Best Cigar and Coffee Pairings
A percolating pot of coffee gets us out of bed in the morning like a fire alarm, but imagine relaxing on the front porch with your cup o’ joe and a good cigar and easing into your day. Although we spend much time pairing cigars with bourbon, scotch, and beer, the majority of aficionados smoke cigars with coffee. We drink coffee around the clock these days. It’s no longer a beverage reserved for breakfast. A cup of coffee is within reach almost everywhere you go.
Caffeine and nicotine perk you up in the best way possible. A good cup of coffee, like a good cigar, is all about the taste and aroma. Regardless of what hour of the day a coffee and cigar sounds best to you, here’s our take on the best cigar and coffee pairings.
How to Pair Cigars & Coffee
The key to matching the best cigars with the best coffee is to understand of the varying degrees of strength and complexity behind coffee and tobacco. We describe cigars and coffee according to flavor, balance, body, strength, aroma, and finish. It’s best to pair coffee and cigars that exhibit complementary flavor profiles.
Be considerate of the strength of your cigar and your coffee. If you pair an overly intense or spicy cigar with a mellow cup of coffee, you may not perceive the delicate natural flavors of your coffee. Consider a cigar with Connecticut Shade wrapper if you’re drinking a mild blonde roast coffee.
Many coffees are blended from a mix of different beans. Premium handmade cigars are also blended from a mix of different tobaccos. Like coffee, cigars can exhibit a flavor profile that is either uniform or more complex with many transitions of taste. Some profiles are more pronounced while others are subtle. The tasting notes in a single cigar can change greatly from the beginning to the end.
Understanding Coffee & Cigar Flavors
Cigars are characterized according to specific tasting notes that can be nutty, woody, sweet, smoky, leathery, herbal, and spicy. Coffee can be floral, bitter, mellow, acidic, soft, or even fruity, tart, tangy, or delicate. Plenty of opportunity exists for cigar and coffee flavors to overlap.
Tobacco and coffee share much in common. Both are crops that predominantly originate in equatorial or tropical regions. Both stimulate our senses. The soil and climate where tobacco and coffee grow affect the character and quality of the crop. And, the best tobacco and coffee growers are fiercely passionate about their product. They are famers who display much pride in the consistency and taste of what they produce.
Identifying critical details like a cigar’s strength, country of origin, wrapper leaf, and its shape help us interpret its flavors and decide the best time to smoke it: after dinner, on the golf course, or doing yard work. These details can also guide your coffee pairing with mild, medium, or strong roasts. Following are a few to consider.
Mild Cigar & Light or Medium Roast Coffee
Cigar lovers have been smoking Arturo Fuente Chateau Series with coffee for decades. This nutty, approachable Dominican cigar, blended by legendary cigar-maker Carlito Fuente, is one of the best mild cigars you’ll find anywhere. Savor a premium, well-priced blend you can enjoy with a blonde roast coffee any time of the day.
The original Montecristo is an ideal match for light blonde roast coffees. A creamy profile of cedar, cashews, and buttered toast furnishes a touch of spice but won’t overwhelm the light and nutty flavor of a blonde roast coffee. Montecristo is handmade in the Dominican Republic in several classic shapes that can accommodate the amount of time you’ve got available to smoke. Because the blend is rich and well-rounded, you can also consider a medium roast but we recommend avoiding anything that is bitter or intense.
Medium to Full-Bodied Cigars & Medium-Dark Roast Coffee
La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor is a natural choice when you’re sipping on a coffee, particularly a medium to dark roast. A versatile profile of almonds, cocoa, espresso beans, and cracked black pepper displays marvelous transitions of taste in a collection of classic shapes. An oily San Andrés wrapper leaf embraces a well-aged blend of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers. The 95-rated cigar manifests sweet and spicy flavor before a creamy finish sets in.
San Cristobal Quintessence is also a great cigar to go with coffee. A Cuban-seed wrapper conceals a vintage interior of Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Notes of wood, molasses, leather, and spices converge in a bold but balanced conclusion. Medium and dark roast coffees keep up with Quintessence but won’t overwhelm this complex 95-rated cigar, awarded ‘#3 Cigar of the Year’ honors in Cigar Aficionado.
Strong Full-Bodied Cigars & Strong Dark or Medium Roast Coffee
Ashton VSG is proof that strong cigars can be extremely refined. A Sumatra-seed wrapper grown in the volcanic soils of Ecuador envelops an intricate blend of premium Dominican long-fillers. Elaborate notes of cedar, espresso, leather, earth, and spices layer the palate in a sophisticated finish. Pair it with a medium or strong dark roast. A double espresso or a Cuban coffee complement VSG seamlessly.
Fans of Nicaraguan cigars can’t deny Padron 1964 Anniversary Maduro is excellent with a medium or dark roast as well. Notes of fresh coffee, cracked black pepper, baking spices, dark chocolate, and wood form a luscious profile from an exclusive recipe of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos that have been aged extensively. Brew your next pot and pair it with this celebrated blend.
