Pairing Cigar with your drink

RaschNuts

How many of you guys base what stick your are going to smoke based on the beverage for the night.
or do you base the beverage on the stick?

i have been on a hard cider kick lately specifically Woodchuck. and im wondering what your suggestions might be on a stick that would go well with it.

Sandman1am

Depends on my mood but most of the time I pick the stick 1st. I ALWAYS have water on hand. Sometimes thats all I have. Other times I like beers or other adult beverages like scotch. Most of the time I save the drinks until after I'm done smoking (or drink very very very slowly) to enjoy the cigars that I am smoking and not over power them.

I don't know what kind of smokes you like but hard cider might go well with Verdadero Organic ? Or maybe something with a fruit or citrus flavor ??? I'd go with a mild or med bodied stick.

KCW

I agree w/ Sandman. I don't want the beverage to over power or distract from the Cigar. I usually have a Beer (or 2) and /or Water.

undulac

Unless it's water, Diet Coke, white wine (can't drink red b/c of migraines) and beer I usually don't drink anything else. If I have a cigar. . . I smoke it. If I have a drink. . . I drink it. I can tell you that the only time I pay attention is when i have a mild cigar because the wine or beer can drown the creaminess out.

Schrooz

I really like smoking maduro sticks while sipping red wine. When I am sipping scotch, any stick will do.

Russ55

I decide what cigar I feel like first, and if there's a pairing for that particular stick, and I feel like it I will have it. My most common pairing is coffee, followed by rum and tequila. While I'm a big fan of single malt Scotch, I haven't found too many sticks that I like to pair with it.

Can't really help with the apple cider too much. Off the top of my head I'd say maybe a stick that had some sweet flavors to it. Go for a sort of sweet and sour combination. It's going to take some experimentation with that one I think.

cooch36

[quote. If I have a cigar. . . I smoke it. If I have a drink. . . I drink it. Sounds a little like forest gump!

cooch36

but ya cigar first and mood I'm in dictates drink. Beer light dark, scotch, water, Sometimes even milk.

undulac

cooch36:

[quote. If I have a cigar. . . I smoke it. If I have a drink. . . I drink it. Sounds a little like forest gump!

There's not too much of a difference between he and I other than he is a millionaire.

TheDrifter

I think a Diesel would match well with the Woodchuck.

RaschNuts

I ended up going with a RP 92 and it seemed to go pretty well. The spice in the RP melded with the apple in the woodchuck

xmacro

Cigar first; drink second. Even then, if I'm in the mood for a jack and coke, I'll drink that regardless of what I'm smoking.

cooch36

undulac:

cooch36:

[quote. If I have a cigar. . . I smoke it. If I have a drink. . . I drink it. Sounds a little like forest gump!

There's not too much of a difference between he and I other than he is a millionaire.

LOL I hear that!

Rob1110

I usually pick the cigar first, then pair a drink with it but will occasionally do the opposite. Due to the sweet, slightly mild and low alcohol profile of hard cider, I'd agree that a mild to medium cigar would probably pair best.

Adcurium

When I smoke during the day I almost always have a latte with 4 shots (iced in the summer, hot in the winter). In the evenings when I'm sitting on the deck or in the back yard, it's usually beer or a cocktail in one way or another. I go through cocktail kicks: I spent three weeks drinking nothing but mojitos, another week or two on Mai Tia's, etc. Although, for the winter I'm taking Sinatra's advice: A cocktail should only have two ingredients. And Ice Counts.

rwheelwright

You all will think I am crazy but I think the best pairing for any cigar is a McDonalds Chocolate Shake. Before I bought my own house, I would want to get out and get away and go smoke. I would hit up McDs, get myself a shake and smoke in my truck by the lake hoping that some hot younger chics would come by. Well, any hot chics older or younger. I'm a dog what can I say. I just remember that no matter what I was smoking that shake went great with it.

sol1821

I had a gurkha turk with a nice cider a while ago and it went really well

Hays

sol1821:

I had a gurkha turk with a nice cider a while ago and it went really well

I've done the exact same, and found it to be quite a nice pairing.

