by Yannis Valavanis

Holiday shopping has begun and as you can tell I’m looking for an excuse to stock up. I’ve got my eye on some whiskey from my previous outings as well as some cigars, so it’s a perfect opportunity for some shopping over the next few days.

I don’t think there are suitable products for a festive Easter table either in Habanos vitola or Scottish malts, but let’s limit myself to the closest ones. I started with an Edicion Regional Habanos that is still on the shelves, Sancho Panza Homer – since there is no Greek cigar, at least this one has a Greek name. A very nice cigar, both in size and taste, with 120mm length and 54mm ring. Its taste is sweet and intense, even a little spicy might I add, but also with a deeply intense aftertaste, somewhat strange for its size but definitely welcome.

Regionals are custom made cigars that the occasional representative of each country can order from Habanos in a specific number and size by choosing a cigar from the brand one wishes and is only available in the region it represents. Bolivar Greco and Ramon Allones Macedonian have also been released in Greece.

A whiskey with a Greek name didn’t come to mind, of course, so I moved over to a well-known and very peaty one, to match the cigar but also to go well with traditional dishes, the GlenDronach Traditionally Peated. Strange combination from the traditional Highland distillery that ages all its products in Sherry, Pedro Ximenez & Oloroso casks, managing to combine the very intense and sweet taste of caramel, honey, fruit and nuts with the intense smokiness of peat, thus achieving the ultimate Sweet & Peat.

Everything goes very well together, cigar and whiskey with food and dessert, since the days require an excessive consumption of all of the above. I was very pleased with my choices and basically more excited to have found them on the market, since both are limited edition.