When the mercury spikes, what’s a better way to beat the heat than enjoying summer drinks and nice cigars under a piece of shade? Honestly, not much – except for an ice-cold beverage to pair with your favorite cigar. There are a few requirements to summer cocktails – they have to be refreshing, easy to make, and pair well with a variety of your best summer cigars.
Summer is a time for backyard barbecues, beach trips, and plenty of hot evenings on the back deck. Here are a few classic summer drinks for you and your friends to pair with your favorite cigars and help you enjoy your next summer evening. After a hot day, there’s nothing better.
The Classic Mojito
When it’s hot outside, this one can’t be beaten. The Mojito recipe is simple, refreshing, and can be modified to fit your cigar choice. Plus, it originates from one of the most famous destinations in the cigar world – Cuba. Easily concocted with soda water, sugar, mint, and light rum, there are a variety of different combinations to suit your cigar preferences.
Into the milder cigar varieties? Connecticut wrappers? Make it the traditional way, with light rum. Have a darker cigar that you’re looking to try? Say, an oily Maduro? Swap out the light rum for dark rum for a bolder experience. Next time you’re enjoying a summer evening with a box of hand-rolled Belicosos and some friends, make up a batch of Mojitos, get out the matches, and imagine you’re sitting on a beach in the Caribbean.
The Whiskey Rebellion
You may not have heard of this one before, but to all of you bourbon drinkers out there – this one’s for you. A refreshing cocktail with a hint of bourbon, the Whiskey Rebellion is a combination of your favorite bourbon, Pimm’s, simple syrup, lemon, and ice. This pairs nicely with medium-bodied cigars – like a classic Romeo Y Julieta 1875 – but feel free to give a mild cigar a shot as well. The sugar in the simple syrup cuts the strong citrus vibe, but be careful – don’t add too much lemon, or it can compete with the cigar’s flavor.
Whiskey and cigars go together like peanut butter and jelly. To some whiskey lovers out there, it feels like a sacrilege to pair a fine cigar with anything but whiskey neat. To all of you skeptics out there, gather your bourbon-loving friends, pass out a few fine cigars, and give this one a try.
The Gin and Tonic
Yes, gin and cigars DO go together, even if the pairing isn’t as popular as with some of the other liquors out there. Since we’ve hit some of the popular ‘cigar’ liquors- rum, whiskey – it felt appropriate to add this one to the mix. Gin is having a craft resurgence, and since it’s one of the new ‘hot’ liquors – it needed to be included – particularly because it’s so versatile, and pairs with a wide variety of our favorite smokes.
The Gin and Tonic consist of tonic, gin, lime juice, and ice – that’s it. Since gin now comes in so many different flavor profiles, from sweet to dry, you can pair most cigars with it – anything from mild to wild. The plus side? There’s some great gin at modest prices, so you can reallocate that money to cigar-buying!
If you’re still not sold on one of these choices, visit your local cigar and cocktail lounge where the summer drinks and cigar pairings are endless!
photo credit: Pixabay