Pairing Whiskey With Cigars

People tend to enjoy their cigars with a nice scotch or whiskey.  However, there are some do’s and don’ts as to how you should pair the two.  Today, I will be sharing some tips on making the right pairing choices to enhance your smoking experience.  

To get the most from pairing, you want opposing flavors from your cigar and drink.  For example,  you do not want to pair a full bodied cigar with a strong bourbon with a bite.  Since the two are spicy, it will come across as bland and ruin the experience.  The key here is balance.  Instead, Let’s take that spicy bourbon and pair it with a nice and sweet mild to medium bodied cigar.  The back and forth from sweet to spicy is sure to guarantee a great pairing.  On the other end of the spectrum, take a full bodied cigar and pair it with a mellow and aged single malt.  As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities for you to explore.  

Here’s three of my personal favorite pairings:

Davidoff Special R and Blantons Single Barrel

Padron 1926 #2 Maduro and Balvenie 14 Carretean Cask

Avo Classic Piramide and Angel’s Envy Bourbon

When in doubt, I find that any size in the Tatuaje Brown Label will pair well with anything.  Have fun experimenting, and be sure to let us know what your favorite pairings are.  

Cigar Aging 101

Today I’ll be sharing some tips on aging cigars.  First off, you should know that aging a cigar will impact the flavor, sometimes dramatically.  If you like the way a cigar tastes straight from the box, please enjoy them as they are.  

To properly age a cigar, you must first make sure that you a have a humidor and that it is monitored weekly.  The humidity should be with 68-72% rh with a temperature range between 68-72° F as well.  If it’s running a little low in humidity, it might be time to refill your humidifier with distilled water or make the switch to Boveda Humidipaks.  These humidipaks are inexpensive and do all of the work for you.  The regulate the humidity in your humidor without having to add water.  Throw 8 of them in your humidor and you won't have to worry about maintaining it for 6 months.  If your humidor is running a little cooler temperature wise, consider moving your humidor to a warmer part of the house.  Cigars can be good for decades if your humidor is running optimally.  

Next, decide which cigars you want to age.  Cigars get milder the longer you age them.  You can most likely age a strong and spicy cigar for a year and return to find it medium bodied with a little sweetness and peppery earth. Alternatively, you might age a sweet cigar and come to find that it is oaky and leathery. I personally like holding on to limited edition cigars, like the the new Avo Classic Covers Volume 3 90th Anniversary.  While I enjoy the flavors it offers now, I am anticipating great things one year, two years, maybe three years down the road.  Another cigar I like to age from time to time is La Flor Dominicana's Double Ligero line.  Out of the box, these cigars are full bodied powerhouses with a lot of hot pepper flake and pepper.  With a few years of aging, these cigars develop a beautiful sweetness and nuttiness that can rival any medium bodied cigar on the market.  That is also why it’s a good idea to age at least a half box of the same cigar at a time.  

The key to appreciating an aged cigar is trying a few during the aging process.  Every six months or so, smoke a couple and gauge where the flavor changed.  Do you enjoy it more or less? What new flavors have you picked up on now that the tobacco has successfully matured and mellowed out?  Give it a try and let us know how you make out.  

How To Choose Your First (Or Any) Cigar

Choosing your first cigars from a humidor can be daunting if you don’t know what you’re looking for.  Here, I will share some tips that will build your confidence when purchasing your first cigar.  

There are several factors that go into choosing a cigar.  A combination of strength, time, flavor profile, and budget all have an important role when making your selections.  

Strength is a determining factor when choosing a cigar.  There are 3 main levels of strength; mild, medium, and full.  Mild cigars are low in strength and are considered a good place to start.  While they are low in strength, that can have a lot of flavor to offer.  Medium bodied cigars are a little more robust, but don’t necessarily overpower you with strength.  Full bodied cigars are considered the strongest and should only be smoked after building up a nicotine tolerance.  Smoking a full bodied cigar before you’re ready can lead to a headache, dry heaving, and overall discomfort.  

