A Warm Meeting

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                                    A Warm Meeting

We are wrapping up 2022 and I was chatting with friends about how the year went by so quickly in all aspects, including work at the bar and the pairings for “Got Rum?”.  This month’s pairing caught me by surprise, without much preparation, only aware that the seasons are opposite here in Chile than in the Northern Hemisphere.  For this reason, I decided to have a warm pairing.

Not having a clear theme for the pairing, I recalled that a few nights ago, while closing down the bar, two foreigners entered the establishment wanting to enjoy a few drinks.  I told them that it was OK and they found a comfortable place to sit down.  The television was showing a Monday night football game between the Steelers and the Colts, and one of them asked me if they could move closer to the TV.  It was cool because I was the only one watching the game, so they asked me to drink with them and I poured myself a beer from the bar.

Everything was going well until one of them asked me which was my favorite NFL team, so I replied that I was a diehard fan of the Falcons, and I made his day, since he too was an Atlanta fan.  From that point on, everything was celebration, more beer, and stories.We talked about the bar, how I ended up there and ended up talking about my passion for rum and cigars.  It turned out to be the best way to activate the party, they asked me to sell them rum and cigars as well to better enjoy the moment.  I have most of my rums at home, but I had a couple of interesting bottles not available in the local market, so I brought out the rum glasses and took cigars out of my humidor.  It was a special evening and a great way to wrap up the day, closing the bar late, drinking good rum and smoking excellent cigars.

The following day I arrived at the bar and found the bottle of rum, at that moment I thought to do the pairing with it, in honor of the good vibes from the previous night.  The rum was Clément Single Cask, Trés Vieux Rhum Agricole, a 10 year old rum that is very special and easy to drink.

Since I had the idea of a warm pairing, I leaned towards coffee, but not just any coffee.  This is what I put together:

  • ½ oz. Coffee Liqueur
  • ½ oz. Ron Pampero Especial (you can replace it with a different young rum)
  • A double coffee (made with two coffee pods)

The coffee, plus the Pampero rum, plus the Clément rhum needed to be hot, knowing the cold temperatures our readers are experiencing up North.  I had the perfect cigar for this pairing, a Gordo (6x60) from Perdomo Cigar 20th Anniversary, from the Connecticut link, with its unmistakable aged Equatorian Connecticut wrapper, its color is a true jewel and inside it are leaves from Cuban seeds cultivated in Nicaragua.  This cigar, from the first draw, was a creamy and delicious pleasure, with a slightly peppery finish emblematic of some Nicaraguan tobaccos, but very elegant during its first third.

The pairing was marvelous, I just had to keep in mind the cold temperatures up North, despite the fact that the temperature here was 32° C (90° F).  The warm coffee was a perfect pairing and provided the expected result regarding its temperature and the contrast with the Rhum Agricole served on the rocks.  

There are times when the pairing is only 50% of the perfect night, the other 50% comes from the interactions with those around us.

I hope you can enjoy this pairing, which is made with ingredients that are easy to replace, based on what you have available in your area.

May life bring us all many more opportunities to keep enjoying excellent cigar and rum pairings!

Cheers!

Philip Ili Barake

#GRCigarPairing