“The whole process of selecting, cutting, lighting, and smoking a cigar is a very noble act!”
~Jon Gjebrea, Owner: Nóble Cigars
What Makes Act Two Special
The art of cutting, lighting, and smoking a cigar is a very noble act. The New York based team over at Nóble Cigars, Jon Gjebrea along with Eddy and Elizabeth Santos, exude this nobility through their quality Act One and Act Two cigars. I personally cannot decide which is better, as both Dominican blends impress and satisfy the palate. Jon mentioned that the team’s goal is “to make cigar smokers feel noble and appreciated.” Amazing!!!
This is a classy team of cigar connoisseurs. Master Cigar Sommelier, Elizabeth Santos (@Remarkable_Liz on Instagram), leads the charge, bringing us amazing content and this noble act of cutting, lighting, and smoking a cigar to the forefront.
“This is a full-bodied “Doble Ligero,” a premium handmade Dominican cigar. Act Two is a harmonious combination of balanced flavors in a beautifully Toro format. Aged Dominican filler and binder tobaccos provide spectacular complexity. Offering a balance between rich, oaky, earthy aromas and hearty notes of pepper, dark chocolate, and coffee. Make this cigar a must-have in your humidor.” ~ NobleCigars.com
Act Two
Brand: Nóble Cigars
Vitola: 6×52 Toro
Filler: Dominican
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Natural
Binder: Dominican
Age: 3-5 Years
Body: Medium Plus Boldness
Price: $20
Visual/Pre-light Draw
The natural medium brown and medium oily San Adres wrapper has strong toothy veins that are chocolaty on the side sniff. The dry foot odor is sweet cocoa over mocha, and appears tightly packed. This is a tough looking and obviously well-constructed cigar. While Act One has a yellow band, this Act Two has a very romantic and shiny burgundy band, displaying the Nóble Cigars’ smoking male and female logo, over NÓBLE CIGARS, and the cigar name Act Two. There is no spice on the palate when prepping the head for my favorite Colibri V-cut. The dry draw produces delicious dry notes of cocoa powder.
First Third
Lighting into this cigar is like walking up to a campfire, especially on the foot smoke odor. This a bold and smoky entrance to the cigar, a clear indicator we are in for a real treat, a true journey. The extremely smooth and spiceless retro-hale produces bold notes of charred and leathery graham crackers over roasted nuts, super complex and delicious. Quite possibly the best retro I’ve experienced! The creamy draw is perfectly tight, delivering the cigar’s bold roasted notes to the entire palate. Then a nice transition to oak and leather, my absolute favorite. Bonus! The burn is perfect with a very strong ash, and the smoke input/output is on level.
Second Third
Into the second third, the cigar settles down and we get creamier, nutty notes of dark chocolate. The experience is even more enjoyable as all the amazing flavors of the cigar come to the forefront, coating the entire palate. The now leather bomb retro-hale is even creamier, and yes, absolutely now without a doubt, is my absolute favorite! This is an exotic smoking experience, so let’s pair it with an exotic dram, The Asāva Indian Red Wine cask finished single malt whisky from Rampur. Nailed it! Now let’s close our eyes and take the pairing on a journey through India, with this exotic chillaxing jam called Madhouse Dub, by Talaboman, Axel Boman, John Talabot, and Kristian Harborg:
Final Third
The cigar has transitioned to creamy coffee. The perfect wind down to this incredible smoking experience. Then there it is, my all time favorite tasting note in a cigar, my precious marzipan. Marzipan is a creamy and chocolaty nut paste note I often get in quality cigars, which this Noble Act Two obviously is. Time to close my eyes, sit back, and enjoy the remainder of this lengthy trance-like and flavorful pairing experience.
Cheers! Chak Lo!
Those chocolate and campfire leather notes melt to sweet exotic tropical fruit notes, as that unique Indian red wine flavor lingers on the finish.
Out of this world!
The Pairing
To keep the palate engaged and avoid palate fatigue, it’s vital to sip a lot of whisky, but even moreso, a lot of different types of whiskies. So I’m always seeking out unique world whiskies to enhance my palate and cigar pairing experiences. The Rampur Asāva (red wine), a non-chill filtered Indian single malt, is a step outside the box, and truly made this pairing reach an unforeseen level of Ānanda (bliss).
“Rampur is distilled in traditional copper pot stills in the oldest distillery in India, dating from 1943 with 80 years of distillation expertise. The Himalayas provide polar opposite of climate conditions throughout the year with the flavor of the famous Indian Summer giving Rampur an added dimension and depth.” ~ RampurSingleMalt.Com
This ‘velvety’ non-age-stated Indian Cabernet Sauvignon cask-finished single malt from Rampur is bottled at 45% ABV, is absolutely and uniquely delicious. It offers beautiful vanilla infused tropical fruit notes, and minimal honeyed spice on the finish. A perfect match for this bolder and complex Act Two cigar. Here we go!
Cigar to the whisky:
Those chocolate and campfire leather notes melt to sweet exotic tropical fruit notes, as that unique Indian red wine flavor lingers on the finish. Out of this world!
Whisky to the cigar:
Exotic orange marmalade, apricot, and kiwi notes are overlaid with the perfect blanket of coffee-infused smoke, with grilled pineapple notes on the finish. Love it!
Cigar smoked whisky:
Smoked tropical fruits and big creaminess that lingers and lingers on the palate. Here the smoke is captured and flavors delivered perfectly by Sunil Dyal’s new Wonders of Whisky FÌOR sipping glass, which are available with customized engraving at the base.
“FÌOR means pure in Scottish and flower in Italian. The perfect name for this vessel which delivers pure aromatics with a striking silhouette.” ~ WondersWhisky.Com
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Happy 4 Year Anniversary to our noble team of Whiskey Network contributors!
Thank you to Bklynite Media’s Michelle Lam for all your assistance with this project.
You rock Michelle!!!
Thank you SG Worldwide CEO Bobby Garg, his U.S. Director of Sales Eddie Soto, and Nóble Cigars’ owner Jon Gjebrea, for joining us Chooches on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show. This episode was eye opening into the world of Indian whisky and the nobility of cigar culture:
Photography by: James Archie
