Food & Drink -- 1 day ago
The Gentleman’s Cigar Pairing Guide
Good pairings are built on balance, not bravado. When done well, the right companion drink deepens the cigar rather than drowning it out.
- Words: Rupert Taylor
Ordering a cigar is relatively straightforward. Ordering a drink to go with it is where otherwise competent men begin to improvise wildly. One chap pairs a Connecticut wrapped breakfast cigar with cask strength rye and spends the next hour regretting his life choices. Another buys a rich Nicaraguan maduro and drowns it in sugary cocktails until both taste of little more than vanilla and remorse.
We would never treat our wardrobe with such abandon. Nobody puts on a navy flannel suit, bright running shoes and a fluorescent gilet and calls it "experimentation". Clothes are chosen, more or less, with a sense of proportion. Cigar pairing should be no different. You are dressing the palate rather than the torso, but the principles are identical, match weight, match mood, avoid shouting.
The good news is that you do not need a sommelier qualification or a walk in cellar to get this right. A handful of sensible bottles, all easily bought in the US, and a basic understanding of cigar strength will carry you from Sunday afternoon coffee to post dinner Lagavulin with your dignity intact.
Pairing Principles | Balance Rather Than Bravado
Two rules keep you out of most trouble.
First, match intensity. Mild cigars want gentle company. Medium cigars are social butterflies. Full cigars demand something that can stand up for itself. A creamy Connecticut in the morning with Lagavulin 16 is like wearing a cashmere polo under plate armour, impressive, but no one is enjoying themselves.
Second, aim for harmony, not domination. The cigar and the drink should nod politely to one another rather than wrestle for attention. A full bodied Nicaraguan with a modest Jameson Original works because the whiskey smooths the edges without trying to win. A delicate corona with high proof rye simply disappears under the shouting.
Think of it as pairing tailoring and footwear. A linen suit from Brunello Cucinelli and chunky hiking boots is a statement. It is not, however, a good one.
Mild Cigars | Champagne, Light Whisky And Daytime Respectability
Mild cigars, the classic pale Connecticut wrappers, many Dominican blends, the sort of thing you smoke before lunch in a linen shirt, behave best with drinks that share their restraint.
Champagne is a slyly brilliant partner. A glass of Veuve Clicquot Brut or Moët & Chandon Impérial, bought from any half decent US wine shop, brings lemon, brioche and just enough cut to keep a mild cigar feeling bright rather than bland. Bollinger Special Cuvée, with its slightly richer profile, works beautifully with a creamier Connecticut robusto while you sit in a blazer and open necked shirt pretending this sort of thing happens every Tuesday.
If whisky feels more honest, stay light. Irish whiskey is conspicuously good with milder cigars. Jameson Original is the workhorse, soft, grainy, inoffensive, like a well worn pair of suede loafers from Tod’s. Redbreast 12 adds a little more depth and fruit but remains firmly in the "won’t hurt you" category. On the Scotch side, Glenmorangie 10 " Original " or Glenfiddich 12 have enough citrus and honey to flatter a mild smoke without turning it bitter.
Rum can join in, provided it is not too eager. Bacardi Superior or Flor de Caña 4 Extra Seco with plenty of ice will refresh rather than smother. Anything darker and sweeter belongs firmly in the next category.
Daytime pairings are also where coffee shines. A cappuccino or flat white from whichever local roaster you pretend to have discovered first sits beautifully beside a Montecristo No. 4 or equivalent, the milk cushioning the cigar’s spice while the espresso keeps you marginally functional. If you would not wear a three piece charcoal suit from Gieves & Hawkes to brunch, you probably should not be drinking cask strength bourbon with your morning cigar.
Medium Cigars | Where Almost Everything Works
Medium bodied cigars are the navy blazer of the humidor. Montecristo No. 2, Romeo y Julieta No. 3, Oliva Serie V (not the most ferocious sizes), many Honduran and Dominican robustos, all comfortable, all flexible, all able to keep their end of the conversation with most things you are likely to pour.
This is where bourbon feels particularly at home. Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace and Maker’s Mark are all widely available in the US, and all make excellent partners for a medium cigar. Vanillas, caramels and spice fold neatly around cedar and toast from the tobacco in the same way a pair of Alden loafers seems to flatter every pair of trousers it meets.
Speyside and Highland single malts come into their own here. Macallan 12 Sherry Oak, with its richer dried fruit, loves anything with a hint of sweetness in the blend. Aberlour A’bunadh, at higher strength, demands a cigar with a little backbone, an Oliva Serie V Melanio or a Nicaraguan toro, but the combination is immensely satisfying once you are sitting down and not required to operate heavy machinery.
Aged rum moves from background singer to star in this bracket. Ron Zacapa 23, Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva and Santa Teresa 1796, all easy to find in the States, are textbook examples. Their molasses, dark sugar and orange peel notes echo the cigar’s wood and spice while the sweetness takes the sharp corners off the smoke. It is the liquid equivalent of swapping a stiff business shirt for a soft denim number from Ralph Lauren once the tie comes off.
Port, particularly tawny, belongs here too. A glass of Graham’s 20 Year Tawny or Taylor Fladgate 20 with a medium to full robusto is possibly the most civilised way of admitting the evening has got away from you. Nuts, caramel, dried fruits, a cigar humming along in the middle ground, it is difficult to improve upon.
