Petrus Tripel March Matching - 4 of 4

We have the Professor of Cigars and the Dean of Beers in the house to give us his final round analysis of the Petrus Tripel Ale and the Gurkha Empire Series Cigars

“The odds on each of the pairings go:
Empire I and Petrus: 7-1
Empire III and Petrus: 1-1
Empire IV and Petrus: 2-1

The #1 cigar seems to be lacking in his game here. Hopefully a good pep talk from the coach will give this cigar some game today.

The #4 sounds big, has all the great ingredients for a big game but –

The #3 and Petrus is what you want when you want to score. Look at the Petrus: floral-rosy edges and a wonderful hoppy style and the cigar is bringing WHAT – Chocolaty goodness with a sweet finish – game over baby! Chocolate and rosy-edges – that is for me – I am scoring big time here – put all your money on this horse today and your sweetie will love you.”

Some friends stopped by to see the results.


The Game 1:00 Tip Off
The cigars have been cut and checked for a good draw. They are ready for competition.

The Empire I right off the tip off has a firm draw. The draw continues to be a little firm on the first inch of the cigar.

The cigar is nice with the ale. The earthy
qualities are there but, overall taste is lacking.

The Empire III starts off with some spicy peppery notes. That maduro wrapper is showing off its flavors. In the first inch or so I do not see the mild in its description, it comes across medium.

Not an overly complex cigar but, some real nice tobacco flavors. I think the Costa Rican Maduro wrapper gives it a nice chocolaty, coffee style. It works great with the ale, bringing out some of the hoppy flavors while maintaining the nice sweetness of the ale.

The Empire #1 is lacking in overall taste and the 3 will take the #1 out of competition here in the first quarter of this match up.

The Empire #IV has a nice draw and the ligero fillers are tasty for a rich medium smoke. I give this cigar a 6 rating, while drinking this ale, just to the medium-full side. The Brazilian wrapper gives the cigar a nice hearty flavor.

The Empire III battles with the Dominican and Honduran long-filler maintaining a nice medium smoke. I give this cigar a 5 strength rating. The nice toasty notes and sweet tobacco flavors take command as I approach the halfway point in the cigar. From this point on I can lower that strength rating to a 4.5 maybe 4. But, the Petrus Ale and cigar have a nice mouthfeel that is smooth while being consumed together.

The Empire IV keeps up the fight. This is a real good match up. The beautiful golden color of the ale just says drink me. The Petrus seems to clean the palate after puffing this cigar. And, the cigar with its meaty flavor fills the mouth and brings out the effervescence of the Petrus. This pairing would be great while eating a hearty meal. As the cigar progressed while drinking this ale I am lowering my strength rating to a 5.5 overall. The ligeros tobaccos give a good punch on the opening of the cigar but, it mellows a bit through the rest of the cigar.

I smoked these two cigars down to the end. The Empire III wins. I liked how the two worked together. I wanted to smoke this cigar while drinking this ale. Each brought out some good qualities in the other. The Empire IV gave a great fight. This was a great battle and just didn’t like to see one lose the game here today.

The March Matching Champion for 2010 is the Empire III and the Petrus Triple Ale.

Here is how I rank the final order.

Empire
I tied for 4th and 5th
II tied for 4th and 5th
III first place
IV second place – excellent choice while eating
V third place – nice mild-medium body and creamy taste match well with the ale.
VI sixth place
I think I’ll be drinking a little Petrus Triple Ale while I watch some basketball this week.

A Wine and Cigar Pairing: Kristoff Maduro Churchill Cigar and Bombing Range Red Wine

The cigar
Kristoff Maduro Toro
Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Fillers: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 56
Made with ligero tobaccos
Description: medium-full, complex, dried cherries, coffee bean, cocoa bean, spice and sweet finish.

This cigar does have a nice complexity. I like the dark fruitiness with the coffee-cocoa flavor. The Brazilian maduro wrapper brings that nice sultry sweetness to play and then the fullness of the ligero tobaccos used adds that nice complexity. This cigar always burns perfectly for me. Look back at my posting, ‘The Hunted,’ for the long nice ash and rack picture.

