I've pretty much been drinking a mid-dark beer i.e. Bass, Newcastle, with my cigars but I am ready to try a liquor/cigar combination.
I read an article on CA but it was recommending a different liquor for every cigar. That's nuts. I'm not ready for that. Keep it simple, something that will compliment most cigars. And how do you prefer your liquor? Over ice? "Cut it" with water? With a mixer?

A decent Cognac.

cognac is expensive and complicated. First off, the bottles are written in another language. The age markers don't use years. Then you have special vintages, estate produced cogancs, fruity cognacs, dry cognacs, cognacs that pair better with cigars than other cognacs. I would say bad place to start.

Bourbon or scotch would be better. A bottle of knob creek or woodford reserve are available anywhere and will get you on the path to enjoying bourbon.

Or grab a bottle of balvenie doublewood or abelour 10 year so you can see what speyside scotch is all about. Those are a little harder to find but worth searching for.

I drink most of my bourbon neat or with an ice cube. You can add a splash of water or a couple ice cubes to open it up. Makes the flavors more approachable and tones down the heat.

I like a margarita on the rocks with any cigar I smoke. Second choice is bourbon and coke, but the margarita really compliments a cigar for me. But, like everything else cigar, just experiment. Everyone has their own opinions and tastes.

Drambuie on the rocks.......

im going to go a different route. Im all about pairing regional foods with regional wines, it makes sense. it also makes sense to pair regional cigars with regional liquor. ie- rum!

there are lots of good rums out there, havana club, matasulem (sp?), appletons, etc. they are great to sip and balance out a cigar well. find the one that fits your tastes

The following is my list:

1-Single Malt Scotch (An Islay is my favorite)

1-Bourbon (Single Barrel such as Woodford reserve)

1-Gin. Tanqueray works for me either as a Martini with M&R vermouth or with tonic

1- Irish Whiskey (I generally pour a wee dram (2-3 ounces) in coffee on a Sunday Afternoon)

1-Cognac.

and my NUMBER 1 Choice.
Any of the above.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Docbarry,

Would port qualify?

port is a wine

quote:

Originally posted by dre:
port is a wine

I believe port was wine with a bucket of brandy added so it would sail well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bones,

Brandy is distilled from wine -- wine made with the Ugni Blanc grape varietal in Cognac.
Originally, in that region, they did that to save on the wine taxes when sending it from one place to another. The taxes were by volume, so they figured distilling it to about 120 proof for shipment, and then adding water at the receiving end to bring it back to normal wine alcohol levels would do the trick and save cash.
Of course, it wasn't a success as far as wine was concerned, but it gave birth to a fine spirit.
Or so goes the legend...

i just went cross eyed readin that. bout to print that out for some bedtime reading.

Wo Bones! Now that sets the record straight! I hope this was a cut and paste though, because if you researched and wrote it on your own it probably took you all day

Bourbon - Woodford Reserve & Ginger Ale

Bones: That was great. maybe Dave should hire you.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll let you know what I end up trying.

If you really want to "taste" and experience just the cigar...water. Nothing else. But hell, that's just too boring.

I usually pair with McAllen 12, a Makers Mark Manhatten or even the beers you mentioned are great. Some wine pairing can also be very interesting. For example, a dry woody cigar like an Upmann Epi 2 with a nice dry red wine such as an Italian super Tuscan can be mind blowing.

Yea, water is boring.

Tab

Well then, very impressive research and writing! Very complete. I am impressed.

However, from one writer to another (that's mostly how I make my living), you may want to have a more "story telling" approach, to liven things up a bit, to make it more dynamic for the reader -- I believe it is the edge you need to get published.
For example: you could have started your text with some sort of amusing anecdote or peronnal experience relating to brandy and then get into the subject, interspersed with lighter moments or humorous tidbits.
That way, you can get the info across without sounding too academic.
Just a comment that I hope will be helpful.

Rum and cigars go great!!
Straight or mixed (like maybe a Mojito) never over ice and never cut it with water. If you must have Coke with your rum put them in different glass.

quote:

Originally posted by flashman:
Well then, very impressive research and writing! Very complete. I am impressed.

However, from one writer to another (that's mostly how I make my living), you may want to have a more "story telling" approach, to liven things up a bit, to make it more dynamic for the reader -- I believe it is the edge you need to get published.
For example: you could have started your text with some sort of amusing anecdote or peronnal experience relating to brandy and then get into the subject, interspersed with lighter moments or humorous tidbits.
That way, you can get the info across without sounding too academic.
Just a comment that I hope will be helpful.

This was about the 3rd or 4th rewrite, and you are the 1st to call it "too academic". I can live with "too academic".

I'm begin to believe that maybe I'm more of a tech writer than anything else.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bones,