Mai Tai for Cigars

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                                     Mai Tai for Cigars

As you all know well, when pairing cigars with cocktails, I always prefer the classic, aggressive cocktails, such as Manhattan or Negroni.  These are drinks that highlight the character of the base alcohols.  I’ve never been a big fan of fruity drinks paired with cigars, but a combination of sunny days, thirst and tranquility may play a big role in how I enjoy the pairing.

I’ve seen numerous recipes for Mai Tai, here is the one we use at my bar (Red Frog).  Keep in mind that for this pairing we ended up modifying the recipe a bit:

  • 3 oz Bacardí 8 Year Old
  • 1.5 oz Lime Juice
  • 1.5 oz Demerara Syrup
  • 1.5 oz Pineapple Chunks
  • 0.5 oz Triple sec
  • Float with Ron Cacique 500 (or another aged/dark rum)

Prepare with a cocktail shaker, with lots of shaved or crushed ice.  If you are at home and don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can mix all ingredients in a pitcher.

My bartender, Toño (Antonio), prepared the cocktail for me, but I asked him to increase the quantity of rum, to improve the pairing with the cigar and to satisfy the cravings of rum fans.

I selected an H. Upmann Magnum 50 cigar which, as its name describes, has a ring gauge of 50 and a length of 160mm.  This is a cigar notorious for its good draw, especially the cigar box I bought several years ago and which has been resting in my humidor at home.

My partner from the bar joined me for the pairing.  It was a good excuse for him to avoid going home early, plus a good drink and cigar are always the best medicine, so the pairing started on the right foot.

The weather here was transitioning into summer, but it was an aggressive transition, almost like full-blown summer already, which boosted our enjoyment of the pairing.  Remember what I said at the beginning of this article?  A cocktail like this one is more enjoyable than the other classic ones with hotter weather like this: it was a great call!

I must admit that, after the initial sips, we had to float additional rum on top, to increase the intensity of the flavor.  I don’t know if it was that addition or the fact that we were consuming a lot of rum, but the pairing improved considerably, both matched against the cigar and high temperature.The cigar I selected had a medium body and its first third was smoother, something that happens with aged cigars, which lose a lot of their ammonia and nicotine intensity, resulting in a soft, silky experience (we call it a delicacy), which lasted throughout the remaining of the cigar.

If you don’t have an aged cigar similar to this one, please select a less intense or milder one.

I hope you can enjoy this simple, fresh and delicious pairing, loaded with rum to better enjoy warmer climates (whenever that might be where you live).

Philip Ili Barake

#GRCigarPairing