COLLABORATIVE SPIRITS:

Kentucky fired-cured tobacco fermented in retired Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels is the key element in Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Barrel Fermented cigars. For over 200 years, creating a distinct, fire-cured tobacco has been a tradition in the state of Kentucky, home to the world-renowned bourbons. To craft the Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented cigar, we worked directly with Pappy & Company and members of the Van Winkle family. After the fire-curing process, beautiful, dense tobacco leaves travel to Louisiana to ferment through a special process in retired Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels. The perique fermentation process, which involves heavy pressure applied to the tobacco leaves within the bourbon barrels, is only practiced in the Saint James Parish. Then, we roll the barrel fermented leaves with hand-selected Nicaraguan fillers and binder. The process is worth the three-year wait. Each Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented cigar offers distinct notes of charred oak, scotch-like peatiness, and a mid-layer of burnt coffee. These cigars are available at Pappy & Company.