Therefore, I am going to remedy this by discussing a recent rum and cigar tasting event held this past Tuesday at the Nashville sushi restaurant, Virago. Having lived in California for a while, Virago is reminiscent of my time in Hollywood. And rightfully so as the executive chef, Robbie Wilson, used to hold the same position at the Beverly Hills Japanese restaurant, Matsuhisa. Virago spared no expense in creating a Zen-ful environment with wood brought in from Japan to flesh out the interior of sunken bars and lounges. There is also a rooftop patio that overlooks Nashville's skyline and this is where we were. The event was by invitation-only and extended to members of the private member club, Citizen. The rums were provided by the distributor Horizon Wine & Spirits, and the cigars were from Toraño in collaboration with UPtown's Smoke Shop.
The four rums that were featured were: Plantation Rum XO, Appleton Reserve, Atlantico Rum, and Ron Cartavio XO. Although all 4 were good rums, the top two of the four were the Plantation and the Atlantico. I was partial to these two because of their notes of vanilla, toffee, caramel and oak as well as their smoothness. All 4 were delivered neat but I do believe they will all mix well with whatever your preference. If you head to the store sometime soon, I highly recommend you picking up one of these bottles.
The cigar featured that evening was the Toraño 1959 50 Year Robusto. The stick has a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro wrapper, but its binder and filler are from Nicaragua. It's a well constructed cigar that lit easily and stayed lit (and left me with an ash of around 3 inches before it finally fell when I was more than halfway through). First notes were slightly nutty with a bit of caramel. It was very smooth and creamy. Into the 2nd third, it became a bit spicier but very even, not overpowering. The smoke was plentiful throughout the cigar. Into the last third, I found a bit of cocoa/coffee mixed with pepper. It's a mild/medium bodied cigar that I found paired really well with all of the rums that evening. I found it to be a very relaxing cigar and give it a rating of 93.
