First Cigar Dinner of 2012

I was not sure if we were supposed to wear Summer Cuban Casual or Summer Cuban Tourist Casual, but I tried to squeeze into the Guayabera and slacks, took a deep breath asked the boys how I looked. They struggled to speak between smirks, giggles and howls of outright disgust. The club elder was less subtle “Like an Igit if you really want to know.”


Right ; three quarter shorts, sandals and cotton shirt (at least I bought that in Cuba), Panama hat hmmm, I know I have one, show boys photographic evidence of them wearing it, they assure me I never owned one and that anyone can Photoshop things nowadays…

I arrived early at Caveau. The MC had also arrived dressed very casually, with Panama hat, mind you. As they all arrive - it’s weird from the usual black tie, today it’s casual. Good thing too because it's a scorcher. The evening starts with a Mojito. Not sure why it’s quite so medicinal, so I get a second, just to make sure. The Cigars arrive. I inspect them. They look in pretty good shape, which is great considering they were box pressed in October 2000. That makes them 11 years old. Watching them closely I suggest to most that a shallow cut or punch cut will probably be a better choice that a normal clip as older stocks tend to unravel easier.

The construction looks good, with the box pressing for 11 years the feel may well be a bit hard, the construction was good and the slightly oily wrapper had a shimmer showing its age. The draw was good and a very subtle easy start, new-mown hay, green, grassy almost. As this burnt on it revealed itself as a really fine medium-bodied cigar, a dusty centre with notes of cocoa and honey - not sweet though. The finish was really big with spicy notes of ginger and white pepper.

It was never planned but after some fantastic mezzos, the starter of smoked salmon trout with baby potato and rocket seemed to match the cigar’s profile, the oily fish, the wrapper and the green rocket developed the pepper notes. All in all a cigar that worked really well as an aperitif. It was challenging enough to keep one interested and subtle enough to smoke to the end.

Caveau co-owner Jean-Yves Muller gave us a brief rundown of the wines. They were superb. The first was a Chenin Viognier blend, easy drinking, crisp with good minerality. Jean-Yves did not tell us the actual terroir (but maybe I was not paying close enough attention) but it seemed almost like Rawsonville with its stony river banks. The second was a red blend of, if I heard correctly, Syrah, Mouverde and Cinsault. I was thinking both are Rhone style, so maybe it’s the Swartlands Perdeberg. Anyway, both were good quality made for everyday drinking which translates to affordable without the headache.

Both found good balance with the cigars, the second of which is one of those masterful sticks that just burn evenly and slowly, it ebbs and flows and really becomes your companion for the next hour and a half. It is truly good company, it does enough to keep you interested and rewards when you give it attention. Smoked during the main course, which in my case was beef fillet, medium rare, with black beans and sautéed potato. The genius here was they had rested the medallions sufficiently before serving, which often in more casual settings does not happen. The other offering was yellowtail, which looked superb, succulent and grilled to perfection.

The fast pace of the casual environment moved things along nicely which allowed us to truly relax and really enjoy the cigars at leisure. And easy it was, the construction was good although it may be packed slightly light. The burn was pretty good, only needing a few adjustments along the way. It really provided a typical old school earthy Cuban note, rich mouthfuls of smoke and creamy enough so as not to overpower. I think it is one of the few sticks out there that still provides us with a Cuban palate and it’s as good today as it was 30 years ago.

We ended off with some fantastic cheese boards and some good coffee. While it approached 1am, I headed off, truly happy with another great cigar club gathering. The usual suspects were left to continue the Journey.

Cigar 1 Rafael Gonzalez Corona Gorde Box Code CPV Oct 2000 (Villa Cara also manufacture Romeo y Julietta and Partagas)

Cigar 2 : H.Uppman No 2 Piramides Box Code MOA Nov 2009 ( H.Uppman Factory, now known as Jose Marti)

Rambling

I was just beginning to think I may well have taken a wrong turn when another breathtakingly beautiful corner exposed the large gates. From what I thought was going to be a small quaint boutique hotel opened an enormous well kept property. With its white walls and beautifully manicured lawns and gardens I was quite impressed. I walked down to the old cellar with its traditional double volume space. A long table was set up for us and the simplicity of the place really had me intrigued.


A whisky dinner with cigars can go horribly wrong; luckily this was an easy crowd, a well managed kitchen and not surprisingly great whisky. I later discovered it was very much a farewell dinner for the GM and seemingly 4 of the senior staff. Le Franschhoek 5 Star hotel is truly a magnificent venue. I did not think I would be doing work there again due to the exodus of all the staff and I never really thought of it again till this weekend. My son was to play in a seven aside Rugby Tournament so rather than get up begrudgingly at 5 am Saturday morning we decided to drive through Friday afternoon and overnight. Where to stay?? After purveying a multitude of options The Villas struck a chord. I ignored the insistent "where is this place?" from both wife and children, remembering how a year earlier I too felt it seemed a long way out. Once we had driven through gates, though they were silenced.

I think my journeys around the world have taught me one thing about myself, and that is I am never content with something until I can share it with others. This is why I soldier on my journey of Discovery and of course sharing a dram or two

Take 20837 /1a

Well it appears a belated happy New Year to one and all is in order.It seems I am always trying to use a blog to make communicating easier for those of you that follow me yet somehow I cannot seem to keep them going. So for the nth time lets see what we can do. Tommorow 26 Jan I gather with fellow cigar club members at Caveau for a casual Cuban affair. Coming up in a few weeks time I will be presenting some incredible malt whiskies not readily available in South Africa. I will try my best to get my website http://www.whiskyshop.co.za/ updated. I have been offrered quite a bit of help from fellow whisky lovers. I will try my hardest to ensure that we repeat the Wine and Whisky fest we held at Montecasino last year( in fact there is a Rumour that we will do it twice) so watch this space. Hope we will meet this year and share a wee dram or two.