Cigar and Craft Beer Review - May 28th, 2015
Sitting on my back porch is always relaxing, especially on a cool breezy afternoon. This time it was even more so, due to the rich flavored Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon cigar, courtesy of Famous Smoke Shop, paired with the Big Gun Porter from Out of Bounds Brewing Company. Velvet smoke billowed as the wind chimes rang carrying away all of my cares alongside the luscious aroma.
The cigar was the color of dark chocolate with minimal veins in the Cameroon wrapper. That delectable coloration was accentuated by the metallic blue band with bright white lettering. Upon the first whiff of the unlit cigar I noticed leather, caramel and hay. Then the beer; aromas of milk chocolate and maple were married with rich bready malts and a faint earthy hop character. Garnet highlighted the opaque black brew that was topped with thin beige foam. The lighter struck and smoke followed. A pull of the cigar and a sip of the beer combined on my palate validating my choice of Big Gun as a partner to this smoke. The porter had mild flavors of toast, milk chocolate and maple syrup that accentuated vanilla notes of the cigar. The chocolate notes in the beer rounded out this already smooth cigar making for a luxurious smoke. Big Gun has a medium body and is creamy on the palate with a dry finish that was emphasized by the Rocky Patel Cameroon.
Out of Bounds Big Gun Porter paired quite well with the Rocky Patel vintage 2003 Cameroon and provided me with roughly a half an hour of relaxing. Other well-known porters from California, such as Anchor Porter or Sierra Nevada’s Porter, would also do this fine cigar justice.
By Mike Ungerbuhler - BJCP Certified Beer Judge and Cigar Aficionado
For more information on Famous Smoke Shop, visit link: http://www.famous-smoke.com