One Hundred

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                                         One Hundred

The time to celebrate finally arrived: the years flew by and we have now reached a century of pairing.  I had been thinking what to do for this special occasion, who would I invite and which products would be involved?  Some of the answers to these questions were clear: 13 years ago I reached out to a great friend and chef, Alan Kallens, to put together a complex dinner pairing, consisting of 3 courses, each accompanied by a different rum, paired with a cigar that would be smoked throughout the entire dinner.  It was something unprecedented back then and it turned out to be an unforgettable experience for our guests.

I have also been fortunate enough to attend the dinner gala at the Habano Festival in Cuba, a luxurious and expensive dinner benefitting victims of cancer but, despite its cost and purpose, I feel the pairings could have been better: the dinner included lobster, steak and other delicacies, but those of us in the industry knew right away that it was planned to stand by itself, not to rely on the rums or cigars, which ended up being either provided by sponsors or purchased by the organizers.  To sum up, it was not a true “pairing,” as opposed to the one Chef Kallens and I organized 13 years ago, which opened up with smoked salmon and watercress, paired with rum mixed with carbonated water.  The second dish was smoked ribs served with chickpea puree, paired with a rum on the rocks.  The dessert consisted of two typical Chilean dishes: Sopaipillas pasadas al Ron and Mote Con Huesillo al Ron.  

This dinner was paired with a Montecristo Sublime from 2004, a special specimen that is hard to find nowadays.  Back then, the laws still allowed for indoor smoking at restaurants!

As mentioned earlier, this pairing was carried out by Alan, renowned chef in Chile, he’s also represented Chile in international events.  Alan accepted my challenge, even though back then he was just getting started in the world of cigars.  Now, 13 years later, Alan is a loyal smoker of hand-rolled cigars and, when I approached him about this 100th pairing for “Got Rum?”, he did not hesitate at all.

The general idea was to have a parrillada (grilled meats and vegetables), it did not have to be ostentatious nor did it have to include outrageous ingredients.  What was clear was that we wanted a true celebration where each moment and each ingredient were new experiences for us.

The week before the pairing, Alan asked for several of the ingredients we were going to use: two types of meat cuts and other items for grilling.  As a true professional, he then weighed everything, to calculate the yields and to prepare the slow cooking of the meats for 21 hours at 61C (141.8F).  The meat was prepared and cooked on the days leading up to the pairing.

On the day of the 100th pairing, I started the fire early, since we would need a lot of embers for the grilling.  As the fire burned, I also started preparing the ingredients and rums that would be used later on.

Once Alan arrived, I went through the plan with him again, including timing and inspiration behind each step.  He then took over the grill and I took over the rum and cigars.  Alan started putting squashes and onions on the grill, sometimes directly on the embers and the result was already looking marvelously.  Alan had cooked the meats in vacuum bags, one marinated with pesto and the other with sea salt, it was fantastic.

We started by drinking a cocktail similar to a Dark n’ Stormy, made with Zacapa 23.  For this drink we used limes from my very own backyard.  The recipe is as follows:

  • 2 oz. Zacapa 23 Rum
  • 6 oz. Ginger Beer
  • 1 oz. Lime Juice
  • ½ oz. Brown Sugar Simple Syrup

I made the drinks directly in the serving glasses, pouring the ingredients in layers.  The rum made the cocktails easy to drink and sweet.  The idea was for it to work as an aperitif, awakening us and our thirst, since we were excited like young kids, looking at everything in front of us.

Once all ingredients were on the grill, about half way through their cooking times, it was time to bring out the cigars I selected for this special pairing: it was a sealed box of Montecristo Double Edmundo (50 x 155), a Vitola de Galera Dobles, a format that was released in 2013.  I’ve had this box since 2015, some of the leaves in the cigars were harvested in 2010, the year I became the winner of the Habano Sommelier competition (in Cuba).  This was a box I had been saving for a special moment and nothing better than celebrating the 100 pairings for “Got Rum?”!

As we finished the first cocktail and started smoking the first third of the cigar, we switched to a rum on the rocks.  I selected a 10 year old Clément, from Martinique, a classic rhum producer in the Agricole category.  The 10 years spent inside barrels were a perfect combination for the smoke emanating from the grill.  From that point on, we started sampling different items from the grill: the taste of the grilled onions was impressive, also the bell peppers with their special caramelized sweetness and the squash all combined to produce an exquisite aroma, everything was moving along as planned.

The time came to assemble the dishes: the squash was so tender that it could have been cut with a spoon, the carved interior provided a perfect holding vessel for the meats and all their juices.  The experience was sublime; we could not stop eating, drinking and smoking.It is well known that when we gather with friends, surrounded by great food, drinks and tobaccos, that the topics of conversation and the memories are unique.  These activities also create new memories and are the source of countless future anecdotes, a true celebration!

Once the second third of the cigars was done, and having enjoyed all the grilled dishes, it was time to bring out the truffle cake, specially made to celebrate the 100 pairings, accompanied by one of my favorite rums, El Dorado 15 year old.  The rum’s complexity and the moment were special.  The cigars exhibited excellent draw all along, with a medium body, thanks for all the years they spent resting in my humidor.

This pairing was priceless for us, surely many consumers would have been happy to pay to enjoy the experience, but we made it just for us, to enjoy and remember everything we’ve been through surrounded by cigars and rum.  We hope we will not have to wait another 13 years to repeat this activity, I certainly hope we do not.  I also hope that you and your friends, particularly those you haven’t seen in a while, can gather and attempt to have your own similar pairing, with each person contributing to make it happen and make it special.

Cheers!

Philip Ili Barake

#GRCigarPairing