Guide: How to pair whiskey and cigars like a PRO

Guide: How to pair whiskey and cigars like a PRO

Cigar Pairings | 27 Nov 2023 | Issue 1 | By

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In our latest video, Maggie Kimberl explains how to choose the best bourbon to pair with your cigar



https://www.youtube.com/embed/qEouso244vc?si=lNwz--jFGP8yY1H9



With so many options to choose from, picking a whiskey to drink and a cigar to smoke can be tough decisions — especially if your budget is limited. Thankfully, American Whiskey Magazine content editor and Whisky Magazine regular contributor Maggie Kimberl has a tried and tested methodology she's been teaching for over a decade that will help you learn how to pair cigars and whiskey like a PRO!

Whether you prefer cigars from Cuba, Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic and Scotch, Japanese, or American whiskey, this guide to pairing whiskey and cigars is for you. Instead of telling you which whiskies she thinks will work well with particular cigars, Maggie's approach will teach you the skills you need to make the decision for yourself, to suit your taste and budget. The great thing about this methodology for pairing cigars and whiskies is that it works for single malt, bourbon, rye, blended, and, well, any style of whisky from any country you like!

To deliver this seminar, Maggie met up with Jodie Fileatreau, artisanal distiller at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, and Christopher Coates, editor-at-large of Whisky Magazine, in the cigar lounge at the Louisville Thoroughbred Society, one of Kentucky's best places to enjoy whiskies and cigars. Boasting a comfortable smoking lounge and a huge walk-in humidor, we definitely recommend applying for membership of this club if you love cigars and whiskey, and often find yourself in Louisville.

In this guide to pairing whiskey and cigars, the trio pair a non-Cuban Partagas Petit Robusto, produced by General Cigar Co, with three whiskies from Heaven HillBernheim Original Wheat Whiskey, Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

Let us know in the Comments: if you have your own tips and tricks for pairing whiskey with cigars and what your favourite pairings are!



Jodie Fileatreau, artisanal distiller at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience; Maggie Kimberl, content editor at American Whiskey Magazine; and Christopher Coates, editor-at-large at Whisky Magazine.
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