédictine.



I decided to pair the Kentucky Colonel with the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary cigar. All of the Oliva Serie V varieties are versatile cigars that pair well with all manner of beverages. The irregularly released limited-edition 135th Anniversary maintains the familiar blend of an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The 5 1/2” x 54 vitola features a tapered foot, with the ring gauge narrowing from 54 down to roughly 30 at the tip. Due to the unusual shape, the cigar evolves noticeably throughout the smoke, offering subtle shifts in flavor while maintaining the familiar Serie V profile overall.



The pairing was as enjoyable as expected. The cigar’s pepper, cedar, and cocoa played nicely against the bourbon’s rye spice and the herbal sweetness of the cocktail. The Kentucky Colonel softened some of the cigar’s peppery edges without muting its distinctive character.

I’ll be adding the Kentucky Colonel to my summer cocktail rotation. It’s flavorful and refreshing without feeling heavy, and I suspect it would pair equally well with chocolate-, espresso-, and coffee-forward cigars that carry a touch of sweetness — flavor profiles that are firmly in my wheelhouse.

The combination of the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary and Kentucky Colonel made for an excellent way to welcome summer: a flavorful cigar, a well-crafted cocktail, and a leisurely afternoon enjoying the screened porch and the season’s pleasant weather.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

Laurel Hill State Park

Author: From https://blog.odonnellweb.com • Jun 22nd, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local

Trip: 58
Nights: 191-193

Last weekend was the annual Aliner Ascape rally, which has settled at Laurel Hill State Park near Somerset, PA. We missed last year when my career blew up 3 weeks before the camp out, so it was great to get back this year to see old friends and a make new ones.

The park is kind of in the middle of nowhere. We had to drive 40 minutes to find a brewery. The town of Somerset is about 20 minutes, and that is really the closet store or gas station. However, it is very worth the effort. It is an old CCC camp with a really nice lake, trails, streams stocked with trout, and picturesque mountain views. Also, there is a stand of hemlock that got missed when we clear cut SW PA (and the rest of the country) in the 1800s.

Photo collage 1Photo collage 1

We arrived on Thursday and quickly settled into catching up with friends. The campsites are levelish with power. Thursday night was a group campfire with about 25 friends. On Friday we went out birding in the AM and made the trek to the “local” brewery on Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect all weekend, sunny and breezy with highs around 70F (20ish C) and lows in the 50s (13ish C). I may have logged some hammock time on Friday and Saturday afternoon. On Saturday we again went birding in the AM and in the afternoon I went to visit that stand of old hemlock.

Photo collage 3Photo collage 3

The stand is only about 6 acres, and it’s an easy 15 minute hike to get there. When I arrived I had the place to myself. I was standing and enjoying the magnificent trees when I realized I was alone. No people anywhere. There was a flat rock perfectly situated to meditate under one of the larger trees. The rock looked natural and not placed there. I accepted the invitation and took at a seat on the rock. I suck at meditation, so I mostly failed at clearing my mind. But I did greatly enjoy about 15 minutes of nothing but the wind rustling the leaves, the nearby stream, and one very chatty blue-headed vireo before anybody else showed up. However it was there that an idea popped into my head. (I know, like I said, I suck at meditating.) I’ve thought about an extended multi-week camping and working from the road trip for the last few summers, but for various reasons the timing was never right to do it. A lot can change in 12 months, but looking forward from now, we can do that trip next year. So I’m thinking of making this annual camp out the first stop on a 3 week camping tour of the NE US. I can work in some mooch docking with family, and my first camping in Vermont and NH before visiting more family in Boston before heading home.So it was at least a productive idea.

Photo collage 2Photo collage 2

After communing with the large trees it was time for the group potluck dinner where I ate too much and also accepted the offer of moonshine. It would have been rude to refuse, right? By Saturday night we were peopled out so we retired to the camper early to play cards but actually ended up calling it a night early too.

Sunday was go home day.


Bishops Blend, Heaven Hill, and a Cool June Evening

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 22nd, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
Scanning the humidor for an interesting smoke on a cool, almost-summer evening, my eyes settled on a Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend in the Corona Larga vitola. I knew the cigar had been resting there for quite a while, and when I checked my inventory in the Cigar Scanner app, I discovered I had acquired it exactly one year ago. I took that as a sign.

