IPA (India pale ale) is a widely successful craft beer type. Due to its heavy concentration on hops and prominent scent and flavor, IPAs are contentious beer. IPA’s history may be traced to the late 1700s when London-based brewer George Hodgson began exporting robust pale ale to India. For perishable beers, the journey to India was difficult. However, the addition of more hops and greater levels of alcohol did wonder for the beer’s preservation and resulted in an altogether distinct character. The cigar’s creamy sweetness makes it easy to smoke, accompanying this excellent sipping beer. Hoppy IPAs may overshadow gentler cigars, while full-bodied cigars hide the ale’s delicate taste. Hoppy IPAs may overshadow gentler cigars, while full cigars mask the ale’s mild flavor.
11 Best Cigar and IPA Pairings
#1 Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra & Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra is a robust yet balanced IPA made with a new arid mechanism dubbed a “Hop Torpedo,” which imparts a more extraordinary fragrance without increasing bitterness. Pine, citrus, pineapple, and grapefruit flower scents, with a significant, dry, and earthy aftertaste with a hint of malty sweetness. Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne is a light-bodied smoke with a solid gold Ecuador Connecticut wrapper leaf and an all-Nicaraguan inside binder and filler tobaccos. Perdomo is handcrafted to a high level in Estel, Nicaragua. Notes of nuts, white pepper, and wood give a creamy, flexible finish that is perfectly tuned to complement Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA’s forest-and-fruit-like flavor.
#2 Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA & San Cristobal Elegancia
Brewmasters like customizing and tweaking their brewing procedures to create formulae that differentiate their beer and its stories. Dogfish Head, 60 Minute IPA, is a follow-up to the brand’s earlier 90 Minute IPA. Based on an old-school vibrating football game, a delicate vibrating technique gives the beer a constant stream of hops, imparting taste and complexity without overpowering bitterness. Floral flavors of orange peel and pine lead to a crisp, peppery, and effervescent finish. The San Cristobal Elegancia cigar is made with a golden Ecuador Connecticut wrapper leaf and a creamy, nutty, woody, and sweet blend of superior aged Nicaraguan tobaccos. The award-winning Garcia family handcrafted San Cristobal in Estel, Nicaragua. It begins with flavors of cedar and almonds and progresses to a white pepper finish that pairs beautifully with the bright and somewhat bitter taste of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA.
#3 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger & Valencia Sungrown
The perfect pairing of the New Belgium Voodoo Ranger with the Valencia Sungrown Toro cigar is set to provide you with a fantastic experience well matched for any event, large or little. The Valencia Sun Grown Toro cigar, made by Camacho, is a Honduran puro with a rich Habano wrapper encasing a core of the best aged Cuban seed binder and long filler tobaccos. This excellent formulation yields a medium-bodied smoke with vibrant wood notes, toasted bread, spices, and hints of creamy caramel. A cigar of this class requires nothing other than the ideal alcoholic beverage to complement it, so meet the New Belgium Voodoo Ranger cocktail. New Belgium Voodoo Ranger is an IPA-styled brew with a golden hue and a frothy foam with tropical scents and a luscious fruit taste. This delicious and pleasant taste experience is wonderfully bitter. It has a superb finish that begs the delectable Valencia Sungrown Toro cigar to join it for many moments of genuine smoking and beer sipping pleasure.
#4 Firestone Walker Mind Haze & Cabanas
We opted to pair the Firestone Walker Mind Haze with the highly popular Cabanas Toro Gordo cigar. The Cabanas Toro Gordo cigar is a redesigned edition of one of the oldest and most trusted Cuban-heritage brands, expertly rolled at the renowned My Father CigarsTM plant in Nicaragua. This massive 6 x 56 Nicaraguan puro has a dual binder of top-quality Jalapa and Estel leaves, Cuban-seed Nicaraguan long-fillers, and a gorgeous clay red Habano Rosado wrapper. Mind Haze is a well-executed IPA from the legendary Firestone Brewing Company in Venice, California. Because of its bright flavor characteristics and creamy white head, this highly rated IPA is enjoyed by informed beer enthusiasts worldwide. Although the Cabanas Toro Gordo has rich medium to full-bodied notes of coffee, molasses, roasted nuts, and traces of spice, the Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA has hops, malt, toast, and incredible tropical fruit tastes. Both the Cabanas cigar and the Mind Haze have a rich, creamy texture, making this Perfect Pairing one that complements each other well.
