The summer months are the most propitious for tasting Habanos outdoors, but it is also true that beers are at their peak of appetite during that same period, so making a good pairing between Cuban cigars and Belgian blondes is undoubtedly a good choice.
That is why we have chosen for these coming months a quartet of easy, tasty and very appropriate Habanos to be enjoyed during appetizers or in the moments of what is now called “tardeo”, which, along with many other Belgian beers, whose original manufacture dates back to the 6th century when Charlemagne recommended their production in the monasteries of the Roman Empire.
Four Cuban cigars have been selected, all of which have characteristics ranging from the highest strength, such as the Partagas Capitols, to the lowest, such as the Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robustos, and medium strength, such as the 10-year-old Montecristo Open Junior and the H. Upmann Half Corona.
All of them offer uncomplicated tastings, with smoking times perfectly suited for aperitifs to mid-afternoon, uncomplicated and perfectly paired with the beers of Brasserie 28, founded in Brussels in 1842. Originally under the Caulier brand and within the strong Belgian brewing tradition.
In 2014, after several years of research, the first 28 “Craft Beers” were born, so the four beers chosen to pair with Habanos are beers with no added sugar, brewed only with natural ingredients of high quality, unfiltered and unpasteurised.
With the valuable help of Javier Martínez, the brand’s Brand Ambassador and Beer Sommelier, we selected the quartet of Belgian Premium Brasserie 28 beers for the occasion: Pils, Pale Ale, Blonde and Saison, all of them exceptionally light, without added sugars, sweeteners, colorants or preservatives and with a 30% reduction in caloric content.
We made the harmony of the Montecristo Open Junior 10 years aged, a Habano that has the added value of the decade that has remained once it has been produced, with a medium strength (3/5) with the B 28 Pale Ale of 5% and extremely pleasant on the palate.
In this combination, we find all the traces of dark Cuban tobacco in the mouth, combined with the exquisite medium-bodied Belgian beer, with light caramel notes and American hops, which provide a good amount of citrus notes.
With the H. Upmann Half Corona, one of the so-called “small big habanos”, with its medium/low strength (2/5) we have selected to pair the 5.3% B 28 Pils, somewhat bitter, dry and easy to drink.
Half Corona and the Pils denotes in the mouth the smoothness of the blend that make up the H. Upmann cigars, with its spicy and woody touches in conjunction with the European hops that add floral and certainly spicy notes.
The Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robustos -another of the Cuban cigars that is easy and short tasting- we have selected for its encounter in our pairing with the B 28 Saison with 5% and a dry finish typical of the style.
These Petit Robustos are a perfect match for the Saison, as the medium to low strength tobacco flavours are complemented in the mouth by a light beer with spicy tones and some white pepper.
Finally, we chose to accompany the Partagas Capitols (part of the Retro Line that reproduces the metallic containers typical of the seventies of the last century) which has one of the highest strengths of the vitolario of habanos (5/5) to the B 28 Blonde that also has a considerable graduation (6.8%) moderately bitter and very refreshing.
The Partagas Capitols is a vitola called Mareva, one of the most classic Habanos (so called because its tobacco is entirely Cuban and originally shipped in the port of Havana) and its great strength, with hints of black pepper and earth very present, is consolidated in the mouth with the Blonde, a light gluten-free beer where the cereal grain is very well perceived.
Habanos and beers create a harmonious symphony that brings the tobacco flavour of cigars and the hops of beer to the palate.
H. Upmann Half Corona
H. Upmann Half CoronaFormat
Length: 90 mm. Strain 44. Weight: 7.16 gr.
Smoking time: 25/30 minutes
B 28 Pils
Colour: Straw. Style: Pils. Alcohol: 5.3%
Montecristo Open Junior 10 years aged
Montecristo Open Junior 10 years agedFormat
Length: 110 millimeters. Strain 38. Weight: 6.54 gr.
Smoking time: 25/30 minutes
B 28 Pale Ale
Colour: Deep golden. Style: American Pale Ale. Alcohol: 5%
Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robustos
Hoyo de Monterrey Petit RobustosFormat
Length: 102 mm. Strain: 50. Weight: 10.43 gr.
Smoking time: 30/35 minutes
B 28 Saison
Colour: Light golden. Style: Saison. Alcohol: 5%
Partagas Capitols
Partagas CapitolsFormat
Length: 129 mm. Strain 42. Weight: 7.34 gr.
Smoking time: 35/40 minutes
B 28 Blonde
Colour: Golden. Style: Belgian Blonde. Alcohol: 6,8%
