Hoyo de Monterrey Maduro Presidente and Dorothy Goodbody’s: Review

Dorothy’s Our Glass and Stout on the Docket Tonight

Wrapper: Ecudoran 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 with this cigar it is a straight forward medium roast earthy coffee type of smoke. I think this cigar should match up well with these two beers that I have selected.

The Beers
Dorothy Goodbody’s Our Glass
Our Glass is a 6% abv Extra Special Bitter. And, I am in the mood for a good English Ale. The body of this ale has a nice looking chestnut color – ok – we could call it copper as well. The caramel sweetness is modest and the nutty raisin like quality in nice. This accompanies that classic English Ale bitterness on the taste. This ale has moderate carbonation and leaves a light bitter note on the back of the palate. This is a pleasing English Ale to drink I will be trying this one again.

The Pairing
The cigar seems to settle the ales bitter bite that is upfront when drinking the ale alone. With the hops little bitter bite out of the way the sweetness is now on display. That nutty raisin quality now shows a little sweetness along with some sweet fruits and soft spice (almost cinnamon sugar and nutmeg). This cigar really seems to have an impact of the flavors that I am experiencing from this ale.

Dorothy Goodbody’s Stout
A 4.6% abv that has a nice black body but, when held to the light it has a cola like look to the edges. It has a light smoky and malty aroma. The taste has a bitter hoppy twang with a salt block bite. Then a smoky roasted malt note appears. There is a nice earthiness to the body as well. I don’t know if I like the idea of chewing on a salt block. Drop the salty notes and give me some chocolate, coffee, and/or just plain good roasted malts. The only reason I would be this again is to see if my taster was off tonight.

The Pairing
Now, I selected this cigar because of this stout. I thought that this straight forward cigar would not interfere with the flavors of this stout. But, I did not know that the stout was going to taste like salt either. The cigar once again manages the hoppy twang in this stout – just as it did in the Our Glass Ale. The salt profile of the stout transfers that saltiness to the cigar. I swear as I puff the cigar I taste salt! The roasted and earthy notes seem to be more of an undertone during this pairing. I am going to have to experiment with some other cigars to see if that salty profile can be tamed a bit. Not a bad pairing. I liked the Our Glass and Hoyo better. Actually, I do not know if I want to buy this stout again.