Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Stalla Dhu Single Cask Mannochmore 11 Year Old
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.
Stalla Dhu Mannochmore 11-year-old
Mannochmore distillery is a Scottish Whisky distillery near Elgin and it’s a pretty young distillery, only founded in 1971. It is now owned by Diageo, like many others. Between 1985 and 1989, production was suspended and the distillery closed; it was then reopened and in 1992 started producing a Mannochmore single malt. Between 1995 and 2008, the distillery would run for a year and then close for a year. The crew worked both at the Mannochmore distillery and the Glenlossie distillery, which is nearby. But since 2008, the distillery is open all year around, every year, with its own crew.
This Speyside single cask was distilled in 2011 and bottled at the slightly higher abv of 48%, after being matured for 11 years in a hogshead (or ‘hoggie’, is a term used in the Scotch whisky industry to describe a 250L rebuilt barrel, usually containing extra staves or new oak ends). It presents a light and fruity character, and it was a major ingredient in Dimple and Haig. Nowadays, it can be found officially as part of Diageo’s Flora & Fauna release. Mannochmore was also the home of the infamous, now discontinued “Black Whisky” Loch Dhu. Of this Stalla Dhu Mannochmore11-year-old, only 364 bottles are available.
Neat
As always, the first introduction between me and the whisky is from a Glencairn glass. The nose has something tropical, tropical fruits and strawberries with a hint of custard. The whisky itself is warming with vanilla, apples and savoury notes, with a slightly creamy undertone. The finish is not that long and has a cracker or biscuit touch. Pair this with a nice nutty, floral or sweet medium to medium full cigar. The non-Cuban H. Upmann Rare Corojo for example, or the 601 Maduro. In the Cuban realm, go for a Cohiba Maduro Magicos and you’ll enjoy this pairing.
The nose is less pronounced and less tropical in a rocks glass. The warming effect of the whisky is a bit stronger though, with a stronger cracker and other savoury flavours than in a Glencairn. The creamy mouthfeel is also a but stringer but the vanilla and apple notes are toned down in this type of glass. That makes this a perfect whisky for a Maduro cigar, or a cigar with lots of Brazilian tobacco as it’s known for its sweetness. Take the Insidious by Asylum, a Blind Man’s Bluff Maduro or a Partagas Maduro.
Old Fashioned
The nose, as always, is dominated by the orange but this time with a creamy undertone, almost custard-like. The sweetness is stronger, it’s still vanilla and custard, but now with an added boost from the sugar cube. The mouthfeel is creamy, but there is an added bitterness and depth from the Angostura bitters. The whisky feels less warm. The bitters is mostly noticeable in the finish. I would pair this with a RoMa Craft Baka, Oliva Serie G, Fuente Hemingway or a Cuesta Rey, something with a Cameroon wrapper. The spice and sweetness of that wrapper should work well with a Stalla Dhu Mannochmore 11-year-old Old Fashioned.
And now for the Old-Fashioned recipe:
1 sugar cube
3 dashes of bitters
2 oz or 60 ml of whisky
orange peel
Put the sugar cube in a highball glass, add the dashes of bitters and a splash of water. Muddle the sugar cube. Add ice and the whisky. Stir for 10 seconds, then add an orange peel.
Whisky Mojito
The ultimate white rum cocktail might as well be the mojito, although it’s also amazing with dark rum. But did you know there is a whisky mojito recipe as well? I found it on the Diageo Academy website, where it is made with Johnny Walker Black Label as the “black label mojito” yet I make it with this rare Stalla Dhu.
The nose is odd, there is some tropical sweetness from the whisky combined with the lime juice and ginger, of which the ginger is the dominant aroma. The cocktail itself is tart, the lime and the sour mix give it a strong citrus sourness but the ginger and the creamy tropical whisky flavours balance that out. This is a refreshing cocktail, with ginger as the main driver of the freshness. This cocktail needs a strong cigar to stand up against the ginger and the citrus, and then I think of the Montecristo #2 because of the earthy character on the Cuban side, and an EPC Pledge on the side of the Dominican cigars. A Nicaraguan Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo would pair perfectly as well.
And now for a Whisky Mojito recipe:
2 ounces or 60ml of Whisky
2½ ounce or 75ml of Ginger Ale
1 ounce or 30ml of Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
½ ounce or 15ml of simple syrup
1 splash of sour mix *
Add the whisky, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and top with the ginger ale. Stir slightly to mix.
*Sour mix (also known as sweet and sour mix) is a mixer that is yellow-green in colour and is used in many cocktails. It is made from approximately equal parts lemon and/or lime juice and simple syrup and shaken vigorously with ice. This produces a pearly-white liquid with a pronounced flavour.
Inspector X
