Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Bols Triple Sec
Cigars and fine liquor are a natural pairing, enhancing each other’s complexity and depth. Whether it’s a rich whisky, a smooth rum, or a refined cognac, the right drink can elevate the cigar experience, and vice versa. This synergy is so profound that some cigar brands take it a step further, aging their tobacco in liquor barrels to infuse their cigars with unique flavours.
Several iconic collaborations between cigar and liquor brands have emerged from this shared passion for craftsmanship. Maker’s Mark, for example, offers cigars housed in their signature wax-sealed tubes, while Drew Estate has partnered with Pappy Van Winkle and even crafted Kahlua-flavoured cigars in the past. General Cigars has teamed up with Sazerac, resulting in creations like Fireball cigars and Weller by Cohiba, alongside partnerships with Buffalo Trace. Diesel’s Whisky Row cigars, produced in collaboration with Rabbit Hole Distilleries, are another fine example of this harmonious relationship.
Cuban cigars have also embraced this trend, with Cohiba famously collaborating with Martell Cognac. In Europe, Dominique London, a luxury retailer, has gone even further by acquiring a distillery in Wales, producing their own whisky, gin, rum, and other liquors to pair with their cigars.
Pairing cigars with liquor creates a world of possibilities for the discerning connoisseur, allowing both the cigar and the spirit to shine through their complementary flavours. This rich tradition continues to inspire new partnerships and innovations, providing endless enjoyment for enthusiasts.
Bols Triple Sec
Bols is the flagship brand of Lucas Bols, a renowned Dutch distiller with a heritage dating back to 1575. Widely recognised as the world’s oldest distillery brand still in operation, Bols has cultivated a global presence, now distributing its products in over 110 countries. The extensive portfolio includes vodka, gin, genever, advocaat, and an impressive range of liqueurs featuring more than 30 distinct flavours. In Eastern Europe, the Bols brand is independently owned and managed by Maspex, following a previous divestiture.
Bols Triple Sec is a clear-coloured liqueur, flavoured with aromatic Curaçao orange peels and hints of citrus. It is one of the most essential orange liqueurs in the modern bar or at home. At least half of all classic and modern drinks are made with Triple Sec or a variant, like Dry Orange Curaçao.
Neat
The crystal clear liquid has a strong nose. Pungent but pleasant, lemons and oranges. The nose is clean with some ethanol. Candied orange is what comes to mind first, followed with some heat that reminds me of cinnamon. Then lemon freshness and minerals kick in as well. It’s bittersweet but tasty. The finish is quite dry with a syrupy mouthfeel and an orange marmalade flavour. This can be enjoyed neat with a medium to full bodied Nicaraguan cigar such as the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial, but this liqueur wouldn’t be my first choice to drink neat, even though it’s pleasant. But it’s an ingredient for cocktails.
Triple Sec Tonic
The Triple Sec Tonic is a zesty and refreshing creation. Bols Triple Sec’s bright citrus notes meld perfectly with tonic water. This cocktail offers a refreshing and invigorating sip, perfect for those who love the taste of citrus.
The nose only has a hint of lemon and orange, but the ice and the tonic mute everything. The tonic brings some bitterness and makes this cocktail reminiscent of a gin & tonic, yet fresher and with more of an orange flavour because of the triple sec. It’s a nice summer cocktail and a great alternative if you want something like a Gin & Tonic, but with a lower ABV. A milder cigar, creamy in flavour, would pair very well. There are plenty of Connecticut Shade cigars that will fit that bill.
And now for the Triple Sec Tonic recipe:
45ml Triple Sec
135ml Tonic
Fill a Collins glass with Ice. Add both ingredients and stir gently to mix.
Fire & Brimstone
This is an original from Palmer & Co, a cocktail bar in Sydney, Australia although they use different brands than I did.
The nose is slightly smoky with hints of agave and the lemon juice. The muddled chili shines through and makes this cocktail very spicy. The fire from the fire and brimstone is explained with this. The mezcal adds smoke and a kick, but the lemon, agave and triple sec balance everything out and combined with the orange bitters, the triple sec gives a hint of orange on the background. Because of the spice, the pepper, this cocktail is only suitable for a bold and strong cigar, like the Man o War from A.J. Fernandez. I can see myself drink this, with a strong cigar, after a good barbecue.
And now for the Fire & Brimstone recipe:
45ml Mezcal
15ml Triple Sec
20ml Lemon juice
7½ml Agave syrup
2 dashes of Orange bitters
2 slices of chili
Muddle the chili in the bottom of a shaker. Add all the ingredients and shake with ice. Fine strain into a chilled rocks glass over fresh ice and express some lemon oil over the cocktail.
Sidecar
In his influential 1948 book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David A. Embury recounts the origin of the Sidecar with a charming anecdote: “It was invented by a friend of mine at a bar in Paris during World War I and was named after the motorcycle sidecar in which the good captain customarily was driven to and from the little bistro where the drink was born and christened.”
Embury doesn’t specify which bar, but many have assumed he was referring to Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, with the cocktail’s creation often attributed to its owner, Harry MacElhone. However, things get muddled when we look at MacElhone’s own ABC of Cocktails, first published in 1922, where he credits the Sidecar not to himself, but to Pat MacGarry, the “popular bartender at Buck’s Club, London.”
Intriguingly, in later editions of the ABC of Cocktails, MacElhone appears to quietly claim credit for the drink himself. This shift may not be entirely surprising—MacElhone and MacGarry worked together at Buck’s Club, which opened in June 1919. Their close professional ties could explain the overlapping attributions.
Supporting MacGarry’s claim is the fact that the first printed recipe for the Sidecar appears in Cocktails: How To Mix Them by Robert Vermeire, published in May 1922—just months before MacElhone’s book. Vermeire also credits MacGarry as the originator.
In the end, like many classic cocktails, the Sidecar’s origin is a story with multiple versions—but all signs point to a London club, a Paris bistro, and two bartenders whose legacies are as mixed as the drink itself.
On the nose I get a lot of lemon, with some orange and a hint of the Martell VSOP cognac. This is a classic for a reason. Wood and soft spices from the cognac, sweetness from the Triple Sec and tart from the lemon juice. The sweetness nor the lemon are overpowering, so it’s well balanced. I would pair this with a bold cigar, full flavoured, with a Maduro or Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper for some added sweetness as that will compliment the cocktail. Partagas or Cohiba for Cuban cigars, a nice Perdomo, Melanio Maduro or the LOFB Serie O for non Cuban choices.
And now for the Sidecar recipe:
45ml Cognac
30ml Triple Sec
15ml Lemon Juice
10ml Cold water (omit if using wet ice)
Shake all ingredients with ice, then fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express lemon oil over the top.
