Once again, “Forbidden Johnny” Soyak is back with his creation, Cigar in the Bottle, along with a brand new accolade to add to his cap.

While the liquor and the cigar encased in the bottle remain the same—the latter is a 6 x52 Vartan custom cigar blended by Hendrik Kelner and aged for five years—Cigar in the Bottle picked up a brand new award. Specifically, the Grand Pommier XS VOSP Cognac won a silver medal at the 2021 L.A. Spirits Awards, the second time in a row the company has won that specific award.

Overall Score

Drew Estate is the sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show
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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.