The Smooth Side of Brugse Zot and Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur #1

Brugse Zot mixes it up with Excalibur #1

The Cigar
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Dom Rep., Hon., Nic.
Size: 7-1/4 x 54
Strength rating: 4
This cigar has been one of my staples for a long time. I always, I mean always, have a supply of these in my humidor. This is a quality mild-medium smoke. The cigar is velvety smooth and just a plain classic. It has a rich tobacco taste of oak and roasted walnuts. It is not – spicy – earthy – coffee – peppery. It is the perfect cigar for summer time enjoyment. It is the perfect cigar to pair with a meal. It could be the perfect cigar with that quality Belgian – let us see.

The Brugs
A hazy golden color with nice sediment floating around which adds to the hazy look. Don’t be afraid of the sediment. This is the yeast that they add before capping the bottle. This yeast is what makes this beer a living beer. Some living beers have aging potential, like wine. While it does not help this beer with appearance points, it does make for good conversation and an educational moment for those national brand beer drinkers.

This ale has a pleasant sweet-sour taste, lemon rind sour, with some firm spice. The hops help to balance this ale. I enjoy the citrus profile of the hops while the sweetness of the malts let you know you are drinking a fine Belgian Beer.

The Pairing
My first thought is, ‘this is creamy smooth’ as I take my first few sips of the ale. That velvety smooth profile of the cigar is transferring this trait to the ale and I like this. My anxieties were high for this pairing. What if it does not match up? What if my two friends just don’t get along? But, they do and we are now making dinner plans!

Think of all the profile notes of each and throw them out the window now! This is bliss – This is love! It works and who cares why. We are running through a field of hops and grains, hand in hand, and this is sheer madness. Your eyes just sparkle at the sight of each other.

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The Spicy Side of Brugse and Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Cigar

Brugse Zot mingles with Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend

Brugse is a 6% abv blond ale that pours a hazy golden color with a beige colored head. There is always nice sediment floating around that adds to the hazy look of this ale. The aroma has a sweet bready nose. The taste can be on the complex side, with its sweet-sour taste with some nice spice, white pepper undertones and citrus flavors.

I am pairing the ale up with an Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Robusto Grande Cigar today. A solid medium-full bodied Cameroon smoke that has a nice little complexity of woody notes, nutty flavor, fancy raisin and solid spice. I’ll give it a 5.5 on the strength scale for this 5 x 52 sized cigar. The smaller ring gauge, compared to the 58 size, smokes a little warmer and builds the flavor profile up a little.

During this pairing the focus seemed to be on the spice profile of each. The spices seem to be more pronounced with each sip of the ale and every puff of the cigar. I think the citrusy flavors from the ale are battling for attention while the cedary flavors of the cigar are knocking them down a little. This is not a bad pairing. They seem to take a little away from one another but, it is bringing up the spice profile in each.

If, you want to be on the spicy side of Brugse, then light up an Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Robusto and see what you think.

The Bold Side of Brugse

Brugse Zot Tangles with Partagas Spanish Rosado Gigante

The Cigar
Wrapper: Spanish Rosado
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Dominican and Mexican
Size: 6 x 60
Strength rating: 8
This big baby is a robust spicy, white peppery beauty. Solid woody notes with a nice undertone of roasted walnuts. The mouthfeel is thick and earthy as the smoke fills the palate.

The Brugs
A hazy golden color with nice sediment floating around which adds to the hazy look. It has a pleasant sweet-sour taste with some firm spice. The hops help to balance this ale. I enjoy the citrus profile.

The 6% abv makes it a good beer to enjoy a few.

The Pairing
A solid pairing, giving me a fuller mouthfeel. The cigar has a thick smoky feel on the tongue. The citrus and carbonation of the ale helps to battle the bold flavors of this big cigar.

The Pleasant Side of Brugse Zot and CAO L'Anniversaire Cameroon

Brugse Zot meets CAO L'Anniversaire Cameroon

The Cigar
CAO L’Anniversaire Cameroon Robusto
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 inches x 50 ring gauge
Strength rating: 4.5
This cigar, when it came out way back when, was very popular. I remember it was one of my favorites at the time. But, time goes by and you forget about an old friend. Not too long ago I decided it was time to revisit this old friend and I am glad I did. In general, I really like Cameroon wrapped cigars but, that would be hard to tell looking at my selection in the humidor, which is dominated by Maduro wrapped cigars.

The CAO Cameroon is a very attractive box pressed shaped cigar. The flavor profile is complex. There are a variety of notes and one could play the game of ‘what do you taste with this cigar.’ For me, I always like the nutty flavor of a Cameroon. This stick has some nice cedar spice, woody and earthy tones along with toast (sometimes a rye toast taste) and mild coffee notes.

The Brugs
Brugse is a 6% abv ale that pours a hazy golden color with a soft beige colored head. It leaves some nice lacing on the glass and the fine foam seems to be always present floating atop the ale. There is always nice sediment floating around that adds to the hazy look of this ale. That sediment is the living yeast that was added just before bottling – don’t worry, it is good for you. The aroma has a sweet bready nose. The taste can be on the complex side, with its sweet-sour taste with some nice spice, white pepper undertones and citrus flavors. The hops give me a nice grassy, spicy and lemon-like bitterness that is not overwhelming. The citrus profile tells me this would be a good blond to enjoy on a summer day. The sweetness mingles well, letting me know that the malts are doing their job too.

The Pairing
I already had the cigar lit to establish the taste of cigar. The first few puffs were soft and mellow and then wham! The cedar and spice hits the palate. Then, after the first inch, the cigar starts to calm down and that was the time to pour the ale. On the first sip, Ahhhh – refreshing! And, I did say that out loud.

The cedar and other woody notes of the cigar seem to mellow the ‘slight’ bitter or sour notes of the ale. The earthy, nutty and toasty notes play well with the malty sweetness. Overall this is a very pleasant pairing. The fine carbonation and the soft watery edge to the mouthfeel of the Brugse Zot refreshes the palate and prepares me for another puff of this premium cigar. So, the interplay between the cigar and the taste profile of this Belgian ale works.