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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Pinar del Rio Oscuro Short Gordo and Three Philosophers Ale: Pairing


The Ale

Three Philosophers
True Belgian-Style Quadrupel 2009
By: Brewery Ommegang
Copperstown, New York, USA
Belgian Style Blend
98% Ale – 2% Ale with Cherries Added
9.8% abv
1pt 9.4oz bottle
$8.99

Let’s see how this ale has aged. 

Appearance: brown body with a tan foamy head

Aroma: dusty dried dark fruit and a strange little herbal or floral note and a touch of spice.  I am not a fan of this aroma. 

Flavors: dry tart or sour cherry, raisins, earthy yeast, mineral notes, port wine like quality.  This bottle is two years old so I think the candied fruits, which I have seen in other reviews, have settled down.  With age this ale is a bit earthier in style. 

Mouthfeel: dry yet smooth with a bitter twang on the back of the palate, thick, nice body weight, very fine fizzy carbonation giving it a semi-creamy feel. 

My Strength Rating: 7 – nice bitter twang with a solid earthy quality on the two year old bottle.  This 2 year old ale has a good port wine like quality.


The Cigar

Pinar del Rio Oscuro Short Gordo
Liga Cubana No. 2

Wrapper: Brazilian Oscuro
Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: 4.5 x 60
$2.00 a stick

The wrapper has a big vein running through the length of the cigar wrapper.  The maduro leaf has a nice sheen.

(This cigar was reviewed two weeks ago and was paired with a glass of water)

Off the Light: sweet soil here at the start.  As the smoke continues there is a rich coffee with light cream tone and a low percentage dark chocolate say 50% type.  Along the way I notice a pumpernickel bread like quality.

The draw is a bit on the firm side of town.  Come to think of it this is one heavy cigar, as in weight, I mean it weighs more than the Clasico (its brother cigar).  It has to be twice the weight as that cigar.  This just means puff real slow.     

Yes, this is a slow burner.  This cigar does not produce plumes of smoke.  This is a cigar you can keep in your mouth and puff on and the smoke won’t get in your eyes. 

Toward the end of the first half the cigar opened up.  All of a sudden the amount of smoke just increased.  The draw is still a bit firm.  But, I like a slow smokin’ cigar. 

Second Half: the coffee note is a deep dark roast at this point, the dark chocolate note is more bitter like than earlier, and there is a white and black pepper mill grind tang on the aftertaste. 

The notes are more roasted at this point.   Burnt, chard wood, scorched forest floor dominate during the final third of this cigar.   You should be sitting down during this portion of the cigar.  A good beverage is going to be needed and water won’t work.  That is what I have today.    

This cigar is a slow burner.  I don’t remember the first one smoking this way. 

My Strength Rating: 8.5 – full roasted and burnt notes on the final third. 

To the Point: if you are looking for a true full bodied cigar this is it.


The Pairing

I am looking forward to pairing this cigar with this ale.  One, when I reviewed this cigar the other week (the above review) the cigar that I selected had a very firm draw on it.  Two, these two should pair up well. 

I thought the coffee and deep earthy tones of this cigar should pair well with the ales tart and tangy cherry note, raisin like quality and its earthy yeast.  The ale has a good bitter note yet still shows some sweet malt like tones.  And, yes they are working well together. 

This cigar has a perfect draw today.  The notes on the first half are still the same as above.  Good coffee, chocolate like notes and a good Russian bread quality.  I think the earthy style of the ale is transferring some of that quality over to the cigar. 

This pairing so far is a good medium-full bodied experience. 

I am interested in the second half of this cigar because the one last week, with its tough draw, became pretty strong on the second half.  I don’t remember that happening on the one that I had smoked before. 

These two have a really good earthy style during this pairing.  I am well into the second half of this cigar and those burnt strong notes are not present on this cigar.  The flavors, on the cigar, are soil and dark roast coffee.  There is a nice peppery like finish on the palate.  I am having to work the cigar with the lighter for the heavy wrapper is having some burning issues.  You may want to dry box this cigar for a couple of days before smoking. 

This has been a very good medium-full to full bodied pairing. 

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