Tag: Beirut

Enjoying an excellent red Lebanese wine, the Massaya Terrasses de Baalbeck.

Lebanese Wines: Massaya Terrasses de Baalbeck 2018

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Name: Massaya Terrasses de Baalbeck 2018
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah
Year: 2018
Country: Lebanon
Region: Faqra (Mount Lebanon) and Bekaa Valley (Taanayel)
Date Consumed: April 7, 2024

Love-making in the temple of Dionysus. Ripe red fruits, black cherry, jelly beans, and Coca-Cola. I could also taste oak barrels, faux leather, and subtle hints of cinnamon.

Massaya’s “Terrasses de Baalbeck” is a party wine. It is a desire to party after midnight, to flirt with the peeping moon, the stars, and the lascivious nocturnal spirits. It’s a wine I’d drink pairing it only with dance music, although it can also easily be paired with cold cuts and juicy steaks.

Excellent.


Joya De Nicaragua Black Toro Cigar Review from Lebanon during Sunset

Have a Cigar: Joya De Nicaragua Black Toro

Chris Khatsch1 Comment

Name: Joya Black Toro
Country: Nicaragua
Shape: Parejo
Size: Toro (6 inches x 52)
Strength: Medium

A flavorful, medium-bodied cigar that pairs well with blended Scotch.

Branding: Here’s an attractive cigar. The band gives it a bad boy vibe. (Because it’s named Black, I felt like pairing the first third with a glass of Johnnie Walker Black Label.)

Construction: Masterfully rolled, the Joya Black has no weaknesses.

Pre-light: Promising a rich experience full of flavors.

Cut: Straight cut, as always.

Burn: Great and even burn.

Duration: 90 minutes.

Draw: Firm draw. Could have been a little looser.

Smoke: Good.

Ash: Good.

Flavor: Coffee, leather, and hints of pepper.

Smoking a Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty cigar at Mareva Beirut.

Have a Cigar: Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty

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Name: Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty
Country: Nicaragua
Shape: Parejo
Size: Gordo (6 1/4 inches x 60)
Strength: Medium to Full

I paired this cigar with espresso and sparkling water and smoked it in good company. Overall, although it wasn’t the best smoking experience, I’d say that I wouldn’t mind smoking the Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty again. For its price, it’s a good cigar.

Branding: A J.C. Newman cigar. I wasn’t able to recognize the cigar from where I stood in the walk-in humidor. But since the cigar bands looked fairly attractive from afar, I had to come closer to the box to see what wss in it. And that’s how I met the Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty.

Construction: Not so great, but good. It could have been more firmly wrapped. The cigar started collapsing during the last few draws of the final third.

Pre-light: An earthy smell and a chocolaty flavor.

Cut: Straight cut.

Burn: It did not burn evenly 100% of the time, yet I wouldn’t say it was a mess.

Duration: 75 minutes.

Draw: A good draw. Easy.

Smoke: A generous amount of smoke.

Ash: Average.

Flavor: Chocolate, earth, pepper.