Professor Fiore's January 20th Column

Great Cigars and Great Drinks

I have wanted to write some general thoughts regarding which drinks pair with which cigars for quite some time, but I have always hesitated for one simple reason. Despite what anybody else tries to tell me, there simply are no rules. Pairing cigars and beverages is completely a matter of personal preference. As such, I will share some pairing suggestions that I enjoy, and I welcome your feedback on some great pairings that I may be missing.

When choosing a drink to accompany a cigar, I consider what I imagine a sommelier considers when pairing wine with food, that is I typically take into account the relative flavor and strength of each. Smoking a cigar, even a relatively mild one, is a flavorful experience. Therefore, logic would say that it is best accompanied by a flavorful drink to go with it. Matching the strength of flavors is a convenient rule. It seems logical to expect that a full-bodied cigar would pair well with a full-bodied drink, and a mild-bodied cigar would pair best with a mild-bodied drink. Trying to create a rule like this one is problematic, though. First, as some of my examples will show, it's not always true. Secondly, following rules like this one prevents us from discovering the surprising synergy that can be created when you pair your favorite cigar with your favorite beverage.

People often will say that you shouldn’t choose a drink that overpowers your cigar, and you shouldn’t choose a cigar that overpowers your drink. However, this rule too is replete with problems. For one, how do you define overpowering? I enjoy single malt scotch, particularly Highland and Speyside Malts. I find them to be typically smooth and relatively light. If you don’t drink single-malt scotch, though, then you may find the drink to be exceedingly strong and powerful. It all depends on your palate. Jorge Armenteros from Tobacconist University writes about umami, a taste sensation analogous to the Spanish word, sabroso. “Cigar makers use the word sabroso to describe the perfect balance of saltiness, bitterness, sourness, and sweetness in tobacco:  that synergistic balance creates a sensation that transcends the potential of each individual taste, and creates something more extraordinary and complete: that is umami. For many people umami has a mouth watering effect and creates a tantalizing sensation all over the tongue: it has also been described as deliciousness.”  (http://www.tobacconistuniversity.org/taste-college/human-senses8.asp)

          Oftentimes, the best cigar and drink combination is the one that creates this complete sense of “deliciousness,” either by paring a drink and a cigar with the same elements or even by pairing those with disparate elements that create that full sense of taste. Here, then, are some parings that I particularly enjoy.

1. The Macallan 12 year-old Single Malt Scotch and Padron 3000.  The dried fruit and honey sweetness of this scotch perfectly complement the subtle spiciness and cocoa taste of this cigar. Although the flavors that come through each are not similar, they complement each other to create a full and complete flavor profile. Many single-malt scotches, particularly those absent the peaty flavors of many Islay malts pair well with Padron cigars throughout their inventory. However, I mention this drink and this cigar in particular because they are staples of my guilty pleasures.
2. Samuel Adams Octoberfest  and Quesada Oktoberfest.  Although it seems obvious to pair a drink and a cigar with Octoberfest in the name, these truly are wonderful in combination. The Quesada Oktoberfest was created to complement beer, specifically the caramel and toffee sweetness typical of Marzen styles of beer. Enjoyed together, the sweetness of this drink and the underlying bitterness from the hops balance some of the cigar’s more bitter notes and accentuates the sweet flavors of chocolate and oak.
3. Starbucks Caffe Verona and Lou Rodriguez Connecticut. Coffee and cigars are a combination enjoyed by many. In fact, I am enjoying both as a write this piece. Starbucks Caffe Verona is a bold coffee with some sweet chocolate tones. While it pairs well with cigars that have a cocoa taste, the Lou Rodriguez Connecticut is not a cigar that I consider chocolaty. Instead, this stick has some spiciness and a relatively light body. Combined with the coffee, I get a very complete flavor profile that is a great start to any day.
4. Ron Zacapa 23 and Ashton VSG. Rum and cigars seem to be a natural combination, and they have been enjoyed together for quite some time. Zacapa 23 is exceptionally sweet and the sweet smell and initial taste of an Ashton VSG accentuates this sweetness and makes for a really nice experience.

