Cigar and Beer Pairing Guide

Although you may think that whisky is the only alcohol with which you can nicely pair a cigar, the growing popularity of craft beer has led to an increase in viable beer pairings. With more varieties of beer in a wide range of flavours and styles, it is now easier than ever to pair up beer with any of the sticks in your cigar collection! Here is our guide to pairing cigars with beer.

Why Does Beer Make a Great Partner for Cigars?

The main reason that beer pairs so well with cigars is due to the fact that it is a carbonated drink. Like other carbonated beverages, the bubbles in the beer act as a sort of palate cleanser and refresher, meaning that you can experience the full tastes and aromas of both your stogie and the beer. With craft beers rapidly rising in popularity, there are now a wide wealth of beer flavours available that can pair with just about any cigar combination.

At their very core, cigars and beer are made with very similar principles and characteristics. Craft beer brewers and premium cigar makers take their time to craft the ultimate blend of flavours, manipulating the ingredients and working alongside nature. A number of similar factors determine the outcome of both, including the type of plants used, the region and climate in which they are grown, the fermentation process and the colours used. Both industries then employ unique techniques to make their product stand out.

How to Pair Cigars and Beer

Like with all pairings, this is entirely subjective, as what one person swears to be a great pairing may not appeal to you at all! It looks like the only thing to do is experiment with a few different beers and cigars and see what works best for you – what a shame!! A good place to start though would be to match the basic characteristics of a cigar and beer, for example, a light beer would work better with a milder cigar than it would with a stronger, full-bodied one. Likewise, a more intense cigar will work best with a stronger beer such as stouts or ales.

For those only beginning to consider pairings, the most basic way of choosing a pair is to focus on the colour. For the most part, lighter cigar wrappers will be milder, and darker cigar wrappers will be more on the full-bodied side. Similarly, lighter coloured beers will be milder in flavour than darker coloured beer.

Pairing Suggestions:

Mild Cigar and Pilsner

Montecristo No. 1 is a fairly mild cigar with a sweet taste, making it the perfect partner for a light beer with hints of spice such as a Pilsner. Pilsner has quite a hoppy flavour, while the Montecristo presents hints of grassiness, so these two flavours match up well. The mellowness of the cigar makes it an easy smoke alongside this deliciously drinkable beer!

Medium-bodied cigar and IPA

It can be quite hard to pair a cigar with an IPA as IPAs have such a variety of flavours that there isn’t really a ‘one size fits all’. IPAs can also overpower milder cigars, but full-bodied cigars will mask the subtler flavours present in the drink. Therefore, if you are an IPA drinker, then a medium-bodied stogie will be your best bet! Many IPA’s have notes of citrus, which will pair well with the hints of sweetness present in the San Andres Maduro wrapper of the E.P. Carrillo La Historia cigar.

Full-bodied cigar and Stout

The sometimes overpowering tastes of a full-bodied cigar needs an equally strong drinking buddy, making the darkest of beers, like Stout or Porter, the perfect partner. A great choice for a full-bodied cigar that pairs excellently with stout is the CroMagnon Aquitaine Anthropology from RoMa Craft. Its robust and smoky character with coffee and caramel flavours works well with the darkest of beers.

What is your favourite beer to drink with a cigar? Let us know in the comments below!