My thoughts immediately turned to the bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond sitting on the nearby shelf. I knew it would make a fitting companion.



The Bishops Blend has earned frequent mentions in these Musings. It’s one of my favorite cigars when I’m in the mood for a full-flavored smoke. The Robusto is usually my preferred vitola, and I make a point of picking up a few from each year’s release, setting some aside for long-term aging.

The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper over an Ecuadorian Habano binder, with fillers from Nicaragua complemented by Connecticut and Pennsylvania Broadleaf tobaccos. Medium- to full-bodied, the cigar delivers rich notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, pepper, and espresso, balanced by a touch of sweet earthiness.

The closed foot and pointed cap are among the cigar’s distinctive features. They also add a bit of complexity to the lighting process. With the sharply pointed cap, it can be difficult to judge the draw before the foot is fully lit. On this Corona Larga, the draw remained somewhat snug even after the foot burned open. Annoyingly, the resistance persisted through much of the smoke, requiring frequent double puffs to coax out the cigar’s full flavors.



Despite the draw issues, I was able to enjoy the cigar’s rich profile, which paired wonderfully with the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond. This reasonably priced bourbon is aged seven years and bottled at 100 proof. From the first pour, aromas of caramel, vanilla, and oak rose invitingly from the glass.

On the palate, robust oak and baking spice lead the way. Sweet vanilla and hints of dark cherry arrive early before giving way to a lingering caramel sweetness on the finish. The 100 proof stands up well to the dark richness of the Bishops Blend. I found the bourbon’s caramel and vanilla notes softened the cigar’s bitter espresso and pepper while still asserting its own oak and spice character.

The balanced robustness of the pairing perfectly complemented the cool evening. Even after the cigar was reduced to ash and the bourbon glass stood empty, I lingered on the screen porch, listening to music and savoring the quiet relaxation.

I recently saw reports that this year’s release of the Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend will be shipping soon. With another release just around the corner, I suspect I’ll once again be setting aside a few for future evenings like this one.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

An Unexpected Encounter with Abraham Bowman Rye

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 20th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
This past week I attended a “Whiskey & Cigars” event hosted by Locovore, a new restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg. The gathering was held on the restaurant’s rooftop bar and, unlike the event I attended the previous week, the weather fully cooperated.

The local A. Smith Bowman Distillery was one of the featured participants. As Bowman is one of my favorite producers, I was especially looking forward to sampling some of their special releases.

As it turned out, the evening was quite different from what I had expected — less a whiskey tasting and more a rooftop cigar social with some excellent bourbon available at the bar. 



When I arrived, I joined a couple of other attendees at a table. While we waited for the event to begin, I ordered an Old Fashioned from the bar to ease into the evening. With no sign of the program starting, a couple of us wandered over to where Olde Towne Tobacconist had set up a table displaying a nice selection of cigars. Nearby, the Bowman representative was handing out an assortment of distillery swag.

We asked if there would be a presentation or guided tasting of the bourbons and were told there would not. We were simply to order whichever Bowman expression we wanted from the bar. The representative was available to answer questions, but he wasn’t there to lead a tasting.

At that point, I grabbed a couple of cigars to smoke that evening. My table companions decided to leave in search of food when they learned they could only order from a limited appetizer menu, although I later saw diners being served other dishes as well. As bourbon enthusiasts rather than cigar smokers, they seemed a bit disappointed that the evening lacked the guided tasting or presentation they had expected.



I lit a Padrón 3000 Natural to enjoy while I finished my Old Fashioned. The 5½ x 52 Nicaraguan puro is a mild-to-medium bodied smoke with notes of cocoa, coffee, and wood. It proved to be a pleasant companion to the cocktail. The cigar lasted only about 40 minutes, but that brief smoke was fine as I was ready to move on to something a bit more exciting now that I understood the evening was going to be more of a casual cigar gathering than a guided whiskey tasting.

The menu listed four Bowman products: John J. Bowman Single Barrel, Isaac Bowman Port Barrel Finished, Abraham Bowman Rye, and A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength. The first two are readily available expressions, but I was especially interested in the rye.

