A Cigar and Beer Review: Padilla 68 Golden Bear Cigar and Oro de Calabaza

The Beer
Oro de Calabaza
Artisan Golden Ale
Ale Aged in Oak Barrels
8% abv
1pt. 9.4 oz bottle
$11.00 for the bottle
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales LLC
Dexter, Michigan, USA
Jollypumpkin.com
My Strength Rating: 6

Appearance: bright yellow with the whites foam I have ever seen.

Aroma: Lemon zip with a zesty lime, throw in a tart apple and then a little spice and floral notes. Overall bouquet has a pleasing zippiness. The sour note picks up as the ale warms up.

Flavors: The citrus notes of lemon and lime rind steal the show. There is a tart and/or sour note probably coming from the oak ageing process. There is a nice green peppercorn like quality on the back of the palate. Green apple tartness along with a sour mash mingles with a little sweet malty note. Good complexity to the overall taste. This is like white wine with hops. Now, if white wine could only be so good.

Mouthfeel: This ale if very crisp, zippy, zesty, fizzy, and refreshing. The body seems light to medium. The carbonation gives it its fizzy feel. There is an aftertaste on the gums of lemon wedge.

Damn this is good. Must try. Worth every penny.

The Cigar
Padilla 68 Golden Bear
Wrapper: Corojo
Fillers: Jalapa and Condega, Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 60
No ring band on the stick.
My Strength Rating: 5

This cigar has an easy-going oaky presence that is followed by solid spice, whiffs of white pepper, a mild coffee note, a mixture of moss and soil earthiness, along with some sweet tobacco. The mouthfeel is smooth yet rich. It is delicate yet robust, truly flavorful. There is ample smoke coming from this big boy.

This cigar is a must try. I like it. How about you? Please leave a comment.

The Pairing
I planned this cigar for this ale. Based on my taste of the soft oaky profile of the cigar I thought this cigar would be good with this oak barrel aged ale.

This is a winner! After drinking the ale I thought maybe this was not going to work because of the citrus profile of the ale. I thought maybe the sour and tart notes would be too much for this cigar and bring out some bitter notes. But, it did not. This is a very pleasing pairing. The spicy notes of the cigar worked well with the spice from the ale. The citrus notes of the ale mingled with the sweet tobacco of the cigar. The earthy notes from the cigar seemed to control the sour mash notes of this delicious ale. The oaky notes complemented each other: with a delicate oak from the Bear and a medium oaky presence in the Ora de Calabaza.

I give this pairing a Top Hat rating. I will be doing this again.