Time plays an important factor into choosing a cigar.  I’ll often ask customers how much time they have set aside to smoke.  If you have set aside a half hour to smoke, you really don’t want anything too large.  Generally speaking, there are common sizes across all brands that will keep you in the ballpark in regards to how much time you have. Look at the list below to determine which size is best for you.

Corona 25 Minutes

Robusto  30-40 Minutes

Toro 45-55 Minutes

Churchill 1 Hour to 1 Hour and 15 Minutes

Flavor profiles are the most interesting part of choosing your cigar.  Would you like to try something sweet, earthy, or perhaps spicy?  These three common flavors are broad but when you’re first starting out, they are a good guideline to keep you engaged and interested in enjoying what flavors cigars have to offer.  

Stick within your budget when you’re selecting a cigar.  The average price of a cigar in my store is around $8.  That being said, you don’t have to spend over that to get a great cigar.  More exclusive brands like Padron, Davidoff, and Ashton have value lines that can be significantly less expensive than their counterparts without sacrificing quality.  Turn to the Padron Traditional Series, Avo, Camacho, La Aroma de Cuba, and San Cristobal to get the best bang for your buck.  

After taking all this information into consideration, decide what you think you would like to try.  Visit your local tobacconist and say, for example, I’m looking for a mild churchill on the sweeter side, for around $10.  What do you recommend?  Any good tobacconist should be able to give you a few options and point you in the right direction.  When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Most tobacconists are passionate about tobacco and really want to help you pick the right cigar.  

We here at Regency Cigar Emporium are dedicated to helping you choose the right cigar.  Feel free to browse our website at RegencyCigar.com or give us a call to make a a custom sampler pack based on what you'll enjoy.  We are happy to assist in any way we can.  

New Product Showcase: Tatuaje Skinny Monsters

Staying true to surprising fans with special editions, Pete Johnson from Tatuaje has announced the release of the long rumored Skinny Monsters.  Each box comes with 1 of each Monster Series release in a petite lancero format (6 x 38), including Chuck and Tiff which made their debut in the Pudgy Monster release.  These very special cigars are expected to ship towards the end of April 2016.

Here’s whats in the box;

1 Frank (6 x 38)

1 Drac (6 x 38)

1 Face (6 x 38)

1 Wolf (6 x 38)

1 Mummy (6 x 38)

1 Jason (6 x 38)

1 Jekyll (6 x 38)

1 Hyde (6 x 38)

1 Chuck (6 x 38)

1 Tiff (6 x 38)

Preorder your box of Tatuaje Skinny Monsters today at RegencyCigar.com

What's the deal with Davidoff's Colorado Claro?

The Davidoff Colorado Claro is a truly exceptional cigar but many Davidoff fans aren't quite sure what it is.  One of the questions we get asked all the time is the Colorado Claro Special R much different than the regular Special R.  The answer is yes.

While the binder and fillers are identical in both cigars, the Special R with the Colorado Claro wrapper offers a more robust smoking experience without sacrificing smoothness.  Medium in body, it is earthy, peppery, woody, and leathery. This holds true for all of the Colorado Claro Releases (Special T, Short Perfecto, Double R, Aniversario #3).

Another reason why you may not be familiar with Colorado Claro is because it's very hard to find.  While Davidoff isn't releasing exact figures, we know that the initial releases were around 100 boxes of each size.

If you haven't tried one, try one.  These beautiful cigars stand up to Padrons and Tatuajes flavor wise and do not disappoint.  They are available in 10 count boxes instore and at RegencyCigar.com.

Welcome

Welcome to Regency Cigar Emporium's Cigar Corner.  Here you will find information on the newest cigar news and releases, along with reviews, pairing ideas, featured cigars, and how to tutorials.  Reach out to us if you would like more information on something in particular, we love feedback!

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We here at Regency Cigar are currently celebrating our 20th Anniversary as a business. Look out for some very special releases from some of your favorite brands, like the brand new Davidoff Regency Cigar Exclusive Edition blended exclusively for us.