The Stogie Guys

Ever since I moved to Chicago, certain things in my life have been quite unpredictable. Take the weather, for instance. One week it’s hot and muggy; the next it’s pouring rain and…still hot and muggy. Now things are starting to cool down, which is nice—but it’s like the calm before the storm. I know the worst is ahead of me, and I’m bracing for winter’s impact in the naïve, foolishly self-assured way that only a spoiled California boy can.

In these times of peril, I turn to the few things I know will always be constant. One of those things is beer. I don’t care if it’s hot, cold, wet, or dry outside, beer is always seasonally appropriate. And so, I figure, what better way to greet my first fall and winter in the Midwest than to sample some of the local brew?

Goose Island Harvest Ale is an autumn-appropriate microbrew from Chicago-based craft brewery Goose Island. I’ll admit to never having heard of Goose Island before my arrival here. But that’s changed very quickly. This brand comes highly recommended from friends in the area, and it’s easy to see why: Goose Island Harvest Ale is a complex, but unpretentious beer that’s an obvious cut above the usual suspects on tap at your local bar.

This deep copper ale poured cleanly and smoothly into my ceremonial Guinness pint glass, leaving a creamy, inch-and-a-half-thick head with lots of lacing around the rim. The nose is mostly floral, with pronounced but pleasant notes of grapefruit and hops. There’s lots of citrus—particularly grapefruit, but some orange peel is also detectable—in the flavor profile, rounded out with hoppy bitterness and a sweet, malty finish.

Admittedly, I haven’t had the occasion to pair this beer with a decent smoke just yet. But when I do, I think it’ll go nicely with a mild to medium-bodied cigar—nothing too bold, but something that will stand up to the big flavors the drink brings to the table. I look forward to experimenting with pairings in the cold, bitter weeks to come.

–Jon N

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As I suggested in previous writings on Rhum Barbancourt and El Dorado, perhaps nothing is as calming as kicking back with a fine sipping rum and a well-paired cigar. And, for my money, perhaps no rum on the face of the Earth is quite as relaxing as Angostura 1919.

Oddly enough, this Trinidad & Tobago-based company is better known for its aromatic bitters—highly concentrated food and beverage flavorings—than its rum. Angostura’s beginnings can be traced back to 1824 when a surgeon general in Simón Bolívar’s Venezuelan army sought to improve the appetite and digestive well-being of the soldiers. It wasn’t until 1947 that Angostura began to ferment, distill, age, blend, and bottle rum in Laventille, Trinidad. According to the company’s history, today Angostura produces over 600,000 cases of rum each year, most of which is shipped to America, Great Britain, and other islands in the Caribbean.

Angostura 1919 is an “añejo made from a blend of light and heavy molasses-based rums aged for a minimum of eight years in charred American oak bourbon barrels.” I picked up a 750 ml. bottle (40% alcohol) for $28. With its square-ish (dare I say box-pressed?) shape, protruding black cork, and golden clarity, the bottle jumps out at you as you walk down the rum aisle.

I find the flavor to be sweet and spicy on the nose with a dry profile that includes caramel, vanilla, and toast. The long, smooth finish opens up after a few seconds to reveal a soothing, rounded heat.

This rum’s subtle complexity can be overshadowed by most full-bodied cigars, so my pairing recommendation is to stick with something in the medium-bodied range. A few winning combinations include La Aurora 1495, CAO L’Anniversaire Cameroon, and Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure. For the blend’s reserved density, though, perhaps the best complementary match I found is with a Cuban Crafters Medina 1959.

I’ll end by noting that Angostura also offers an 1824 blend of more mature rums at a cost of about $55 per 750 ml. bottle (40% alcohol). I look forward to trying that out and reporting back to you. Meanwhile, don’t be afraid to purchase a bottle of 1919; it is affordable and definitely tasty enough to sip neat or on the rocks.

–Patrick A

photo credits: Stogie Guys

After devoting two Stogie Spirits articles to scotch and having both be blends, I thought it was time that I turned my attention to a single malt. Compared to many scotches, the Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year is relatively easy to find, and the price is $40-50 a bottle—quite reasonable considering the lofty prices that many single malts fetch.

But the Balvenie Doublewood isn’t an ordinary scotch. Halfway through the twelve-year distilling process the scotch is transferred from one barrel to another, hence “Doublewood,” as explained on Balvenie’s website:

The Balvenie Doublewood Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two woods. During its period of maturation it is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill Spanish oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt—the traditional casks, having previously held bourbon, soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.

The description is apt. The Balvenie is far smoother than many single malts with little of the burning that sometimes accompanies the initial smell. Instead, on the nose I find oak, vanilla, and honeycomb. The color is a medium brown caramel.

