Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Flowstone Bushwillow
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.
Flowstone Bushwillow
Recently I found this nice little shop with all kinds of South African products. From spice rubs to candy, from wine to gin. Yes, gin. I got myself two bottles, the Musgrove Pink Gin and this Flowstone Bushwillow. But I might go back to try some other South African gins.
Flowstone is quite a young distillery, only founded in early 2016. Yet their gins have won several prestigious awards since that time. Flowstone won double gold at the Craft Gin Awards in 2019, Double Gold at the Michelangelo awards and several other awards. Flowstone is the only company in the world that had three double gold awards in the gin category in the same year, 2019.
The story started when the founders of Flowstone were adding wild cucumbers from their garden in their gin & tonic while entertaining friends. The result was so delicious that it inspired a distillery with a range of different gin’s, all with the stunning botanical diversity of the area. For this gin, Flowstone went for a member of the Bushwillow family that produces beautiful winged seed pods, large enough to comfortably fill an adult’s cupped hand. The pods rustle in the breeze making a sound reminiscent of waves brushing beach sand. They are a favourite of graceful spiral-horned kudu that gather beneath the trees in late summer to browse the seedpods for the nutty kernel hidden inside.
Neat
The nose is smooth, with juniper, citrus and woody aromas. The gin is equally smooth with warm nutty, woody and earthy notes with some citrus and juniper. There is a mild sweetness that binds all the flavours together. The finish has woody noted with some minty freshness. This gin, neat, will go well with a stronger cigar, with either a peppery or an earthy flavour profile.
Gin & Tonic
The nose is fragrant with pine and citrus. The cocktail is quite sweet, with pine, juniper with woody and earthy notes. The finish is slightly bitter and sweet with orange citrus hints. It’s refreshing and this is a great gin for a gin & tonic. Pair this with a thick creamy Connecticut Shade cigar, medium bodied, smooth and creamy.
And now for the gin tonic recipe:
2 ounces of 60ml of gin
4 ounces or 120ml of Tonic water
Fill a Copa glass with ice. Add the gin, then the tonic and stir gently.
Artillery
The artillery is an old cocktail, going back to the days before the second world war. It was published in Harry Craddock’s book ‘The savoy cocktail book’ which dates from 1930. The original recipe was a bit easier, but less balanced so I’m using the modern version.
The one dash of Angostura is dominant in the nose, with the botanicals from the gin and the sweetness from the Red Vermouth. Even though I am not a fan of spirit forward cocktails, I will make an exception for this one. Depth because of the bitters, berry sweetness from the red vermouth (I used Ferdinand’s) and botanicals with woody notes from the gin. Add some heat from the alcohol and you have the artillery. Balanced, complex, interesting. Pair this with a nice, bold and strong yet flavourful cigar and you’ll have a great time. A Hamlet by Rocky Patel, Oliva series V, West Tampa Red or a Casa Magna Liga F for example.
And now for the Artillery recipe:
1⅔ ounce or 50ml of Gin
⅚ ounce or 25ml of Red Vermouth
1 dash of Angostura bitters
Garnish: brandied cherry
Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewered brandied cherry.
Inspector X
