March Matching 2013 - The Play in Game

March Matching - Let The Games Begin  

Today I am pairing up the Witch’s Hat Sir Edward’s Double Brown Ale against the Pinar del Rio Oscuro Cigar and the Pinar del Rio Habano Cigar.  When I do these March Matchings I smoke two cigars … yes at one sitting while I enjoy a fine beverage … whichever pairing taste the best with the beverage is the winner. 

The Ale

Sir Edward’s Double Brown Ale

Witch’s Hat

South Lyon, Michigan, USA

Witchshatbrewing.com

The Double Brown Ale has a rich malty nose with touch of coffee and lightly roasted grains.  The taste profile follows the nose with toasted grains, rich coffee with a light shot of cream, dry sea grass swirls around the mid palate, and 85% dark chocolate like bitterness on the finish and more so on the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel has a syrupy feel with roasted notes lingering on the palate and a dry finish.

Going into this March Matching I am going to give the Oscuro wrapped cigar the odds on favorite 1:9 over the Habano at 6:1.  Let’s see how they do.  Place your bets.  

The Oscuro Cigar won the coin flip to be the first cigar up.

First Cigar to Light up

Pinar del Rio Toro Oscuro

Liga Cubana No. 2

Wrapper: Brazilian Oscuro

Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Size: 6 x 50

Flavors: dark roasted coffee and dry soil earthy notes make up the main profile of this Toro.  There is a touch of dry cocoa powder that floats around during the smoking experience.   In the background there is a fine grind black pepper that adds some character to this stick.  The mouthfeel is dry and a little wool like.  I’ll give it a 6.5 on my strength scale.   

The cigar becomes very robust on the last third of the smoking experience.  Strong coffee and burnt woody notes dominate.

The Pairing – First Half of the Cigar: This cigar is matching up very well with the Sir Edward’s Double Brown Ale.  The dark roasted coffee and dry soil tones of the cigar complement the Ales medium roast coffee and toasted grains.  Both have a dry finish and a little water along the way will help.  These two are looking in the mirror at one another.

Next:

Pinar del Rio Toro Habano

Habano Sun Grown

Liga Cubana No. 5

Wrapper: Dominican Republic Habano Sun Grown

Binder: Criollo ’98 from Dom.

Fillers: Nicaraguan and Dom. Rep.

Size: 6 x 50

This cigar starts off with a nice Habano spicy flavor.  The spice reminds me of green peppercorn.  There is a good earthy tone with a touch of woody notes that help to give it some body.  I’ll give it a 6/6.5 on my strength scale. 

By the mid-point the peppery spice has settled.  The dusty earthy tone remains with a mild-medium coffee note and a sweet woody character – I am thing Alder wood.  I think I’ll give it a 5/5.5 on my strength scale here at the mid-point.

The cigar is pretty much like the mid-point as it smokes through the final third.  It is a little more robust in body. 

The Pairing – First Half of the Cigar: Here we have a nice contrast in taste.  The cigar has a nice little spicy taste of green peppercorn and alder wood as the main profile.  This cigar brings out a nice touch of spice in the Ale.  Alcohol usually has a little peppery touch to it and this cigar is bringing that out during this pairing.  The sweet Alder wood like note in the cigar is contrasted with the Ales slight hoppy bitter notes of dry sea grass and then the 85% dark chocolate like bitter note on the finish.  This is a very interesting pairing and that is in a good way. 

During the first half of the smoking experience I cannot make a call to which one I like the best. 

Second Half of the Game:

The Habano wrapped Cigar opens the second half with a big run.  The cigars mild coffee note starts to mingle in along with a tasty earthy tone and mixes it up well with the Ale.  The spice has settled a little on the cigar but, is still present to add some good character to the experience. I am liking the viscosity of the Ale and that syrupy feel seems to be in good control during this pairing.  I am really like this pairing.

The Oscuro wrapped Cigar is not giving up the fight.  As I said, this cigar and ale, are one and the same.  The maduro wrapper has that sweet syrupy feel to it while I drink the Sir Edward Double Brown. The coffee flavors are mixing well.  Damn this is enjoyable.  I hate to see one of these cigars lose. 

The final glass of Ale has been poured and we need a winner!

A fine two finger head is poured as I empty the 32 oz growler. 

The Pinar del Rio Habano is a great match with the Sir Edward’s.  These two have the contrast that makes it interesting.

The Pinar del Rio Oscuro is a great match with the Sir Edward’s.  These two complement one another very well. 

The Habano hits the three point shot at the final buzzer for a one point victory.  Hoopty to do baby!  What a game this was.  The Habano came in with no chance to win … a big time underdog … and this cigar showed a good contrast in your tasting experience can be a good thing. 

I hate making this call for both cigars were excellent with this Ale. 

The Pinar del Rio Habano moves on to the final four.