Featured Pairing: FUENTE ROSADO GRAN RESERVA MAGNUM R #44 ARDBERG UIGEADAIL SCOTCH WHISKEY

Arturo Fuente cigars are often a surprise for me. Sure, there are the classics like the 898 and the Chateau Fuente line, but there’s such a wealth of limited edition and unique styles of Fuente, I’ve made it my full-time job to try them all.

Of course, the Gran Reserva Magnum R #44 is another in a line of stellar cigars from Fuente. This one is a spice and cream experience, the red sun grown wrapper introducing us to cinnamon that we’ll enjoy throughout the smoke. There’s a shop near me that makes a homemade cinnamon ice cream, and this is it. Delicious.

A quality cigar needs a unique spirits pairing, and Ardbeg Uigeadail fit the bill here. First, it’s pronounced “Oog-a-dal,” and the unique name comes from the name of the loch from which Ardbeg’s water flows.

This is a bold, cask-strength, award-winning Islay scotch. It’s got some deep, smoky notes and there are some surprising citrus notes present, too. Lemon on the nose, occasional sour black cherry. It’s warming, it’s a campfire, and together with the creamy cinnamon elements of the cigar, you might as well be drinking chai by a fireplace. The experience is that vivid and the flavor profiles of both make this an experience in pleasure for sure.