best tipple for a smoke

[Soulmanure]

I made a few notes here that seem to agree with several above. My usual go-to appears to be filtered tap water or Sprite though.
And whisky goes with anything.

Interesting pairings there, especially the gin/tonic. I tried a vodka tonic the other day with a La Riqueza, and my friend and I agreed that while it didn't interfere, there was just something wrong about the combination, like Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie.

All in all, I find that whiskeys and strong coffees/espressos go well with stronger sticks, water or a lighter coffee with your medium to light fare.

And then there's the whole mood thing--sometimes I want to focus on what's going on with the cigar, so I stick to water. Sometimes I want the one-two punch, so I have a quadruple espresso and whatever stick sounds good and have at it. You have to be careful, though--if it's a nicotine intensive stick, you can get pretty damn high. My head was rolling around exorcist-style the other day when I did this. Kind of fun, but I had to get off the ride for a bit.

[moidoid]

I think my top two would be an ale and coffee.

Sometimes I have a cup of coffee that I would swear tastes like a cigar on its own! Just weird...

[r0lan6]

Not weird at all! I get that same feeling (sadly not with all), which is probably why I prefer my cigars to have that same aroma and taste.

[seanbeer]

When smoking under the hot sun, i like a cold bitter or iced tea / coffee.

but it all depends on the mood really, one thing for sure is when you are 'quite drunk' , it doesn't matter what you smoke, you won't be able to taste it properly. so save your 'cheapest' smoke for the drunk smoking moment.

[neilini]

well im all set new humi settled at 70,first smokes on the way and the local shop has an offer on 10yr old arberlour,so as a great believer in destiny thats what i'll be having for my first smoke at home this weekend

[senor_robusto]

i've always found that a nice red wine, like a shiraz or cabernet sauvignon goes exceptionally well with most cigars!!! the guys from friends of habanos seem to be nearly always drinking red wine with their cigars........works for them and works for me!!! try it, it may work for you........

all the best,

alex

[leperaffinity]

When smoking under the hot sun, i like a cold bitter or iced tea / coffee.

a definite yes to this! I recently discovered iced tea a great drink with a nice smoke...almost refreshes the palette each time enough for you to retaste each puff...but allows the flavour to still linger and accumulate. love it!
i also love a nice white russian, black russian, irish carbomb or straight whiskey or vodkas

[crslaytor]

depends on the moment, but there is nothing like aged havana rum and little little tiny ice cube and because I can not start the day with rum, im smoking with coffee/ice tea sometimes on the morning

[Jaype]

Sounds like a good weekend plan neilini - I'm surprised how few of you alcoholics mentioned coffee

I'm in Germany (Freiburg/Baden) right now and ended up nursing my Monty No.2 with some traditional Pear Schnapps last night. It was an interesting (and pleasant) mix and I shall have to try it again. I have to agree though, when you're totally plastered on strong German beer, cigars are a bit wasted

Normally I try to enjoy larger stronger smokes with a nice glass of single malt - Balvenie is the current weapon of choice! If I'm smoking something milder a spiced (nutmeg/cinnamon) and sweet black coffee is reeaally good to take the edge off. Thinking of that... there's a sweet spiced rum called Sailor Jerry which is a great drink...

[Emdee]

I like either a Havana 7 anos, Santiago De Cuba 5 anos or if Im not in a Rum mood then a Henny or a strong sweet espresso

[neilini]

well the first smoke was ruined by my impatience,i had a full on man flu but soldiered on with my plan.ended up drinking single malt as well as a few stella's. i think my taste buds were only on about 10% but nevertheless a nice experience.i couldnt taste anything subtle but the crisp bite of the stella went quite well with the cc.anyway i'll try again when back to full fitness.

why is it us men suffer so badly with the common cold,it almost always manifests itself into man flu

[EugeneSax]

i also love a nice ...., irish carbomb or straight ....

That'll get you legless!

A couple of people have mentioned Sailor Jerry's. I usually love spiced rum (Bacardi, Morgans etc) but there's something or combination of things in SJ that I really don't like (possibly vanilla +X?). It's absolutely horrible mixed with coke, but quite drinkable mixed with ginger ale - which I am told is quite an "in"drink at the moment.

After nearly a decade of experimenting, I have yet to find one "tipple" that matches with any cigar at any time of day or mood I'm in. Here are some of my personal findings:

Some generally smaller /thinner cigars I've found are perfect with a cafe con leche (I'm not into black coffee) - most notably Hoyo Du Depute, Cohiba Panatella, Charatan Ditto, ST Dupont No 4 et al.

Real Ales I find not always an easy match, although I've enjoyed Fuente Hemmingways, Cohibas and Monty 4,5 & Edmundo's and I imagine most of the range would suit. Lager is an easier match - I've yet to have a bad NC/lager combo.

My very favourite tipple is red wine. However I rarely, if ever find either constituent does the other great favours in combination. I'd never drink a "fine" red when smoking, but I have enjoyed Riojas with smoke. One cigar brand I think does go quite well with a drop of tinto is Hoyo - particularly the LE Pyramides and Petit Robustos.

White or Rose wine's a favourite summer afternoon drink of mine but can be tricky match with CC's although paler, Dominican NC's such as Davidoff, Avo usually go well. Best choice and usually great match to CC's are dessert wines. Perhaps not top-line - I'm not sure I'd splash out on Chateau D'Yqem & then light up.

The best drink match, if sticking with the grape, is to go fortified. I'm not mad on Port, but can't deny there's significant synergy when drunk with a cigar. I'd prefer to go for a sweetish sherry, one of the best cigar/drink matches I've had was Matusalem 30 yo sweet Oloroso (an astounding drink bargain) with Ashton VSG Belicoso, but anything with that strong maduro character should be sublime. Another great smoke drink is Madeira - the drier the better: Henry & Henry Verdhello or Sercial, or Blandys Duke of...? equivalent. Their Clarence, like other Malmseys is a bit strong & sweet to be a universal match but eg Partagas or Bolivar would suit.

Brandy, I tend to find a bit over-powering for cigars, although I'm definitely no expert & only recently tried Hennesy XO at a friends which was smooth enough I imagine (couldn't smoke there) to match most smokes, although I'm not convinced one would get best value out of either. I've posted elsewhere about Somerset Cider Brandy which has a smoothness & sweetness to match most smokes - a definite favourite match.

As with Brandy, I find some Whiskies can over-power cigars, I recently attended a cigar evening at Havana House in Windsor & although I very much enjoyed the free samples of Dalmores: 15yo & Cigar reserve, I definitely don't think I got the best out of the Punch Re D'Oro I smoked. I have enjoyed Balvenie, Brucellhaddiewotsit, Dalwhinniethingy with cigars, but the best Scotch/Smoke match I've had was a rare single GRAIN whisky with a Monty Edmundo at a cigar event at Floridita when it opened. Generally I think the sweetness & smokiness of Borbons (mixed or straight) go better with cigars than Scotch or other whiskies.

On the soft drink front - I'm not a great one for straight water (fish f*ck in it) - but mixed with particularly Lime Cordial, does go really well with smoke. Angostura bitters has a tang that especially suits cigars & I'll moften add to combos of lemonade, tonic, lime cordial water etc.

Actually, almost contradicting my opening statement, the soft drinks above get close to a universal match, but the closest is probably tea - there's hardly a time when I wouldn't enjoy a cuppa & not a cigar that wouldn't enhance the occasion.

[neilini]

good god eugene,i thought i was well versed in the in the world of drinking but now i feel like a 14yr old down the park drinking cider again lol