doromath

The most I will really do is tone down the drink I have based on the cigar and time of day. Everything requires some water, but that is generally accompanied by either scotch, beer or red wine. Milder sticks I tend to pair with beer so that I don't miss out on the subtelties. There are times when I know that scotch and/or red will drown out some of the subtle nuances of a cigar, but I pair them anyways because I'm after the overall experience.

digthisbigcrux

Strong IPA/ Stout/ Porter/ Red Wine/Scotch and Bourbon I usually stick with a medium to full bodied maduro smoke

If I'm drinking a lager/pilsner or a light rum, I'll usually go with something in the mild to medium range.

PsychoSJG

Ruination + Johnny Walker = mmmmm

JZerby

I pretty much have two go-to drinks, no matter what I'm smoking. Rum and Coke or Kamora and coffee. I tend to drink the latter when it is cooler outside, as I only smoke outside and when the weather is nice. The rum and Coke is for the summer nights. I also find that the Kamora and coffee pairs real nicely with the Flavours by CAO Moontrance, which is the only flavored cigar I have ever actually liked.

SaVas

For me, it tends to be a mild to medium blend in the morning paired with a good cup of coffee, or water. Afternoons tend to be me drinking diet coke or iced tea with lemon, with a medium cigar, and evenings, when I'm in the drinking mood, the medium to full bodied cigars, I pair with a highland scotch ( normally Balvenie 12 yr double wood, or Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, or a good bourbon). If the cigar is on the spice and pepper side I like a solera rum like Ron Zacapa 23 year, or a good tawny port like Graham's 20 yr. But I also find any medium to full cigar pairs well with a gimletini (cross between a gimlet and a martini, slightly dirty, with Bombay Sapphire, and Tito's vodka, that has a skewer of jalapeno stuffed olives and cocktail onions)

Imgembo

rwheelwright:

You all will think I am crazy but I think the best pairing for any cigar is a McDonalds Chocolate Shake. Before I bought my own house, I would want to get out and get away and go smoke. I would hit up McDs, get myself a shake and smoke in my truck by the lake hoping that some hot younger chics would come by. Well, any hot chics older or younger. I'm a dog what can I say. I just remember that no matter what I was smoking that shake went great with it.

i too enjoy a chocolate shake with almost all of my cigars. funny how taste works. I also always eat cashews or roasted nuts after a cigar too. Recently its been ice water for me though so i can get a better idea how the cigar tastes.

Gray4lines

Thanks fellas for introducing me to one of my new favorite drink and cigar combos. Bourbon.I was never much of a liquor fan, but thought I'd give it a try. Last night was my first pairing, woodford reserve and a rocky olde world maduro. It was good, but I found the bourbon a little hard to swallow. So today I tried making a "whiskey sour" (lemon juice, bourbon, little sugar). It was pretty good, but I found myself wanting to add more bourbon and ended up just having it straight in a chilled glass! It seems pretty quick, but my taster buds have turned on to bourbon and I'm having another shot to sip with an LHCOF . So thanks for the info, and new weekend (or any day) habit! I'm loving it now

jadelt

Gray4lines:

Thanks fellas for introducing me to one of my new favorite drink and cigar combos. Bourbon.I was never much of a liquor fan, but thought I'd give it a try. Last night was my first pairing, woodford reserve and a rocky olde world maduro. It was good, but I found the bourbon a little hard to swallow. So today I tried making a "whiskey sour" (lemon juice, bourbon, little sugar). It was pretty good, but I found myself wanting to add more bourbon and ended up just having it straight in a chilled glass! It seems pretty quick, but my taster buds have turned on to bourbon and I'm having another shot to sip with an LHCOF . So thanks for the info, and new weekend (or any day) habit! I'm loving it now

Glad to hear you like the Woodford. I find that is my fav (as you know) but like with Cigars, I like to try new stuff. If you want to try another bourbon, I used to drink Buffalo Trace before I found the Woodford. But you are already spoiled with the Woodford.

I sip the bourbon slowly along side good stick and a big glass of ice water.