Copper & Cask 9 Year Cigar Blend Batch 17

Copper & Cask bottles this bourbon as 9 Year Cigar Blend Batch 17, and the name tells you what to expect. The label gives a nine-year statement and a numbered small-run batch, so bottles from other batches may taste a little different. The "Cigar Blend" wording points to a whiskey meant to be sipped slowly alongside a smoke. The details we have don't include a proof, mash bill or distillery, so check the bottle for those. Bourbon of this age usually shows deep oak and char, with caramel, vanilla and baking spice leading and a drier, more tannic finish than younger pours. Treat those as the style's typical profile, not a measured description of this batch. Start with it neat in a Glencairn. The tapered bowl concentrates the aroma, so you can pick out the oak, any brown sugar or toffee, and the spice before you taste. Give it a minute in the glass, then take a small first sip to let your palate adjust. If the alcohol feels tight, add a few drops of room-temperature water. That loosens the aromatics and often brings out sweeter, rounder notes without muting the oak. A rocks glass with one large cube suits a longer session. It dilutes slowly and keeps the whiskey cool, which tends to soften the spice and emphasize the char and caramel. Small cubes melt fast and flatten a bourbon like this. With a cigar, the usual advice is a medium-bodied, not-too-peppery smoke. A heavy, strong cigar can overwhelm the bourbon, and the whiskey's sweetness and oak can balance a smoke with cedar or cocoa notes. Light the cigar first and take your first sips between puffs, not during them. If you want to mix with it, an Old Fashioned is the most natural fit: a sugar cube or a small spoon of rich syrup, two or three dashes of Angostura, and a strip of orange peel. Keep it spirit-forward so the barrel character carries through. A Manhattan with sweet vermouth and bitters works well too, as the spice and oak stand up to the vermouth. A bottle with this much age is better kept for those drinks than for a Whiskey Sour or a long highball, where the nuance gets buried. A Whiskey Sour with a lean, measured splash of lemon is fine, but it's a secondary use.