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Smoking a
cigar and enjoying a delicious chocolate at the same time may seem strange, but
if you balance the flavors well, you will be surprised how seductive the
experience can be.
Of course,
it is not a simple milk chocolate, but a dark chocolate made by hand with the
best cocoa, since its natural bitterness can be offset by the flavors of
tobacco, adding a new dimension to the moment as it impacts differently the
taste buds. Especially today when chocolatiers are continually innovating, many
with the express intention of producing chocolates whose richness blends
harmoniously with the complex flavors of cigars to enhance each puff.
Although
there are no strict rules for a perfect pairing between cigars and chocolates
because the subjectivity of personal tastes prevails, some connoisseurs
recommend that you avoid using chocolates with a percentage of cocoa greater
than 90%, and assess some basic matching criteria:
• Sweet
and spicy
To pair cigars with chocolate, taking into account sweetness and
spiciness, it is advisable to choose a cigar that gives off aromas of sweet and
fruity spices together with a chocolate whose cocoa content is between 60 and
70%, in order to moderate its bitter and toasted nuances. In this way, as the
smoke progresses, the chances of finding in the cigar very noticeable spicy or
toasted notes that would affect the enjoyment of the combination, will be
reduced.
• Structure
and persistence:
The pairing that is carried out based on the structure and persistence
that is applied to drinks, is also applicable to chocolates. That means:
- Cigars with a light body and
little persistence on the palate taste better if they are combined with little
structured and little persistent dark chocolates, whose percentage of cocoa is
between 60% and 70%.
- Medium bodied and moderately
persistent cigars on the palate highlight their notes better when they are
paired with moderately structured and moderately persistent dark chocolates,
whose percentage of cocoa is between 70% and 80%.
- The full-bodied cigars, structured
and with a long persistence on the palate, should be paired with dark-bodied, structured
chocolates with strong notes of long persistence. The cocoa content of these
chocolates must be a minimum of 80% and a maximum of 90%.
As a
curious and interesting fact that can encourage you to try the pairing between
cigars and chocolates, it is worth mentioning that today many scientific
studies indicate that dark chocolate, with cocoa content greater than 70%,
produces important health benefits. Among them, being a great source of
antioxidants, protecting the heart, regulating cholesterol, elevating mood and
improving brain function. Excellent news!
