Drew Estate Undercrown Gordito and Magic Hat Encore: Review

The Ale

Magic Hat Encore

Magic Hat Brewing Company

Magichat.net

South Burlington, Vermont, USA

IPA on Tour – American Wheat IPA

6.4% abv

                   

Appearance: muddy clay body with a nice two finger tan head.  Make sure to get the sediment off the bottom of the bottle.

Aroma: milder than I thought it would be.  Soft grassy hops with some wheat.  Not that interesting.   

Flavors: grassy, pine, a little twist of citrus peel; a touch of malt in the mix with nice earthy grains. 

Mouthfeel: mild-moderate bitterness, fine fizzy carbonation, a light pine note lingers. 

To the Point: overall, to me, this is an okay IPA. 

The Cigar

Drew Estate Undercrown Gordito

Drewestate.com

Wrapper: San Andreas Otapan Negro Ultimo Corte

Binder: T52 Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut & Cured Habano

Fillers: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan

Size: 6 x 60

$11.99 at Smoky’s of Northville (MI tax)

Off the Light: an earthy medium roast coffee for the first half inch.  Then a little peppercorn spice kicks in to add some interest.  The mouthfeel here during the first couple of inches seems to have a dry leathery texture. 

The Rest of the Smoke: this cigar is pretty consistent the rest of the way.  The earthy medium roast coffee, very light spice, and toasted grains make for a pleasing smoking experience.  The texture is smooth leather like and has a medium body weight on the palate. 

To the Point: I really enjoyed this Gordito size.  The Undercrown lineup seems to very pleasing to my palate.  I would buy a box of this size. 

The Pairing

I was looking forward to smoking this cigar with an IPA style beer.  With its earthy taste profile and light spice I thought it should pair well with some IPAs. 

I was right.  The slight peppercorn spice of the cigar is not strong enough to make the pairing too bitter.  There is a slightly stronger twang from the pine, when I sip this ale, during that matching.  The earthy grains of the ale mix well with the toasted grains of the cigar.  I actually like this ale a bit more while smoking the Undercrown.  This is a good example of pairing the right cigar with the right ale.