Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$14.25
- Cigar provided by Cornelius & Anthony Cigars
- Beer purchased at Monkey Town Brewing Company
Background
I have looked at Cornelius by Cornelius & Anthony Cigars a couple times in Toro and Corona Gorda formats. I’ve enjoyed it, especially in the smaller ring gauge, but for some reason it always slips my mind when I tell people about the C&A sticks I like the most…could be the elevated price point, I guess.
Cornelius is a Nicaraguan blend using Ecuadorian binder and wrapper leaves and made in the Titan de Bronze factory in Miami, Florida. It’s a very nice medium or medium-to-full bodied cigar that I’ve noted before has hay, cedar and nutty notes, along with pepper and a touch of sweetness. You can find it at fine retailers near you…or at our sponsor, Small Batch Cigar.
I’m trying to break from my norm or pairing a great cigar with a nice stout or porter. It’s true, I do gravitate toward darker, richer beers…but I’ve grown fond of experimentation and trying all kinds of new things, so today I am pairing the Cornelius with an ESB. For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t), ESB stands for “Extra Special Bitter” and it is an English style of Pale Ale. While “bitter” is part of the name, don’t expect that these are going to rival most “Hop Wars” IPAs. They are said to range from 20-40 IBUs and are known for their “balance and the interplay between malt and hop bitterness.” (Information from CraftBeer.com)
This particular ESB is called “You Can Read Minds? You Must Have ESB” and hails from Monkey Town Brewing Company in Dayton, Tennessee.
Notes
The cold draw of the Cornelius was sweet and citrusy, with notes of hay and cedar, and a slight peppery heat. I took a sip of beer and found it medium in body, with a surprising amount of maltiness and just enough sweetness to offset and balance the bitter hoppiness that made itself known on the back end.
After applying fire to the cigar, it started off with a very woody flavor profile, with a slight molasses sweetness and pepper that only really showed up on the nose. The beer was a very nice accompaniment with its on balancing act going on.
Almost every beer pairing I’ve featured in the past couple years has been some kind of stout with extra flavoring added, so I have to admit it was nice to have a straight-forward “regular” beer that I could pair with a cigar. And I was glad it went so well. Medium-bodied, without too much bitterness, it went down easy and smooth while the Cornelius burned woody and sweet.
