Espresso Love Stout by Arbor Brewing CompanyThe best thing about a cigar that is this long – I had time to review another beer!
The Cigar
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican
Size: 8.5 x 52
My Strength Rating: 4.5
This cigar has to be close to eight years old. I have had it in the humidor for awhile. I only have a couple left so tonight is the right time to enjoy this one. There is nothing fancy here it is a straight forward medium roast earthy coffee type of smoke.
The Beer
Espresso Love is a breakfast stout with a 6.5% abv and a .10 cent deposit on the bottle here in Michigan. To me Arbor Brewing can be a hit or miss deal. One batch can be just fine and then the next can make you wonder if they were sleeping in the brewing room. But, it seems to me that Espresso Love is as close to consistent as they can get.
I like the nice coffee flavor that is matched with some good dark chocolate notes. This Breakfast Stout is smooth and has a slight creaminess to its texture. There always seems to be a good balance between the hops and the malts. The carbonation is light but, for a stout it is at that max point that I would like on a stout. This is not a mouth coating stout. It has a very clean mouthfeel
The Pairing
This is a really nice pairing. There are not any strong notes from either of these two and that leaves me with a clean mouthfeel. The stout keeps it’s coffee and chocolate profile during this pairing and there seems to be a nice watery edge with the fine carbonation that keeps the palate clean. I am smoking the final third of this cigar with this stout and there are no bitter notes that are building in the cigar. Actually, this is a pretty mild to medium pairing. If you want to keep it clean – then this is it! There is nothing overwhelming on the taste buds. I don’t know about doing it for breakfast but, this would be a solid pairing for an afternoon treat or just before dinner.
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