2019 Kentucky Barn Smoker Recap
Wow, it has been 6 years since we first kicked off the Barn Smoker program in the heart of Hopkinsville, Kentucky and we are only just getting started. 2019 has been a transformational year for Barn Smokers as we have grown to include new brands, new activations and new experiences for each and every attendee. The 2019 Kentucky Barn Smoker was no different.
It began the night prior at the VIP experience held at MBRoland Distillery. Our VIP attendees were given a private tour of the facility including the rack room where they sampled a very rare selection straight from the cask. Afterward, guests were able to enjoy dinner, drinks and rare cigars with the entire Drew Estate team including Jonathan Drew who gave a rousing speech. It was a special night for all.
The morning of the Barn Smoker kicked off right, guests seated under the hanging Fire Cured tobacco that makes our Kentucky Fire Cured cigars so special. That rich, smoky aroma filled the air as the crowd was roared to life by Dirty Fabien playing MC. From there, guests toured the entire process of dark fire-cured tobacco from Kentucky. They started with Lee Crawford and Pedro Gomez discussing how the tobacco in Kentucky is stalk cut and then hung in the barns. Moving on to the Fire Curing station with Jonathan Drew and Robert Gray, guests were shown how the barns are prepped with hardwoods such as oak and maple which will then be lit to fire cure the Kentucky tobaccos. Finally, Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera educated everyone on the complexities of Fire Cured tobacco in blending and how a chain stripper is used to strip the tobacco to prepare it for shipment to La Gran Fabrica to be used for blending.
Following the morning seminars, the party kicked off with lunch and a variety of new activations featuring numerous Drew Estate brands. Guests could grab an Iced Coffee and Tabak Especial, or perhaps some roast pig Cuban style at the Herrera Tent. Both Henry Pineda and Michael Giannini of Venture Cigars were giving cigar rolling demonstrations, and of course to celebrate 20 years of ACID we opened up a nightclub right in the middle of the Barn Smoker DJ-ed by our very own DJ Eli! Finally, this year we had a very special guest, Mr. Jon Huber of Crowned Heads who was passing the exclusive samples of our soon to be released collaboration, La Coalicion!
Finally, while our Barn Smoker events serve as a way to bring all of us enthusiasts together and honor the American Tobacco Experience, we also use the event to serve as a fundraiser for Cigars for Warriors. Cigars for Warriors is a non-profit, 501c3 Organization that ships cigars to our deployed men and women overseas. All told, through our raffles and donations we raised over $17,500.00 to help assist Cigars for Warriors with their cause! A tremendous feat.
Thank you to everyone who joined us this year and we hope to see you at our last Barn Smoker of 2019 in L.A. Poche, Louisiana on October 26th! You can purchase tickets here at www.barnsmoker.com.
About Drew Estate
Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”TM, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that have attracted new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.
