Cigar & Rum Pairing
It is the end of the month and, as I started thinking about which pairing to do for the magazine, I was invited to a Sustainable Cocktail Challenge, sponsored by Flor de Caña, so I planned to do the pairing with the cigar then.
While thinking about the options, one of them stood up and was clearly unavoidable: a geographic pairing, using a Padrón 1964, which is hand made and box pressed, then aged for a minimum of 4 years. For the pairing I selected an “Hermoso” (56 x 4) with Natural wrapper (but it is also available with Maduro wrapper).
During the competition I had the opportunity to taste different cocktails. As always, some were better than others, but all of them had a focus on sustainable practices, something the event has been doing for many years. Are these cocktails good for cigar pairings? The truth is that most of them would have been difficult to pair with most cigars. For this reason, at the end of the competition I asked Negro Cofré (Mixologist Brand Ambassador for Flor de Caña) to prepare something simple for me, that would respect the rum’s character. He opted to make me a Rum Old Fashioned using Flor de Caña 12 Years Old, using two different bitters from The Bitter Truth: one was Aromatic and the other one was Spiced Chocolate, the combination was excellent. After tasting so many sweet and acid cocktails, a simple and respectful (towards the rum) cocktail was a life saver, as it is often the case.
In addition to the pairing, the event was also an opportunity to celebrate, since it was the last days Negro Cofré (@negrocofre) was going to be in Chile: the following week he’d be embarking on a journey to Spain, to start the role as Distilled Spirits Global Ambassador for Miguel Torres, an excellent step up professionally, full of new learning opportunities ahead, and I am sure he will perform brilliantly.
The pairing is like a well-kept classic car: it always works! The cigar showcases dark leather and wood notes, with hints of potpourri when sipping the cocktail first (before puffing the cigar).
There are pairings that are classic, others are surprising if the cocktail is very bold or ambitious. In this case, the pairing turned into a farewell for a good friend and excellent person, it was a pairing using two products that were the best expressions from their brands. This particular cigar’s format is ideal for precise, brief pairings. It has a well-defined character and can let you do a simple or complex pairing during 30 minutes of pleasant smoking. I hope that you can create your own pairing using this jewel from Nicaragua.
Cheers!
Philip Ili Barake
#GRCigarPairing
