Smoke, Salt, and Rye

The season for comfortably enjoying the deck is drawing to a close, but it isn’t over just yet. After a few cooler days, a recent pleasant afternoon offered an opportunity to enjoy our aperitivo on the deck. With sunlight dappling through the trees, it was a near-perfect autumn afternoon.

Colleen put together a platter of salami, prosciutto, and crackers while I mixed up a couple of Old Fashioneds. After a quick scan of the humidor, I selected an AJ Fernandez New World Oscuro Toro to accompany the cured meats.

The New World Oscuro features a dark Nicaraguan Oscuro wrapper with a thick, leathery appearance. The binder is Nicaraguan leaf from Jalapa, while the fillers come from Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe. The 6½ × 55 Toro is box-pressed and sports a red foot band alongside the familiar New World branding.

After a few minutes of nibbling on the food and sipping my drink, I lit up the New World Oscuro. The cigar comes out of the gate with rich roasted coffee, bitter chocolate, and a substantial dose of spice. Underlying woodiness and sweeter notes soon emerge to balance the blend.

The spicy salami and salty prosciutto paired well with the bold cigar. The salt, natural sweetness, and rich pork flavors softened some of the cigar’s bitter espresso notes without diminishing its richness. The additional saltiness of the crackers contributed another layer to the combination.

The rye-based Old Fashioned brought its own spicy character to the pairing, complementing the cigar’s peppery notes without competing with the rich coffee and chocolate flavors.

Eventually, the sun sank lower in the sky, and the afternoon’s warmth faded, like a curtain falling at the end of the season’s final act. There may yet be some surprisingly warm days to come — it is Virginia, after all — but before long, we’ll be enjoying our afternoon aperitivo break in more sheltered surroundings.

Cheers!