Abraham Bowman Special Release #26 Rye Whiskey is a new and limited release from the distillery. To my knowledge, it has only been available through the distillery’s lottery system. Unfortunately, I was not selected in the most recent drawing held in May. In fact, the rye does not even appear on Virginia ABC’s website.

Aged for 11 years and bottled at 110 proof, the rye is exceptionally smooth and easy to sip. Notes of vanilla, butterscotch, and stone fruit are accompanied by a subtle sweetness. While there is a hint of rye spice on the finish, it remains gentle and supporting, allowing the butterscotch and fruit notes to take center stage.



I sipped the Bowman Rye while enjoying a Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro. I expected the cigar to pair well with the whiskey, as it has complemented a variety of spirits for me in the past. The Nicaraguan maduro wrapper is aged in bourbon barrels for about 14 months, while the binder and filler are also Nicaraguan. The flavor profile features cocoa and dark chocolate, espresso, and spicy cedar that grows more prominent toward the latter stages of the smoke.

My prediction proved accurate. The Abraham Bowman Rye paired beautifully with the Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro. The whiskey’s maple sweetness and mature oak intertwined with the cigar’s cocoa and espresso notes. Toward the end of the smoke, the cigar’s growing pepper spice might have challenged the rye, but I had long since finished the glass by that point.

The folks at the event seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the cigars from Olde Towne Tobacconist appeared quite popular. However, there seemed to be limited interest in the whiskey tasting aspect of the evening. I saw a couple of people order flights of the four Bowman expressions, but they were entirely self-guided. Most others appeared content to explore the bar’s cocktail menu.

While the lack of the advertised guided tasting was somewhat disappointing, I was especially excited for the opportunity to enjoy the hard-to-find Abraham Bowman Rye. Had I realized the format of the evening beforehand, I probably would have started with the rye, skipped the Old Fashioned, and tried the A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength as well.

The event may not have been the whiskey-focused experience I anticipated, but it did provide a rare chance sit with a pour of the elusive Abraham Bowman Rye while enjoying a good cigar. For that opportunity alone, the evening was worthwhile.

And now, Abraham Bowman Special Release #26 Rye Whiskey has moved to the very top of my wish list.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

Five O’Clock Friday: Happy Thoughts

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 19th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
A weekend state of mind. 


Thinking of cigars helps too.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

Teddy’s Last Selfie

Author: From https://blog.odonnellweb.com • Jun 17th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local

Teddy Ballgame, aka Ted, aka Teddy, aka Theodore J. Dog, crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday.

We found Teddy at Petsmart where the Orange County Humane Society was running an adoption event in 2017. One of our senior dogs had recently passed on and the other was really struggling without her partner. So we adopted Teddy. The shelter told us he was six. Our Vet at the time guessed 3.

Ted drew the short straw in the genetic lottery. He was likely the product of a puppy mill dachshund and a puppy mill Jack Russell. He struggled with bad skin allergies, more food and environment allergies than I can count, and he developed thyroid disease, pancreatitis, and Cushing’s disease while a member of our pack. Last week he started vomiting every day, and when we saw the vet last week, she determined he had added kidney disease to his collection of ailments. She also told us there was nothing more to do for him but take him home and spoil him for a few days while we decided. He was deteriorating every day, and getting him to eat was becoming a challenge, so we knew it was time.

The Vet administered a sedative a few minutes before the final shot. I picked him up after the sedetive injective, and he was snoring in my arms 3 minutes later. When the Vet came back in she said he looked so comfortable we were just going to do it right there. So she administered the injection with him sleeping in my arms, and then he just wasn’t breathing. His last memory will be of me picking him up to hold him as he drifted off.

I can only hope my time is that peaceful.

Teddy’s last selfieTeddy’s last selfie


An Evening with Weller: Bourbon, Cigar, and Birdsong

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 17th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
I spent a relaxing evening on the deck recently enjoying a special cigar-and-bourbon pairing: the Weller by Cohiba cigar and its inspiration, W.L. Weller Antique 107 Bourbon.