If you are looking for a cigar to pair with a red wine this is the one. Just look at the description of this cigar – it looks like a wine description.

The Red Wine
Bombing Range Red 2006 – Horse Heaven Hills
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 8% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre
From their web site, http://www.mckinleysprings.com/, the description is – Raspberry and blueberry jam aromas with violet and cinnamon. The taste is rich blackberry, mocha and currant.

I love the look of this wine when it is in the glass. It is dense! (No, honey I am describing the wine) I hold it to the light and I cannot see through this puppy. So, I expect a fuller mouthfeel and some good complexity going on with this wine.

I purchased this wine from the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan. Jim, the owner, gave me a sample when I stopped by to pick up some other wine and I ended up walking out with a case of the Bombing Range as well. Now, here is the best part – the price – it's under 20 bucks.

Now, to me this wine has a great jammy feel to the palate. Those berries are just wonderful. The blackberry and blueberry profile is upfront along with the black currant. It is like you could spread this across your toast in the morning. The mocha profile to me is more on the aftertaste. Honestly, with every sip I think, ‘life is good,’ I love the berry taste. I don’t notice much in the spice profile but, that is okay because I really like the thick berry profile coating my palate. The complexity is not great but, very good in the berry category.

The Pairing

This is a wonderful pairing. The dark fruit and coffee-cocoa profile of the cigar matches up well with the jammy berry profile of the red wine. Wine and Cigars – what a treat! The two work so well together. As the pairing moves along the earthy style of each fills the palate. Both of these are in that medium-full bodied range and both coat the palate with such wonderful flavors. Just have a glass of water to go along with this pairing because, as I stated, they do coat the palate and the water will refresh your taste buds for some more of those wonderful flavors.

Gurkha Empire Series Cigar Review - March Matching

The Final Round Analysis

Empire I – III – IV
The matchup analysis: I am going to pick the number III as my favorite because of the Costa Rican Maduro wrapper. The ale and the cigar played well together – making me want more.

But, if I was a betting man, I would not lose sight of the IV. The flavors blended well and the cigar with the ale made me think of my other favorite – food – filet mignon. We will probably see Vegas odds makers select this as the favorite.

The Empire I had some issues in its game. Those nice earth qualities are good but, can this hang with the big boys.

The odds going into the final dance: Empire I gets 7-1; Empire III has 2-1 odds; Empire IV the favorite 1-1.

All three cigars will be smoked at the same time while being paired with the Petrus Triple Ale.
Stay tuned for when we post the final dance results. (visit post)

Partagas Gigante Cigar and Sprecher Black Bavarian: Pairing

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dom. Rep. / Mexico
Size: 6 x 60
Strength Scale: 3 or 3.5
The only Partagas cigar that I have smoked in a long time is the ‘S’ series. I remember smoking a fair share of them back in the 90’s but, they are on the milder side of medium and not all that complex. With the new sampler pack out with the 6 x 60 sized cigars I thought it was time to give them a try again.

The Partagas Gigante holds a solid grey ash. The construction is solid and the light of the foot is mellow. It has a classic Cameroon taste. The almond like nuttiness is surrounded by a sweet apple-wood taste at the beginning and changes to cedar by mid-point. Think of smoking some shrimp and scallops with some apple wood – in a matter of fact this would be a great dinner pairing. In the mid part of the smoke there is a mild earthiness to the tobacco. This is defiantly a smooth and mellow smoke.

The Black Lager
Yes, it is black and a 2 finger fine tan head that dissipates fairly quick. The head leaves some nice lacing on the glass. As I continue to drink the lager there is little lacing on the glass.
Aroma is roasted and sweet malt.
First sip is caramelized malt for sure. There is a definite dark chocolate taste that swirls around the palate. This is a fine black lager that is complex with the malty notes. To me there are roasted undertones that make me think of roasted coffee beans, there are caramelized malts, up front, giving me that sweetness and the dark chocolate that swirl around the edges that gives me that little bitterness.