Each of these drinks would pair well with many other cigars, and I don’t pretend to have discovered the perfect match. Nevertheless, the pairings that I have mentioned really create some nice relaxing memories for me. I would love to hear some of your favorite matches. Please send me some.

Pairing great cigars with great drinks is not a science, like some would have us believe. Just as an earlier column advised you to smoke what you like, regardless of what others tell you, so too is the magic rule of pairing cigars and drinks. You needn’t be an expert, just an enthusiast who knows what you like. Until next time, I am Professor Fiore: Student of the Leaf. Keep smoking, my friends!

Professor Fiore's January 5th Column

Cold and Dry is OK Outside of the Humidor
As smokers in most parts of the country can attest to, the dry, cold winter months are upon us. At this time of year, it’s important that we all turn our attention to our humidors. Humidors need to be kept at a relative humidity that hovers around 70% all year long, but the winter months pose extra challenges to something that is much easier during more humid seasons. Depending on such factors as where in your home your humidor is located, how often you open it, and for how long you keep it open, the winter season can present some real challenges to keeping your valuable stash of cigars properly hydrated. Many cigar lovers bemoan the inevitable drop in humidity that occurs in even well-sealed humidors during the winter months. What follows is some advice that I hope all smokers, novice and well-seasoned, find helpful as we attempt to get our cigars through winter unscathed.

First, a primer on the hygroscopic nature of cigars. Simply put, cigars are a natural product, which means that they constantly release or absorb moisture from the environment in which they are stored. This explains why a previously perfectly humidified cigar can quickly dry and begin to crack if smoked outside on a cold, dry evening. Similarly, it explains why cigars that are not properly humidified in a humidor can quickly lose their moisture, affecting the burn, taste, and the wrapper strength and quality. While storage at proper humidity levels is important for all cigars, those with more durable wrappers, such as the Broadleaf wrapper on Tatuaje’s new La Casita Criolla are a bit more resistant. In fact, as a cigar made with all Broadleaf tobacco, the La Casita Criolla will be more forgiving of improper humidity than most other sticks. However, even it is not impervious to drying out. That note aside, the typical cigar enthusiast believes that the optimal environment necessary to store cigars is 70% relative humidity and at a temperature of approximately 70° Fahrenheit.  Some people, like me, prefer to smoke cigars kept at a slightly lower humidity level.  This is a matter of personal preference and it may vary for different cigars.  Nevertheless, the standard that is considered ideal for long term cigar aging which could span years is 70% relative humidity. 

While there is debate about whether or not 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% relative humidity are absolutes, there is no question that storing cigars cannot be done successfully at levels that wander too far from these standards. Cigars that are kept in a cold and dry environment, such as a refrigerator will rapidly deteriorate.  Therefore, this should never be done. Conversely, keeping cigars at too high a temperature and at too high a relative humidity level can lead to the hatching of tobacco beetles.  The larvae of these cigar destroyers are aided by excessively high temperatures and high humidity levels. An additional concern when storing cigars in a humidor inside your home is that if they are kept in an environment that allows significant changes in temperature and humidity the cigars may expand, contract, overly hydrate, and/or dehydrate. For this reason, your humidor should not be placed too close to exterior doors, windows, or heating ducts. In a nutshell, this means that consistency is ideal for proper storage.

Tobacco Beetle

Many products are available from your local brick and mortar tobacconist that can assist in keeping cigars at the optimal relative humidity level, but keeping them in a room at a proper temperature is something that is equally important. Products, such as Boveda packets and propylene glycol are very good at ensuring proper humidification of at-home humidors.  What I consistently hear from consumers, however, is a deep concern that their hygrometer cannot be trusted. Whether the humidor being used has a digital or an analog hygrometer, knowing whether or not the readings it gives are accurate is a worry facing many cigar lovers. One response to this would be to encourage all cigar lovers to become familiar with the “feeling” of a properly humidified cigar. As Jorge Armenteros, CMT writes on the Tobacconist University website, “While it is helpful to use a hygrometer when quickly checking the condition of your cigars, there is no substitute for your sense of touch.” A cigar that has been well-humidified should yield slightly when you gently squeeze it between your fingers. The wrapper should not crack at all. Furthermore, when the cigar yields slightly and makes a depression, the cigar should slowly regain its original shape once the depression is released. However, it is impractical to suggest that we spend the winter “feeling” our cigars. Therefore, what all cigar lovers need is a method for ensuring that their hygrometers are not lying to them.

