New Book Uncovers America's Forgotten Bond Between Bourbon and Cigars--And Introduces the First-Ever Pairing Wheel

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May 28, 2025, 08:38 ET

MIAMI, May 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Cigar Press announces the release of Smoke & Oak: The Shared Legacy of Bourbon and Cigars – An American Story of Craft, Culture & the Science of a Perfect Pairing, the groundbreaking new book by author, researcher, and entrepreneur Sebastian Saviano.

Cover of Smoke & Oak: The Shared Legacy of Bourbon and Cigars, by Sebastian Saviano. This groundbreaking book explores how two iconic American crafts evolved together-blending history, culture, and sensory science. Featuring the first-ever Bourbon & Cigar Pairing Wheel, it offers a rich journey through tradition, flavor, and ritual.

Front and back cover of Smoke & Oak: The Shared Legacy of Bourbon and Cigars, by Sebastian Saviano. Combining deep cultural history with sensory insight, the book includes the first-ever Bourbon & Cigar Pairing Wheel-connecting flavor, ritual, and American craftsmanship.

Following the success of his acclaimed America's Cigar Story: The History, Politics, and Legacy of Cigars from 1762 to the Modern Era, Saviano returns with an ambitious cultural work that reveals how two of America's most iconic traditions—bourbon and cigars—grew in tandem, shaped national identity, and today offer a sensory experience rooted in heritage and science.

"Where America's Cigar Story traced the journey of a single tradition, Smoke & Oak explores what happens when two iconic legacies converge," said Saviano. "This book is about rediscovery—of rituals, regions, and relationships that were never meant to stand apart."

Smoke & Oak Redefines the Pairing Experience

Spanning over four centuries, Smoke & Oak takes readers from colonial tobacco fields and frontier stills to modern lounges and rickhouses—especially in Kentucky, where bourbon's identity was forged, and Tennessee, where whiskey traditions run equally deep. The book blends deep historical research with cutting-edge flavor science, offering the first-ever full-color Bourbon & Cigar Pairing Wheel—a visual tool that demystifies the art of flavor harmony, balance, and contrast.

Far more than a pairing manual, the book presents a cultural, scientific, and sensory journey through America's most enduring crafts.

Inside the Book:

A sweeping dual history of bourbon and cigars, from colonial roots to the boutique revival
Prohibition and the Cuban Embargo: twin crises and how both industries reinvented themselves
Scientific insights into fermentation, barrel aging, and molecular flavor interactions
Regional terroir profiles: Kentucky bourbon country meets global cigar-growing zones
A complete pairing guide with tasting methods, setting strategies, and the first-of-its-kind Pairing Wheel

Richly designed and intellectually grounded, Smoke & Oak is essential reading for bourbon and cigar lovers, hospitality professionals, cultural historians, and anyone who appreciates the art of intentional living.

AVAILABILITY

Title: Smoke & Oak: The Shared Legacy of Bourbon and Cigars – An American Story of Craft, Culture & the Science of a Perfect Pairing

Author: Sebastian Saviano

Publisher: The American Cigar Press

Publication Date: May 28, 2025

ISBN: 979-8-998-51170-7

Available through major booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and at DerivaBooks.com

MEDIA & REVIEW COPIES

Journalists, reviewers, or event curators interested in Smoke & Oak may contact:
[email protected] | 305.770.8099

About The American Cigar Press

The American Cigar Press is committed to publishing works that preserve, explore, and celebrate the craftsmanship, industry, and cultural legacy of cigars and related traditions. Learn more at TheAmericanCigarPress.com.

SOURCE The American Cigar Press