The Pairing
The cigar – The Black Lager - The Irish cheddar wine cheese on wafer sour dough bread.
I am not expecting too much interference between the two since the cigar is a mild-medium bodied smoke. After the first few exchanges I am surprised with the taste of the lager. The nutty profile of the Cameroon seems to bring out the spiciness of the hops. The Bavarian Black Lager is displaying some light pepper and spice with this pairing. I still get the caramelized malty aroma with every sip but, this sweetness on the palate seems to be around the edges of the mouth and the slight bitter notes moving to the front. I did not expect this at all. I liked the roasted malt taste during the last pairing I did with this Black Lager. The chocolate profile of the lager is not present but, the mild-medium coffee flavor is there. The Partagas and the cheese seems to bring out the hops a bit here.

Petrus Triple Ale & Gurkha Empire Series Cigars

March Matching – The Contest

First Bracket

Right off the opening tip off there is a big foul. The Empire I that I selected is plugged and rock hard and yes this is dirty talk in cigar language. Back to the humidor for another cigar, perfect draw and solid flavors from this new one. The balance of sweet and earthy notes from the cigar works well with the bitterness and sweetness of the ale. I’ll give this cigar a 5 rating on strength for now. I really like this with the Petrus.

The Empire VI has a perfect draw and goes on a scoring run right after tip off. The coffee and cocoa notes are nice with the ale. This is definitely a medium to full flavored cigar. I am rating it a 6.5 for now. The roasty notes start to build and kicks it to the fuller side. I really like this cigar but, for matching it to the Petrus Triple Ale, it does not maximize my experience. The Empire I take the first bracket.


Second Bracket

The Empire II is a very handsome looking cigar. Nice sheen from the oils on the wrapper, just like the hair on some basketball coaches. This cigar had game time written all over it in the first 10 minutes. The Cuban-like sweetness was coming thru with nice earth tones coming off the bench. After 10 minutes I was left with the bench players playing. Not enough to win the game here. I’ll give it a 4.5 strength rating.

The Empire IV lit up the court right off the bat. After a few puffs, wow, this cigar converts on the fast break. The Brazilian wrapper gives it a wonderful smoke and the meaty and rich ligeros tobaccos are flavorful. The first 10 minutes was a battle as I expected. Both cigars matched well with the Petrus Ale. But, the IV had the depth to go the distance to take the game away from the odds on favorite. I am planning a filet mignon dinner with this ale and this cigar! This was an excellent matching.


Third Bracket

Well Johnny, I am not speaking Dutch here, this should be a classic. We have two mild-medium bodied cigars being matched up to an Ale that is ‘mild and easygoing.’ If you want a delicious and refreshing triple pick up a 750 ml bottle of Petrus, right! (Commercial break)

(nothing subliminal here: pick up two bottles)

The Empire III is a good looking Costa Rican Madura wrapped cigar. It lights up well and the first inch of the cigar I am thinking – MILD? – not me, I am going medium bodied here. A straight out 5 rating for me, today. As I smoke the cigar to half time the intensity does not build and this is a good thing. I am enjoying all my flavors of the cigar and the ale. The puff of the cigar makes me want another drink of the ale. Then, the refreshing taste of the ale makes me want to taste the cigar again.

The Empire V has a beautiful Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper that coats this cigar. It looks like one of those expensive suits some of those coaches wear. The mildness of the cigar is detected right away and the flavors are very nice. In the first inch of the cigar I am thinking a 4 rating and I could go to a 3 strength rating, let’s see as this cigar develops.

This is going to be a tough matching; I think my pre-game odds were pretty good here. Both cigars have the game to go well with the Petrus Triple Ale. I think the cigar smoker who enjoys a cigar on the milder side of medium would like the Empire V with this ale. Both have a smooth mouthfeel to them.

This was a classic; I smoked the cigars down to the nub. The flavors of the III make me want more ale and the ale cleans the palate and I am ready for another puff of that cigar. The #III maximized my pleasure but, it was a fight to the finish.

The Final Round Analysis will be posted later this week. So, pick yourself up a bottle of Petrus Triple Ale, fill the chalice and stay tuned for the final dance.

A Cigar Pairing: CAO Brazilia Amazon and Black Monday Stout

The Cigar
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 60
Strength rating: 6.5
The wrapper today has a black and brown ruddy look. I really like these when they are jet black, I believe they taste better. None the less, the Amazon is among my favorites. I have plenty of these on hand. And, I also believe that the bigger ring gages are just so much better than those little winy sizes. The smoke is cooler the cigar itself does not get as warm during the burn and flavors are more eventful to experience than the smaller ring gauges.

