Best Cigars to Pair With Jim Beam
Jim Beam is a stiff and historic bourbon. It’s probably been to more frat parties than your older brother, but who wants to argue with a good time? Seven generations of Beam family members span over two centuries in the bourbon business, and that’s a big reason why you’ll find Jim Beam on the shelf in nearly every bar in America today. It’s many a bartenders’ favorite for mixing into classic cocktails, but you can also have a sip of it straight. Either way you take your Jim Beam, here are a few good cigars to go with it.
Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon & La Aroma de Cuba
Jim Beam’s original flagship Kentucky Straight Bourbon stands the test of time, relying on a mash bill of corn, rye, and barley that dates back to 1795. Its straightforward profile of caramel, vanilla, and oak includes hints of honey and fruit with a mellow finish. La Aroma de Cuba is blended from a vintage Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and the finest binder and filler tobaccos harvested on Pepin Garcia’s sprawling Nicaraguan estates. This significant Cuban-legacy cigar was an early favorite of Winston Churchill. Notes of cocoa, cedar, brown sugar, and spice mingle with creamy aroma in several classic sizes you can easily savor with an old-school bourbon.
Jim Beam Black & Alec Bradley Family Blend
Smooth notes of caramel and oak linger in Jim Beam Black while a touch of vanilla custard and apple add complexity. The sweet character is a bit fleeting, but the smoky, woody finish of Black is a fitting match for a fine cigar. The extra time the whiskey matures in American White Oak barrels imparts a subtle harmony. The 94-rated Alec Bradley Family Blend blossoms with a medium-bodied portrait of wood, toast, and leather alongside a plethora of supporting spices. An oily, reddish-brown Honduran wrapper hugs a complex amalgam of Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Indonesian long-fillers. Family Blend is outfitted with all the flavor and aroma you need to keep up with the perky taste of Jim Beam Black.
Jim Beam Rye & Perdomo Lot 23
Lots of spices coat the palate in a zesty portrait of vanilla, oak, and caramel in Jim Beam Rye. The ferocious kick of pre-Prohibition whiskey is revived in an old-school rye that brings an endless menu of classic cocktails to life. Perdomo Lot 23 provides an ample profile of cedar, leather, and coffee bean notes with hints of citrus and earthy spices. A trio of classic sizes delivers a medium-bodied finish in a complementary cigar for Jim Beam Rye thanks to its blend of meaty Nicaraguan tobaccos tucked under an oily brown Corojo-seed wrapper leaf.
Jim Beam Double Oak & Padron
The dark copper hue of Jim Beam Double Oak emanates with a nose of leather, cinnamon, and fire in an 86-proof whiskey. The finish is long and dry, but intense flavors of wood, licorice, and cherry create a fleeting stir. A second round of aging in freshly charred American White Oak barrels makes Double Oak different from the rest. A legendary portfolio is summed up in the brand’s cornerstone blend with the original Padron. Handmade in Estelí, Nicaragua, an affordable collection of several traditional formats delivers notes of cedar, cocoa, cayenne, and nuts that match up with the rustic and bracing taste of Double Oak.
Jim Beam Single Barrel & Punch
Graham cracker, brown sugar, caramel, and spice characterize Jim Beam Single Barrel, but each edition will carry distinct nuances like hints of apricot and vanilla. Where the barrel ages in the rack house imparts the unique taste you’ll encounter in the top 1% of Jim Beam barrels. Punch is among the longest-running Cuban-legacy brands in existence. A Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper embraces a complex blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran tobaccos in a medium-bodied collection of popular sizes. Sweet notes of hickory, black pepper, old tobacco, and earth make for a smoky companion for the stiff finish of Single Barrel.
Jim Beam Devil’s Cut & Cain Habano
Sink of shot of Jim Beam Devil’s Cut when you’re craving complex flavor that singes the esophagus just enough to make your problems go away. The nose is minty with an aroma of wintergreen, vanilla, pine trees, and honey. This 90-proof bourbon lives up to its name with a rugged profile of oak, cinnamon, maple, and intense, woody spices. Cain Habano isn’t too soft to keep up the raucous taste of Devil’s Cut. A feisty blend of Nicaraguan Ligero long-fillers lies under a Cuban-seed wrapper handcrafted in three well-made shapes at the Oliva factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Potent and peppery notes of leather, wood, and toast tease the senses before a palate-searing finish bulldozes into play.
