Cigar & Rum Pairing
Some time ago I carried out a pairing between a cigar and 3 different shots. It was something inspired by a simple social trend that actually turned out to be quite good. Inspired by that pairing, I decided to revisit the idea, but this time with an added level of difficulty: I decided to pair the cigar against three mini cocktails, slightly different from one another. I selected to prepare mini versions of Rum Old Fashioned, with subtle variations.
The first one had a simple syrup made from brown sugar and water, plus 1 ounce of rum.
The second one employed the same simple syrup, but only to coat the inner surface of the glass, after which it was discarded, leaving behind only a layer of sweetness.
The third one, was like the second one, with a simple syrup coating, but with 2 drops of Orange Bitters added.
As you can see, the preparations are simple, yet slightly different in order to accommodate the pairing with the cigar.
Which rum did I select for this pairing? I opted for the Plantation Jamaica 1998, finished in Marsala casks, one of 300 bottles from this edition, launched by Rum Depot in Berlin. It is part of a sales strategy that I think is brilliant, it involves selling limited quantities of bottles with the added value of personalized labels. I really liked it, it is a very good way to release unique bottles for clients, making all of them highly collectible.
As far as the cigar goes, I selected a pyramid from Pasencia Cigars, a 3/16 x 52 ring, from the Reserva Original line. It is made from 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos, which means that we’ll have a somewhat intense body, so let’s see how the pairing turns out.
Regarding the pairing, I found the analysis to be very entertaining, being able to easily tell the differences between the cocktails. The original idea was not to necessarily pair the rum with the 3 shots, but rather to establish differences between the shots. Even if I placed the shots in different order, I was able to easily identify them and place them back in the original order.
Once the cigar reached the second third, I was able to identify the differences between the cocktails that suggested the possible pairing. All of this was based on the strength of the cigar, which I was perceiving to have a medium body, with hints of higher intensity, resulting in an easier pairing to carry out.
As I focused more on the second third, I favored more and more the one in the sweetened glass but without the bitters. I believe that, at least for me, it allowed for a more pleasant mouthfeel, resulting in a better contrast against the Nicaraguan tobacco.
This pairing was very easy to recreate and an excellent exercise to find the perfect combination.
I hope that you’ll be able to recreate it at home, using a rum that is neither too complex nor too sweet, so that you can have marked differences between the cocktails and can find your perfect pairing. For me, it clearly was the first cocktail.
Cheers!
Philip Ili Barake
#GRCigarPairing
