Unlike what a lot of seasoned smokers would tell you, do you know that whiskey is not the only drink you can have with your cigar? Also, a lot of people pair their cigars with drinks, but did you know that you can also pair your cigars with food? Here are the top 5 interesting things that you can pair your cigars within 2021!

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5. Cocktails

Countless cocktail recipes exist in the world today, unlike years ago when we only had the classic ones like the Old Fashioned cocktail. In fact, new cocktail recipes are being generated all the time! As numerous as the cocktails available to choose from today are, they still make an excellent choice to pair with a cigar. In a cocktail, the best spirits that work for cigar pairings are whiskey, rum, and tequila. White spirits such as vodka and gin should be avoided in the mix. Their base flavors can’t be complementary to the flavor of the cigar because the cigar oftentimes overpowers the subtle herbal notes of these beverages.

Light‐bodied cigars go particularly well with cocktails that use coffee or Irish cream. With medium‐bodied cigars, drinks like an Irish coffee during the cold winter months or a Stinger when it’s warmer make ideal choices. A classic Old Fashioned cocktail pairs impeccably with any full‐bodied cigar.

From the multitude of cocktails that exist out there, you can choose any of them that you feel will suit your tastes to combine with a cigar today. At the end of it all, the ultimate goal when pairing your cigar with anything is balance. In your pairing, one component shouldn’t overpower the other. Rather, they should complement each other equally.

4. Craft Beer

While cigars have long been associated with whiskey, they are just as well‐matched with beer, especially craft beers, because of their superior ranges of taste and variety. This new pairing phenomenon boasts endless combinations and is already birthing new theories, opinions, and personal tastes. Even though beer‐cigar pairing is supposed to be an individual experience, there are still a few applicable tips you might want to consider if you’re a first‐timer at this sort of pairing:

•  Beers that have heavily herbal or bitter tastes usually pair well with rich or full-bodied cigars or cigars with spicy flavor notes.
•  A mild cigar will usually go over well with a beer that has a subtle yet crisp character or something light and frothy to refresh your palate from the smoke.
•  Feel free to try your hand at as many pairings as you want with the cigars in your humidor and the beers in your fridge. As was said before, the experience is supposed to be very personal to you, not something guided by a rulebook. Sometimes you’ll be unimpressed, other times delighted or surprised. All in all, make sure that you slow down and relax so that you can truly appreciate the experience.

3. Seafood and Steak

 

The great thing about this particular cigar pairing is that it has no mealtime constraints. You can enjoy your cigar before, during, or after your meal, depending on what you prefer. And you can do this with any kind of food you like. Nonetheless, based on consensus, the three best foods that pair perfectly with cigars are seafood, steak, and pasta.

Seafood: Due to its natural lightness in taste, seafood pairs best with mild to medium cigars. You may want to go for something light and smooth with some citrus in it as well that will not overpower the flavor of the salmon, lobster, mussels, or whatever seafood you’re having but will instead add in some subtle notes to enhance the meal.

Steak: A yummy grilled steak needs a cigar that’s going to balance out its meaty flavor. A rich and bold cigar such as a Maduro, which is crisp and strong, will do the job seamlessly.

Pasta: Pasta dishes generally have a red tomato‐based sauce, as well as meats that are seasoned with herbs such as basil and oregano. The sauces are often on the sweeter side because of these herbs and spices. Opting for a smoke that’s medium and has a bit of sweetness will work well with this type of meal, so the taste of the sauce is not lost as it would be with a fuller cigar.

2. Wine

 

Wine is one drink that can arguably be said to have been made in combination with a cigar. This is because, just like whiskey, the originating characteristics of both wine and cigars overlap so perfectly. There are two different methods for pairing your wine with your cigar:

1. The first method constitutes you matching the richness of your wine and your cigar so that the flavor notes of both complement each other. This is what most people would recommend because they themselves use this method.

So, in essence, if you’re smoking a full‐bodied cigar with earthy notes, you would pair it with a wine that’s also full‐bodied, such as a heavy red wine. Red wines tend to work with medium to full‐bodied cigars because they both have a more structured taste.