On the palate, I find more of the wood notes, with oak and subtle cedar. There is a touch of citrus (orange peel perhaps) and some sherry flavors, likely imparted by the sherry cask. The finish is long and balanced.

My overall experience with this scotch can be summed up in one word: smooth. From the nose to the body and the finish, the whiskey is balanced and never harsh. This makes it a very approachable single malt for those just getting acquainted with Scotland’s single malts, but it also has plenty of complexity for the more seasoned scotch drinker.

That combination of smooth but complex makes the Doublewood versatile when pairing with cigars. Anything from a mild/medium to full-bodied cigar would make a solid accompaniment and, in a rarity for a single malt scotch, I even think that it can stand up to the sweetness of some maduros.

Two Cuban cigars that I enjoyed with the Balvenie Doublewood were the robusto-sized Bolivar Royal Corona and the Cohiba Maduro Magicos. But don’t think for a minute that only Cuban cigars will pair with this single malt. I would also recommend the Alonso Menendez, Arturo Fuente King B, Ashton VSG, Padilla Miami, or a San Christobal.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Like cigars themselves, pairing a spirit with a cigar is part science, part art. So while I’m as big a fan as anyone of pairing a fine cigar with scotch, bourbon, or rum, some of the most interesting pairings have been the result of a little more experimenting.

In my opinion, beer often doesn’t get a fair shake as a pairing with cigars. Perhaps this is because many Americans think of the watery, unflavorful beers that we see marketed on television, overlooking the many hand-crafted, flavorful beers that are widely available to consumers.

Like Sam Adams and Ommegang Ale, which have been the subject of previous Stogie Spirits articles, the Trappist beers of the Chimay Brewery are flavorful hand-crafted beers with flavors that seem more like fine wines. You won’t find Chimay in an aluminum can; instead, it comes in a 75cl bottle, the same size as a standard wine bottle, capped with a champagne-style cork.

Chimay has three main lines of beer, all produced in the Scourmont Abbey in the Belgian municipality of Chimay, where beer has been made since 1863. Here’s an overview of the three varieties of Chimay, and some suggestions of cigars to pair them with:

Chimay Rouge Première

Available for $9 a bottle, the Première is a copper-colored, top fermented ale. It features muted fruit and nut flavors with underlying unfinished barley. That wheaty flavor would go well with a creamy mild cigar like a Macanudo Gold or an Ashton Classic.

Chimay Blanche Cinq Cents

This golden ale is a “tripel” ale, bottled at 8% alcohol at $10 per bottle. Despite its strength, it is a dry, refreshing beer with orange and lemon citrus flavors. The beer is slightly cloudy in color and extraordinarily aromatic. The crisp citrus flavors go well with a peppery cigar like the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic, or with the spicy sweetness of a Cameroon wrapper.

Chimay Bleue Grande Réserve

This copper brown beer is considered to be the “classic” Chimay ale. It’s also the strongest at 9% alcohol ($11 per 75cl bottle). It has a creamy head with fruit and nut flavors and a slightly bitter taste. Reportedly, it can benefit greatly from cellaring for a few years. With all the fruit and nut flavors, it pairs well with a criollo cigar like the CAO Criollo or the Don Kiki Brown Label.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

No self-respecting rum devotee would admit he’s never tried—or worse, never heard of—Rhum Barbancourt, one of the world’s most decorated brands. As the back of each bottle reads, this is “a true sipping rum of unsurpassed quality.”

Barbancourt has amassed an impressive array of 22 medals since the family business was established in Haiti in the 1860s, most recently a Santé Gold Star Award in 2006. Here’s a bit of history from the label’s website:

“In 1862, Dupre Barbancourt, a native of Charente in France, put the finishing touches to a recipe for rum that still bears his name today. Using his homeland’s double distillation method usually reserved for cognacs, he distils a unique product which will regularly be recognized and receive the highest international distinctions.”

That last line is a recurring theme you’ll find again and again when researching the company. Barbancourt repeatedly and proudly boasts that it is not made from molasses like industrial rums, but rather “pot-stilled from fresh sugar cane juice and aged in oak casks in a method similar to the finest cognacs.”

You can appreciate the cognac-like qualities when you pour the Réserve Spéciale Five Star selection into your glass, either neat or on the rocks of course. Aged eight years, the clean, bright golden rum bursts with orange peel, vanilla, and honey. I am told more refined palates can also find notes of green apple, ginger, and caramel.

I find the taste to have a sharp, biting spice followed by a smooth, warm flavor of syrup and hazelnut. The consensus among connoisseurs seems to be this rum is soft and silky with a complexity that ranges from apricot, barley, nougat, and nut.

