Father’s Day
This month’s pairing features a mixology and cigar event in celebration of Father’s Day in Chile. It took place in Santiago, at the Bar Siete Negronis in Providencia, this is the first Chilean bar to be included in the “50 Best Bars,” managed by “On Trip,” a tourism company that normally focuses its activities more around wine tastings, but they are now venturing into the world of cigars and distilled spirits.
I know the owners of the establishment very well, they are very professional and are highly devoted to making every activity unique and special. The preparations began a week earlier, in order to have ample time to implement all the necessary changes. The plan was to feature a couple of their flagship cocktails and, if needed, make small tweaks to enhance their pairing the day of the event. I spoke with two of the partners (both named Matías) and mentioned some of the flavors that would enhance the experience and we decided how to honor rum with the main cocktail.
The first cocktail was one of the Negronis from their menu, named Xocolat Negroni. This is the cocktail we modified the most, starting with a base of Ron Bacardi 8 Years Old, infused in a thermal recirculator for three hours at 45C (113F), with French oak chips that were previously toasted in an oven for 20 minutes at 200C (400F). This is, obviously, a level or preparation beyond what average people can do at home, but I was surrounded by highly-skilled professionals and I had to take advantage of the situation. The Ron Bacardi was further infused with bitter cocoa nibs, Vermouth Rosso and Red Bitters. As a finishing touch, the cocktail featured a chocolate perfumed with leather, reminiscent of the smell of a new leather jacket.
The second cocktail was a Tiramisu Espresso Martini, and it did not require any changes. It represented a combination of two favorites of mine: the Tiramisu as a dessert and the Espresso Martini as a last drink of the day. At the core of the cocktail is a smooth Tiramisu that is made by combining Grey Goose Vodka infused with Mascarpone, vanilla bean, fresh coffee and simple syrup. It is accompanied by a cannoli that is stuffed with real Tiramisu cream.
As you can see, the evening featured an exquisite cocktail menu. Now I’ll describe the cigar pairings, which was something very personal for each attendee. Like many other events of this caliber, the planning starts by identifying a theme, followed by the technical overview for the participants. In this case, the gathering was an activity for fathers and their adult children, where we couldn’t assume that everyone had the same level of understanding regarding drinks or cigars.
For the cigars, we presented a selection from Dominican Republic and from Nicaragua. The first ones from Fuller Cigar, a company that carries tobaccos from different origins, but mainly Dominican. We had Rigoletto, Traviatta and Otelo, all box pressed. The second ones were AJ Fernandez from Nicaragua, imported by Club Robusto, a company led by Anabel, who is recognized among cigar lovers in Chile as the Cuban Cigar Lady. The cigars were Last Call Habano and New World Oscuro.
The range of offerings allowed us to present different cigar intensities for each smoker, based on their experience and preference. This was perfect, as we had seasoned smokers, as well as newcomers to the world of cigars.
After each smoker selected their cigar, they paired it with the Xocolat Negroni. All the cigars, although different amongst themselves, had a smoking time between 30 and 40 minutes. The session started with each attendee lighting up their chosen cigar, the arrival of the cocktails followed shortly after. This allowed everyone to experience the cigar’s transition from the first third to the second third, accompanied by the first cocktail. The Tiramisu Espresso Martini arrived as everyone approached the last third of the cigar.
To avoid the potentially overwhelming intensity of the last third for the neophytes in the group, I also offered them a small Dominican puro, which had notes similar to those from the first third of the original cigars.
The pairing turned out exactly as we had planned it, it was an enjoyable setting for fathers and sons to share a unique experience. Following the pairing, we had a drawing for gifts and some lucky attendees went home with special gifts.
I really hope that there are more opportunities like this one, for fathers and sons to have these experiences under professional guidance, as they can create everlasting memories.
Philip Ili Barake
#GRCigarPairing
