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Cigars and Beverages

KingoftheCoveKingoftheCove Posts: 937 ✭✭✭
This has been covered often....but thought I'd share my experiences.....

As noted in my one and only previous post, 7 months ago I came off a 15 year hiatus from smoking cigars.
I finally got my inventory to a decent level so that I'm not chompin at the bit to smoke the stuff that the nice lady in the UPS truck drops off at my work from time to time (and I'm only smokin 20 sticks a month or so! - not like some of you animals out there who smoke that many in a week!) Just ordered 10 Gurhka Titans and the Padilla Top Shelf sampler (9 sticks) this morning - can't wait for those to get here and rest in my humi during summer. Good price for those here at Ccom.

Beverages and Cigars.
So back in my smoking days in the late 70s to mid 90s, I typically only smoked cigars after dark - don't know why - but was never a morning, or even a daytime cigar smoker. In those days the ONLY beverage I would have with my stogie was Scotch - typically a Balvenie, or Macallan, or even Red Label or Famous Grouse if I was low on Single malts. (Never tried Famous Grouse? - you should - best budget blended Scotch available..... by far)

Nowadays, I will have a smoke on Saturday mid-afternoon, and then maybe a second later in the evening. I'm "old school", and Scotch is not to be inbibed until after dark - so what do I drink with my afternoon stogie?
Over the last few months tried different beverages and spirits for the daytime smoke.
1) Coffee - didn't work for me - coffee gets cold in 15 minutes - stogies last 1+ hour.
2) Cognac - it was OK - but too much flavor "competiton" with the stogie.
3) Whiskey - same issue for me as scotch - evening only beverage, alcohol kick too high (it was 104 proof whisky - too strong)
4) Various red wines - all drastic failures - severely compromised the stogie experience, AND the wine experience!
5) Drambuie - too sweet.

And then just a few days ago, after reading someone's post here (don't remember who/what - been reading hundreds of post lately to "catch up") I decided to try a beer!
DUH!!!!!
Perfect freaking marriage!

I had a Henninger, a nice moderate alcohol (4.8%) lager with my Gurhka Titan, and it was simply a perfect match. It was so good, that beer may become my beverage of choice when having a stogie, even at night. For me, it cleanses the pallete better than the other beverages I had been trying, thereby making the cigar flavors more pronounced.
(I'll still be sipping a scotch fairly regularly though......)
Cheers.
CoveKing

Comments

  • amz1301amz1301 Posts: 1,299
    Call me crazy but I like a beer too....and scotch and whiskey, and rum. I'm not a wine drinker so I've never tried that pairing.
  • wwesternwwestern Posts: 1,397 ✭✭✭
    I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but I love miller lite with my cigars...any and all cigars because it doesn't distract from any of the flavors.
  • Russ55Russ55 Posts: 2,765 ✭✭
    I like a lot of different drinks with cigars. Hot/Iced coffee, white wines, rum, scotch, tequila, tea, and even dr pepper, but if I want to concentrate on the stick then I just go with water.
  • amz1301amz1301 Posts: 1,299
    wwestern:
    I'm sure I'll get crucified for this but I love miller lite with my cigars...any and all cigars because it doesn't distract from any of the flavors.
    My favorite beer with a cigar, Presidente, ice cold
  • MonteWhiteMonteWhite Posts: 200
    I also pair my cigars with beer often. The carbonation certainly helps to cleanse the palate, but of course it varies with the brew. But I also like to pair with wine. If you haven't already, you should try pairing your cigars with a Rioja. Spain produces some amazing wines and the Rioja region has an earthy characteristic to most of its wine. And since many cigars also have earthy notes, Rioja pairs well. And if you want more complexity to your pairing, try a Rioja Gran Reserva. They will generally have a long vanilla finish, which I love. I prefer the more traditional bodegas over more modern styles, but that's just me.
  • KingoftheCoveKingoftheCove Posts: 937 ✭✭✭
    Wwestern - Miller lite.....well...one thing I will say about Miller Lite, that to me is an interesting phenomena.....it is, in my opinion, nothing at all like "regular" Miller beer, and that is a good thing! Regular Miller is undrinkable in my humble opinion - I'm not a beer snob, but..........just sayin....Miller Lite is clean and decent....regular Miller?? I'll pass.......

