Best Cigars to Pair With Laphroaig
Laphroaig is a historic and peaty scotch, perfect for pairing with a number of premium cigars. Its profound and smoky taste isn’t for bashful palates, but that’s what makes it stand out as a great scotch for cigars. Here are six excellent Laphroaig and cigar pairings.
1. Laphroaig 25 Year Cask Strength & Fuente Fuente Opus X
Distinct ways of aging whisky for a quarter century result in a medicinal and magnificent profile matured to perfection. Laphroaig 25 Year puts forth a peaty portrait of spiced apple, saline, and vanilla derived from Oloroso sherry butts and retired bourbon barrels made from American oak. Its deep, intense, and resounding flavor is meant for purists. You can taste the source of this special single malt in every sip.
Every leaf of tobacco in Fuente Fuente Opus X is cultivated on the exclusive Chateau de la Fuente estates in the Dominican Republic. A shimmering Sun Grown Dominican wrapper envelops a luscious interior of well-aged Dominican long-fillers. A cascade of luscious spices mingles with notes of cedar, cocoa, leather, and coffee in a number of rare and sought-after sizes. Its full-bodied flavor and Ligero-laden blend make it perfect to smoke with high-end scotch. A pair of long peppery finishes syncopate without hesitation in Laphroaig 25 Year and Opus X.
2. Laphroaig Càirdeas & Ashton VSG
Enthusiasts anticipate the annual release of Laphroaig Càirdeas, which is patiently matured through a combination of traditional methods by Laphroaig Distillery Manager John Campbell. The 2020 edition imparts medicinal notes of dark cocoa, peppercorn, and ocean salt with a finish of honey and a hint of roasted fruit. Charred bourbon barrels and ruby Port barriques cradle the classic single malt separately before it’s combined in red wine casks for a final period of rest.
Ashton VSG boasts an oily Ecuador Sumatra wrapper leaf over premium aged Dominican long-fillers blended by celebrated cigar-maker Carlito Fuente. A full-bodied profile of cedar, leather, and espresso harbors the right degree of sweetness in a confluence of rich Dominican spices. Taste a new benchmark for scotch and cigars the second the luscious texture and aroma of VSG share the stage with a top-shelf dram of Laphroaig Càirdeas.
3. Laphroaig Port Wood & My Father Le Bijou 1922
A bit more fruit is prevalent in Laphroaig Port Wood but plenty of peat, chili powder, and toffee layer the palate in a classic and medicinal profile with notes of raspberry and seaweed. Malted barley is dried over a peat-fueled fire and stirred into the glassy waters of the Kilbride Stream before it’s distilled and aged in charred bourbon barrels. The scotch is then finished in Ruby Port barrels made of oak.
My Father Le Bijou 1922 is a 97-rated, former ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ blended by award-winning cigar-maker Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia. A dark and spicy Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador conceals an ample blend of Nicaraguan long-fillers in a collection of classic shapes. Potent notes of black pepper, leather, dark chocolate, and cayenne grace the palate with sharp, woody taste that forms a nice contrast with an echoing sweetness in Laphroaig Port Wood.
4. Laphroaig 16 Year & San Cristobal
Laphroaig 16 Year debuted in 2015 to celebrate the brand’s 200th anniversary. Notes of leather and vanilla emerge from a single malt kept in bourbon casks for the entire time it’s aged. A subtle profile of brine and moss delivers hints of smoked meat with sophisticated and mellower taste due to its longer maturation.
The original San Cristobal is drawn from an oily Cuban-seed Oscuro wrapper harvested in the volcanic soils of Ecuador and a full-bodied blend of vintage Nicaraguan long-fillers. Opulent notes of dark cocoa, pepper, and roasted espresso bean reveal a touch of black cherry with dense, earthy texture. Savor an excellent mix of bold Nicaraguan flavor with an optimally aged scotch.
5. Laphroaig Triple Wood & La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial
Laphroaig Triple Wood is named for the three tiers of aging the single malt goes through. To achieve its woody and peaty profile, Triple Wood scotch passes through bourbon barrels, quarter casks, and Oloroso sherry butts for a bold but intricate finish that resonates with pepper, cedar, and a touch of molasses in an Islay classic.
La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial is a 94-rated gem blended from the finest Nicaraguan tobaccos cultivated in Estelí, Jalapa, and Namanji. Notes of smoked almond, cedar, leather, and cocoa converge in a creamy and hearth-like finish with hints of espresso bean. Its authentic Cubanesque taste is refined but bold enough to linger in harmony with the iconic palate of Laphroaig Triple Wood.