The Amazon holds a beautiful grey ash. Burns well for a big cigar and it provides some good complexity during the smoking experience. The main profile is built around the earthy qualities; it is like you can taste the soil from which the plants were grown. I like the toasted cashew nut like notes. The smoke has a meaty quality as it fills your palate. While the Anaconda has the coffee and chocolate profile the Amazon carries these notes as an undertone to the flavor profile.
Pairing this with the Black Monday Stout is just the right thing to do for a medium-full flavored experience. It is not the coffee shock experience that the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte cigar provided in an earlier pairing with this stout. (I love coffee overload)

This Stout delivers that great coffee and dark chocolate taste and the Amazon has the solid earthy qualities making for a well balanced and strong pairing. The acidic earthy notes in the cigar are like the bitter hops in a brew during this pairing. The toasty flavors of the cigar mingle well with the roasted malts of the stout. Both, the stout and the cigar are smooth and rich in taste.
If you are looking for that bold coffee and chocolate pairing light up the Anaconda or the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Maduro with the Brew Haus Black Monday Stout. When, your taste buds want a little balance light up this Amazon Cigar.

See pairing with I.T. Super Fuerte

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami & Sprecher Black Bavarian Style Lager

This is a Solid Pairing

The Cigar
Wrapper: Habano-seed Nicaragua
Binder: Ecudorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican
Size: 6 x 54 Gran Corona Especial – Toro
Strength rating: 7.5. When I first lit the cigar the foot didn’t want to burn fully so, it had an airy draw till I took the lighter to the end again. After a few puffs then, the burn took hold and I had an ample supply of smoke bellowing from this cigar. And, it is full right off the get go. Black pepper and a bitter black walnut taste dominate at the beginning. I was thinking for strength around an 8.5. After the first inch the boldness of the black pepper and bitterness mellows but, it still has a strong spice, meaty nut and a good woody-earthy character. If you like your stogie on the fuller side of medium-full this is for you. At the midpoint of the cigar the strength moves to a 7 or 7.5 strength. I still taste the nice peppery and spice notes. The rich tobacco flavor displays its complexities.

The Black Lager
Yes, it is black and a nice 1-1/2 finger fine tan head that dissipates fairly quick. The head leaves some nice lacing on the glass. As I continue to drink the lager there is little lacing on the glass.
Aroma is roasted and sweet malt.
I chose this black lager because of its malty qualities. I was thinking that the sweetness of the malts would complement the spicy boldness of the cigar.
First sip is caramelized malt for sure. There is a definite dark chocolate taste that swirls around the palate. This is a fine black lager that is complex with the malty notes. To me there are roasted undertones that make me think of roasted coffee beans, there are caramelized malts, up front, giving me that sweetness and then there is the dark chocolate notes that swirl around the edges that gives me that little bitterness.

The Pairing
I was at least two inches into the cigar when I introduced the Sprecher Bavarian and right away I could tell this was going to work. The sweetness helped to mellow the boldness of the cigar on the first few exchanges. As I continue this pairing, the cigar helps to bring out the roasted malt character of the black lager. I do like the interplay between the profiles. The spiciness of the cigar helps to bring out some of the spice in the lager along with some nice bitter undertones. So, the cigar helps the hops here which, are not dominate. I would suggest having a glass of water along the way. The lager is low to moderate in carbonation and there is not a noticeable watery edge that helps to clean the palate.
I just went to their web site: http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/ . I guess I did pretty well according to their description on line. I was amazed by the four types of hops – this defiantly gives it its complexity and a nice clean bitter style. The bitterness unit is 32 IBU. The suggested serving temperature is 60 degrees F.

March Matching - Petrus Gouden Triple Ale vs Gurkha Empire Series Cigars

The Set-up:

The Petrus Triple Ale is a 7.5 abv. that is described as, “mild and easygoing, with a flowery hoppy taste that is balanced between the bitterness and sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.” For me this ale rates 4 or maybe even a 3.5 on my strength scale for beers.

