Nope. This has nothing to with my second least favorite online topic, the Civil War. Nor does it have to do with anything political.

This is a BOOZE and cigar open.

Allow me to set the stage.

My neighbor and friend alerted me yesterday that he had found two old bottles in a walled off basement in a very old house where he was doing a total renovation. These bottles have clear French labels from 1865 and were Cognac. There were two of the same label and vintage. Both bottles were hand blown with small bubbles throughout. Each had a cork and wire. The corks were secure, the wires in place. Each bottle had about 1/4 volume missing. Yes, I know, Booze doesn’t age in glass,  so shut yinz’s pie hole.

So, we have an interesting set here. Slightly condensed booze in a mostly airtight vessel. We took a hard look at them and I said, hold on. Let me call my butcher before we proceed. 6 high-end steaks were procured post-haste. One must advance on this kind of booze with a proper sacrifice of beef.

The booze…yep, it’s cognac. But. Smooth, so smooth, with a caramel finish unlike anything the I have ever had before, subtle off the tongue at first, then almost toffee at the end. The booze was darker than normal cognac, closer to a weak coffee shade. The first bottle got paired with CORN FED local beef, sirloin 1 1/2 inch. There was enough for all of the 6 adults to have a healthy double paired with good beef.

Then, well. One can’t have proper old booze and post-steaks without the right cigars. The second bottle was opened and I broke out the cigars from the reserve humidor. I shant go into detail on these cigars; from this humidor are examples of simply the best cigars in the world; it does not get opened to the public very often. Mrs Coldwarrior exclaimed the she hadn’t seen that box in 4 years.  Again, the booze, smooth and caramel and then toffee from the second bottle.  Both were darkish like a weak coffee but easily seen through in the snifter. Their aroma was almost like a slight molasses. A fire on the back deck accompanied the happy troop. The view of the Ohio river enriching and enhancing the experience made the night complete.

Some days are better than others.