My Favorite Cigar
Rob Dietrich • Distiller
Liga Privada No. 9 Toro
Balance is an important element in Rob Dietrich’s life. It extends from his choice in cigar smoking—his favorite is Drew Estate’s Liga Privada No. 9—to his calling: making Blackened whiskey, the official brand of the rock band Metallica.
Equilibrium typically marks the spirit he makes, a blend of American whiskeys, Bourbon and straight rye. Dietrich also finds balance in the Liga Privada, between its husky Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and inner tobaccos from Nicaragua, Honduras and Brazil. They provide a chocolate note that he always finds pairs well with whiskey. His latest creation is a project called Blackened X Willett Kentucky Straight Rye. The balance there? He and Willett master distiller Drew Kulsveen, another cigar lover, have married high rye and low rye varieties. Another element Dietrich brings to the mix is the Black Noise sonic enhancement process, a patent-pending aging method that involves playing Metallica’s music to the barrels to draw out more flavor. It’s also another source of balance in his life as he once worked in the music industry.
Dietrich came to cigars from his military days, smoking hand-rolled Drum cigarettes. Later, he switched to cigars. Now, most evenings he enjoys them in a room he recently added to his house while balanced in a hammock with a cocktail in his free hand.
—Jack Bettridge