The Weller by Cohiba series is a collaboration between the premium cigar brand Cohiba and the Weller bourbon brand from Buffalo Trace Distillery. The annual releases come in a 6 x 50 Toro vitola and are packaged in individual aluminum tubes. Despite their premium price, the cigars are highly sought after. They are typically released in the fall, and I’ve managed to pick up a few each year since 2023, including the 2025 edition featured here.



I’ve had the 2025 Weller by Cohiba resting in my humidor since October 2025. The cigars were removed from their aluminum tubes upon arrival. This edition features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and a Broadleaf binder aged in Weller Antique 107 barrels. The filler blend combines tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The bands, aluminum tube, and box all reflect the deep crimson-and-gold branding associated with Weller Antique 107.

Before lighting the cigar, I enjoyed a few sips of the Weller 107. It’s a wheated bourbon — often credited as one of the first bourbons to replace rye with wheat in the mashbill — and it displays the expected wheat-driven sweetness. Bottled at a hearty 107 proof (53.5% ABV), it also delivers a warming heat that can linger on the tongue and occasionally overshadow the sweeter notes. Layers of caramel and toffee add further complexity. I enjoy Weller Antique 107 immensely, though I rarely reach for it because of its scarcity. Interestingly, despite being moderately difficult to find, its MSRP remains around a relatively modest $50. (I refuse to participate in the secondary bourbon market.)



Upon lighting the cigar, I found the draw more snug than I prefer, and smoke output was somewhat limited at first. Like many cigars that begin with restricted airflow, it opened up as it warmed, though it never quite reached the balance of resistance and openness that I favor.

The medium-bodied smoke offered balanced notes of cedar, cocoa, and vanilla, along with subtle touches of sweetness and baking spice on the finish. It began creamy and smooth, with the spice gradually increasing as the cigar progressed. Aside from that evolution, the profile remained remarkably consistent from start to finish.



As I smoked, the spicier aspects of the Weller 107 began to overpower the cigar’s more delicate flavors. Adding just a few drops of water to my glass restored the balance. The sweeter side of the bourbon emerged, allowing more of the cigar’s cocoa, cedar, and leather nuances to come through without being overwhelmed by the alcohol intensity.

So much of the enjoyment of a cigar comes not only from the cigar itself and its beverage pairing, but also from the setting. Whether shared with friends or enjoyed alone, the experience is shaped as much by ambiance as by smoke and spirits. During this Weller-inspired evening, I was particularly struck by the peacefulness of the outdoors. There was no distant hum of lawn equipment — only the occasional aircraft passing high overhead.

Most noticeable was the abundance of birdsong coming from the woods in the early evening. The avian chorus included Ovenbird, Carolina Chickadee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Great Crested Flycatcher, American Robin, and Chipping Sparrow. Together they formed quite an orchestra, one that was as beautiful to the ear as the bourbon and cigar were pleasing to the palate.



As always, Weller Antique 107 was thoroughly enjoyable and provided a satisfying accompaniment to the cigar. The Weller by Cohiba was likewise an interesting and rewarding smoke. Although it was created specifically to pair with Antique 107, I can think of several bourbons that would complement it equally well. I still have a few Weller by Cohiba cigars on hand from several past releases, and I look forward to enjoying them — perhaps next time with a bourbon that is a little less scarce.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

The Grand Blog Reunification

Author: From https://blog.odonnellweb.com • Jun 15th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local

A couple of months ago I did something very stupid and bricked my desktop. Then I realized that my source markdown directory for blog posts was not syncing with my cloud storage. So that left me with hundreds of HTML page blog posts, but no markdown.

Oops.

I’ve been blogging at chrisod.org since then and it’s fine, but I wanted everything back in one place. This weekend I gave it a try.

So I started with Duck.ai using Claude to vibe code a python script that used Pandoc to revert all those HTML pages to markdown. The 2nd iteration of the script worked perfectly. Then I loaded everything up to a GDrive folder and bought a month of blot.im to see if I could use it as a blogging engine. Blot is a headless CMS for blogs, sort of. There is a config UI, but to blog I just drop a file in a GDrive directory and it shows up on the blog 30 seconds later. Pretty nifty. Then I exported the dozen or so posts at chrisod.org and added them to the Gdrive directory. After a couple of hours of fiddling with Mustache templates and CSS, I had O’DonnellWeb back together again.

