Summer is right around the corner and for many of us the time has almost come to fire up the grill and start cooking burgers, hot dogs, sausages, ribs, steaks, chicken wings, and more meaty pleasures. Grilling elevates the taste of all these gastronomical delights after they become smoky and charred.
For premium cigar smokers, a crisp frosty mug of brew and a good stick is a great way to accompany that juicy cheeseburger. Therefore, we decided to bring you a roundup of the best beers to pair with a fine premium cigar and your favorite seared meats with our great Summer Barbecue Pairings selection.
Night Shift Brewery Nite Lite Craft Light Lager & Crowned Heads CHC Serie E Sublime
Say goodbye to watery lite beers with no flavor, and say hello to Night Shift Brewery Nite Lite Craft Light Lager. Perfect for BBQs, tailgating before the game, hanging at the beach, or poolside... Nite Lite is simple - light-bodied and crisp - just as a light beer should be with a creamy caramel backbone accompanied by malty hops, wheat, and barley malt.
This tasty beer calls for an equally smooth and satisfying summer pairing, so we chose the Crowned Heads CHC Serie E Sublime cigar.
This artisanal gem from Crowned Heads is expertly rolled in a popular 6.5x54 Toro size with a coal-black Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper leaf that embraces a rich Nicaraguan Jalapa binder and a core of aged Nicaraguan long-fillers from Ometepe, Jalapa, and Pueblo Nuevo— three of the top growing regions in the country.
The result is a medium-bodied smoke with creamy textured notes of earth, sweet spice, chocolate, and plenty of sweetness that gently lingers on the palate.
Great Lakes Brewing Company Holy Moses White Ale & Oliva Serie G Robusto
Great Lakes Brewing Company Holy Moses White Ale is a complex and highly aromatic ale with fruit, spice, and other floral characteristics., Orange peel, coriander, and chamomile make Holy Moses a worthy companion for a bold, well-balanced, and highly complex handmade premium cigar.
Answering the call is the wildly popular, award-winning, Oliva Serie G Robusto cigar.
Oliva Serie G Robusto is deftly rolled in Nicaragua using a toothy African Cameroon wrapper atop a Cuban Seed Habano binder and Nicaraguan Habano long filler tobaccos.
This is a medium-bodied cigar whose rich-tasting notes of earth, leather, toast, and cinnamon, really help make Holy Moses White Ale’s mouthwatering citrusy tones really pop!
Maine Beer Company Lunch IPA & AVO Classic Maduro #2
Lunch is an American IPA-style beer brewed by Maine Beer Company in Freeport, ME. Intense hop flavors and aromas of tropical and citrus fruits and pine dominate. A subtle malt sweetness brings the beer into balance, which is more than worthy of at least another round or two, especially when coupled with a fine premium cigar.
This choice was easy because there is no finer cigar on the planet for this pairing, then the Avo Classic Maduro # 2. This 90-plus rated cigar features a beautiful oily and dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper followed by the finest estate-grown binder and long filler tobacco from the Dominican Republic
A handmade premium cigar of the finest pedigree, this flawlessly rolled 6 x 50 Toro delivers delicious chocolate, pepper, earth espresso, and caramel flavors.
Based on the AVO Classic blend, this darker maduro wrapper provides a nice variation in taste and aroma that every serious cigar enthusiast will enjoy, especially when coupled with a frosty cold mug of Maine Beer Company Lunch IPA.
Troegs Brewing Company Haze Charmer & Oracle Toro
Haze Charmer is crafted by Troegs Brewing Company in Pennsylvania. The beer pours a rich amber color with a frothy white head. Vigorous dry hopping adds a second phase of haze, propping up the oils of El Dorado and Citra hops. Each sip delivers luscious notes of juicy pineapple, fresh grapefruit, and candied peach, balanced by subtle hints of white pine and honey malt.
We chose to pair this highly complex IPA with the Oracle Toro cigar as they complement each other splendidly.
Oracle Toro cigars are Nicaraguan puros produced by the famed Plasencia family in Estelí Nicaragua using their extensive collection of premium tobaccos. The blend utilizes binder and long-fillers from Estelí, Ometepe, Jalapa, and Condega, covered by a gorgeous Cuban-seed Habano wrapper.
Light this deftly rolled 6 x 50 Toro and expect a medium-bodied smoke laced with luscious notes of coffee bean, wood, and leather, centered around a core of signature Nicaraguan spice.
Every hour will become a happy hour with this magnificent perfect pairing!
Trillium Brewing Company Big Sprang & Nica Rustica Adobe Toro
Sprang by Trillium Brewing Company is a New England Pale Ale that pours a hazy amber color. The beer is refreshingly light-bodied with aromatics of earthy evergreen, passion fruit, and faint doughy malt. The Concord grape, mango, and white wine flavors interweave with crisp, pilsner malt character and minimal bitterness. The finish is dry with a lasting touch of grain.’
With a such unique flavor profile, Big Sprang made for a difficult premium cigar pairing, but we finally hit the nail on the head when we chose the equally distinctive Nica Rustica Adobe Toro cigar.
Produced by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica Adobe Toro pays tribute to Estelí, its people, and the amazing tobacco that grows there. The cigars are flawlessly rolled using Nicaraguan long-fillers grown on the Drew Estate Farm in Estelí, covered by a Brazilian binder and a Habano wrapper leaf.
You can expect a medium- to full-bodied smoke that offers bold, complex flavors of black pepper, wood, leather, and sweet spice, making it the perfect summer BBQ companion for Big Sprang.
