“Break windows, smoke cigars, and stay up late.
Tell ’em to do that, they’ll find a little pot of gold.”
~ Tom Waits
The Cigar
“Vicente Blends is a new ultra-premium brand that uses top-notch tobacco and old-world rolling techniques to create a product unlike any other on the market:
A meticulously hand-rolled Dominican Puro filled with aged, long-leaf tobacco and blanketed with a beautiful, almost leathery wrapper providing the perfect balance of aroma, strength, and finish. A sophisticated blend, offering staged flavors of toasted macadamia, coffee, cocoa, and hints of nutmeg, with an effortless draw and perfect airflow, truly showcasing each flavor note, the Gold Standard V is the blend that launched the Vicente Collection.” ~ Vicenteblends.com
With this medium-bodied Dominican Puro, we can expect some oaky notes that should marry perfectly with the typical fruity and classic orangie notes of this medium bold 43% ABV Glenmorangie 18 Infinita.
Here, we are pairing an upper class cigar with an upper class whisky!
The Whisky
Glenmorangie maintains a certain level of nostalgia and place in our hearts as single malt lovers. We all started our whisky journey with it, and come back to it time and time again. This distillery has the tallest ‘giraffe’ style stills in Scotland, producing the most refraction and ultimately the fruitiest, most delicious distillate the market has to offer. Glenmorangie Global Brand Ambassador, David Blackmore, described the un-aged distillate: “it tastes like a jolly rancher.” He also believes this new 18 year expression tastes way better than the old.
How awesome!
“With each sip, a different flavour greets you. Find honeyed notes rippling across pools of caramelised orange.
Or gardens of jasmine and lemon blossom, touched by the breeze. Or a rhapsody of warm figgy richness and orange marmalade depths, brushed by wisps of campfire smoke…”
~ Glenmorangie.com
Gold Standard V
Brand: Vicente Blends
Blend By: Vincent McGlone
Vitola: Toro 5.875×56
Tripa (Filler): Dominican
Capa (Wrapper): Dominican Criollo ’98 (Ligero)
Capote (Binder): Dominican
Body: Medium Plus
Price: $43
Visual/Pre-light Draw
This nicely constructed, medium brown shade Dominican Criollo ’98 wrapper has strong, toothy veins, with a nice oily feel. Nothing beats that solid gold band displaying Vicente Blends Gold Standard. Yes, this can actually be worn as a ring, so cool! There are the most subtle hay notes on the side sniff, with slightly bolder wet hay notes on the dry foot.
There was a slight saltiness, but not spice, on the palate when prepping the head of the cigar for my favorite Colibri V-Cut. Success, and how appropriate for this Gold Standard V. See what I did there?
The dry draw is very floral over nice, fresh hay notes. I am really looking forward to lighting up this very upper class looking cigar.
First Third
WOW! Immediately we get unique oaky and leathery notes that have a sweet, lingering finish on the palate. The foot smoke odor has bold notes of vanilla and leather. This is a premium high-volume cigar without a doubt, with the perfect draw as a bonus. We get nice baking spices, with an undertone of gingerbread cookies that are delivered in the most subtle manner; very calming. The retro-hale has intense baking notes with an awesome vanilla leatheriness on the finish, and little-to-no spice. I absolutely love the complexity and boldness of the retro-hale, as well as how the cigar’s solid gold ring band looks in my hand. Before the second third, we start to get some nice nuttiness on the palate, yes there it is, my precious and favorite cigar note: marzipan. Love it!
Cigar to the Whisky:
That awesome marzipan note is washed down with the tropical, fruit salad notes of the whisky, but in the most subtle and calming manner. These products were absolutely meant for one another. The subtle cigar and delicate whisky notes marry perfectly, leaving an enhanced fruity flavor that lingers on the palate. Super delicious!
Second Third
The cigar notes merge and become sweeter. We get more leatheriness and oakiness, with the perfect kiss of sweetness, while the burn and ash hold perfectly. The retro-hale intensifies with bold baking spices and roasted gingerbread on the finish. This retro-hale is definitely for the experienced smoker. The oakiness starts to dominate the experience, but that’s typical and expected of Dominican tobacco, which is jam-packed in this puro.
That lengthy ash falls off the cigar with dignity and I love it still!
Actually, I’ve got “Solid Gold Love” for this cigar, which also happens to be one of my favorite tracks by Sultan + Shepard featuring Richard Walters:
Whisky to the Cigar:
I let the fruit bomb, single malt whisky rest on my tongue before introducing the cigar. Boom, we get a perfect char, and an incredible calming of those fruity notes, with a unique chocolate chip, mint flavor on the finish.
Absolutely incredible and the highest level of ‘unusual awesomeness’ I have experienced on a pairing. This is where it’s at, a must try pairing!
Final Third
The draw remains perfect and now some milk chocolate notes arrive on the palate. This is the cigar that fills the room when left on the ashtray, earning, not demanding, its respect from us cigar lovers. The beautiful gold ring slides right off the head of the cigar and some saltiness appears, making the palate salivate for more of these flavorful cocoa puffs. The retro-hale now settles down to creamier baking spices with subtle leatheriness on the finish. We slow our roll and really dig into the enjoyment of this cigar, as all of its tobacco notes have merged together for a flavor filled complex final third. “You know my truth, and I know yours too, I love you,” so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Cigar Smoked Whisky:
The cigar smoke really elevates the fruity character of the whisky, making it thick and creamy on its delivery to the palate. There are awesome red grape notes over some vanilla as well. A super cool change of flavors occurs in this direction of the pairing, super complex, super delicious.
Overall this is a complex upper class pairing for those willing to spend a little more for the best outcome on a cigar pairing. This is a perfect pairing of nuttiness and fruitiness, one that can be enjoyed during any of the changing seasons, for any occasion.
Cheers & Happy New Year!
Acknowledgment & Live Pairing
Thank you Vicente Blends CEO and Chairman, Michael Pickholz, Glenmorangie Global Brand Ambassador, David Blackmore, and Whiskey Network Webmaster, Genevieve Ishtar, for joining us Chooches on The Great Cigar & Pipe Show. We had a great time discovering what a few extra bucks can get you on a cigar pairing: Perfection!
*Special thanks to Carole Peroni, my angel Cecilia Ultra, and soon to arrive, baby Lilah, “I’ve got solid gold love” for all of you!
Photography by: James Archie
