Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Tanqueray Rangpur Lime
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.
Tanqueray Rangpur Lime
Tanqueray gin was initially distilled in 1830 by Charles Tanqueray in the Bloomsbury district of London. The retail outlet of Edward & Charles Tanqueray & Co was established on Vine Street, London, in 1838 When Charles died in 1868, his son Charles Waugh Tanqueray inherited the distillery, which continued to operate until it was severely damaged during World War II. The only building to survive the Axis bombing, now known as “Old Tom”, has since been moved to Cameron Bridge, Scotland.
Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Distilled Gin blends the exotic Rangpur lime with ginger and bay leaves for a spectacularly fresh flavour. Rangpur limes, a rare fruit originating from India, carry all the zest of lime and the juiciness of mandarin oranges, elevating Tanqueray’s perfect balance of four classic gin botanicals – piney juniper, peppery coriander, aromatic angelica, and sweet liquorice. The unique taste of rare Rangpur limes makes this award-winning gin the best kept secret of the British-Indian tradition.
Neat
I never had this gin before, even though it’s been around since 2006. Back then it was a unique gin, very citrus forward but nowadays the market is saturated with citrus forward gins. The nose does have the traditional Tanqueray aromas like liquorice, spice and juniper but there is a quite dominating lime aroma as well. The flavour is very pleasant, lime but also orange combined with the juniper and botanicals, pine and coriander seeds. There is enough sweetness to balance the flavours. The finish is quite dry with some citrus and some spice. This will pair very well with a medium or medium-full cigar with a woody flavour profile.
Gin & Tonic
The nose of this gin & tonic has a bit of juniper and then orange with lemon. It has more aroma than the average Gin & Tonic. The orange flavour shines through in this very refreshing cocktail. This is perfect for a hot summer night, different from a regular gin & tonic. I would still go for a medium bodied cigar with a woody flavour.
And now for the gin tonic recipe:
2 ounces or 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.
Bees Knees
The Bee’s Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail featuring gin, lemon juice and honey. The unique name is a convention of the time: The phrase “bee’s knees” was popular slang used to call something excellent or outstanding.
The drink is credited to Frank Meier, an Austrian-born bartender who plied his trade at the Hôtel Ritz Paris during the 1920s. It’s a simple extension of the classic Gin Sour (gin, lemon, sugar) that features honey instead of sugar. The honey creates a richer drink, and it may have been employed to mask the taste of subpar gin, which was prevalent at the time. According to Tanqueray, the Rangpur Lime is a great gin for this cocktail.
The nose has ginger from the garnish and lemon from the lemon juice. This cocktail is one of my favourites as it’s so refreshing because of the strong lemon, yet sweet because of the honey syrup balanced by the botanicals of the gin. The orange flavours of the gin are a nice subtle twist to this cocktail. Yet the citrus is a bit too strong to pair well with a cigar, unless it’s a strong cigar with a dark flavour profile. Earthy flavours will go well with this cocktail.
And now for the Bees Knees recipe:
1½ ounce or 45ml of Tanqueray Rangpur Lime gin
1 ounce or 30ml of Lemon juice
¾ ounce or 22½ml of honey syrup
Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a ginger slice.
Inspector X
