Leaf Speak
July 2020
Cohiba Black
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: Churchill (7x49)
Average Price: 23.00 USD
Pairing: William Heavenhill Single Barrel
When pairing whiskey together you are hoping a cigar and whiskey combination’s sum will be greater than their parts.
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Review of a pairing between Cohiba Black Cigar
and William Heavenhill Single Barrel Bourbon
A short history
Cuban Cohiba was established in 1966 as a limited production private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and the Cuban government.
The rumor is that he asked what his bodyguard was smoking, Castro tracked down the source of the blend of tobacco and wrappers from different plantations.
He found a group of cigar makers and founded the factory.
The CIA was known to have been working creating exploding cigars so Castro’s factory was under tight supervision.
In 1978 The General Cigar Company registered the name Cohiba in the U.S. in 1978 and began to sell cigar in the 80’s.
Cuban Cohiba appealed and won the trademark back in 2015.
The Cigar
Cohiba Black this cigar is made with tobaccos aged for at least 3 years. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and binder. It has Dominican Filler (Piloto Cubano) The Churchill is 7x49 that we used in this pairing. These are all hand rolled.
This pairing was done on a 79 degree day with 70 percent humidity outside. The cigar spent a week in the humidor to give it the proper humidity.
The cigar pairing took 2 hours and 6 minutes to complete. The cigar went out a quarter of the way through it.
I had spicy meatballs for dinner - important to note because what you eat will always affect the taste of what you drink and smoke later.
The wrapper had the right amount of oil and a smooth natural feel to it. It lit easily, the draw (amount of effort to get smoke through to your mouth) was moderate on the palette. I could taste Pine, Orange Peel, Cocoa on the finish, burnt cinnamon on the wrapper.
Paired with each other, William Heavenhill did not drown out the subtle flavors of the Cohiba Black. Each compontent made the other more enjoyable, refreshing the flavors. Each sip tasted like the first sip and each draw like the first draw of the cohiba every time.
The Pairing:
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. was founded shortly after Prohibition ended in the United States. It may be the only major privately owned distillery in the U.S. in 2014 they changed their name to Heaven Hill Brands.
William Heavenhill is a gift shop only brand this release is a series of single barrels and the one I paired with today is the 6th edition Its 115 proof or 57.5 ABV and at least 14 years old.
This whiskey is complex with heavy vanilla, light oak, some baking spices and a long luxurious finish. It is on the full flavored portion of the whisky spectrum.
This was a good pairing. I give it a 4 out of 5 rating.