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)