Full Cigars | When Only The Heavy Artillery Will Do
Full bodied cigars, the thick Nicaraguan maduros, punchy Honduran blends, the Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour sort of proposition, have all the delicacy of a cabinet reshuffle. They require drinks with enough presence to hold their ground.
Islay Scotch is the obvious candidate. Lagavulin 16 and Laphroaig 10 are widely available in the US, and both bring peat, smoke and maritime sternness to the glass. Paired with a dark, oily cigar after dinner, preferably while wearing something substantial, navy flannel suit, white Turnbull & Asser shirt, tie from Drake’s loosened to an acceptable degree, they produce the sort of deep, contemplative silence that unnerves younger men.
High proof bourbon and rye also earn their place. A robust cigar alongside a glass of Wild Turkey 101, Bulleit Rye or Rittenhouse Rye is a conversation in spice and oak. The caramel and vanilla cradle the tobacco while the rye’s pepper picks out the cigar’s more assertive notes. It is not a combination for delicate moods, but on a cold night with the right company, it is almost indecently satisfying.
Cognac offers a more polished route. Hennessy XO, Rémy Martin XO and Martell Cordon Bleu are all easy enough to source in the US and bring a different kind of richness, dried fruit, oak polish and leather armchairs in liquid form. With a full cigar, especially something with chocolate and earth in its profile, the effect is less brawl and more negotiation. If Port feels like dessert, XO cognac feels like the bill and a final, well chosen remark.
Tawny Port can be pushed further, too. Graham’s 20 or Dow’s 40 Year Old Tawny, in very small pours, will stand their ground against the strongest cigar in the box. The key is quantity, a modest glass, not half the bottle. You are chasing complexity, not a sugar coma.
Coffee And Other Sensible Companions | When One Vice At A Time
Not every pairing needs alcohol. Sometimes you simply want the cigar and enough caffeine to keep your eyes in the same direction.
Black coffee and espresso are brutally effective with fuller cigars. A double espresso from Illy, Lavazza or the aggressive third wave place around the corner cuts straight through a maduro’s richness and resets the palate between draws. Dark chocolate notes in the coffee link up with cocoa and earth in the cigar, bitterness counters sweetness, everyone wins.
For medium cigars, a flat white or cappuccino strikes a better balance, particularly earlier in the day. Milk softens both drink and smoke, turning the whole thing into something approaching breakfast, albeit the sort of breakfast your doctor would prefer not to hear about.
If you insist on beer, keep the same intensity rule in mind. Guinness or a good American stout with a full cigar, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or similar with a medium one, crisp pilsners or lagers such as Modelo or Stella with something milder on a hot afternoon. Treat very hoppy IPAs with caution, they can turn even a well-behaved cigar into something metallic and quarrelsome.
How To Experiment | A Simple Method That Does Not Require Charts
Once you understand the basic map, experimenting becomes less risky and more enjoyable. The process is pleasantly straightforward.
Start with the cigar. Ask whether it is mild, medium or full. If you would happily smoke it before lunch in a linen shirt from Sunspel and loafers, it is probably mild. If it feels like an evening thing with a navy blazer and proper shoes from Crockett & Jones, call it medium. If you can imagine only smoking it after a serious dinner, in flannel and heavy brogues, classify it as full and proceed accordingly.
Then open the drinks cabinet and think in equivalents. Mild cigar goes with Jameson, Glenmorangie 10, light rum, Champagne, milky coffee. Medium cigar pairs with Buffalo Trace, Macallan 12, Zacapa 23, tawny Port. Full cigar works with Lagavulin 16, high proof rye, Hennessy XO, espresso, Guinness.
Pour modestly to begin with. Take a sip, then a draw. Notice whether the drink wipes out the cigar, or the cigar wipes out the drink, or whether they take turns in a reasonably gentlemanly fashion. Adjust. A dash of water in the whisky, a move from XO down to VSOP, a switch from dark rum to something lighter, all of these micro tweaks make a difference.
The aim is not to compile a spreadsheet of approved pairings. It is to develop the same quiet instinct you have when you choose shoes and a tie without agonising in front of the mirror. At a certain point, you simply know that Edward Green and charcoal flannel belong together, just as you know that Laphroaig and a Connecticut cigar probably do not.
The Gentleman’s Cigar Pairing Guide | A Few Bottles To Know By Name
If you want a bar that will handle almost any cigar you are likely to buy in the US, you could do worse than the following core cast, acquired over time rather than in one heroic afternoon.
A light Irish such as Jameson Original, a softer Speyside like Glenmorangie 10, a dependable bourbon in the Woodford Reserve or Buffalo Trace mould, a peaty Islay in the shape of Lagavulin 16, an aged rum like Ron Zacapa 23 or Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, a serious tawny Port such as Graham’s 20, a respectable Champagne, Veuve Clicquot Brut will do quite nicely, and a Cognac that has at least made it to VSOP, preferably something like Rémy Martin or Hennessy in XO form for high days and holidays. Add decent coffee, and you are essentially covered from a mild morning corona to midnight maduro.
Everything beyond that is embroidery. Mezcal and medium cigars, rye and strong Nicaraguans, stout and anything vaguely chocolatey, all worth exploring once you have a handle on the basics.
The real pleasure lies not in discovering the perfectly optimised pairing that only works on Tuesdays during a westerly breeze, but in the sense that cigar and drink are working together, both making the other taste more like itself. That is the quiet magic of a good pairing. You take two indulgences and, through a modest application of thought, turn them into something that feels, fleetingly and gloriously, like good judgement.
