Blend Lab CI WH-660 and Piraat Ale: Pairing

The Cigar

Blend Lab CI WH-660

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador Viso

Binder: Nicarugan Broadleaf

Fillers: Habano Esteli, Condega, Jalapa

Size: 6 x 60

The 6 x 60 size is my favorite size for a cigar.  The burn is cooler, the flavors in the smoke are more noticeable, and l like to have time on my side when I smoke a cigar for a great experience. 

Off the Light: light earthy tones, portabella mushroom, crisp mineral like soil.

As the smoke continues the earthy tones are still tasty and similar to the first few puffs.  The texture is crisp, smooth, and mellow at this point.  4 on my strength scale. 

Mid-Point: the earthy tones are becoming a little more medium bodied.  Dry mineral soil, grassy, light cedar, firm dry leaves: these are good specific descriptors of a forest floor like quality.  To me there is a bright mild-medium roast coffee like character to the smoke.  At times I think there is a dry sage like quality.  It has an aromatic feel, lightly bitter, pungent, and woody like, maybe pine wood.  My strength rating would be a 5 at best. 

Down the Stretch: the forest floor like quality continues with just a little change in tones.  The herbal and mineral like character is pleasing.  CI (cigars international) bills this as bold but, I personally think it is more elegant like than bold. 

The Ale

Piraat Ale

10.5% abv

550ml stubby bottle

Around $16.00 a four pack

Br Van Steenberge

I have to visit this brewery some day

Ertvelde, Belgium

Globalbeer.com

This is one of my favorite Belgian Triples.  Last year I had to do about 8 cigar pairings with this fine triple ale. 

Appearance: hazy amber body with a slightly off-white creamy head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. 

Aroma: only slightly sweet and grassy on the nose to me.  This is the only down fall of this ale.  I don’t find the nose that complex for such a tasty ale.  Since the nose seems light you may want to drink this ale but, it is only a sipper.  Sip and swirl on the palate for a tasty experience. 

Flavors: honey dipped tropical fruits and grassy hops sound pretty simple enough but, you have to try this and think about it and it is a little more complex than it appears at first.  The tropical fruit notes to look for are papaya, mango, and a light pineapple juice.  There is a hint of pink peppercorn in the mix with a light grassy hoppiness that adds a slight bittering note to the punch bowl.   

Mouthfeel: very smooth for a 10.5% abv ale.  The carbonation is low.  There is only a light fizz feel on the palate.  The 10.5% abv warms the palate but, does not stand out in the taste so, be careful.  I usually limit myself to two of these bottles in a night. 

My Strength Rating: 7 – the body weight seems medium-full on the palate; the flavors are tasty so, the ale is full-of-flavor not full flavored.  

The Pairing

This is a very good pairing.  I want to call it an elegant pairing.  Two sophisticated products in style.  The two intermingled well together and the flavors of each stood out as true as could be during the pairing.  The tropical notes of the ale were complement by the earthy profile of the cigar.  The bright mild-medium coffee note of the cigar played well with the sweet malts and grassy hops of the ale. 

Hoyo Excalibur Legend Conqueror and Piraat Ale

The Safari – The Trophy Mount 

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican Ligero
Size: 6.25 x 54
Strength rating: 7.5/8
I really like this baby. To me, it is a Hoyo that is truly on the fuller side. The taste, just classic tobacco flavors that I enjoy. Bold spice and pepper greet the palate on the opening and continue throughout the experience. This Hoyo is complex. A solid woody (oak) character with a strong black walnut taste making this a fuller smoke than most Hoyos. The cigar gives off tons of smoke.

When this cigar came out a couple of years back, I asked my tobacconist to get me a box. I think it was in the spring of 09 when I was driving up north Michigan (to a casino) when I realized how full the cigar really was. I had to pull into a gas station to buy a soda to sooth the palate. I would recommend to have something to eat before enjoying this cigar.

This cigar looks rich. You could make a 6,000 dollar leather sofa out of its wrapper. When I get done with this, I am going to buy another box of these. I get the concept of leather on the appearance of the wrapper but, I still do not get the concept of leather for taste.

The Pairing
Now, I was not expecting much from this pairing but, wow this is going very good. I was thinking that maybe these two would collide because they are similar in some of their profiles. But, it is the slight honey malt sweetness that balances the bold spice and oak of the cigar. The nice carbonation gives the ale a crisp feel on the palate and that helps with the thick smoky mouthfeel that fills the sinuses and the palate from the cigar. The oak and black walnut taste of the cigar mingles well with the tropical fruits of the ale.

This is a pure big boy treat. If you want to feel like a pirate that is ready to plunder and pillage the village this is it! It is a bold treat. Look at the strength ratings: a 6.5 for the Piraat and an 8 on the cigar during this pairing.

The only drawback is the ash on the cigar. This cigar will ash you, so have an ashtray ready. It must have a thick binder, because it does need some correcting along the way. But, the bold flavor makes up for that.

Also, remember this ale has a 10.5% abv and that can sneak up on you if you have a few.
This cigar and ale would be great after a hearty meal. And, I had a lamb chops for dinner tonight so, this is perfect.

Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Maduro Toro

Piraat Ale & Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Maduro

I have had some problems finding a maduro cigar to go with this ale. Some of the big bold smokes that I have in my stash were just kicking up the flavor profile in the ale where I wanted some water to extinguish the overload on the palate.

Remember, this is a sipping ale (10.5 abv). So, I want to take a sip and then enjoy smoking the cigar. This ale is working well with my Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Maduro Toro (6 x 58).

As I get to the mid-point of the cigar I notice that the ale is giving me a nice complexity of sweet, little sour and bitter notes across the tongue. A nice faint bitter note on the back of the palate from the ale and the earthy quality from the cigar build a fuller mouthfeel experience.

The meaty nut flavor from the cigar reminds me of a mixture of walnut and black walnut. The dark fruit notes in the cigar go well with the tropical notes from the ale. Cocoa is always a good characteristic of a nice maduro, at least to me. This cigar does not give me any sweet notes. It is more of a dry cocoa note that I get. And, the ales sweetness takes care of that so you don’t get a sweetness overload.

The cigar seems to always burn well for me and holds a nice salt and pepper ash.

If you are looking for a fuller mouthfeel, while drinking this ale, this is a good pairing. A little water will help to refresh the palate along the way.

This would be an excellent pairing at the end of a day.

A Cigar and Beer Review: Kristoff Maduro Toro Cigar and Piraat Ale

Piraat Ale - The Hunted

I had about 3 or 4 different cigars picked out to pair up with some red wine and start doing the wine pairings. Then, I looked at the Kristoff Maduro cigar and said, “I have to do that with my, Piraat Safari of Tastings.” And, I’m sure glad I did, for this cigar has been stalking this ale and I did not even know it.

I did not have this maduro selected with my safari of different cigars to go with the Piraat Ale. You may be thinking, way so many tastings with the Piraat Ale? Well, Global Beer Network has me doing reviews with their Belgium Beers and pairing them with cigars. Is that cool or what!!! The review is not due till the month of August but, I am going to do a BIG review for them. I am going to combine it with going to my favorite festival, the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival. The festival covers about ten days worth of events and it is located in the thumb of Michigan, where I have my up-north place. I am always there for a good portion of this fun filled craziness. But, something this big - like this festival needs a big beer and big cigar and big food and big friends and… ok you get it – IT’s going to be big.

So, I am going to be blogging about this ale a lot in the attempts to find the perfect pairings. Then, in the month of August, you will see the results of all this preparation. Anyways, let’s get back to the ale and cigar review.

The cigar
Kristoff Maduro Toro

Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: ?
Fillers: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 56
Made with ligero tobaccos
Description: medium-full, complex, dried cherries, coffee bean, cocoa bean, spice and sweet finish.

I still get flash-backs to my younger years when I see cherry and cigar together. I think about those flavored Colt cigars from Canada. It is like a nightmare now – the palate cannot handle those overly sweet flavored things anymore. They say (researchers), that the older you get you lose your taste factors. No way! When you are young – you don’t have the palate or the brain power to know the difference! Think of eating that crappy cereal when you were a kid. Try to eat it now.

I am trying to stay focused here but, I am enjoying this pairing. I think I finally scored a fuller bodied cigar pairing with this ale. The other cigars that I have enjoyed, with this ale, have been to the lighter side of this ale. (See earlier postings with Cameroon wrapped cigars)

This cigar holds a great ash – see the pictures.

Nice Ash and Rack!!
This cigar does have a nice complexity. I like the dark fruitiness with the coffee-cocoa flavor. The Brazilian maduro wrapper brings that nice sultry sweetness to play with the fullness of the ligero tobaccos used. And, this cigar has always burned perfectly for me in the past and today.

Combined with the Piraat Ale, I truly like this combination. I am writing this one down. The fullness of this ale and the cigar work “great” together. This is like having two super stars on the same team and getting them to work together. No, you don’t get them to work together – why, because they want to work together in this situation. With this combination you have success.

The tropical fruit from the ale plays good with the dried dark fruits from the cigar. The sweetness from each plays well in this match-up along with the spices coming off the bench. The flavor profile is working and the point system is working in this situation as well. I love this match-up.

I am looking for maximizing my pleasure and this really hit the mark tonight. I am doing this one again soon.

I can’t wait for August!

A Cigar and Ale Review: 1916 Robusto Cigar and Piraat Ale

The Hunt Continues with a 1916 Robusto Cigar and a Piraat Ale 
 

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
Size: 5.5 x 52

For a Cameroon cigar this is on the ‘fuller’ side. Still a medium bodied cigar when considering your strength scale of cigars. This cigar changes through-out the smoke. When you first light it up and smoke that first inch you are hit with the pepper and spicy notes and I always think this is a 6 strength rating. But, after that inch it starts to mellow out, the sweet spice takes over the pepper. The nice caramel, nutty and woody notes also come into play. Then, I start thinking 5 rating. This cigar always seems to have ampel smoke that lingers on the palate. The cigar also changes on the latter part of the smoke, back to peppery and spicy.

Pairing this cigar with the Piraat Ale is going to be different than the Hemingway. The Hemingway with its elegant style makes a very good pairing before dinner. The Carlos Torano 1916 with its rouged looking wrapper and pepper, spicy upfront strength on the first inch makes for a very good after-dinner smoke.

The cigar seems to awaken the carbonation within the ale. The ale and this cigar coat the palate with their spice. I can taste it as I move my tongue around the mouth. I still get the tropical notes from the ale but, not a sweet tropical. Think of it this way, if I placed some tropical fruit inside a smoker and smoke the fruit with some cedar wood chips that is what I seem to experience here.

The ale likewise brings out some good notes during the middle part of the cigar. While drinking the Piraat with this cigar I am not experiencing the thought of a 5 rating during the middle part. The ale seems to make me notice that nice peppery and sweet cedar spice. Just like a top notch ball player will elevate the talents of the players around them, these two seem to work off of each other very well.

My conclusion from the tasting here is that the Piraat Ale is a great beverage to drink while smoking a Cameroon wrapped cigar. My plan one day is to pair these Cameroon cigars again with this ale and plan a dinner to go along with this experience. The Hemingway Cigar before dinner; the Leon Jimenes 300 with dinner and the Torano 1916 after dinner. Now, what is for dinner!?! I’ll write that in the month of August.

Graycliff 1666 and Piraat Ale: Review

The Hunt Continues with Graycliff 1666



Wrapper: Jaltepec Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Peruvian, Columbian, Brazilian
Size: 6 x 52 Pirate, sure looks like a 50

I purchased a mazo of Graycliff Pirates from CI when they had a big special on them last year. Cheap!!! I thought they were suspect from the time I got them though. The wrapper color was a brown ruddy color and when I had them in the past they were always a nice black color. I am finally going to smoke one. Well, I have some nice black colored robustos that are about the same size and I have it ready as a backup smoke. Why you ask? When the maduro wrapper has that brown color, when they are usually black, the taste is not as good.

The Pirate cigar of course is lacking in the smooth category. I get a full French Roast coffee flavor with a slight harsh cocoa to the palate. So, I light up the robusto after an inch or so of the torpedo. What a difference. That nice coffee and cocoa flavor is there, no harsh notes. The jet black robusto is smooth, somewhat, creamy in style. This is how a 1666 is to taste. The Pirate 1666 is a loser.

I won’t be buying those cheap mazos anymore of the 1666’s. There is a reason they are cheap – probably 2nd no thirds. A buck or buck-fifty ok!

Back to the tasting. This is good with the Piraat Ale. You must remember that good is a C in grading. Not a memorable moment but, it works. I liked the Cameroons better. The ale is good but the cigar is just a cigar, if you know what I mean. I would not pay above 4 bucks for this cigar. See, the cigar brought the ale down to a good rating. What you smoke affects the beverage.
Interesting, after the cigars are out (yes, I smoked both of them) and some time has passed, the Piraat Ale is coming back with some nice tropical flavors.

