5 Vegas Gold Bullion and Troubadour Blond: Pairing

The Cigar

5 Vegas Gold Bullion

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade

Filler: Honduran, Dominican

Size: 6 x 60

These 5 Vegas Golds are very smooth and tasty mild cigars.  Out of the 5 Vegas lineup I think I like the Gold the best.  It reminds me of one of my favorite cigars; Hoyo Excalibur #1.  And, what you can buy these for at Cigar International it is a deal.

Off the Light: toasted white bread slightly buttered.  As the smoke continues the toasted bread is mingled with an almond nutty note and the oak profile is starting to build.

Look at the size of this cigar compared
to a hammer head

Mid-Point: smooth mild oaky profile with light toasted grains and a nice almond nut like quality.  This cigar is perfect for this summer day.  It is time to pour that Troubadour Blond Ale to finish up the last half of the cigar.

Down the Stretch: One thing about this cigar is that it does not change much.  The mild-medium oaky profile is still tasty.  The toasted bread and almond nutty note is still in the mix. 

My Strength Rating: 2.5 – the texture is smooth and delicious all the way to the nub. 

The Ale

Troubadour Blond

Blond Ale - Refermented in the bottle

6.5% abv

11.2oz bottle

$17.00 a four pack

Br. The Musketeers

Ursel, Belgium

Globalbeer.com

Freshness date on the cap: 19/3/11

Okay, I have to admit that I had a love affair with this blond last year.  From what I remember is that I think this is one of my favorite Blond Belgian Ales. 

Appearance: cloudy amber-orange body with a beautiful white head that has big time staying power. 

Aroma: Belgian hoppy and yeasty nose.  As the ale warms up so does the hoppy musty spice. 

Flavors: rich earthy tone probably from the yeast, fruity but nothing distinct, a bit of citrus rind and meat that gives it a little bitterness, then the sweet malts come to play, it seems like a rich earthy honey,

Mouthfeel: this baby is smooth, semi-creamy and enjoyable.  Mild-medium bodied ale that is not overpowering in taste.  Rich earthy style.

My Strength Rating: 2.5 – mild-medium structure overall. 

To the Point: while the fruity notes seem muted they are tasty at the same time.  Nice and pleasing sweet earthy profile.  If you want to give yourself a treat pick up a four pack.  Or, pick up two and invite me over!

The Pairing

This was a no brainer pairing.  Both are mild-medium in structure and both are pretty straight forward in their delivery.  The mild oaky profile of the cigar plays well with the sweet earthy tones, dried fruits and light citrus meat of the ale.  Nothing complex and that is a good thing on a warm summer evening here in Grindstone City, Michigan. 

Oliva Serie 'G' Cameroon vs. Kapittel Blond and Troubadour Blond Ale

Oliva Serie ‘G’ vs The Belgian Blonds

The Cameroon wrapped Oliva is a wonderful nutty and woodsy smoke. The Nicaraguan Habano filler gives it a rich, slightly spicy, medium body profile. I give this cigar a straight up 5 on my strength scale.

The Kapittal Blond Ale is the first one up to tangle with the 7 x 50 woodsy Oliva Cameroon. (the Tiger Woods story is not influencing me to use the word – “woodsy” and blond in the same sentence) The ale has an attractive light burnt orange look. The beer has some sediment floating in this one and that probably helps to make it a little hazier looking as well. The Kapittal has a slight spice and fruitiness galore taste. I think I even taste a little orange at times . The nice sweet honey dipped fruits fills the mouth with the taste of summer time. A good mild-medium body complexity rounds off the edges. This is a nice tasting blond ale; every sip I take it gets even better.

I selected the Oliva to go with this ale because of the flavor profile. The nutty and sweet cedar smoke should pair up well with the sweet fruits and mild spices of the ale. The cigar lights up well and has a perfect draw. I have not had a bad one yet. The burn is even and holds a decent ash.
The sediment is resting on the bottom of the glass as I enjoy this silky smooth blond ale.
Just as I thought, the sweet fruit from the blond ale goes extremely well with the nutty and woodsy cigar. These two can tango. The variety of fruit that I taste from the ale, while I smoke the cigar, is wonderful. Now, I detect a little lemon twist on the tongue as the ale opens up. This cigar has a great nutty flavor and it is even better while I sip on this blond. The nice dry spice profile of the cigar mingles with the delicate spice of the blond for a perfect match.

This is a winner. I want to buy a 12 pack of the Kapittel Blond Ale and a handful of the Oliva Serie ‘G’ cigars and I have the chair ready for that summer day.
I am going to have to taste this Kapittel Blond with the Kapittel Alt tomorrow. From what I remember about the Alt - the tastes are very close but, I think the Alt maybe better. Maybe, it is just the 10% abv!!!
Troubadour Blond
The 6.5% abv Troubadour Blond Ale is next to tangle with the nutty flavor of the Oliva Cameroon Cigar. The nice thing about a Churchill size cigar is that you usually will have time for two beers so, that brings us to the next pairing.

The Troubadour Blond is a mild-medium bodied ale that is not overpowering in taste. It has a pleasing citrus bitterness with a light malt spice profile. As the ale warms, so does the complexity, it is like the hops are starting to wake up. With each sip I enjoy a nice hoppy smell.

The Oliva ‘G’ is a winner with these Belgian Blonds. The ‘G’ brings out some of the light hoppy notes in this ale and a nice creamy yeasty aroma with those slight hops on the nose. I am really enjoying the nutty and light spice flavor from the cigar, making this a great experience.

If you want to get your ‘G’ spot on with a Belgian Blond, I would recommend these pairings. The nuttiness of the cigar goes great with the citrus notes of these blonds. And, the best part is you won’t get hit in the head with a 9 iron.
Maximize your pleasures!