Heavy Pairing
I remember the movie “Back to the Future”, when Marty McFly was facing the complicated situation of seeing his mother falling in love with him in the past, and used the word “heavy” to describe it. In the movie also, the doctor was surprised by his use of this term “heavy”. Well, this pairing is also “heavy” but not in the same manner as the movie, instead I am using the word to describe the cigar and the rum, both of which are considered to be heavy. One of them is a cigar from the Bolivar brand, I would call it a classic, since it is mentioned often in war movies, I am referring to the glorious Campana, better known as Vitola de Salida, Belicoso Fino (52 x 140 mm). This cigar, rolled at the Gran Fábrica Partagás,is a hallmark among full flavored cigars. As a matter of fact, all cigars rolled at this factory are similarly strong, among the cigar inventory from Habano SA.
The other item, which I acquired during the Berlin Rum Festival in 2015, is the Port Morant Demerara Rum 1999. With this rum, all we need is to read its origin to know that we are talking about a product with a large congener content (which makes it heavy), due to its pot still production. Using a pot still doesn’t guarantee a heavy rum, since these stills can be employed to produce lighter spirits, but in the case of this rum we were right on. The rum was bottled in the UK in 2014, where it was aged in white American Oak barrels and then finished for 2 years in Port casks, so we should find distinct notes from this fortified wine finish in the rum. Let’s see what happens.
In the nose it has unmistakable notes of Port wine, but we also detect a high congener level and toffee candy, with light liquor notes and some anise notes floating around, which could be from the distillate.
I would say the rum has between 12 and 14 years of age and, after tasting it, I feel it should match up quite well with the cigar.
Once I light up the cigar I confirm what I knew coming into the pairing: that none of the cigars I’ve smoked from this line are disappointing, a trend further reinforced by this cigar. While smoking the first third of the cigar, even though the rum was very imposing, the cigar wins with its finish, which improved when paired with the rum.
The rum, all the while, also changed, the congener complexity mellowed out, highlighting even more the notes of fruits preserved in liquor, derived from its finish in the Port cask.
The cigar burnt evenly and with a great draw during the 30 to 40 minutes of the smoking experience and I enjoyed the pairing more and more as I got closer to the second third of the cigar.
If I had to give the pairing a score, ranging from 1 to 10, I would give it a 7.5, which means I still recommend it for those interested in replicating it, but it also means the pairing is not for everyone. This rum is perfectly suited for anyone passionate about rums from Guyana and Jamaica, with well-defined congener flavors and the cigar is meant for those who enjoy strong cigar flavors.
Cheers!
Philip Ili Barake
#GR CigarPairing
My name is Philip Ili Barake, Sommelier by trade. As a result of working with
selected restaurants and wine producers in Chile, I started developing a passion for distilled spirits and cigars. As part of my most recent job, I had the opportunity to visit many Central American countries, as well as, rum distilleries and tobacco growers. But my passion for spirits and cigars did not end there; in 2010 I had the honor of representing Chile at the International Cigar Sommelier Competition, where I won first place, becoming the first South American to ever achieve that feat. Now I face the challenge of impressing the readers of “Got Rum?” with what is perhaps the toughest task for a Sommelier: discussing pairings while being well aware that there are as many individual preferences as there are rums and cigars in the world. I believe a pairing is an experience that should not be limited to only two products; it is something that can be incorporated into our lives. I hope to help our readers discover and appreciate the pleasure of trying new things (or experiencing known things in new ways).