One of the easiest and most reliable ways to test the accuracy of a hygrometer is to use the Table Salt Method. To do so, you simply need to mix 1/2 cup table salt and 1/4 cup water in a cup, and then place it in an airtight container like a Ziploc bag. If you leave this cup in the airtight container for 24 hours, the relative humidity will be 75%. This is because table salt, in this mixture, always will seek equilibrium of 75% relative humidity. After doing this, you then need to place your hygrometer, whether analog or digital, into the Ziploc bag, seal it tightly, and wait about 3 hours. If you’re hygrometer reads 75%, then you know that it is accurate. If it doesn’t, then you simply need to adjust the hygrometer. If you have a hygrometer that is unable to be adjusted, then you should note the difference and factor that difference in when you read your hygrometer.  Then you always must adjust the humidity level in your humidor accordingly.

Lots of cigar smokers either don’t believe in the Table Salt Method, never heard of it, or just don’t trust it. The fact is that it is an extremely reliable and simple way to test your hygrometer and gain confidence in your humidor’s ability to properly care for and age your cigars. Good cigars can be costly, and I don’t know of any cigar enthusiasts who can afford to lose their stash in the cold, dry months because of an unreliable hygrometer. I know that what I have spent on cigars over the past year that I have not yet consumed is an investment that must be protected. I’ll do all I can to protect it, and I hope that all readers feel the same way. The winter can be brutal on our beloved sticks. But, some common sense steps can temper winter’s brutality.

Well, that’s all for now. Until next time, I am Professor Fiore: Student of the Leaf. Keep smoking, my friends!

Professor Fiore's December 20th Column

Final Thoughts For 2011 In my December 5 column, I urged all readers to have some faith in your abilities to determine what a high quality cigar looks like, feels like, and tastes like. While recognizing that there is tremendous value in seeking other, experienced cigar enthusiasts’ opinions and counsel, at the end of the day, you are the best determinant of what you consider to be a great cigar. Also, I wanted to laud the great work that cigar reviewers do for us, and I never want to take away from the value that we all get by reading reviews. They are informative, and reviews really help steer us toward certain cigars and away from others. However, at the end of the day, the most valid review for you is your own review.

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Professor Fiore's December 5th Column

Subjective Stogies
In past columns, I have presented information about cigars from different countries, the varying tastes and strengths of different wrapper leaves, proper ways to care for and store cigars, and best methods for cutting and lighting cigars. Also, I have reviewed cigars, and I have tried to point readers toward high quality stogies that they may not have tried. Each time, the objective has been to celebrate cigars and to assist smokers in enhancing their enjoyment of something that brings me great pleasure. This time, I am turning the tables a bit and pointing out perhaps the greatest truth of all relative to our enjoyment of the leaf, namely that it is all highly subjective. What pleases one palate may irritate another. In this way, it is virtually impossible to say with certainty which cigars are the absolute best cigars.

This came to light recently while I debated with a tobacconist whose knowledge of tobacco I typically hold in high esteem. As we have done repeatedly in the past, we disagreed about a particular cigar that I enjoy. To me, the cigar in question is a high quality, flavorful Nicaraguan puro that is perfect late in the day with a favorite beverage. All he ever says is that the cigar is junk. He speaks of no redeeming qualities, and he offers his unsolicited opinion repeatedly. How is it that two cigar enthusiasts, both of us with training as tobacconists and with many years of enjoying cigars under our belts, see things so differently? The reviews of the cigar in question side with my viewpoint, but do reviews tell the whole story? Just because most reviews of this particular stogie are in line with my opinion, does that make me right? I submit that it does not. What it does accomplish is it reminds us all of the subjectivity of taste when it comes to fine tobacco.