The Petrus Triple should match up well with the Gurkha Empire Series Cigars. The Empire Series offers six different blends for a mild to medium bodied smoke.

This should be fun for me for I have not had these stogies yet. I plan to make three brackets consisting of two cigars being smoked at the same time to see which smoke goes best with the Petrus. Then, I’ll smoke the final three contestants while consuming another fine bottle of the Petrus to see if there is a clear winner for the March Matching.

Let’s take a quick look at each of the cigars and how I am pairing them up for the March Matching Brackets.

I am matching the Empire I with the VI.
Empire I: described as a medium bodied cigar with a Habano wrapper and ligeros fillers from Nicaragua and Peru. Taste is sweet, earthiness with some black pepper. Empire VI: Medium-Full body. It has a Brazilian wrapper with ligeros fillers that carry a hearty flavor of roasted coffee and cocoa to your palate. I am going to handicap this bracket, saying: the Empire I will be my favorite at 2-1 odds. The Empire VI: I’ll give 5-1 odds going well with the Petrus Gouden Triple Ale. I think the Brazilian wrapper will kick the taste up to the stronger side and the hearty flavors may not work with the smooth mouthfeel of the ale. Empire I is the top seed in this bracket.

I am matching the Empire II against the IV. Both cigars are medium in strength according to the reviews. Empire II: has a dark Connecticut wrapper with Cuban-like sweetness and a cedar finish. The Empire IV: employees a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper – wow, I don’t know if I have had that before. Meaty and oaky flavors. I am handicapping this one giving the #II even odds, the dark Connecticut wrapper should work well with this ale. The IV with the oaky flavor (depends how strong) may take away from the flowery hoppy taste of the ale. I give it 3-1 odds.

The final bracket consists of the III and V and if you have been following along you knew that. These two are both given a mild to medium taste indicator here. The Empire III: has a nice looking Costa Rican Maduro wrapper that has chocolaty notes with a toasty and sweet finish. The Empire V: An Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper with notes of creamy-buttery, sweet tobacco and white pepper – sounds like a soup. This last description makes the V the odds on favorite: 1-9 odds. I’ll give the Empire III: 1-1 odds.

How will the top seeds in each bracket do, when paired up with the Petrus Triple Ale? Will the number one seed, Gurkha Empire V, with stand the tough competition from his brothers.

Empire I: Medium Body 2-1 odds
Empire VI: Medium-full Body 5-1 odds

Empire II: Medium 1-1 odds
Empire IV: Medium 3-1 odds

Empire III: Mild-medium 1-1 odds
Empire V: Mild-medium 1-9 odds

Stay tuned for the contest! (Visit Posting 3-22-10)

Not the fault of the beer or the cigar - Just an okay pairing

Olde Number 22 Alt Bier
&
Camacho Corojo Limited 60/6

The Cigar
Wrapper, Binder, Filler: Honduran Corojo
Size: 6 x 60
Strength rating: 7.5
I have only had a few of these Corojos and I have enjoyed them. It has a good earthy core at the body of the smoke along with a robust woodsy taste. The bold spiciness with plenty of white pepper dances on the tongue during the first inch or so of the cigar. I start to think it is a 6.5 on my strength scale. After the first inch the cigar starts to build in strength. As I approach the midpoint of the cigar the ample smoke and the bold spice fills the palate. The strength also builds – 7.5 or 8? Now it seems more like a Camacho Cigar. The white pepper starts to fade and a course black pepper note takes over.

The Bier
I had to make an aggressive pour to get a one finger head that disappeared before my eyes could blink. No lacing on the glass from the little head nor while I was drinking the ale. The body is a nice black color.

The smell was uneventful, a faint smoky malt note along with a little sweetness. The taste had a nice little bitter-sweet flavor. Some mild coffee and roasty malt notes. The watery mouthfeel seemed to wash away any undertones that the beer could have. The carbonation was light only to minimize any refreshing of the palate. Maybe, a 6 on my strength scale.