A lighter cigar with a possibly sweet profile will pair well with a white wine under this method. White wines tend to work perfectly with light‐bodied cigars thanks to the fact that they manage to balance the acidity and fruity finish perfectly.

2. The second method has a bit more eccentricity to it, but there’s a reason some people prefer to go for it. In this method, you would choose a wine and a cigar that contrast each other in body and flavor.

Clearly, this is the complete opposite of method 1, and the reason the method is even on the menu, to begin with, is that it has been proven that pairing a cigar and a wine that are contradictory in strength and taste will maximize the flavors in the two. The differing nature of both elements will come together to amplify the best parts of the tastes in one another. Smoking a lighter‐bodied, sweeter-tasting cigar? Get a deeply rich and heavier wine to drink with it.

The result will be a smoking and drinking experience in which the best nuances in both will come off magnified because the flavor of your drink will be amplified as it bounces off the airier notes of your cigar.  Alternately, a rich, robust cigar will contrast complementarily with a glass of sweet white wine, enhancing those rich earthy notes from your cigar against the backdrop of the lighter wine. Note that the age of the wine is also important. Old wines are perfect for full-bodied cigars, while younger wines work tremendously fine with younger cigars that have a higher level of acidity.

 

1. Coffee & Tea

 

Coffee made it to the number 1 spot on this list because a lot of people are making this pairing today. Coffee is no longer just a morning beverage as it used to be traditionally, and cigars have never had a prescribed timeframe when they could be smoked. This has made this pairing a go‐to favorite for many people because it can virtually be had at any time of the day!

Tea has also become a staple for a lot of cigar smokers recently. Being beverages of sublime aromas and flavors, selecting the right drink while puffing at your favorite cigar certainly enhances your smoking experience tenfold. Like any cigar and beverage pairings, keep in mind that it will always be subjective. Everyone has different taste preferences. Still, here are a few general suggestions for how to pair your coffee and cigars:

•  Pair a full‐bodied cigar with a dark roast coffee.
•  Pair a medium to full‐bodied cigar with a medium to dark roast coffee.
•  Pair a mild cigar with a light to medium roast coffee.

For example, a medium‐bodied, cedary Arturo Fuente Chateau cigar would go hand in hand perfectly with the milky tastiness of a flat white coffee. Also, a double espresso paired with the extremely rich flavor profile of an Ashton Symmetry cigar would make a great pair.

As for teas, the lighter the color of your cigar, the lighter the color of the tea you should choose, and vice versa. A mild cigar would make a perfect combo with a lighter‐colored tea such as an herbal white tea. A richer, fuller‐bodied cigar, on the other hand, would pair finely with a similarly rich cup of black tea.

Fun fact: When tobacco leaves are cured, they go through an almost identical degradation process to what coffee goes through when the beans are roasted. The timelines are quite different, but the chemical reactions are pretty much the same.

Additionally—and the most prominent similarity to us the consumers, alongside our senses of taste, coffee, tea, and cigars also appeal to our senses of smell. What particularly brings the most enjoyment in the puffing and sipping experience is the mixture of aromas. These are some of the characteristics that make coffee and cigars or coffee and tea stellar matches.

Honorable Mention: Whiskey.

Despite its absence from our list, whiskey is still very much a crowd favorite in terms of drinks to pair with a cigar. Our list consists of the best things to pair with your cigar besides whiskey, just in case the heavy variant of spirits does not exactly appeal to you. However, if you happen to be a whiskey aficionado, using either of the two pairing methods for wine and cigars when you pair your whiskey with your cigar will also produce a highly satisfactory smoking cum drinking experience for you.

Now here’s a golden truth that no one may tell you. It is something that has been highlighted throughout this text. These foods and drinks listed above serve as only a pick‐and‐choose guide, just in case you’re finding it difficult to decide for yourself. However, if there’s any food or any drink that you want to eat at any time, and you also just happen to be craving a cigar simultaneously, go for both!

In the end, like most things in life, it all comes down to individual tastes. Through trial and error, you’ll discover soon enough what works best for you and what doesn’t. You’ll also more likely find the perfect pair for your cigar when you’re having what you want than when you’re doing what you’re told.

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