Stolen Throne Cigars 3 Kingdoms Toro
You can read my review of the Stolen Throne 3 Kingdoms Toro here. My plans moving forward for pairing experiences are to do them with cigars I have already reviewed by themselves. This will give a better indication on how the cigar is impacted by the addition of the pairing libation. I do believe this cigar is a good candidate for pairing with whiskey because of the variety of flavors presented throughout the cigar. It also has some pretty substantial transitions that could make for an interesting, dynamic pairing experience.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaragua & Undisclosed
Vitola: 6 x 52 Box Pressed Toro
Price: $10.50 MSRP
Link to Purchase: Guitars & Cigars Farm
Release Date: November 2021
Company Website: https://m.facebook.com/StolenThroneCigars/
Nashville Barrel Co 8 yr Single Barrel Rye Stolen Throne Cigars Pick
I was graciously offered a sample of this pick to pair with the 3 Kingdoms Toro. This is an 8 year, 11 month old rye barrel pick that the crew from Stolen Throne Cigars performed. This is also my first experience with a Nashville Barrel Co product. I have been interested in what they are doing, and this will be a fun introduction to their stuff.
City of Origin: Nashville, Tennessee
Distillery: Undisclosed
Mash Bill: Undisclosed
Proof: 114.1
Release Date: January 2022
Company Website: www.nashvillebarrelco.com
The Pairing
Pre-Pairing: As I mentioned, I formally reviewed this cigar before, so I won’t go into as much detail about the cigar by itself and can really focus on the pairing. As for the whiskey, it’s pretty dark amber, has some legs, and is quite fragrant. On the nose I get brown sugar and red fruit. It kind of reminds me of maraschino cherries. There’s also a little citrus in there as well. It’s like fruit salad and syrup. On the palate it is surprisingly light in body with loads of sweetness upfront followed by rye spice and earthiness. It’s warm, but not too hot. The finish has some oily oak. The sweetness on the palate is not brown sugar like the nose and it’s not real fruity either.
First Third: The finish is lingering still as I light this 3 Kingdoms. First light, with the finish of the whiskey still on the palate, brings a much more earthy and wood forward profile to the cigar than usual. Taking a puff off the cigar and going to the whiskey brings in a surprising amount of cream. It’s also much more savory. Renosing the whiskey shows less fruit. It’s more of a general rye whiskey scent. Halfway into the first third the whiskey and cigar are rolling along nicely. When I give time between puffs and sips, both of their profiles are pretty consistent. The cigar gives into the fullness of the whiskey a little bit. Taking a sip first then puffing brings out a fair amount of nuttiness. The finish is a quite creamy earth and is long. As it goes, the nuttiness from the draw randomly reappears from time to time.
Second Third: The whiskey, by itself, has started to show some brown sugar on the palate as we are nearing 30 minutes into the pairing. Taking a puff of the cigar before a sip brought out an interesting fruit and chocolate note up front, followed by some spice, earth, and a little heat, then the finish has a tangy creamy note hanging in there with some oak. Hitting the halfway point I would say that overall the pairing is pretty good. I think the whiskey overpowers the cigar a bit, but not by way of proof or body, but more so because the finish is so long on the whiskey. The nose on the whiskey has taken on a semi sweet smokiness. A sip before a puff is more tangy cream followed by a little bit of caramel. When I puff then sip, I still get some heat, but when I sip then puff, it takes a way a lot of that.
Final Third: Starting the final third the cigar is coming up a bit in flavor and body and showcasing more earth, wood, and spices. I’m interested to see how things pair in this third. Going from the cigar to the whiskey brings a lot of oily leather into the mix followed by some spice and oak with a little heat. The nose on the whiskey is very faint at this point, though my nose could be broken-in from retrohaling the cigar. Going from whiskey to the cigar shows loads of earthy pepper with a bit of a charred oak. Coming to a close, the cigar has upped its level of pepper to where it’s out matching the whiskey.
Overall Experience: I thought this was a solid pairing for casual enjoyment. I don’t think that the cigar and whiskey played off one another in an “exciting” manner, but it was still a pleasant hour and 40 minute experience. The general theme of the flavor profile when paired was earth and wood, but with some moments of spice, cream, fruits, and chocolate. I can understand the primary flavor profile of the pairing given that both the cigar and whiskey, individually, have some more brown sugar and fruity notes. So when brought together they seem to highlight the more savory notes. I would be interested in pairing the whiskey with the Call to Arms from Stolen Throne, as I typically find that more spice, wood, pepper, and earth forward. It may bring out more sweetness and fruits in the pairing.
This cigar is available in the Whiskey & Whitetails “Top 5” Review of Q1 ‘22 or on its own at Guitars & Cigars Farm. As for the whiskey, you may have to make friends with the folks at Stolen Throne Cigars to get your hands on some!
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or visit my website www.guitarsandcigarsfarm.com.