A Cigar and Ale Review: 1916 Robusto Cigar and Piraat Ale

The Hunt Continues with a 1916 Robusto Cigar and a Piraat Ale 
 

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
Size: 5.5 x 52

For a Cameroon cigar this is on the ‘fuller’ side. Still a medium bodied cigar when considering your strength scale of cigars. This cigar changes through-out the smoke. When you first light it up and smoke that first inch you are hit with the pepper and spicy notes and I always think this is a 6 strength rating. But, after that inch it starts to mellow out, the sweet spice takes over the pepper. The nice caramel, nutty and woody notes also come into play. Then, I start thinking 5 rating. This cigar always seems to have ampel smoke that lingers on the palate. The cigar also changes on the latter part of the smoke, back to peppery and spicy.

Pairing this cigar with the Piraat Ale is going to be different than the Hemingway. The Hemingway with its elegant style makes a very good pairing before dinner. The Carlos Torano 1916 with its rouged looking wrapper and pepper, spicy upfront strength on the first inch makes for a very good after-dinner smoke.

The cigar seems to awaken the carbonation within the ale. The ale and this cigar coat the palate with their spice. I can taste it as I move my tongue around the mouth. I still get the tropical notes from the ale but, not a sweet tropical. Think of it this way, if I placed some tropical fruit inside a smoker and smoke the fruit with some cedar wood chips that is what I seem to experience here.

The ale likewise brings out some good notes during the middle part of the cigar. While drinking the Piraat with this cigar I am not experiencing the thought of a 5 rating during the middle part. The ale seems to make me notice that nice peppery and sweet cedar spice. Just like a top notch ball player will elevate the talents of the players around them, these two seem to work off of each other very well.

My conclusion from the tasting here is that the Piraat Ale is a great beverage to drink while smoking a Cameroon wrapped cigar. My plan one day is to pair these Cameroon cigars again with this ale and plan a dinner to go along with this experience. The Hemingway Cigar before dinner; the Leon Jimenes 300 with dinner and the Torano 1916 after dinner. Now, what is for dinner!?! I’ll write that in the month of August.