There is a certain pleasure to a lifestyle that enjoys the finer things in the journey of life. It is about a calling that continuously strives towards the unattainable perfection. To take what is good and make it better and then continue to enhance the better. This is an innate and integral part of my journey – whether it’s making an ascot or tying the perfect Windsor knot, the choice of after-shave or the cologne for the evening cocktail or dinner or even the selection of a particular cigar and discretion of which drink (spirit) marries the moment.
I would like to share the journey that brought me to the creation of “Barrel in a Bottle” Oddly, it started with my love for Cigars and that first experience occurred well over 35 years ago as a young sailor in service to my nation in the US Navy. My unit was coming off a deployment off the island of Vieques and being transported by ferry to the island of Puerto Rico. On that occasion I was requested to join Lieutenant King and Chief Petty Officer Short on the upper deck. We were all in civilian attire by this time and being so “ordered” I presented myself. In short my presence was ordered to commend my work during the deployment and as a compliment at the gesture of Lt. King, CPO Short handed me a cigar.
My cigar journey had unexpectedly just commenced. Over time I experienced cigars from many parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America as well as, Indonesia and Malaysia. The interest grew in how the tobacco leaves were grown, the soil requirements, the water and irrigation systems used, to how they were harvested, dried, humidity controls, stored and matured – to finally seeing first-hand the carving of the leaves before they were batched and ultimately rolled into cigars for the final journey of being boxed sealed and shipped for the consumer. The process then continued till it reached my consuming hands to the detail of how to correctly cut and light the cigar – which is by the heat of the flame not the flame itself – yet there remain nuances in the manner and surface geography in the art of lighting up the cigar. Each cigar brand and gauge (size) lends to a distinct journey of intensity, texture and aroma. No Cigar Journey can be complete in the absence of the right drink (spirit) to accompany it.
And here starts the journey that brings us today to the “Barrel in a Bottle”.
Depending on the Cigar, I would marry it to match the occasion with a Whisky, Cognac or Rum – from time to time I would permit the intrusion of a Calvados or Armagnac. In time I wanted to custom my drink (spirit) to a palate of my preference that more closely complimented the cigar experience. I also recognized that each person would have their own subjective tastes, that each person would have a preference to better suit their own palate. In the normal course of my interests I visited brewers and distillers and observed the common and age old convention of aging the drink (spirit) was through a charred Oak Barrel. The time of fermentation in the Oak barrel was an essential component in the maturing of that drink (spirit) - in flavor, intensity, color and aroma to mention a few of the characteristics. The observation of the process brought me to research - How could the aging and maturity process continue once the drink (spirit) has been bottled? There were suggestions online and even some products and in trying some of them out – I recognized that there was an ingredient missing – attention to detail that brings out the quality. So started the development of “Barrel in a Bottle”. The conclusion was simple – put the “barrel in a bottle” and in doing so it would continue the aging and maturity process – each person could now enhance their favorite drink (spirit) to the intensity, color and aroma of their discretion. You could even cross- infuse by taking a stick infused first in wine and then with the wine effect infuse that same stick in a Whisky bottle for a completely different effect. The combination of self- creating a spirit to one’s own personal palate was attainable.
We choose the right region to find the OAK – Lithuania in the Baltic States. We designed our stick to measure, ensuring uniformity of cut and superior treatment through the charring and natural application process so that our OAK Sticks would be the finest - “Barrel in a Bottle”.
Take on the Life-Style - Enjoy the Journey
Every Best Wish, ‘Shaan’ S. Dhanji
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