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The signs are everywhere: America is,
increasingly, a taste-conscious
country. After decades of fast food, people are talking about the "slow-food"
movement. Magazines like Gourmet, Food and Martha Stewart Living appeal to more and more peoples' desire to
eat well, not just copiously.
The difference is visible in other media as well. Television
shows like "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" attract an audience hard to imagine
twenty years ago, as do cable channels like the Food Network and HGTV. Books by
Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain and Barbara Kingsolver about food dominate the
Borders' sale table while customers flock to pay top dollar for organic arugula
at Whole Foods.
And the most telling detail of all, perhaps: after
decades of ignoring activists' attempts to point out that locally-grown food
tastes better, suddenly every foodie in town is at least considering the idea
of bypassing the neighborhood grocery store in favor of the local farmer's
market.
The sudden interest in fine ingredients, gourmet
recipes and subtle tastes-after decades of having our tastebuds bombed by
high-sugar and high-fat convenience foods may remind some business observers of
a similar trend during the 1990s: the resurgence of cigars. After all, the gap
between a greasy diner hamburger and the kinds of dishes that please consumers
today is similar to that between a tiny, assembly-line-made cigarette, full of
short-leaf filler tobacco, and a fine, hand-rolled cigar. In both cases,
consumers are opting for quality over quantity.
And, in fact, it's the same sorts of consumers in
both cases: generally younger, well-educated, fairly successful, engaged in
high-stress occupations and looking for ways to treat themselves.
So it's no wonder that more and more foodies wonder
how to combine these two pleasures: what tastes (in food and drink) go best
with cigars? Here are some principles to keep in mind for your next party.
First of all, remember that it's always a matter of
opinion-and personal taste. Some cigar devotees wouldn't think of mixing any
meal, no matter how scrumptious or well-matched, with a cigar, or vice versa. Other
folks may not ever light up except as a way of relaxing after a good meal with
friends. And if you're entertaining, your first duty, of course, is to be
sensitive to the needs and interests of your guests.
As far as beverages go, it's best to mix wine with
cigars-the finer the wine, the better the mix. Wine and cigars are a natural
mix: acquired tastes, somewhat bitter, both aged, both needing to be savored
rather than rushed. Red wine, especially port, comes recommended by several
aficionados whose writings I've consulted. You'll probably want to steer clear
of wines on either the extremely-sweet or extremely-bitter side of the taste
spectrum, such as Beaujolais nouveaux and some
cabernet sauvignons. These exceptionally bitter or sweet wines tend to have
such a strong taste that they won't make room for the taste of your stogie, so
to speak. A similar problem occurs with ultra-subtle wines that won't assert
themselves against the strong taste of your cigar. Some specifically recommend
red zinfandels, Pinot Noirs, and Spanish and Italian red table wines, which
avoid extremes and have a taste strong enough to interact with that of your
cigar but not so strong as to dominate it. White wines, being sweeter, aren't always
recommended. Liqueurs are a possibility, as are well-made, subtle-tasting beers
such as stouts or ales-but probably nothing that comes in a 12-oz. can.
In general, with both foods and beverages, heavy goes
with heavy, and light goes with light. Your lightest, smoothest-tasting cigars
should go with a smaller meal and your heavy cigars with big ones.
Cigars are generally thought to go best after the
meal, as a sort of dessert. If you smoke before the meal, go with something
small and light-a cigarillo rather than a Churchill.
Coffee, a bitter drink, can offer a natural
complement to the taste of cigars. Try a strong-flavored, full-bodied coffee,
such as a Colombian or East Timorese. The stronger-tasting sorts of teas, such
as China Black or Earl Grey, also hold up well in the presence of a cigar,
though not herbal teas, which operate on a different frequency.
As for dessert, stick to dark rather than milk
chocolate-its comparative bitterness will make a lot of sense next to a strong
smoke. Creamy and rich desserts won't work at all with cigars. Simple desserts,
made of one item, might-so opt for a piece of fruit rather than a fruit
cocktail, a bit of dark chocolate rather than a hot-fudge sundae, etc.
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