If taste really is subjective, then are cigar reviews even worthwhile? Yes, they are. First, reviews help us discern the less subjective aspects of cigars, most notably things like burn rate and construction. On these issues, smokers typically are in agreement. Second, widely read reviews keep standards high and manufacturers honest. Knowing that potentially thousands of cigar enthusiasts will read reviews helps maintain the high quality of cigars that we enjoy today. Also, you may come across a reviewer who always seems to make recommendations about which you agree. When this happens, this particular reviewer, blogger, or columnist can become an outstanding resource for you as you seek to broaden your smoking enjoyment.

As you can see below, some cigar review panels seek to base their reviews just as much on more objective aspects like appearance and smoking characteristics as they do on the more subjective aspects, such as taste. Cigar Aficionado, the publication with some of the most widely digested reviews, uses the following criteria in their ratings:
• Appearance and construction: This is worth 15 points and is determined by how smooth the cigar feels when rolled between the fingers among other features.
• Flavor: Worth 25 points, this is a reflection of the quality of the tobacco as well as how they were aged and stored.
• Smoking characteristics: Worth another 25 points, this includes such characteristics as the ease of the draw and how firm and even the ash is.
• Overall experience: At 35 points, this is worth the most and reflects the importance of enjoying the overall experience of smoking a cigar.

Demonstrating the Subjectivity of Taste
Several notable experiments have demonstrated the subjectivity of taste over the years. For example, readers may have heard stories of people who purchased counterfeit Cuban cigars abroad, believing that said cigars were the real deal. In these stories, the recipients, convinced that they got a great deal on something so coveted by Americans, typically describe the fake Cuban cigars as “outstanding,” or “the best cigar I have ever smoked.” This is an understandable response, as it is natural for our tastes to be influenced by our experiences. Rather than admit being fooled, many people will convince themselves that what they received is, indeed, outstanding. The influence of experience on taste is not always in our imagination, though. In fact, the same cigar will taste different depending on when and where it is smoked: morning or night, indoors or outdoors, after a big meal, or with a special drink. To complicate matters even further, not all people taste the same things the same way. Some people are highly sensitive to bitter and spicy compounds, and some people really do have a "sweet tooth" that makes them inclined to like sweeter foods more than most people, which could reflect a different perception of sugars anywhere between their tongue and their brain. In fact, as related in a Wall Street Journal article, fifteen percent of the population thinks cilantro tastes like soap.

In 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted what I believe is a clever, yet mischievous experiment involving wine. Brochet purchased an inexpensive, moderate quality Bordeaux, and he served it to a team of wine-tasting experts in two different bottles. One bottle was a fancy looking “grand-cru” bottle. The other bottle was an ordinary “vin du table” bottle. Despite the fact that they were actually being served the exact same wine, the experts gave the differently labeled bottles of wine nearly opposite ratings. The grand cru was considered "agreeable, woody, complex, balanced and rounded," while the vin du table was "weak, short, light, flat and faulty". Forty experts said the wine with the fancy label was worth drinking, while only 12 said the cheap wine was. Similar experiments have been conducted with cigars, and the results ordinarily are just as hilarious.

As the holidays draw closer, I hope that you will be smoking some outstanding cigars. More importantly, I hope that you will be smoking what you consider to be outstanding cigars. Do consult ratings, as experts and review panels can tell you some great information about the quality of a cigar. Do seek recommendations from tobacconists, particularly those certified by Tobacconist University, as these people are well versed in the components of a great cigar. But, in the final analysis, trust your own sense of taste above that of so-called experts. You own that, and nobody, no matter how trained they are, can tell you how a cigar tastes to you. My tobacconist friend is not wrong about the cigar in question. But, dammit, neither am I. Until next time, I am Professor Fiore: Student of the Leaf. Keep smoking, my friends!

