The crowd started to gather in the smoking terrace of the Dundrum's Porthouse Iberico, on a somewhat mild October evening. More than fifty cigar and rum enthousiasts were in attendance for our latest cigar and rum evening, featuring Cuban Bolivar cigars and Angostura Rums from Trinidad and Tobago.
In our company, amongst other familiar faces, was Her Excellency Teresita Trujillo, Cuban Ambassador in Ireland, Bertha Corzo Thorp, head of Quality control in Havana's El Laguito cigra factory, John Georges, master distiller in Trinidad's Angostura distillery and Ignacio Balmaseda, Corporate Manager of Hunters & Frankau.
We started the night sipping on the soft and smooth Angostura 1919, an 8 year old anejo that has been charred in oak bourbon barrels, while puffing on the earthy and spicy Bolivar Royal Corona Tubo. John Georges kindly shared with us the history of Angostura as a brand and gave us his tasting notes on the 1919.
Bertha Corzo was being busy demonstrating the art of hand rolling cigars on her bench, with most of the atendees not missind a chance to sample a freshly rolled cigar straight off the bench. A freshly rolled cigar is strong and edgy but yet creamy on the palate; a perfect match to our second rum of the evening, the Angostura 1824.
As John Georges said, the Angostura 1824 is a drink for "adults"! This limited reserve bottling is a blend of rums aged minimum 12 years, in oak bourbon casks. Medium to full bodied, with rich flavours of honey, fruit and chocolate and a finish with warm, cognac notes, the 1824 is the well deserved flagship rum of the brand.
In between the cigar and rum offerings, we were treated with a refreshing Portuguese Cava, the Cabiz Espumante and the delicious Porthouse Tapas and Pintxos.
Our Tasting Consensus:
Angostura 1919: A soft and mild rum, but yet rich and flavourfull, with vanilla, honey, caramel and molasses. The finish is warm and so smooth, you can sip on it for hours!
Angostura 1824: John Georges rightly said this is a rum for "adults". This reserve rum has a medium to fll bosy, a good "kick" and a smooth texture of with vanilla, honey, spices and cognac notes.
Bolivar Royal Corona: Our featured cigar of the night was a perfect match for the Angostura Rums. Medium bodied and smooth, with flavours of wood, spices and coffee. For the cigar smoker that wants to pair his Bolivar with a rum, the 1919 is the best choice; however, for the Rum enthousiast that wants a cigar to compliment but not cover the spirits flavours, then the Bolivar Royal Corona and Angostura 1824 is the perfect match.
Below you can see some picures of the event.
