Connoisseur Kim Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Since my Punch 8-9-8 has been aged for 6 years, I'm planning to revisit it on this month at cigar lounge which allows BYOC and BYOB. Between Bunnahabhain 12 CS 2023 and Springbank 12 CS Batch #25, which one suits the ER Dalia better? Both drams are half-remaining and they're one of my fav drams (prefer Springbank more though), but they obviously have different characteristics (heavily nutty and spicy driven vs slightly peated with complex Sherry and Bourbon casks mixture) and ABV (60.1% vs 57.2%) that make me very conflicted what to bring. 3
jackhammer Posted May 1 Posted May 1 I've never smoked a Punch 898, or any Punch cigar for that matter, but I have sipped a whole lot of both Bunna and SB. If I had to pick one of those two CS whiskies to go with any cigar, I'd probably pick the Bunna. Reason being that I find it to be a bit punchier (see what I did there) and less complex, so I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out on the experience. When I drink SB, I prefer a cleansed palate in order to pick out all of the flavor nuances SB is known for. Drinking it with a cigar, you might miss the wonderful but subtle orchard fruit and creamy dessert flavors from the ex-bourbon casks. I would also be concerned the peat profile of the SB12 might overwhelm the flavors of the cigar, but again, can't say for sure since I've never had one. Generally though, I don't drink peated single malts with a nice cigar that I really care about. The bold and rich sherry sweetness and spice of the Bunna seems like it would pair well with any cigar. In fact, I might go break out my bottle this weekend and see for myself! Not sure how you enjoy your drams, but for me I always add a few drops of water, maybe more than a few drops for cask strength, in order to unlock the flavor molecules from the ethanol and tame it a little. I would definitely recommend doing that so the intense Bunna flavors don't overwhelm the cigar. I'd love to hear which one you end up choosing and what your experience is like. 1 2
Connoisseur Kim Posted May 1 Author Posted May 1 6 hours ago, jackhammer said: I've never smoked a Punch 898, or any Punch cigar for that matter, but I have sipped a whole lot of both Bunna and SB. If I had to pick one of those two CS whiskies to go with any cigar, I'd probably pick the Bunna. Reason being that I find it to be a bit punchier (see what I did there) and less complex, so I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out on the experience. When I drink SB, I prefer a cleansed palate in order to pick out all of the flavor nuances SB is known for. Drinking it with a cigar, you might miss the wonderful but subtle orchard fruit and creamy dessert flavors from the ex-bourbon casks. I would also be concerned the peat profile of the SB12 might overwhelm the flavors of the cigar, but again, can't say for sure since I've never had one. Generally though, I don't drink peated single malts with a nice cigar that I really care about. The bold and rich sherry sweetness and spice of the Bunna seems like it would pair well with any cigar. In fact, I might go break out my bottle this weekend and see for myself! Not sure how you enjoy your drams, but for me I always add a few drops of water, maybe more than a few drops for cask strength, in order to unlock the flavor molecules from the ethanol and tame it a little. I would definitely recommend doing that so the intense Bunna flavors don't overwhelm the cigar. I'd love to hear which one you end up choosing and what your experience is like. Thanks @jackhammer! I had puffed on Punch 898 before, and it was an absolute smooth, nutty, and moderately sweet medium bodied graceful cigar indeed. So, I believe Bunna 12 CS 2023 will pair well with this CC as it's also nutty driven which is one of the main flavours of Punch 898. For SB 12 CS Batch #25, I had sipped it with PSD4 before and it was one of the most memorable cigar pairing experience. Its peaty character matched Partagas's full bodied characteristics perfectly that made PSD4 even tastier without ruining flavour profile of the Robusto. 👍 3
jackhammer Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Thank you for sharing! If I'm ever lucky enough to get my hands on a PSD4, I will definitely try it with some SB 12. Cheers! 3
Connoisseur Kim Posted May 1 Author Posted May 1 17 minutes ago, jackhammer said: Thank you for sharing! If I'm ever lucky enough to get my hands on a PSD4, I will definitely try it with some SB 12. Cheers! Sure thing mate! I'm sure you'll enjoy PSD4 and SB 12 pairing too 😃 3
Mike Mecklenburg Posted May 1 Posted May 1 6 hours ago, jackhammer said: I don't drink peated single malts with a nice cigar Yes, me too. I will place the Bunna 12 CS 2023 on my buy list to go with my Punch 898. Thanks to you and Connoisseur Kim for the heads up! 3
Connoisseur Kim Posted May 1 Author Posted May 1 5 hours ago, Mike Mecklenburg said: Yes, me too. I will place the Bunna 12 CS 2023 on my buy list to go with my Punch 898. Thanks to you and Connoisseur Kim for the heads up! No problem @Mike Mecklenburg! For me, I'll pair peated whisky with strong and smoky CCs like Partagas since they share commons in terms of taste. However, with smooth CCs like Punch 898 and Connie A I'd go something else such as Tamdhu and cognac (RyJ Ex4 and Frapin cognac combo goes really well) or older expressions if I really want to pair peated drams with these type of CCs (peated ones tend to be gentler with older ones IMHO) I wish I'll be able to get Bunna 12 CS 2022 and SB 12 Batch #23 as I heard Bunna 12 CS 2022 is the best of Bunna 12 CS (2023 one is tasty too though), and I liked the profile of SB 12 Batch #23 when I was in Taiwan for family trip. 👍 2
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