Last month, 10 barrels left New Holland Brewing Co. in Holland, Mich. destined for Nicaragua. For the barrels, it was their third life: first used to age bourbon in Kentucky, then used to help create New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk—a bourbon barrel-aged milk stout—and now used to age cigars from Asylum. The process involves taking already-rolled cigars and placing them in the barrels for 48 hours. Moisture trapped in the wood, residue in the barrel and a bit of excess liquid on the bottom provides the potent aroma from the Dragon’s Milk beer, which is easily recognizable once the cigar is taken out of its cellophane. “I met Brett VanderKamp, who owns New Holland Brewery in Holland, Michigan,” Tom Lazuka of Asylum Cigars told halfwheel in February. “We got to talk about making a cigar together, something co-branded. The cigars have got that charred oak taste, some of the stout, dark beer taste and obviously the tobacco taste.” Lazuka told halfwheel that they were able to process 25,000 cigars through the 10 barrels. As of now, the cigar will be a regular production release with the aim to do around 25,000 cigars per quarter. The cigar itself is made up entirely ...
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