Whisky and Cigar Pairings

@Marcus I LOVE the Padron 1964. My favourite cigar. I usually drink Bourbon with cigars as it tends to have a sweet side that goes well with the smoke to my tastes. I don't usually drink any whisk(e)y that is too special, because with all that smoke floating around, I can hardly experience the whisky.

I very often go with Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek, Wild Turkey 101 or Bookers. If I REALLY want Scotch, I like Highland Park 12 or Sherried Whiskies like A'bunadh or Macallan 12 as you mentioned.

Keep livin it up, Marcus.

Yeah, it is unusual for me to have Scotch with a cigar. As you mentioned, something sweeter would have been much better. I even sometimes go with a VSOP cognac, or my favorite, a B&B. I think with an Islay, you miss tasting any subtleties of the the whisky due to the cigar smoke, and the smokiness of the whisky overpowers the tastes in the cigar.

I love Whisky and I love the occasional Cigar - classic pairing. As I tend towards full bodies cigars I usually tend to drink a dram which is more on the sweeter/sherried side. Heavily peated Whiskys often overpower the flavours of the cigar and vice versa - you should try a good Rum for your bolder sticks like an El Dorado 15, Zacapa 23 or other Rums on the sweeter side. The sherried and oily Whiskys have a more viscous texture than the smoky ones and soothe the palate after the drying effects of the cigar; I also like Rye and Bourbon (Knob Creek etc). My personal favourites are: 1. Glendronach 15 with Montecristo No.2/Grand Edmundo 2. Rye with Oliva V Series Robusto/Torpedo 3. Clement 6 Rum with Camacho Triple Maduro Torpedo 4. Springbank 18 with Fuente Opus X 5. Partagas Series D No.4 with Aberlour a´bunadh @Marcus, have a look at the net - "sipsmokesavour" , "smokinghotcigarchick" and lots of other sites deal with this subject.

I enjoy a glass of whisky with a decent cigar on occasions, however i must admit that my knowledge of the smokes is extremely limited. Friends and family are aware that i do enjoy a cigar so i tend to be brought back single cigars from their holiday destinations! Although recently a friend brought me back 10 hand-rolled cigars from cuba, all wrapped in one big leaf! Anyway i tend to prefer a cigar with a big, strong whisky with a powerful taste, whether that be a heavily sherried taste, or the peaty/smoky drams. I feel that way the two tastes tend to compliment each other and really work towards a great experience. The smoother whiskies that i drink i prefer to keep away from the smokes, allowing them to remain light and easy so to speak.

Just had a great pairing - a vintage Opus X double corona with a Lagavulin 16. The sweetness of the Lagavulin was enough to complement the smoke of both the cigar and the whisky.

Just bought a Gurkha Royal Challenge cigar the other day and it paired excellent with my Auchentoshan 12 . The whisky alone was mediocre , but the smoke really brought it together for me. My first real stoogie/scotch pairing. Wanted to piggy back on this thread to see if others(I know you do) are

Enjoying the two together. My apologizes for the cut off post I made.

@OCeallaigh Pardon 1964- my favourite cigar as well! Such a great smoke. I generally pair with bourbon in favor of scotch too.

One of my all time favorite activities; Cigar and whiskey pairing on a nice evening. I tend to dial back the style of whiskey (no barrel strength or heavy, complex types) in order to enjoy the nuances of my cigar. A high proof whiskey will compromise the palate so I lean toward lower proof when smoking a cigar.