Cifuentes y Compania Partagas 1845 - Black Label

Cigars, unlike wine or beer,  take a certain amount of practice - much more than simply drinking a beverage - to even smoke properly, let alone enjoying or analyzing the flavors. Add the wide, wide variety of tobaccos, countries of  origin, blends, sizes, wrapping techniques, and flavors and it may seem daunting. And it can be daunting. But have no fear - you have a reliable guide here at Sip and Puff! Today I'm going review a rather strong, full-bodied cigar that I consider to be one of the deepest, richest cigars I've ever enjoyed. It's the "Black Label" offering from Partagas. 

So just look at that cigar. What do you notice? It's pretty much one of the darkest cigars I've come across.  The dark brown / black tobaccos are generally sweeter, richer, and stronger. These are called maduro or oscuro. The darker leaves usually mean that the leaf itself had more exposure to the sun - maduro stems from the Latin word "maturus," meaning aged or matured. So keep that in mind - as a leaf sits on the plant longer, it gains certain flavors and strengths that are not present in other types (like claro, for example, which is a still-green young tobacco leaf that's picked and quickly dried and stoved, thereby retaining the green color of the leaf.)

Sometimes these dark leaves are added to a cigar to give it strength and flavor. Certain leaves - those with direct exposure to the sun - are called ligero. Ligero tobaccos are dark, oily, and often have extra nicotine in them. Those tobaccos are often blended with other tobaccos to create a darker, stronger cigar. There are three parts to a cigar - filler, binder, and wrapper. The filler is the tobacco that forms the body of the cigar. The binder is a layer of leaves that wrap the filler tightly and help it to keep its shape. The wrapper is a thin layer that goes on the outside. Each element has its own unique characteristics and properties. Generally, the wrapper is the most prized part of the cigar, and some of the best cigar wrappers come from right near where I grew up in Connecticut.

The Partagas Black Label is, in my opinion, one of the nicest maduro/ligero blends. Master cigar maker Daniel Nunez, who learned the trade from Ramon Cifuentes himself, spent ten years perfecting the Partagas Black Label. He took a Cuban-seed Dominican wrapper and blended both Dominican Pilota Cubano ligero fillers and Nicaraguan ligero binders. 

The cigar itself wasn't too tight and lit up fine. It drew nicely, and soon I was pulling nice clouds of languid white smoke. As for the taste, I found it tasted a little like espresso - it had that same sense of singed coffee beans...although it wasn't coffee-flavored (more on that in a few weeks!) I also encountered a slight mineral taste with a finish of oiled leather. I had to put it out around pinky-length because it had gone out one too many times.

In conclusion, this was a cigar I really enjoyed. It's strong, and perhaps best suited to summer evenings (according to my brother Dan.) This isn't an "everyday smoke", either - save a Partagas for a nice summer evening. 

Ommegang Brewing Co. - Three Philosophers

When I want a nice Belgian ale for drinking, I look to Chimay or Hoegaarden as my staple beers. Both are tasty in their own ways and satisfy my urge for Belgian beers. But there's much more to Belgian beers besides the typical abbey ales. Every so often, one may want something outside the ordinary. This is where the delicious Three Philosophers comes in. Three Philosophers is a Belgian quadruppel, a very strong Belgian ale weighing in at 9.8% ABV.

Some claim that the terms dubel,  tripel  and quadrupel  used to refer to the number of Xs stamped on beer barrels, each X denoting increasing gravity and potency. So a dubel would have double Xs, or XX, and a triple would be XXX, and so forth. Our friend, the Three Philosophers, weighs in at a XXXX strength. Not for the faint of heart.

The beer itself comes in a typical trappist bomber, with a curvy neck and a cork held in by a wire cage (like you'd find on sparkling white wine bottles.) Twist off the wire cage, gently work the cork out (which is under pressure, so don't point it at your eyeballs or anything else), and let the beer breathe for a few moments. Pour this beer into a chalice glass...

...and notice the carbonation and murky amber color. Let the beer sit for a moment and watch the little bubbles make their way to the top. There's a thin head on this beer, and I'm okay with that.

You can definitely taste the cherry in this beer. Since 2% of it is actual cherry, you get a full-mouth cherry flavor that's very pleasing. Yes, there's a taste of alcohol in this beer, but it's not overwhelming like Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut was. The beer tastes thick, strong, and lush. There is some alcohol sweetness to it, with a touch of brown sugar, and it has a sweet, sugary finish. Definitely Belgian, definitely tasty. One word of caution: this beer is great, but strong. You may not want to drink a whole bottle by yourself.

Morland Brewing Co. - "Old Speckled Hen"

Many of you may not have heard of "Old Speckled Hen." The beer, which uses quotation marks on the box, is an English malt ale found in some specialty stores.

Originally brewed in 1979 for the 50th anniversary of the MG car manufactory, this beer is brewed by the Morland Brewing Company. Formerly of Abingdon, England, they moved their brewery to St. Edmund's after Morland got bought by Greene King.

According to beer lore, there was an old shop car at the MG plant in England which was used by workers. It was pretty messy at the plant, and the car became flecked with gold paint quite a bit, and as a result the workers dubbed the car the "ol' speckled 'un," later clarified to "Old Speckled Hen." The beer's logo is even in a similar shape to that of the MG logo.

The beer itself is very enjoyable. I've had it before, but maybe three or four times. It's an exceedingly smooth, mellow, malty ale with a definite sweetness. It tastes just like it looks - clear and crisp. There are also light toffee notes in there, which is not unpleasant at all. The color is a wonderful shade of caramel. The beer has a fair amount of carbonation, and it has a very thin white head when poured.

I must admit that I tried it partially because the name interested me but also because of the color.

There isn't a very strong nose to this beer (unlike some others I have had lately) but when pouring, you can detect a slight earthy smell.

You could serve this beer just by itself, or maybe with some lighter fare like a chicken dish. I'm imagining a plate of dill sausages, some eggs, black bread, and baked beans along with a crispy mug of Old Speckled Hen. If you're looking for a delicious, approachable beer that's not too harsh, try this one. It's not my favorite but it's a delicious beer for a cold night.

Zestos - tempranillo / grenache, 2009

Recently I dove into a simply delicious bottle of Spanish red wine over dinner, a bottle so delicious and so exemplary of the perfect light summer red that I had to share it. Although this wine isn't a traditional winter wine, it's perfectly drinkable any time of year and is rather cheap, to boot. I'm talking about a tasty tempranillo / grenache mix by Zestos.

It was lush, fruity, bright, a little watery (which is fine), ripe and delicious with a very straightforward strawberry flavor.The finish was smooth, bright, with no alcohol flavors at all. It was a bit dry but finished well and left no lingering tastes.

As you can see, it had a gorgeous garnet color.

This wine exemplifies everything I want in a grenache or a tempranillo. Whether you are having a picnic or a  a cheese course or even just looking for a bottle to open on its own, I can't recommend lighter, jammier wines like tempranillo or grenache enough. Combined, these two varietals blend nicely. I would serve this with pasta, or anything light or citrusy - I'm thinking about serving it with my famous vitello alla francese or perhaps some lemon pasta or even a basil and mozzarella salad. These types of wine are great pairings for lighter, subtle foods. The brightness of the wine makes up for any wateriness that you might find, but I really don't think it's that noticeable.

I was asked which cigar would pair well with this wine - and the answer to that is an Avo XO Preludio.

So seek this out, for sure - I would also pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving. You'll enjoy that little edge of cold in the wine.