So, as far as rums go, Barbancourt is pretty delicate. I tried a myriad of cigars with Réserve Spéciale—including a new Arganese ML3 Robusto (review forthcoming)—and predictably found that it pairs best with milder sticks. My recommendations include Ybor City Handmades, an Oliva Serie G Cameroon, a Montecristo Classic, an Isla de Cuba Classic, and a Cuban Crafters Cameroon.

Prices range from $22-35 per 750 ml. bottle (43% alcohol). No matter what you pay for Rhum Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale Five Star in that range, I think you’ll be pleased.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Nearly a year ago to the day I took a look at the exclusive Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Today I’ll evaluate the Blue Label’s slightly younger brother: Johnnie Walker Gold Label, also known as “The Century Blend.”

Like the Blue Label, the Gold is a blended scotch made with some of the most exclusive single malts Scotland has to offer. Originally created by Sir Alexander Walker in 1920 to celebrate 100 years of the Johnnie Walker brand, the Gold Label is comprised of at least 15 different single malts, all at least 18 years old and some many years older (although reportedly the Gold blend is sometimes bottled with the youngest scotches being 15 years in age).

While not nearly as expensive as the Blue Label, which can cost as much as $200 per bottle, a 750 ml. bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold Label will normally run $70-80. Like the Blue Label, the Gold challenges the commonly held notion that single malts represent the pinnacle of scotches.

As soon as you open the bottle you are struck by two things: the deep golden color and the incredible aroma which I enjoyed for a full 20 minutes before I even indulged my taste buds. I found the aroma to be an inviting mix of apricot, orange peel, and honey.

When I finally got around to sipping this golden whiskey, I found some rich fruit and vanilla with a lingering honey and subtle smoke and spice. The finish is delicate but long.

According to the Johnnie Walker website, the Gold Label blend is best enjoyed out of the freezer allowing for the flavors to come to life on the palate as it warms in your mouth. I tried it both at room temperature and frozen, and found their description accurate. However, the downside of the chilled whiskey was that it somewhat muted the fantastic aromas that were produced when I enjoyed the Gold Label at room temperature.

With such a glowing review, you won’t be surprised to find that this scotch is best enjoyed with a fine cigar, and most fine cigars will go very well with a Johnnie Walker Gold Label. My recommendation would be to avoid the extremes when pairing the Gold Label with a cigar, so avoid the most mild and most full-flavored smokes.

I enjoyed this with a Davidoff Special R, which I would classify as medium- to full-bodied, and the pairing was excellent. An Ashton VSG or Arturo Fuente Sun Grown are two others that come to mind as excellent pairings, though I would be weary of trying to match a maduro with the subtle honey flavors of the Gold Label.

Overall, the Gold Label is an excellent, complex scotch that will pair well with a variety of cigars. While not as exquisite as the Blue Label, it punches above its weight at nearly a third of the price and is a must try for anyone who enjoys whiskey with their cigars.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I recently spent some time in Mexico to conduct research on cigars and margaritas. After some exhaustive experiments and dozens of tests, I came to the following conclusions:

Ingredients Matter

Like any cocktail, the quality of the ingredients makes all the difference. Use a instant margarita mix with cheap tequila and you’ll end up with a sub-par drink. Quality tequila is usually made with 100 percent blue agave, and it is distilled for maximum smoothness. Also important is a good triple sec like Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Finally, good lime juice is key, and the best is freshly squeezed from ripe limes. With that in mind, here is my go-to margarita recipe:

1. 1. Juice of two freshly squeezed limes
2. 2. Three onces of Sauza Tres Gerenations Plata (or Cazadores Reposado)
3. 3. One and 1/2 onces of Cointreau
4. 4. Stir with ice
5. 5. Serve on the rocks in a tumbler

Skip the Blender

As you may have noticed, the final step does not include a blender. As far as I’m concerned, frozen margaritas are for one thing only: hiding bad tequila or bad margarita mix. Too much blended ice leaves your drink watery and without flavor. Additionally, the ice will dull your palate making it nearly impossible to enjoy your cigar.

Skip the Salt

I think margaritas are can be great with salt but, if you’re pairing up the drink with a cigar, I suggest you skip it. The rock salt that is traditionally used to rim a margarita is far too powerful a flavor to allow you to enjoy a cigar. Your tongue will be overwhelmed with the saltiness, preventing your cigar’s flavors from shining through.

Go Full-Bodied

Tequila is a strong and flavorful spirit; a strong and flavorful cigar is needed to complement the combination of tequila and tangy lime. So go with a cigar that can hold up to those robust flavors. Te-Amo, with its Mexican roots, is a good possibility, as is the Domincan puro Opus X. Some other suggestions include the CAO Brazilia, the Don Pepin Cuban Classic (Black), the EO 601 Green, the Joya de Nicuragua, the Montecristo Cabinet Selección, the Padrón 7000, or the Tatuaje Havana VI.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys