The Cigar
Punch Gran Puro Sesenta
Honduran Puro
Wrapper from San Agustin Valley
With sungrown binder and filler tobaccos
Size: 6.2 x 60
$8.25 in Michigan
Off the Light: Nice dose of peppery spice and hardwood. As the smoke continued the peppery spice settled and earth notes dominated.
Mid-Point: nice soil earthy tones, classic tobacco quality smoking experience. Damn, I just like a quality ‘old school’ style smoke once and a while. I guess that is why I like this big boy.
Down the Stretch: the earthy tones are still the main profile. There seems to be a bit of spice coming onto the scene at the top of the stretch. Like a dusty brown spice with a touch of musty white pepper.
As the cigar nears the finish line the earthy tones are hearty, there is a slight bitterness and there is a dusting of white pepper.
My Strength Rating: 6
The Ale
Bear Republic XP Pale Ale
5.5% abv
1pt 6oz bottle
$5.50 a bottle
Bear Republic Brewing Co.
Healdsburg, California, USA
Appearance: a shiny golden copper tone with nice clarity and an off white foamy head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass.
Aroma: faint nose, yeasty yes, otherwise it is uneventful.
Flavors: flavors seem light and hard to distinguish. Notes of grains, grassy hops, slight bitterness, good earthy quality and the malts must be doing their job for the ale seems balanced. A strange one to review. Let me just enjoy.
Okay, on that ‘just enjoy’ level, it’s a pleasing pale ale. Nothing strong, nothing outstanding, to me nothing interesting from this ale. I was expecting more since I really liked their Racer 5 IPA. This one does not light my fire. Well, in a matter of fact it does not even light the match to light the fire.
Mouthfeel: low carbonation, strange lingering slightly bitter note that reminds me of a citrus rind.
My Strength Rating: 6 – a pool of non-descript and muted flavors.
To the Point: I could care less for this ale. But, on Beer Advocate, 360 reviewers averaged out for a B+ on this ale. What do you think?
The Pairing
On the first third of the cigar I was so busy trying to figure this beer out it I did not really think about how they were matching up.
The earthy quality of each matches well. And then, the other rather non-descript flavors of the ale, thank god, did not really interfere with the cigar.
This ale was not a good pairing with this cigar. And, I can blame it on the ale for I know I like this cigar. I’ll be doing another pairing with the Punch Sesenta.
