Best drink pairings by marca

[Vitola Corleone]

Wondering if people have tried pairing specific drinks (esp. alcoholic) with specific marcas, and how successful it was. 

Most threads on cigar-drink pairings focus on finding 1-2 drinks that work well in general (seriously, OJ?). But, just as different marcas have different characters, they might match best with different spirits. 

Example: I recently had a BBF with a Lagavulin 16. Worked really well -- both have an earthy character. But I don't think the spirit would work as well with, say, a Cohiba. For that marca I'd lean toward a Lowland or Speyside -- more delicate citrus and honey. Japanese might also work. 

Another good pairing for me: Lusitania with Fortaleza reposado tequila. The pepper in each was a nice complement. 

What drinks have you found bring out the best in each marca? 

[MrBirdman]

I love pairing black teas with Trinidad. 

[Vitola Corleone]

That sounds like a great combo. 

I got a box of Esplendidos that has a black tea element, and almost a hint of eucalyptus. I should try it with an earl grey.

[teamrandr]

RyJ with Rose

[Kaptain Karl]

I’m very limited on what I can drink (no beer and no sugar) so I’m focusing more on whisky’s this year. I’ve found scotch’s with a little peat and some citrus notes pair extremely well with CC’s and the Cuban twang commonly found with CC’s. Sherried scotches come off a little too rich  but do work with fruity or desert-esque cigars. My go to has been Kilkerran 12 since it’s relatively cheap, delicious and pairs gorgeously with most CC’s. 

[mprach024]

For whiskeys, I usually don’t drink scotch with a cigar, but the malt forward flavors of some scotch, like Dalmore 15, or Glenlivet 25 pair very well.  The oakier profiled scotch’s like macallan do nothing for me, and I try to avoid Sherry cask or port cask scotch with cigars.  Just me personally, love those scotches just not with cigars unless it’s something mindless like some of the NCs or a Cazadores.

Still my favorite pairing with cigars is coffee.  Especially if it’s a Bolivar, HU, Monte.  I do enjoy a cup of good old fashioned English Breakfast Tea with milk and a teaspoon of sugar.  
 

If it’s evening and I want some booze with cigars, I tend to lean toward Rum.

 

 

[MrBirdman]

1 hour ago, Vitola Corleone said:

That sounds like a great combo. 

I got a box of Esplendidos that has a black tea element, and almost a hint of eucalyptus. I should try it with an early grey.

A good earl grey makes a fantastic pairing - Todd and Holland outside Chicago has a great double bergamot version. 

[prshah25]

I experiment pairing whiskeys with Cuban cigars and currently I am loving Suntory Toki whiskey ( Japanese) with almost any Cuban cigar. If I am not in mood for Whiskey I pair it with Diplomatico Reserva rum in moderation. 

[Grady]

I've been drinking a lot of American rye whiskies (neat, or with a rock or two) with my fuller bodied / spicier cigars and I feel like it works, especially outdoors as the weather starts to cool.

[Meklown]

The latest specific pairing was a Coro + Glenfarclas 21. Like you said, orangey and honeyed profile matches well on both. 

[Vitola Corleone]

My smoke at the moment is an Ashton VSG Churchill. It has kind of a leathery fuzz on the palate. My Lagavulin 16 does the same thing so I poured two fingers. They are better together. I often do Bourbon with NC's but this one works better with scotch. 

[Vitola Corleone]

8 hours ago, mprach024 said:

Still my favorite pairing with cigars is coffee.  Especially if it’s a Bolivar, HU, Monte.  I do enjoy a cup of good old fashioned English Breakfast Tea with milk and a teaspoon of sugar.

HU with coffee and a splash of milk is fantastic. They bring out the best in each other. 

 

[Meklown]

10 hours ago, Kaptain Karl said:

Sherried scotches come off a little too rich  but do work with fruity or desert-esque cigars

 

9 hours ago, mprach024 said:

I try to avoid Sherry cask or port cask scotch with cigars

Personally I think these go well with chocolate bombs. Recently I opened a box of '16 Monte 4s and the chocolate coming out of these is fantastic. I have paired them with a Bowmore 18 / Aberlour Abunad'h (currently I have a batch 65 open but I dislike this compared to previous batches 58 or 61) / Dalmore 15 with good results in each. 

[Vitola Corleone]

35 minutes ago, Meklown said:

Personally I think these go well with chocolate bombs. Recently I opened a box of '16 Monte 4s and the chocolate coming out of these is fantastic. I have paired them with a Bowmore 18 / Aberlour Abunad'h (currently I have a batch 65 open but I dislike this compared to previous batches 58 or 61) / Dalmore 15 with good results in each. 

That is a great idea. Might work with the chocolate dust in BRC for the same reason. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yeah I have to say that one of my all time favorite pairings is a really nice HU #2 with my black coffee (Jacobs Kronung, excellent German coffee you can find on Amazon btw) 

[cmbarton]

I keep a bottle of The Dalmore Cigar Malt on hand to pair with PSD4 since that was the benchmark cigar that the distiller used to create the “perfect” scotch to pair with a cigar. The sherry oak casks give it orange peel and vanilla notes that indeed pair well.  Honestly, a good Spanish rum does the same but there’s something special about pairing The Dalmore with the cigar it was intended to be enjoy with!

[Silverstix]

Body of the cigar = body of the spirit

You wouldn’t want a peaty scotch to smoke with a QDO for example. A dark stout would go great with a Monte or a Boli to hit on those chocolate notes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tdlfoto]

RAG + Four Roses SB is a lovely combination.

Sent from my LYA-L0C using Tapatalk
 

[GavLew79]

RASS and sherried Malts work very well for me. Both showing off their raisin and sweet woody notes to a tee.