The Pairing
Not a bad pairing. The cigar might be too strong for the profile of this beer. The peppery notes had nothing much to play off of and the mild coffee and roasty malts took a backseat during this pairing. The watery style of the ale did add some refreshing qualities while smoking the cigar but some more carbonation would have been nice. I think the next time I have this ale I will be looking for a cigar that is not as bold as the Camacho Corojo.

The point system is within range on this pairing but, the flavor profile did not match up well. Like I said, not a bad pairing, which also means not a good one, so keep looking. The idea is to maximize your pleasure.

Camacho Corojo Limited 60/6 & Speakeasy Ale: Tasting

The Cigar
Wrapper, Binder, Filler: Honduran Corojo
Size: 6 x 60
Strength rating: 7.5
I have only had a few of these Corojos and I have enjoyed them. It has a good earthy core at the body of the smoke along with a robust woodsy taste. The bold spice and white pepper dance on the tongue during the first inch or so of the cigar. I start to think it is a 6.5 on my strength scale during that first inch. After the first inch the cigar starts to build in strength. As I approach the midpoint of the cigar the ample smoke and the bold spice fills the palate. The strength also builds – 7.5 or 8? Now it seems more like a Camacho Cigar. The white pepper starts to fade and a course black pepper note takes over.

The Ale
Prohibition by: Speakeasy Ales & Lagers pours a cloudy caramel color – I want to eat it – it looks like the caramel inside of a piece of dark chocolate. Holding the glass to the light I can see the reddish hues around the edges. It has an off white head color that dissipates slowly. The ale has some good lacing on the glass.

The smell is very nice for this amber ale. Good hoppy and malty nose and the smell raises my expectations for this ale. I have not had the Prohibition before so, I don’t know what to expect. Wow, the taste is even better. The hops hit my palate and then the big malty sweetness takes over. The caramel malty taste tries to take over but the citrusy and pine hop bitterness starts to fight back. There is a solid complexity here. You could play “what is that flavor game’ with this ale.

The mouthfeel is pretty clean for an amber ale which, is surprising with all that flavor mingling around on the palate. I get a little pine bitter note and a sweetness that sticks around on the palate. Then the good carbonation and smooth watery edges help to clean the mouthfeel for a smooth and refreshing experience for this ale.

The Pairing

I really liked this pairing. The earthy qualities from the cigar mingle well with the hops and malty characteristics of the ale. The pepper notes dance on the tongue and the sweetness from the ale sooths the mouthfeel. The spicy profiles from each play well together. For me this pairing is a winner. My only disappointment is that I only bought one 12oz. bottle of this ale and I still have half a cigar to go.

Indian Tabac Super Fuerte & a Stout Beer

Black Forest Brew Haus Black Monday Stout
&
Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Super Gordo Maduro

This is a super full flavored frenzy tasting today. After having a glass of this stout at Sullivan’s Black Forest in Frankenmuth Michigan last night, I knew I wanted to have more of it when I got home so, I bought a growler to head home with. Once I unpacked the car from a weeklong trip I dove into my humidor to find a cigar that would match the character of this stout. I debated between three different cigars and I ended up with the Super Gordo Maduro by Indian Tabac.

The Cigar
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Filler: Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 58
Strength rating: 7.5
I could be setting up a coffee overload here but let’s do it! The cigar has a rich full coffee and lots of dark chocolate profile. I like the toasty notes that remind me of dark Russian rye bread. Nice spice undertones make for a wonderfully complex medium-full bodied smoke. As I saw in my humidor it is time to get another box of these only a few left. This cigar should go extremely well with this Black Monday Stout.

The Stout
It is a 6.5% abv black beauty. This stout is not posted on their web site. http://www.blackforestbrewhaus.net/
My strength rating would be a 7.5 for this stout, a nice medium-full bodied stout.

The stout pours a beautiful black body with a nice looking, one finger, dark tan head. It has minimal lacing but the legs have a nice syrupy look running down the glass after each sip. If you like coffee, like I like coffee then, this stout is for you. They had three different stouts on the beer menu last night and the bartender asked me if I like a fuller bodied stout – and yes was the answer and that is how I got this stout.

The taste is coffee! This has a smooth, rich and creamy full-bodied roasted coffee flavor with an 80% dark chocolate bite. The carbonation is low and the mouthfeel gives you a nice thick roasted coffee bean syrup coating on the palate. It has a nice little sharp bite with a little sweetness around the edges.

