Recent content by Vallante

I prefer a wide cut because I find I can more easily control the temperature of my burn with proper air flow. Tobacco tastes like garbage when it burns too hot, and when you have to relight it. Having full control of your smoke is important, then, to get the most out of your stick. That said, I...

THis will probably come off as flippant but I don't mean it that way. The best way to quit smoking is to simply not put a cigarette to your mouth and inhale burning vapors. There's nothing more to it than that, in principle. When people ask this question, what they usually mean is "how do I make...

Each year they pair with a different company to reproduce classic German styled beers for their Oktoberfest line. I haven't tried this year's offering yet but they have had a long running tradition of success with this program. Some of their best beers have been put out in the Oktoberfest line...

I tend to follow wine rules when pairing beer with a meal. If the meal consists of strong flavors like beef or a spicy dish, I go with a more robust beer that can compete with that intensity. If I'm serving something light, like fish or a mild vegetable dish, I go for something lighter and...

That sounds vile! I've never seen anyone mixing soda with beer. Frankly, I take personal offense to it when people adulterate a good brew with anything, including simple fruit slices. If you want citrus flavor in your beer pick a brew that has those notes already considered in its flavor...

I am a traditional wheat beer enthusiast, so ales are my preferred drink. I love the fruity, citrusy yeasts that Bavarian wheat beers sourced from their traditional stocks and environment. It gives the glass a honeyed appearance and a stiff head that you just don't get with many other beers. I...

I have a few, but they are reserved for slugging cheap fire-water during rambunctious parties. When I want to actually enjoy alcohol, I pull out my classic crystal glass. It is a classy implement, designed to bring out the best in classy whiskeys. I take it bloomed with just a few drops of very...

I drank my favorite whiskey as the new year came, Tuaca. It's a spiced whiskey based liquor with vanilla undertones. Originally produced by two families in Italy, the recipe is currently owned by a producer int he states. I have never had the pleasure of trying the original Italian formulation...

I'm lucky to have found an appreciation for whiskey at all, considering my first experience with it was from a huge plastic jug of some no-name brand's brown alcohol water. It was fantastically bad. It burned like acid the whole way down and left a nasty, sweet aftertaste that stuck around for...

I won't smoke a cigar when I'm drinking for recreational purposes. Cigars are all about savoring the flavor of something wonderful; it's a meditative, mindful hobby that requires a relaxed, but sober frame of mind. The most I will do is pair a cigar with a complimentary drink to serve as a...

I'm the adventurous type so I don't have any single brand that I stick to. What I do have is favorite styles of cigar and types of tobacco. Larger cigars are my preference because I prefer cool smoking, clean flavors that err on the mild side. Connecticut tobaccos are my favorite, so any large...

I save my smoking for notable occasions like holidays or celebrations that merit a little extra cheer. As I've said before in other parts of the forum, it's not a risk-free behavior. It's something that is deeply enjoyable to me, but which is best taken with extreme moderation. Plus, I find...

There's no matter of opinion involved here; we know smoking is objectively dangerous during pregnancy. It's not just direct smoke that causes problems, either. The nicotine and carbon monoxide you can ingest from second-hand smoking will impact the baby's development, as well. Smoking during...

You will get plenty of excellent recommendations. Many of them will be delightful, many of them will have you wondering what's wrong with other people's tongues. This is a purely subjective thing so your best bet is to find a person's whiskey blog and try to identify brands they tried with...

A lot of the quality of Irish whiskeys comes from the fact that so many of their distilleries are built along waterways and their recipes are structured around that specific quality of water. In the US even high-quality whiskey tends to begin with distilled water. Any culinary art is a...