Pairing Cigars & Alcohol – Stalla Dhu Glen Elgin 11-Year-Old Madeira Finish Cask Strength

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 Glen Elgin 11-year-old Madeira Finish Cask Strength

Glen Elgin distillery is a Scotch single malt whisky distillery in Fogwatt, Moray, Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1898, and is now owned by Diageo. This 11 year old bottling of Glen Elgin was distilled in 2011 and released at the cask strength of 56.7% after a resting period in an ex Madeira cask, with only 315 bottles available.

Glen Elgin holds a reputation for producing a distinctively fruity spirit, often described as having notes of orchard fruits and citrus. In the past, it was playing a major role in the production of blended whiskies, especially White Horse, and in 1997 was bought by its current owner, Diageo. Surprisingly, it’s rarely seen as a single malt. Another interesting fact about this Speyside distillery is the long fermentation process, the use of wooden washbacks, instead of the more common stainless-steel ones, and the slow distillation. These factors contribute to the development of complex flavour esters and aromas, adding extra layers of complexity into the whisky.

Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an aperitif, to sweet wines usually consumed with dessert. Madeira falls under the same category as sherry, port, vermouth and other fortified wines. This whisky was finished in ex-madeira casks.

Neat

The nose is quite interesting. There is a smell of fresh fruit with butterscotch, but it changes to an earthy and leathery notes. The high ABV is clear as the whisky has a slight burn. The flavours are rich and savoury. Salted caramel countered by a sweetness best compared with cheesecake. The texture of the drink is meaty, like steak. The finish is slight spicy, with hints of ginger. It is a very nice whisky and it will go well with almost any medium or full bodied cigar. I paired it with the Punch Sir David, a rare Cuban cigar, but I could have opted for the EPC Allegiance as well.

In a rocks glass, the nose is less intense but with the same characteristics. The palate coating spirit is still rich and savoury. I can just copy the same text from the Glencairn version, as there is no difference. Therefore I would recommend the same cigars.

Old Fashioned

The nose is all orange. The bite of the whisky is still there and the bitters turn the cocktails a bit harsh. The sugar makes it sweeter than I like combined with the cheesecake and butterscotch. The fruit, raspberries, is gone while the sugar also mellows out toe savoury and salty notes. They are still there, but less pronounced. Go for a stronger cigar with this cocktail, a cigar with a nice broadleaf wrapper for the sweetness it provides. Many of the Tatuaje cigars will be great, or a Partagas Maduro.

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.

A Wee Modern

The nose is mildly orange with the sweetness of the rum and the citrus of of
the lemon. The drink looks sophisticated in this cocktail glass and the simple garnish. It is a weird combination of orange with the sweet rum (Angostura 1824) and the lemon. The savoury flavour of the whisky only shows up in the salty caramel flavour in the finish. I’m not a fan of this cocktail to be honest. The only type of cigar I would pair this with is a cigar with earthy flavours and that leads me to the EPC Pledge Prequel or the Montecristo #2.

And now for A wee modern recipe:
1¼ ounces or 37½ml of Whisky
½ ounce or 15ml of Dark rum
½ ounce or 15ml of Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
2 dashed of orange bitters
1 (flamed) orange twist
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker full with ice, shake and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with the flamed orange twist

Inspector X