Author: Chris Khatsch

There must be a little art in everything I create, even if my creation is as cold as a machine and follows empirical data.
PDR A. Flores Gran Reserva Maduro Toro at Swings, Lebanon

Have a Cigar: PDR A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro Toro

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Name: PDR A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro Toro

Country: Dominican Republic

Shape: Parejo

Size: Toro (6 inches x 54)

Strength: Medium

The A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro Toro is a good-looking, medium-bodied cigar that burns with strong notes of cocoa and almonds. It’s a well-built cigar with a maduro wrapper that is soft and shiny. Its smoke is thick and creamy. Overall, it is an excellent cigar.

I smoked it outdoors after a good meal on a Sunday afternoon and paired it with a 12-year-old Scotch.

The cigar burned calmly as if time was abundant, as if tomorrow wasn’t announced yet. Time burned, but it burned slowly. I was with my wife and friends. We were having a very good time, and we were going to have a very good night.

Lebanese Wines: Aurora Chateau

Lebanese Wines: Aurora Chateau 2018

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Name: Aurora Chateau 2018
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Year: 2018
Country: Lebanon
Region: North Lebanon
Date Consumed: October 18, 2023

Experience

Rain. Mid-October.
There’s no good news on the news, and
tomorrow could mean war.
In Lebanon, “tomorrow” has always been a treacherous place.
We don’t go there unless we have to,
and we always have to…

Rain. Mid-October.
October means
wine drinking season has begun.
My wife and I decide to cook a nice dinner together
and stay indoors.
I choose the wine.
I choose something nice.
Full-bodied, lustful,
stimulating, dark…

Something’s off.

It feels like I’m having champagne
at a funeral.

Wine Review of a Lebanese wine: Cave du Monastere St Jean Cuvee Zakher 2019

Lebanese Wines: Cave du Monastere St Jean Cuvee Zakher 2019

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Name: Cave du Monastere St Jean Cuvee Zakher 2019
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah
Year: 2019
Country: Lebanon
Region: Mount Lebanon
Date Consumed: October 16, 2023

Description:

Minutes after pouring, the sediment settles to the bottom
like childhood sins in the subconscious of an old man.
All is forgiven.
This is a wine that tastes like a prayer on a stormy night.
It is a confession.
Confessions by Saint Augustine, Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
I can smell old books caramelized on forgotten shelves.
I can taste prunes, rain, and firewood.
At the dinner table with my family, I feel like crying
but I laugh instead.