La Flor Dominicana Factory Press III and New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale: Pairing

The Cigar

La Flor Dominicana Factory Press III

I usually have the stats on the stick but, I don’t have that information anymore.  You see, I have reviewed this cigar two times now (a year or so ago) and the reason it is not posted … my computer went down both times and I never got the word document back.  Here is the other situation, this was a true ‘limited’ release and I’ll bet I will not find any info on the net (I will look).  While I have reviewed this cigar two times before, one year ago, I have had this last one just sitting there in the humidor.  I have not been itching to review this again because the burn on this cigar just simply sucks.  Here are some of the pictures from one year ago:

Since, I think this cigar sucks … what a better day to do this review than on the last day of the NFL season while I watch my Detroit Lions … who suck just as well.  Let’s see how this cigar burns this time.  From what I remember the flavor was not so bad … but, I hate a cigar that burns this poorly. 

As for the Detroit Lions … the first game of the season I did a cigar review and a season prediction … 9 – 7 … here they are 16 games later and ready to go 4 – 12.  Here is my prediction for this game: if this cigar burns as poorly as it did one year ago … they loss big time to the Chicago Bears - 31 to 7.  If the cigar burns well the Lions win 38 to 27.  If the cigar only has minor issues with burning – the score will be … 17 – 14 with the Bears winning.      

Here is what I found on this stick

“Connecticut broadleaf wrappers that have been aging for several years. The filler is Corojo aged from the very first crop our farm produced in 1997, while the binder is a Sumatra seed (also grown on our farm) put to age for the last eight years.”

Source: Halfwheel.com

Size: 6.25 x 58

Off the Light: medium roast coffee and a nice soil earthy style.  As the smoke continues there is a light peppery spice mixed in with the soil earthy style and the coffee note builds in some strength … let me call it ‘dark roast coffee’ , the cigar has a dry dark chocolate finish.  

So far the cigar is burning just fine.  The ash looks like crap … just like the Lions season. 

An inch and a half into the burn and the cigar is starting to canoe.  Let’s see if it corrects itself. 

At the two and half point the cigar corrected itself.  Things are looking good for the Lions (according to the burn of the cigar). 

Mid-Point: the cigar has a nice earthy coffee main profile, the spice is not noticeable at this point, the dry dark chocolate finish is light but still in the mix.

Down the Stretch: (edited after the game started) the flavors are more robust in taste, burnt earthy tones, coffee notes that have been on the burner too long, and as for the burn ... some burning issues; the cigar keeps tunneling and needs corrections with the lighter.    

The Ale

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

New Belgium Brewing

Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Newbelgium.com

5.6% abv

$9.99 a six pack

I had a bottle of this the other night and I found it to be … uninteresting … just like this football game I am getting ready to watch between the Bears and the Lions. 

Appearance: deep dark mahogany body with a thin tan head that leaves some sticky lacing on the glass.

Aroma: very light bouquet; light roasted malts

Flavors/mouthfeel: roasted grains, a little chocolate note in the mix, simple in style, light/moderate carbonation, fairly clean feel and finish.

To the Point: to me … not all that interesting, too simple on the nose and taste, should be good to pair with a mild or medium bodied cigar, should work with a full bodied smoke … there are no flavors in the ale that should interfere with a bold smoke. 

The Pairing

Two rather simple products here; the chocolate notes are light and work well together; the earthy tones of the cigar mingle well with the roasted grains of the black ale.  The ale does a nice job refreshing the palate during this pairing.  I have to say that I like this pairing more than what I expected. 

As for my football game prediction (still have to smoke the final third but it's game time) … the cigar only had one small burning issue (at the two inch mark) and it corrected itself … so … the Lions win … 38 – 27 in a come from behind win.  (personally … the Lions lose big time)