Straight Pairing

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Straight Pairing

I know that in recent months I have been able to come up with surprisingly good pairings with classic cocktails using rum. To be honest, I did those pairings because I was on a quest to find new flavors. I wanted to travel back in time and re-visit a straight pairing, to grasp the true nature of the basic flavors and to see how they changed throughout the pairing.

Having said all this, I started to search through what is left in my inventory. I say “what is left” because the moment I started collecting rums I also started drinking them with pleasure quite often, collecting rums is much harder than I thought, but this is a good problem to have.

The chosen ones for this month are, for the cigar, a Habano from Hoyo de Monterrey, with an internal factory name of “Geniales” (54 x 150mm). What makes this cigar special is that its leaves come from the San Juan y Martinez zone (a protected origin denomination), this is of special significance among smokers, to be able to identify the flavors from a cigar based on the specific region within a country. As we know too well, nowadays most brands are identified either by a country as a whole, or are known to be blends of leaves from multiple countries. Single origin cigars are a common practice for limited editions such as this one. 

As for the rum, I selected a special one based on its honesty, simplicity and style. I didn’t want it to be aged too long, so I opted for a Rhum Vieux Agricole from Bielle. We used their Rhum Blanc at 59% in a previous issue, where we made a Daiquiri that, quite honestly, was one of the best I’ve ever had. The rum for our July pairing was distilled in 2011 and was released to the market in 2015, bottled at 42%. As you can imagine, when you taste it, the oak barrel notes are there, but they are not overpowering. It should be a great pairing, since it does not have many of the aggressive congener notes often associated with agricole rhums.

I lit the cigar while I was sipping some of the rum, the medium body from the rum becoming the canvas for the smoke, promising an excellent pairing from the beginning, but I needed to see how the pairing would evolve.

The first third of the cigar was very smooth and clean: the Geniales, with its 54 ring size, had an excellent draw. In addition to it, Hoyo de Monterrey is known for starting very smoothly, the result was a cigar that didn’t overpower the gentle oak notes from the rum’s 4 years of aging (stated on the label). But what I liked the most was that the rum in my mouth would be infused by the cigar, transforming the rum into a seemingly different product. I will keep this in mind if I ever have to put together an aperitif and cigar pairing, this offers the right combination of strength and flavors, it is an easy pairing.

The second third of the cigar offered a similar strength, highlighting notes of dried fruits during the pairing, without being overpowering and without becoming too sweet, this was the organoleptic impression.

The cigar’s ring size and length gave me a leisurely smoking experience that exceeded the 1 hour mark. So if you plan to replicate it, turn off the cell phone, cancel your meetings and allow yourselves at least an hour-and-a-half, so you can truly enjoy the smooth and elegant dimension of the pairing. I’m sure you will agree with me that it is an honest, straight pairing that is not very typical, since most cigars tend to become more aggressive as you continue smoking them. This is not the case in this pairing and the long smoking session allowed me to have two additional servings of the rum, I guess you could say it became my Happy Hour special!

Philip Ili Barake

#GRCigarPairing

-Article written by Philip Ili Barake- 

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).