I’ve added a redirect for both blog posts and RSS and it all seems to be working fine in my testing. I am aware of some pages with broken embeds, and I’m making a list of pages to fix.

So AI saved me who knows how many hours of work unwinding hundreds of HTML pages back to Markdown. If you are an AI hater that just lost all respect for me, so be it.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled blogging.


A Toast to Old Glory and America’s Native Spirit

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 15th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
As noted previously, June 14 is a day marked by not one, but two all-American celebrations. It’s the day we honor our Nation’s flag and also recognize bourbon as a truly American spirit. I settled into the sunny afternoon for a modest celebration of both occasions.

I marked the day with a pour of Eagle Rare bourbon enjoyed alongside a CAO America 250th Anniversary cigar, while admiring and contemplating our flag and the freedoms it represents.



The CAO America 250th Anniversary is a special limited edition of the original CAO America, released in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and our nation’s semiquincentennial.

Instead of using tobaccos from a number of countries, including the U.S., as in the original blend, the 250th Anniversary is an American puro, using exclusively American-grown tobacco. The barber pole wrapper is composed of U.S. Broadleaf and U.S. Connecticut Shade leaves. The binder is U.S. Havana Connecticut, while U.S. Broadleaf and Pennsylvania tobaccos make up the filler. The cigar is offered in a single vitola, a box-pressed 5.5 x 55 Robusto.

My box of the 250th Anniversary cigars had arrived just two and a half weeks earlier, but I was anxious to try one, so I lit up sooner than I normally would after a shipment arrives.

The cold draw was earthy with a dry, dusty quality. The CAO America 250th Anniversary opens with woody oak and cedar notes. Mild dark chocolate emerged along with a delicate sweetness as the cigar progressed. The burn line needed a few touch-ups during the smoke, and I did have to relight it once. I’m inclined to attribute the burn issues to the cigar’s limited rest time after shipping. In a surprising twist, I detected a bit of nicotine strength in the second half. I am intrigued to find out whether that was an aberration or a consistent characteristic of the cigar. I’ll be smoking another after it has spent a bit more time in the humidor.

The Eagle Rare bourbon seemed a fitting companion to the occasion. The easy-drinking 90-proof bourbon, served over a large ice cube, was perfect for the warm afternoon. With notes of toffee, honey, dark fruit, and mild spice, the bourbon paired delightfully with the medium-bodied cigar. The soft oak notes shared by both the cigar and bourbon tended to reinforce their respective profiles.

Despite a few performance issues, I thoroughly enjoyed the CAO America 250th Anniversary. The pleasure came not only from the flavorful cigar and, of course, the bourbon. Smoking a cigar made entirely of American-grown tobacco on the day we honor our flag made the occasion especially fitting.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

Stars, Stripes, and Bourbon

Author: From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jun 14th, 2026
   Category: Blog Entries.Local
Today, June 14, is truly a “Made in America” day of celebration. It’s Flag Day, the day we honor our nation’s flag and all it represents. Remarkably, on this same day we also celebrate National Bourbon Day, recognizing bourbon as America’s “official” native spirit.



On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved: “That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Over the centuries, that first flag evolved into the one we proudly fly today, with its 13 stripes and 50 stars. I have always considered it the most striking national flag in the world. While opinions about our country and its symbols may differ, the flag remains a powerful emblem of the freedoms and opportunities that generations of Americans have worked to preserve.

National Bourbon Day came much later. On May 4, 1964, Congress declared bourbon a “distinctive product of the United States.” I am not sure when the national holiday itself originated, nor why it came to be celebrated on June 14. Tradition — or perhaps legend — holds that June 14 marks the first time bourbon was distilled, though it is difficult, if not impossible to prove. The date likely owes as much to distillery marketing as to historical fact, but who could object to such a celebration? There is certainly an argument to be made for pairing it with Flag Day, given bourbon’s uniquely American heritage.

So fly the flag, enjoy a sip of bourbon, and take a moment to appreciate both.

Cheers!


[ This content originated at Musings Over a Barrel ]

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