FOHrensics at home

[JoeyBones777]

As a chef palette development is important. After seeing the drink pairing FOHrensics video I got inspired and decided to do the same for any of my cooks who were interested.

We smoked an Illusione Epernay and started with water then moved to coffee, orange juice, coke, lager, ipa, stout, champagne, red wine(merlot), Madeira, port, corn whiskey and bourbon.

Given the number of tasters, all with different levels of experience, we still agreed on a couple big performers...madeira and orange juice were the 2 top performers with champagne and bourbon coming in close.

It was a lot of fun and I plan on doing it again with more cooks and some front of house peeps as well.

[Thirds]

I have to try this orange juice pairing.  It’s blowing my mind. 

[JoeyBones777]

20 minutes ago, Thirds said:

I have to try this orange juice pairing.  It’s blowing my mind. 

Yeah, I saw it coming but everyone else thought it was going to be gross.? My liquor rep said he thought it was going to be gross. He was wrong. It is surprisingly good.

[MoeFOH]

49 minutes ago, JoeyBones777 said:

madeira and orange juice were the 2 top performers

FOHrensics delivers! 

OJ. It's the bolter no one expects to see finish first past the post. But the data is mounting for it to firm as the legit favourite. 

Great post! Thanks. 

[Bri Fi]

I’ve tried the OJ about four times now. Only worked once and the cigar was a fresh JL2. Other than that it didn’t do anything. But that one time was a cream A bomb. I’ll have to see if it’ll work again 

[JoeyBones777]

6 minutes ago, MoeFOH said:

FOHrensics delivers! 

OJ. It's the bolter no one expects to see finish first past the post. But the data is mounting for it to firm as the legit favourite. 

Great post! Thanks. 

I think what surprised me,  going into it knowing OJ would be a good pairing, was how poorly coffee did. We did good quality medium roast coffee. We all agreed it brought out bitterness in the cigar while a couple liked it most did not and found that it overpowered the cigar. I always used to drink coffee with my cigars...not anymore.?

[JoeyBones777]

1 minute ago, Bri Fi said:

I’ve tried the OJ about four times now. Only worked once and the cigar was a fresh JL2. Other than that it didn’t do anything. But that one time was a cream A bomb. I’ll have to see if it’ll work again 

With the Illusione it almost acted like salt in food. It made the flavors in the cigar shine a bit brighter and nothing was lost from the oj.

[MoeFOH]

6 minutes ago, JoeyBones777 said:

I think what surprised me,  going into it knowing OJ would be a good pairing, was how poorly coffee did. We did good quality medium roast coffee. We all agreed it brought out bitterness in the cigar while a couple liked it most did not and found that it overpowered the cigar. I always used to drink coffee with my cigars...not anymore.?

I guess it's about the cigar, too. We shouldn't forget that. A cigar with oodles of choc, cookies and cream type notes might well be better enhanced by a coffee. Perhaps? And then there's the question of how sweet the coffee is made, if it's sweetened at all. 

But, for me anyway, it's the sweeter drinks that seem to enhance a cigar more often than not. What's mind-blowing about the OJ is how well it seems to do it. How it brings a smoother, creamier note to all the flavours. It seems to heighten the whole flavour experience. And, of course, that it just seems an incongruous pairing up front. It's unexpected... but bloody good! 

[ac031898]

Looks fun! Gotta try the OJ thing but sounds terrible!

[zyxwvu44]

Looks fun! Gotta try the OJ thing but sounds terrible!

It's great! It sounds weird but it's really good, I was surprised as well

[JoeyBones777]

1 hour ago, ac031898 said:

Looks fun! Gotta try the OJ thing but sounds terrible!

It is a lot of fun! I have another one set up in July with different drinks and a different cigar...although orange juice will still be one of the drinks. ?

[dobbs]

years ago, i read an interview with pete johnson, the founder of tatuaje cigars, he mentioned one of his favorite pairings is orange soda. i was surprised and gave it a go, freakin amazing, highly recommended. orange fanta is an all-time favorite for me, so not surprised one bit

-dobbs

[JoeyBones777]

1 hour ago, dobbs said:

years ago, i read an interview with pete johnson, the founder of tatuaje cigars, he mentioned one of his favorite pairings is orange soda. i was surprised and gave it a go, freakin amazing, highly recommended. orange fanta is an all-time favorite for me, so not surprised one bit

-dobbs

Well he does have a decent palette, that's for sure. I'm not a huge fan of his cigars across the board but his limited stuff can be quite nice. The La Tache is still among my favorite cigars I've smoked...wish it was regular production. I enjoy The Bride, SW Reserva and, for a budget stick, the Tattoo is quite nice. I think the bubbles in the soda would take away from the velvety texture that the orange juice adds when it mingles with the smoke but will be interesting to try.

[dobbs]

9 hours ago, JoeyBones777 said:

I think the bubbles in the soda would take away from the velvety texture that the orange juice adds when it mingles with the smoke but will be interesting to try.

the bubbles won't be much different than a champagne pairing. that said, i'm sure it won't be for everyone.

cheers

-dobbs

[JoeyBones777]

48 minutes ago, dobbs said:

the bubbles won't be much different than a champagne pairing. that said, i'm sure it won't be for everyone.

cheers

-dobbs

Which champagne is a great pairing but the bubbles in champagne do not add anything texturally to the smoke. In my opinion, the bubbles almost cleanse the body of the smoke while leaving the flavor intact. It would be interesting to take orange soda and flatten some so the flavors are the same but you can compare with and without carbonation.?