    MonteWhite - I tried several wines (all reds) - I'm not a wine "expert", my wife knows much more than I, but I can tell the difference between a $30 bottle and a $8 bottle, and I know a bit about wines, and do enjoy them. For me, it just wasn't working.
    I found that the wine experience was diminished, as was the cigar experience. I have to keep those two separate.........wine with my food....stogie later with something else, might try a Heineken next time (if I can get them on sale!)
  • denniskingdennisking Posts: 3,703 ✭✭✭
    as far as beer goes, I tend to like hoppier or fuller bodied beers. I like Spaten Optimator with a heavy flavored maduro. I live in a location that is blessed with a ton of microbreweries and tend to drink really great beer but other than the Spaten, I don't drink "good beer" with my cigars. If I do drink beer, it's usually something lighter bodied like Miller Lite or Pabst Blue Ribbon. White trash beer is pretty flavorless so it doesn't detract from my cigar experience. I love Scotch with my cigars though.
    as far as non-alcoholic goes, I like Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi, Coffee (morning only), and water.
  • djbeeniedjbeenie Posts: 469
    I always drink beer with my cigar. I prefer wheat beers or IPA.
  • Wheat beer, Rum and Coke, and CREAM SODA!!!
  • HeavyHeavy Posts: 1,591 ✭✭✭
    I drink beer with about 90% of my cigars probably. Quite often Miller Lite (just because that's what I usually keep around). I think of it more as palate cleansing than flavor pairing, but it does just fine. I do prefer a nice hoppy IPA if I'm trying to pair a beer with a cigar, some lagers are nice, and guinness is great with a maduro sometimes (but Guiness is just not a warm weather drink for me).

    If you're ever looking for a great non-alcoholic drink to pair with a cigar, believe it or not try Dr. Pepper. Don't know why, it just works well with a cigar and I know I'm not the only one that thinks this. Ginger Beer is also good too (it's non-alcoholic, just tough to find - don't get the Jamaican style - it sucks!).
  • lilwing88lilwing88 Posts: 2,812 ✭✭✭
    Heavy:
    If you're ever looking for a great non-alcoholic drink to pair with a cigar, believe it or not try Dr. Pepper. Don't know why, it just works well with a cigar and I know I'm not the only one that thinks this.
    +1..... Diet Dr. Pepper for me.

    I recently had an Goose Island Night Stalker, an imperial stout, that I paired with an AF Don Carlos Presidente. Great pairing.
    Guns don't kill people, Daddies with pretty daughters do…..
  • Ken_LightKen_Light Posts: 3,537 ✭✭✭
    I'm just curious here...

    You say you don't like the coffee/cigar pairing because the coffee gets cold too quickly and won't last the length of the cigar.

    BUT, don't you have the same problem with a beer going warm?

    For me if I'm going to pair my cigar with anything temperature-related I just accept the fact I'm going to have to step away to refresh that beverage at some point. Maybe its worth it to you for a beer but not a coffee?
    ^Troll: DO NOT FEED.
  • denniskingdennisking Posts: 3,703 ✭✭✭
    which Balvenie is your pick? I've tried the 14yr Carribean Cask which is the 12 yr. finished an extra 2 years in rum casks so it's a little sweet. I would like to try some other Balvenie years but not sure what to try, most say the 12yr is good. What input would you have. I also like Talisker and Cardhu.
  • jr_p951jr_p951 Posts: 1,121
    I usually go for a Diet Coke or water. If its a beer, I usually stick to Coors Light. I don't drink hard liquor so I have never tried pairing with any. Water is my preferred drink though. No other flavors to consider. Just all cigar.
  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
    I don't drink soda, way too sweet for me. I like coffee with my morning cigars, I just keep filling the mug to keep it warm. I like beer or polar seltzer waters in the afternoon or evening. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is perfect for most sticks. Whiskey or Scotch, I love them but don't drink them too much while smoking. I just don't like the mix as much.
  • KingoftheCoveKingoftheCove Posts: 937 ✭✭✭
    Ken - coffee temperature - the thing is, the coffee gets cold rather quickly, and the only remedy is to keep refilling small amounts (I'm too lazy for that) - or, keep refilling the cup and end up drinking too much coffee - and I lose the relaxing experience of the stogie if you know what I mean.
    Now with beer, if you start out with a GOOD beer that is cold, and it's not sitting in the sun at 100 degrees, that beer will be fine to drink an hour later at room temperature.

