The Ale
Left Hand Warrior IPA
With Colorado Fresh Hops
Left Hand Brewing
Longmont, Colorado, USA
American India Pale Ale (IPA)
1pt 6oz bottle
$8.00 a bottle
7.6% abv
Appearance: clear and bright amber color with no head. I swirled the bottle a little and that picked up the head – a ½ finger bone white color. It does leave some lacing each time I tip the glass for a sip. After drinking some of this IPA there is some nice lacing clinging to the side of the glass.
Aroma: not much here, maybe a hint of malts and grains and a sniff of hops.
Flavors: this seems like a pretty light IPA. A little tangy hop note and a bit of malts swirling around. I would call it average/good for an IPA. If I was going to grade it 79% - right on the edge of C+ and B-.
Mouthfeel: light for an IPA, smooth, a light sweetness and a light bitter twang lingers on the palate,
My Strength Rating: 4.5 – medium
To the Point: this should be a good IPA to have with lunch, the flavors should not interfere with what you are eating.
The Cigar
Pinar del Rio Seleccion 2010 Torpedo
Reserva Limitada
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro
Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 52
Off the Light: nice mild-medium earthy tone that has a forest floor likeness. After about an inch a good spicy quality develops. The spicy notes remind me white pepper, pink peppercorn and green peppercorns. There is a sweet earthy note on the finish.
The burn is a little uneven but, looks like it is going to correct itself. The ash is a bright gray color.
The Pairing: This cigar brings out some of the bitter hops in this IPA during the pairing. The hop flavor is grassy like. The bitterness is not that strong so, don’t worry. The bitter note reminds me of white grapefruit. That sweet malt tone is still in the mix to add some balance.
Mid-Point: a smooth leathery texture and the earthy notes dominate on the aftertaste. The forest floor character seems tasty during the smoke; soil, toasted vegetation (toasted tobacco leaf), wood notes that remind me of a mixture of hardwood. Thinking of spice it now seems like a light mix of white, green, and black pepper. I am not picking up that sweet earthy note on the finish here in the mid-section.
The burn did correct itself and I did not have to take the lighter to it. The ash is firm with very little flaking.
I have smoked a few of these Torpedo’s and have enjoyed each one.
The Pairing: I have to say that I am enjoying this pairing. I thought this IPA was not going to help this pairing at all. But, interestingly enough the IPA seems to bring out the forest floor earthy style in the cigar and the cigar brings out the hops in IPA.
This has been a good medium/medium-full experience.
Down the Stretch: I am enjoying the forest floor earthy style of this smoke, the spice is light, and every now and then I pick up a touch of maduro sweetness. I smoked this stick down to the nub and it was tasty all the way.
My Strength Rating: 6 – on the light side of medium-full. When I reviewed the Toro size I gave it an 8.
To the Point: a quality smoke for the price. This experience was different than the one I had with the Toro Pinar del Rio Seleccion.
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