The 100 Year Old Cigar does exactly what it says: aged rum wrapped in Bénédictine's honeyed herbs, Cynar's dark bitter leaf, a quarter ounce of peated Islay scotch for smoke, and an absinthe rinse for the humidor's top note. Maksym Pazuniak created it around 2015 at the Counting Room in Brooklyn, and it has become one of the modern era's great nightcaps — a five-bottle flavor sentence that reads, unmistakably, as tobacco, leather, and long evenings.
Nobody smokes in bars anymore; this is what the room used to smell like, poured.
History
Pazuniak — who went on to co-open Bushwick's Jupiter Disco in 2016 — built the drink at the Counting Room, and it reached print in Carey Jones's Brooklyn Bartender (2016). The original spec called for a Guatemalan aged rum, Cynar, Bénédictine, Laphroaig, Angostura, and an absinthe rinse; the build below follows it closely. It's a textbook example of the split-base, seasoned-spirit school of 2010s New York bartending: one drink, five ingredients, each doing exactly one job.
The Spec
Rum carries; Bénédictine sweetens and perfumes; Cynar darkens and bitters; the Islay pour is a seasoning, not a base; the absinthe stays on the glass. Stirred cold, served up, no garnish — the drink is its own aromatics.
The Quarter Ounce of Smoke
A heavily peated Islay malt at 1/4 oz perfumes the whole glass without turning it into a scotch drink — this is the "cigar" in the name. Measure it honestly; smoke compounds faster than any other flavor on the shelf.
Rum With Some Years
A rich, well-aged blended Caribbean rum in the 6-to-12-year range gives the drink its leather-and-vanilla core. Too light and the modifiers swallow it; an overly sweetened rum doubles up on the Bénédictine.
The Absinthe Rinse
A quarter ounce swirled to coat the chilled glass and dumped — anise as atmosphere, Sazerac-style. Skip it and the drink is still good; keep it and the first sniff earns the name.
Bottom Line
The 100 Year Old Cigar is the rare concept cocktail that delivers its concept in the first sip and keeps delivering to the bottom. File it next to the Vieux Carré on the late-shelf: one is enough, and one is exactly right.