#5 Breakside Wanderlust & Headley Grange Black Dog
Breakside Wanderlust is a Golden IPA brewed with five hops that received a Bronze medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival! With intense citrus and wheat aromas and a crisp caramel finish, this IPA begs to be matched with the right handcrafted premium cigar. We picked the opulent Headley Grange Black Dog Dobles with all that in consideration. Dobles is rolled in the large and popular 6 x 50 style, with a smooth and oily Connecticut Habano wrapper encasing a core of the best aged Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Headley Grange Black Dog Dobles, named after one of Led Zeppelin’s most successful hit songs, strikes all the right notes with rich flavors of anise, raisins, sweet spice, leather, and chocolate served in a smooth, medium-bodied form. With Breakside Wanderlust in one hand and a Headley Grange Black Dog Dobles in the other, you’ve achieved what we set out to achieve: the perfect cigar and IPA combo!
#6 & 7 Founders All Day IPA & Alec Bradley Classic Series Habano or Alec Bradley Classic Series Habano
In Founders All Day IPA, a mellow and complex blend of malts, grains, and hops results in character optimized for outstanding daily flavor with a clean finish. Citrus and pine resin notes show tangerine, grapefruit, and mango scents in a 4.7 percent ABV pale ale you can relish again and over.
#6 With Ashton Classic
With its classic character of roasted cashews, cedar, coffee with cream, and a dash of black pepper, Ashton Classic is a fantastic mate. A velvety Connecticut Shade wrapper envelops a premium-aged interior of Dominican tobaccos crafted by cigar maestro Carlito Fuente. Ashton Classic and Founders All Day IPA are great for a hot, sunny day at the beach or on the golf course.
#7 With Alec Bradley Classic Series Habano
To celebrate the arrival of the hotter seasons of spring, we paired the Founders All Day IPA with one of our best-selling handmade premium cigars, the Alec Bradley Classic Series Habano Toro. Beginning with this indulgent Alec Bradley creation, the Classic Series Habano Toro is deftly rolled with a Cuban seed Habano pack and a Honduran binder, encompassing a foundation of the most excellent aged long-filler tobaccos from Honduras and On a lengthy finish, this medium to full-bodied masterpiece offers savory notes of spice, coffee, earth, and a vanilla-like sweetness. The Founders All Day IPA received a well-deserved 96-rating for its tropical scents and luscious fruit tastes. It works beautifully with the highly desirable Alec Bradley Classic Series Habano Toro cigar, designed for maximum aromatics and a crisp, dry finish.
#8 Burial Beer Co. Surf Wax & King is Dead Broken Sword
Premium Craft Beer and luxury cigars are famous these days, so we chose to pair the Burial Beer Co. with this Spring Perfect Pairing. The King is Dead by AJ Fernandez Robusto, Surf Wax with Caldwell. The King Is Dead by AJF cigars is a partnership between Robert Caldwell and Abdel (AJ) Fernandez—two of the trendiest brands in small-batch cigars. This exquisite composition is a neatly rolled Nicaraguan puro with an overall creamy smoothness underpinned by rich, full-bodied earth, espresso, cinnamon, and spice flavors. Coming on to the beer, Surf Wax is an American-style West Coast IPA made in Asheville, NC by Burial Beer Co. This IPA is rich with characteristics like wheat, dried fruit, citrus, malt, and bread, earning it a 92 from the Beer Advocate. This Ideal Pairing is a tasty way to introduce it in the warm spring season, as both the premium cigar and craft beer come from brands with an impressive track record for excellent flavor and reliability!
#9 & 10 Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA and Tatuaje Negociant Monopole No. 3 or Trinidad Coloniales
The Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA flows a deep inky black with a tinge of oxblood around the edges. Robust, tannish head with a lot of lacing. Wisps of cocoa accompany big pine and grapefruit notes with roasted coffee, and dark chocolate notes mingle with raspberry, pine resin, and orange peel. The finish is completely dried.
#9 With Tatuaje Negociant Monopole No. 3
The acidic, cedary aspects of the Tatuaje combine with the IPA’s pine and citrus notes. The beer-infused the smoke with chocolate, providing a chocolate-covered-marzipan flavor. That is a fantastic combo.
#10 With Trinidad Coloniales
The Trinidad’s impressions of nutmeg, walnut, and wood are matched by the beer’s ingredients of roasted coffee and raspberry. The orange peel flavor in both the cigar and the beer grew more noticeable. It’s both satisfying and challenging.
#11 Arturo Fuente Anejo & Any IPA
India Pale Ales (IPAs) have become the go-to beer for consumers eager to try some new and different. There is a wide variety of IPAs to pick from, so it’s crucial to recognize the differences—for example, some English-style IPAs are less hoppy than American IPAs. However, most IPAs are hoppier than your ordinary beer. Certain IPAs are made with fruity flavors, which means that you may obtain some unusual flavor combinations if you know where to seek them. The Arturo Fuente Anejo cigar is coated in a unique dark Maduro wrapper matured in Cognac barrels for five years, giving it the ideal full-flavored cigar to complement the hoppy flavor IPAs.
