The Last Of Us

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                                     The Last Of Us

As I searched for a simple, transparent pairing well-suited for the approaching cold weather, the thought that kept coming up was to prepare an easy cocktail that would not cover up the character of the rum, but with a few additional hints that would take it to the next level.

I named this pairing “The Last Of Us” in honor of the last Bolivar Belicoso Fino (52 x 140mm) left in the cigar box, it is a Habano that turned out to be 100% fantastic.  I kept the box in my humidor for more than 10 years, smoking them only on special occasions and nothing better than smoking the very last one for this pairing for all of you.

For the cocktail I selected an Agricole rhum, Rhum Bielle Millésimé 2011.  Some of you may be thinking that these rhums are not meant for mixology and I totally agree.  But if you are careful with the proportions of the ingredients employed, respecting the aromatic qualities of the rhum, I believe that you can make an excellent, well-received cocktail.

I started by finding a black tea, specifically an English Breakfast Tea, it needs to have a lot of tannins.  How will we use this tea?  Prepare a cup of tea using only half the amount of water, make sure the water is hot but not boiling, then allow the tea to cool down (you can add ice cubes to it if in a hurry).  When it is cold, or at least at room temperature, pour the tea into a large mixing glass or shaker with a few large ice cubes.  Stir the ice and tea for 40-60 seconds or until the tea is chilled.

Discard all the liquid from the glass, keeping the tea-infused ice cubes.  Then add the following ingredients:

  • 4 ½ oz. Rhum Bielle Millésimé 20111
  • ½ oz. Vermouth Rosso
  • 1 dash of Chocolate Bitters (optional)

You can proportionally adjust the volume of all the ingredients, depending on the size of the glass you are going to serve it in, just make sure you maintain the ratios between the ingredients and you’ll have a similar result.

It is now time to light up the Habano.  The draw was excellent, as was the case with all the previous cigars from this box.  The intensity that is characteristic of the Bolivar brand was considerably reduced due to the prolonged aging.  I hope you too can age some of your cigars for 10 years so that you can experience this transformation.  If you don’t have any cigars this old available to you, I suggest that you select instead a cigar with medium body/intensity.

The pairing blew my mind: the bitter tea notes remained consistently in the background.  The Chocolate Bitters, it turns out, were unnecessary.  I thought they would play a better role but in the end they were not as noticeable as the black tea was.

The rum showcased subtle “Agricole” notes and the oak dimension from the aging was not overpowering.  So, if you must replace this rum with another one, do not use a rum that has too much oak or that is too sweet.  I think a rum aged no more than 10 years would be ideal.

I hope you can replicate this pairing too.  If you do, please share photos of your results on social media (use the tag #GRCigarPairing).  Enjoy this simple, yet elegant pairing!

Cheers!

Philip Ili Barake

#GRCigarPairing