A Cigar and Port

Father's Day eve, Colleen and I enjoyed the pleasant weather with an evening on the screen porch, listening to music and thunderstorms. While discussing our beverage options, Colleen mentioned we had a bottle of port in the pantry. I had been preparing to mix up an Old Fashioned, but that port did sound good.

I was looking forward to enjoying the new Bishops Blend from Black Label Trading Company, and the Graham's 10 Year Tawny Port felt like it would be an excellent pairing option. Sure, some may say it's a winter drink, but some people are afraid the wear white before Memorial Day too.

Bishops Blend is a limited release from Black Label Trading. This year's edition was created in two sizes, with only 450 boxes of 20 produced in each vitola. The blend is comprised of an Ecuadoran Maduro wrapper, an Ecuador Habano binder, and a mix of Nicaraguan, Connecticut broadleaf, and Pennsylvania broadleaf filler tobaccos. The smoke gives off flavors of coffee, cocoa, and some interesting dark fruit notes. There's a bit of pepper in there as well. It's a full bodied flavor profile. And extremely enjoyable. The burn was excellent as well.

The dark fruit notes in the port made for a very pleasurable pairing. As we poured repeated glasses of the port, I continually was impressed by cigar, and how well it went with the port. I generally gravitate to bourbon or beer when it comes to alcohol with cigars. Lately I've been experimenting with rum, amaretto, and even limoncello. This particular pairing was indeed a pleasure. 

I soon regretted that the cigar was merely a 5" x 48 Robusto. I picked up three of these at the lounge a few weeks, smoke one there and brought two home. I resisted lighting up the remaining stick in my humidor this evening. I'll save it for another day. Until researching the Bishops Blend for this post, I did not realize just how limited the production was. I wonder if the shop still has any left.


Interested in more cigar content? Follow me on Instagram at VA_SIGFan.