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.