Art of Cigar Pairing

AI - David Yancey

What’s special about pairing cigars?

Have you ever sat down, lit up a cigar, took a couple of draws, and thought, “This is a good smoke?” Of course, you have; we all have. It’s part of why we smoke cigars. Now—have you taken that same cigar, taken a sip of your favorite Scotch, then a draw of your cigar and thought …

“Wow”

I remember my first pairing as if it were yesterday. I was with friends at a local cigar lounge/sports bar. If you think about it, you’ll know which one it is. I decided to go with a cigar that was new to me, a La Aurora Ruby. At this time, while I knew a bit about cigars, to be honest, I didn’t know the difference between a maduro and a Habano. I just knew that I liked “strong” cigars. More about that later.

My drink of choice was the Maduro Malt from Cigar City Brewing. The name is what grabbed my attention. Now, that is marketing at its best.  Anyways, here we were, a bunch of guys, having a drink, smoking cigars, when after taking a sip of my beer and then a draw off my cigar, I was stopped dead in my tracks.

Wow, I was hooked!

After that experience and realizing there was something to pairing cigars with drinks, I realized I was now on a journey of discovery and education. I wanted to learn all about cigars; however, I didn’t limit myself to just learning about cigars. I wanted to know why they paired well with beers, whiskey, bourbon, and wines. My journey began with learning about how cigars are made and how the terroir impacted the flavors as much as the types of seeds used. I soon realized that the combination of the tobacco seed and where it’s grown is not much different than how the terroir impacts the grapes in wine.

For a long time, it has been thought that to pair a cigar, you primarily focus on the cigar's body and pair it with a drink that matches it. While not entirely wrong, pairing is more than matching a full-bodied cigar with a full-bodied wine or bourbon. A true pairing of a cigar will marry the flavors or bring the nuanced flavors from either side of the pairing forward to be seen and experienced.

This is the beginning of a journey that will introduce you to, as my friend Joe often would say, the “next level” of pairing. The journey will be broken down into multiple parts. We'll start with a focus on the history of cigars, whiskies, and wines. Next, we'll dive into understanding the essentials of each before reaching the heart of pairing—understanding your palate. From there, we'll explore the different types of pairings and how to bring everything together, whether you're pairing a cigar with wine, spirits, cocktails, or food. By the time we finish, my hope is that you'll have the knowledge and confidence to discover new pairings on your own.

So, join me on this journey, and remember:

“Explore the Pairings. There is something for everyone.”