    But, you did give me an idea - for me - coffee has to be HOT.....or.....cold!
    So now I'm gonna try an ice coffee - that might work real well the more I think about it, especially in summer.

    DennisKing - I like the traditional 12 year old Balvenie, and also really like the Doublewood, and I LOVE the Portwood (but it's too expensive for me now).
    I'm not a big fan of the really heavy "peaty" scotches (Laphroaig, etc.) - I won't turn one down of course!!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,917
    I usually do coffee but let it cool just a tad so it's not too hot. Otherwise, I love to drink a Newcastle Brown Ale with a maduro, which is a great pair for me. The only other thing I've tried is water, which worked well with the milder sticks.

    I did buy some Bourbon/Whiskey but I don't know what to pair that with when drinking/sipping it on a rock. Any suggestions? I'm specifically drinking Knob Creek.
  • MonteWhiteMonteWhite Posts: 200
    KingoftheCove:
    Ken - coffee temperature - the thing is, the coffee gets cold rather quickly, and the only remedy is to keep refilling small amounts (I'm too lazy for that) - or, keep refilling the cup and end up drinking too much coffee - and I lose the relaxing experience of the stogie if you know what I mean.
    Now with beer, if you start out with a GOOD beer that is cold, and it's not sitting in the sun at 100 degrees, that beer will be fine to drink an hour later at room temperature.

    But, you did give me an idea - for me - coffee has to be HOT.....or.....cold!
    So now I'm gonna try an ice coffee - that might work real well the more I think about it, especially in summer.

    DennisKing - I like the traditional 12 year old Balvenie, and also really like the Doublewood, and I LOVE the Portwood (but it's too expensive for me now).
    I'm not a big fan of the really heavy "peaty" scotches (Laphroaig, etc.) - I won't turn one down of course!!
    I'm not a coffee drinker, but I sometimes pair my cigars with tea. And to keep it warm, I just put it in a thermos which seems to work well for me.
  • Ironworker63Ironworker63 Posts: 185
    I'll usually have black coffee either Sumatran or Kona Blend with an early afternoon cigar...I drink it out of an insulated mug and it usually stays hot enough.

    For the late afternoon into the evening cigar I'll have an IPA.
    My IPA's of choice, in no particular order are;
    Two Brothers Heavy Handed 6.7%ABV
    New Holland Mad Hatter 5.25%ABV
    Bell's Two-Hearted Ale 7.0%ABV
    Modus Hoperandi 6.8%ABV
    Stone Ruination 7.7%ABV

    For those early to late evening Cigars I'll drink these on the rocks;
    Knob Creek 100 proof
    Woodford Reserve 90.4 proof
    both are Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    drink things that are either very close to neutral on the pH scale or drink things that are a bit acidic.

    i drink Coke (never pepsi), water, or tea.

    cigars are a bit alkaline and you tend to taste things better when they are different than what is already in your mouth.
    neutral pH will cleanse the palate a bit.

    if you dont like coffee because it gets cold, then try iced coffee. it isnt getting hot and its supposed to be cold. the slightly acidic coffee will go well with the slightly alkaline cigar smoke.
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