The Pairing
This is a full flavored frenzy tasting today. I love the fuller side of medium and this is it. Together these two kick it up. I am enjoying a full flavored tasting here with these two. The coffee and chocolate profiles from each just fills the mouth with joy for the coffee and dark chocolate lover in me. I was a little concerned that the two would battle and the bitterness would take over and be a lose-lose situation here. But, that is not the case. This is a must pairing for any cigar and stout lover who enjoys a strong coffee taste.

I am two-thirds of the way through the cigar and this is full-flavored bliss. I just wish I was sitting in my leather chair. The Super Fuerte cigar holds a firm salt and pepper colored ash and has a perfect burn. There is ample smoke from the cigar and the flavors are still bold. The creamy and smooth styles from these two just work so well together to make this a great matching.

If you are looking to maximize your full-flavored experience this is the pairing for you.

See pairing with CAO Brazilia

Man O War Bass Guitar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AlGnyggdEo

Check the cigar box out. I sell cigar boxes to Rene and she makes guitars out of them. This is really cool.

Romeo y Julieta Aniversario Robusto Cigar & Black Monday Stout

Sullivan’s Black Forest Black Monday Stout

So, after a few HB beers at the Volksfest upstairs at the Brew Haus, I ventured back down to the bar to have another glass of the Black Monday Stout. I brought a Romeo y Julieta Aniversario Robusto Cigar with me for the night, probably one of the last times I’ll be in a bar and still be able to smoke a cigar in the State of Michigan. It was not the perfect pairing for this stout but, it was the smallest cigar I had with me.

The Cigar
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian
Size: 5 x 52
Strength Rating: 5.5
A solid earthy profile that has plenty of cedary notes and spice. While drinking this stout it seemed more like spice and light pepper notes from the cigar. The cedary notes probably took a back seat to the hops from the stout. I didn’t care for this pairing. The spicy profile from the cigar didn’t help while drinking this bold but smooth coffee and chocolate stout. And, I don’t think of this cigar as a bold spicy smoke but, that is how they mixed tonight. The stout was still very enjoyable. The strong coffee and dark chocolate creamy body was just plain yummy. I’ll be buying a growler to head home with and pair this up with a cigar that has a nice coffee profile.

Samuel Smith's Stout - Petrus Winter - Padilla Cigar and Fire

Kicking Back by the Fire

Winter Sampling

I have the week off and it is Tuesday already! So, in the attempt to slow time down I am going to pitch a fire and enjoy a couple of beers and smoke a cigar. The cigar is the Padilla 68 Golden Bear, a spicy and flavorful 6 x 60 big boy. It has a nice little coffee profile to it so; I am going to start off with a Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout. With some coffee flavors in itself I am hoping it will match up on these tasting notes.

The Samuel’s Stout is nice and yummy as I sit out here by the fire. I am calling this a sampling and not a tasting because I am sitting outside in 30 degree temperatures with no humidity and a roaring campfire. So, it is a little hard to smell much out here plus it would be a little hard to type on the laptop with these gloves on.

The cigars spice profile is definitely up front and this is not a great mix with this stout. It is not bad by any means but, I don’t think I’ll pair these two up again for a tasting like I was hoping for. The little coffee flavor in the cigar was taken way due to the flavor in the stout and that left the spicy notes. Now, I will be looking for that cigar with the coffee and chocolate profile to go with the Samuel Smith.


So, let’s move on to the next beer! This is a big cigar and it will take about 2 hours to finish. I have a 750 ml bottle of Petrus Winter Ale that should do the trick with this cigar and its spicy flavor. I actually was planning to do the Petrus with another cigar this week but, let’s see were we go with this.

A great looking pour into the glass as I sit by my fire. The head with its beige looking head of fine foam looks like a mound of snow, just beige in color. The green apple taste and spice of the ale mixes well with the cigar on the first few puffs. As I continue with this pairing I find out that I really like this match up. I am going to plan to do this as a tasting in the near future because it tastes like a winner as I sit out here by the fire pit.


Warm the Chill with Petrus Winter Ale and a Padilla 68 Bear.