Pairing Cigars with Penfolds Club Tawny Port

Like all Ports, Penfolds Club is a fortified wine. It’s also very sweet, so this not a drink you will want to consume much of at one sitting. While most good ports can go for $50 or more, at about 10 bucks a bottle at the grocery store (or liquor store for those of you living in backwards communities that don’t allow the grocery to sell liquor), Penfolds Club is a great value. The taste is very spicy and robust with hints of caramel, cinnamon and raisin. It’s also incredibly mellow for the price considering cheap, harsh ports like Taylor’s or Fairbanks, both just barely above ghetto-wine status, are about $7 per bottle.  Penfolds Club even got an 89-rating from Wine Spectator, which I assume means something to wine snobs.

Penfolds Port is excellent with robust, full-bodied cigars. Recently, I’ve been smoking a lot of Pinar Del Rio Habano Oscuros, which are very mellow, rich and chocolaty, and Pinar Del Rio Habano Sun Growns, which are spicy and have some pepper to them. Both are excellent choices to pair with Penfolds Club. The Rev’s go-to, The Nicaraguan Habano (from Famous), also goes quite nicely with a snifter of Penfolds Club. Speaking for myself, I would avoid any mild cigar with Penfolds Club because the drink would overpower the cigar. That said, at least you’d still get the flavor of a really great glass of port.

I cannot recommend Penfolds Club Tawny Port enough – it is superior in quality, reasonably priced, and a great accompaniment to any fine cigar.

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