Professor Fiore's November 20th Column

We Pause To Give Thanks

At this time of year, in addition to stuffing our faces and enjoying the company of friends and family from near and far, Americans pause to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. For me, any thoughts of blessings immediately turn to cigars. But, for this column, I choose not to simply wax poetic about how thankful I am for cigars in general.  Instead, as Thanksgiving approaches, I want to focus on new products, environments, and behaviors that have emerged this year for which all cigar enthusiasts may want to pause and give thanks.

The first environment for which I am exceedingly thankful is the one created by hundreds of knowledgeable brick and mortar tobacconists across the country. Even in states with very strict anti-tobacco laws, there exist tobacconists who are knowledgeable and passionate about cigars and pipe tobacco and who happily educate consumers and work hard to provide great products and, in many cases, a place in which friends can gather and smoke. So, Kevin, I am thankful for you and for Winston’s Humidor. You have taught me a great deal about cigars and tobacco products, and your store has created a culture in which people from all walks of life can gather and enjoy their common appreciation of great cigars. It is my hope that all readers have a tobacconist and a brick and mortar shop in their community. More importantly, I hope everybody will pause and offer thanks to these great people for their commitment to our freedom to responsibly smoke cigars.

Secondly, I am thankful for the Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and others in the cigar community for lobbying and standing up for our rights as smokers. I don’t know any cigar enthusiasts who wish to walk around in public blowing cigar smoke in the faces of non-smokers and others who may find the smell offensive. However, virtually all cigar smokers with whom I am familiar do believe that we should not be treated as criminals because we enjoy cigars. With the abundant laws being written and/or passed all across the country, there is a real danger that the freedoms on which our country was founded are in serious jeopardy. CRA has worked tirelessly to protect our rights to enjoy cigars, while recognizing that it is reasonable for these rights to be subject to some limitations. The limitations often proposed are excessive, and CRA has had a banner year in protecting our entire cigar community. If you currently are not a member of CRA, please consider joining in the fight. Thank you, CRA.

Third, I am thankful for some of the new cigar artisans that appeared on the scene over the past year. There have been some phenomenal new releases from some established manufacturers, and, of course, I am thankful for those. But, it’s new cigar makers like Lou Rodriguez that I want to give thanks to here. Lou Rodriguez cigars were introduced at the IPCPR show in Las Vegas this past summer. The buzz around Lou’s booth was exciting, partly because Lou, his wife Erika, and his associates are such great people, but mostly because Lou Rodriguez cigars are simply fantastic. The first Lou Rodriguez cigar I smoked was encased in an Ecuadorian Habano-Rosado wrapper, and it was superb. Lou Rodriguez Maduro Afterwards, I smoked his Maduro, wrapped in a San Andres leaf, and I thought that cigar may have been the best cigar I smoked at the show. Then, I smoked his Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapped cigar, and I was blown away at the complex, rich flavors that he managed to fill this Connecticut cigar with. Since the show, I have purchased six different boxes of Lou Rodriguez cigars, and I have enjoyed every single stick. I urge everyone to give them a try. They are simply superb. Thanks, Lou!

Lastly, I am thankful for the stress relief, mental calming, and general states of being provided by cigar smoking. Although smoking with other enthusiasts is a pastime I thoroughly enjoy, it is the quiet moments with a cigar and a beverage that really define my love of the leaf. Smoking a cigar requires a time commitment of between thirty and ninety minutes, typically. During this time, smokers experience the biphasic nature of cigar tobacco. While it may seem contradictory, the nicotine in tobacco creates both a sense of mental alertness and a sense of physical relaxation. While enjoying a cigar, a smoker can relax, think clearly, reflect on the day, and/or make plans for the future. This all is accomplished while enjoying a diverse bouquet of tastes and flavors that are simply pleasurable. I always will be thankful for the time I can spend enjoying cigars, as it is time that leads to productive activity while helping me slow down and relax.

I could go on and on. There are scores of products for which all cigar smokers are thankful, and there are thousands of people in the cigar community that have enriched our lives. Let us pause and give thanks as the holiday season gets in full swing. Let’s take time to express our appreciation, and let’s look forward to many good things to come. Until next time, I am Professor Fiore: Student of the Leaf. Keep smoking, my friends!