Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Four Pillars Shiraz

Cigars and alcohol. Two luxury products that go hand in hand, and sometimes even meet on business level. Aging tobacco in whisky, rum, or cognac barrels is a practice several brands do to achieve extra flavour to the wrapper for certain lines.

The famous bourbon brand Maker’s Mark has their own cigar, sold in tubes with the signature wax coating. Drew Estate works with Pappy van Winkle and used to make Kahlua cigars. Mombacho used to have the Diplomatico series but Mombacho no longer exists. General Cigars works with Sazerac, which resulted in Fireball cigars, Weller by Cohiba and collaborations with Buffalo Trace. And there is the Diesel Whisky Row, a collaboration with Rabbit Hole Distilleries. Fratello Cigars also sells craft beer.

Most famous are probably the Cuban collaboration between Martell Cognac and Cohiba. Dominique London, the European retailer with more than 20 shops in the UK, Belgium, Switzerland and the Canary Islands takes it one step further. They bought a distillery in Wales and produce whisky, gin, rum, vodka and liquors.

Four Pillars Shiraz

I tried Four Pillars gin before, the Olive version and the Yuzu version. The latter is one I bought several times since but I had been eyeing this bottle of Four Pillars Shiraz for a while.

The combination of gin and Shiraz grapes? Absolutely brilliant. This unconventional experiment, which involves steeping Four Pillars original Rare Dry Gin with local cool climate Shiraz grapes, has garnered a cult following. It achieves the perfect balance between sweet fruitiness and the essence of gin. It’s an annual limited edition, so grab it while you can.

Neat

The nose is almost medicinal, with pine, juniper and spice, but also with pepper notes and dense raspberry. The juniper and botanicals of the gin are noticeable under a thick and flavourful mix of ripe berries and dried fruits. Sweet, but not overly sweet, with some spice that you also taste in Shiraz red wines. It’s a very nice sipping gin. Winter spice lingers in the finish with some peppery notes as well. Pair this with a nice maduro cigar to compliment the flavours and you’ll have a nice combination.

Gin & Tonic

The nose is almost similar to the neat version, so pine, juniper and spice, but also with pepper notes and dense raspberry but just a little diluted due to the Schweppes tonic. The tonic takes away a bit if the fruity sweetness and makes the juniper and mostly the pine shine a bit more. Honestly, I like this gin neat better than in a gin & tonic, but it can still work with a cigar with some woody notes to compliment the pine.

And now for the gin tonic recipe:
2 ounces of 60ml of gin

4 ounces or 120ml of Tonic water

Fill a Copa or Collins glass with ice.
Add the gin, then the tonic and stir gently.

Jasmin

The nose is quite mild and has a nice fruity aroma. Berries and ripe fruit from the gin, lemon from the lemon juice and orange from the liqueur. The Campari aroma is somewhere on the background.

The Campari, although only a minor part of this cocktail, leaves its mark with its bitterness but it works well with the sour citrus and the sweetness of this gin. The flavours are all strong, but balance each other out. Pair this with a cigar, medium in body or stronger, preferably with a woody flavour profile. I would pair this with a Flor de Las Antillas for example, or a Cohiba if I could find those for reasonable prices.

And now for the Jasmin cocktail
1½ ounce of 45ml of gin

¼ ounce or 7½ml of Campari

¼ ounce or 7½ml of Orange liqueur
¾ ounce or 22½ml of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Add everything in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Inspector X