The Cigars’ Ideal Companion

The Cuban cigar smoker knows to cut their tobacco using a keen eye and a sharp blade. The heat of the flame is placed an inch or so from the foot. These steps prepare the tobacco for the first flavours of smoke. One appreciates a cigar in taste: discerning the perceptions of cocoa, vanilla or even exotic woods on the palate. The cigars age, factory it was rolled in, or even how long the cigar was stored, allows flavour to mature. What next? We can smoke our cigars without accompaniment. The enjoyment of the tobacco itself can surprise us in sugary, spicy or honey-like flavours. However, there are benefits to adding spirits, port wine or even coffee to energize your smoking.

   Natural items that grow from the earth are always perfect partners for your cigar. The soil where they are grown, known as Terroir, assist each other when enjoyed with tobacco: Grapes grown from Italy, Spain, even the province of Ontario. Coffee matured in Central America, or in Cuba’s Sierra Maestra.  

   With the spirit Armagnac, produced in Gascony, France, one can taste the intricate grapes aged in oak barrels. What about pairing this spirit with a Cohiba Siglo VI, its tobacco selected from the five prime fields of Vuelta Abajo? You would discover pinches of sugar twirling off toasted tobacco, creating a bold molasses that creates a unique flavour with the cigar and the brandy.

   Coffee beans have two major varieties that are used around the world: Arabica with its smoother and less acidic flavour, and Robusta, less in taste however creates a heavier crema when pulling a shot of espresso. Coffee blends include both beans in different percentages, and when premium espresso is sipped with a Bolivar Royal Coronas, a deep, bold cigar with flushes of caramel sweetness, one thinks they are sipping a rich cappuccino. Even an actual cappuccino or latte would add a fat content to the palate, creating new striking flavours.

   When choosing a cigar with a beverage i.e.: aperitif, espresso based drink or port wine, one should choose a sweeter profile. Cigars, specifically Cuban tobacco, will have a distinct earthiness during smoking. That earthiness blends easily with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Finding that perfect blend of sweet sugars enriching your palate within the thick smoke, can appeal to anyone who finds the joy of adventure.

   The advantage of mixing is to enlighten new and exciting flavours.  Creating new tastes. Heightening all five senses. Perfecting a match of your favourite cigar with a wine or coffee brings out the joy of smoking. Experiment with new cocktails, or even foods, as Cuban tobacco blends well with saltiness, sweet, and even sour tastes like lime juice. Picking full bodied cigars with sweet port, or mild cigars with a sweet Alsacian wine are all part of the fun.

   The joy of smoking cigars can always be enhanced with trying products that are harvested, or fermented or grown. There are always new ways of enjoying your cigar to discover flavour.

Photo Credits:  Julian Zadorozny, Daniel I.