Leon Jimenes 300 Series with the Piraat Ale: Review

The Safari Bags Another Keeper - Leon Jimenes 300

Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: Churchill 7 x 50
I have great expectations for this matching. The medium bodied mouthfeel of this cigar should pair up well. Along with the nice toasty, woody notes and its creamy robust but smooth style should work with the ales tropical and spicy nature. I rate the Leon Churchill a 5 on my strength scale and the Piraat with its 7 rating should work on the points system. The reason I selected this Cameroon was for the pecan taste I seem to notice while smoking and I thought pecan and tropical fruit should be a shoe in.

The two products together are very nice. The nice robust style of the cigar I think brings out some of the carbonation of the ale. I have always thought of pecan nutty, woody notes from this cigar and I think that is going to go well with the tropical fruitiness of the Piraat.

Interesting enough the tropical fruitiness is moved to the back of this tasting and the hoppy, grassy, and spice notes are working nicely with this cigar. I really like these two together. A little different experience than the Hemingway cigar that I tried before. The Hemingway let me experience all the characteristics of the Piraat. Probably because, the Hemingway is not as robust in style.

If you are in the mood for a little more robust experience that is pleasurable - this is the one. If you are looking for a little more elegance to go with your Piraat Ale then the Hemingway is the way to go. Make your choice according to your mood. You can’t go wrong.

A Cigar and Ale Pairing: Piraat Ale and Hemingway Classic

Piraat Ale – The Hunt - First Day

Piraat Ale Notes
The 10.5% abv warms the palate but, does not stand out in the taste so, be careful. The tropical fruit and faint malty sweetness works with the grassy-hoppy slight bitterness. Sorry hop heads – it’s not your IPA. These nice sharp edges should go good with my Drunken Goat Cheese that I plan to eat with this ale. Now, it tastes like nothing at all??? – oops the chalice is empty. I always enjoy this ale but, when the chalice is full. I always want to rate this ale a 6 when it on the cold side but, as it warms the complexities build and I always think it could go to a 7 because of the wonderful notes at this temperature.
Fuente Hemingway Classic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Domincan Republic
Filler: Dominican
Size: 7 x 48
Rating: 92
Michigan price: $10.00


First note – It is in the top 25 cigars of the year, reaching #7, according to Cigar Aficionado Magazine (Feb. 2010). One word from me, overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I use to love this cigar back in the 90’s. They, describe it as complex, orange peel, cedar and coffee. So, that little spice note that I notice must be the orange peel, never thought of that. I don’t get the coffee but, the smooth cedar notes are nice and I think of mild almond nutty notes. I have never thought of this cigar as complex. I always described it as elegant. If, you want a smooth elegant smoke with nice flavors of cedar and mild almond, that is on the mild side of medium, then this is for you. I have always rated this a 4 on my strength scale.

I really enjoyed this cigar with the Piraat Ale. I get to enjoy all the flavors of the ale while I enjoy all the goodness of the Hemingway Classic. If you are looking for a classic matching this is just right in my book. The cigar is allowing me to enjoy the complexities of this ale. Write this one down for that special night. If you are going out for fine dining or preparing that fine meal at home this is the pairing you want.

Piraat - Preparing for the Safari

Piraat Ale – Prepping for the Safari

Last night when I was thinking about the Piraat tasting and what I was going to pair it with, I was looking at the characteristics of this ale: tropical fruit, sweet malty notes, nice grassy-hoppy bitterness, spice and a nice little pucker feel to the palate as it warms up. Yes, that was ‘p’ for pucker.

The purpose of this blog is to find the best pairings to maximize your pleasure. So, I was looking at my inventory, tons of maduros, corojos, some naturals, okay a bunch of stuff to choose from. What am I going to do? The point system can work but, the flavor profile is very important here I think.

The notes of tropical fruit then stood out to me and I thought some nut flavors would work with this so, a Cameroon wrapper would help here. So, I selected three different Cameroon cigars to pair up.

The Cameroon wrappers would probably take me to the milder side on my point system from this ale. So, I also want some cigars that would match up point wise and maybe to the fuller side of this ale, would be great to try. I lined up some maduros to pair up that you will see me review in the coming days, as well as, some other medium-full and full bodied beauties.

Let the hunt begin.

Here are the links:
Blend Lab CI WH-660
Carlos Torano 1916     
Graycliff 1666
Hemingway Classic
Hoyo Excalibur Legend Conqueror
Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Maduro 
Kristoff Maduro
Leon Jimenes 300