Cigar Whiskies Are Trending: Do They Deliver?

Pairing cigars with whisky is a long-standing pleasure. People who enjoy both love to mix and match them together, seeking the perfect pairings that accentuate the flavors of both. But in recent years, some distillers have taken matters into their own hands by introducing whiskies specifically meant to be sipped alongside a cigar. These expressions have drawn equal measures of curiosity and skepticism from those who are confused by what cigar blends actually are.

The cigar-centric names on whisky labels are marketing terms. Just as with other unregulated phrases like “small batch” or “special reserve,” any whisky distiller can slap “cigar” on a label. The proposition is that these whiskies work well with cigars but, technically speaking, the whisky makers aren’t required to light up and evaluate how well they pair. Many distillers do put in the work, and here we outline some of their methods.

Smoke Meets Sweet

The cigar whisky craze can be traced back to the 1980s, when Dalmore’s first cigar whisky hit the market. In the prior decade, legendary master blender Richard Paterson was hard at work trying to formulate a whisky that could pair well with one of his favorite Cuban cigars: Partagás Serie D No. 4. He found that sherry-forward blends worked best, with the dense and fruity sweetness standing up to the robust earthy notes of this cigar. The fruit of his labor became Dalmore Cigar Malt, a non-age-stated sherry-bomb scotch single malt that was aged entirely in oloroso casks. It would remain a popular part of Dalmore’s lineup for the next two decades. In the early 2000s the whisky was rebranded as Dalmore Gran Reserva—though the liquid remained the same—and by 2007, it was retired.

Dalmore decided to bring it back in 2012, but this time around, Paterson wanted to make something that could be sipped alongside a wider range of cigars. Naturally, that meant making some changes to the recipe. Oloroso casks were still the star of the show— making up about 70% of the blend—but they weren’t the only components. About 20% of the blend was matured entirely in bourbon barrels, which contributed notes of vanilla and caramel. The remaining 10% was aged in cabernet sauvignon barriques, selected for the tannic qualities they bring to whisky’s mouthfeel. The proof was also raised from 40% ABV to 44%, in order to help the flavors stand up to more powerful cigars. This updated version, named Cigar Malt Reserve, is part of Dalmore’s core range today.

The original Dalmore Cigar Malt left a lasting mark on the whisky space: Even today, many whisky connoisseurs tend to associate cigar malts with oloroso casks and heavyhanded sweet fruit notes. While that isn’t true of all cigar blends, it’s generally the case with the ones hailing from Scotland. Speyside distillery Tomintoul blends a cigar malt from a mix of peated and unpeated malts that are either finished or aged entirely in oloroso butts from Andalusia, Spain. Also from Speyside, Tamdhu Distillery releases a new Cigar Malt batch annually, each one characterized by Tamdhu’s signature method of full maturation in first-fill sherry casks.

Starting With the Finish

It’s a different story in the U.S., where the cigar whiskey space is of course dominated by bourbon and rye. American distillers place a similar emphasis on barrels as the Scots, though many prefer layering multiple cask finishes rather than reaching for just one type of barrel. Cognac and armagnac barrels are the most popular choices alongside port pipes, sherry, and rum casks.

Much of that blueprint is owed to the work of craft whiskey paragon Nancy Fraley, who pioneered the style as master blender at Jos. A. Magnus. One night in the mid-2010s, while smoking her pipe alongside some bourbon and armagnac, Fraley got the idea to create a whiskey that would pair well with premium tobacco. Conceptually, she took inspiration from heavy-lees distilled cigar-blend brandies (which are made using a large amount of leftover yeast from fermentation), namely Germain-Robin Old Havana, which was made by her mentor Hubert Germain-Robin in the mid ’90s. With that flavor profile in mind, she took Magnus’s flagship bourbon—itself finished in PX, oloroso, and cognac casks—and blended it with older high-rye stocks, with an extended marriage taking place in armagnac casks.

The final product emerged as Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend, widely regarded as the world’s first cigar-blend bourbon, and is still one of the brand’s most popular offerings. Over the years, other producers took inspiration from Magnus and started assembling their own cigar blends—with nearly all of them sporting some similarly complex cask combination.

At the other end of the spectrum sits Tanager Cigar Blend, which Texas whiskey maker Still Austin released in December. This one was also designed by Fraley—who works as Still Austin’s master blender—alongside head distiller John Schrepel. Similar to the Magnus cigar blend, Tanager also tries to channel the notes and characteristics of earlier cigar blend cognacs. But for this release, Fraley insisted on achieving those flavors without touching a finishing cask. “I’ve seen the whole cigar blend craze here in the U.S. kind of go off the rails,” she says. “Everybody thinks it has to be a finished product, but there isn’t really a true understanding of what it’s supposed to be.”

At Still Austin, Fraley and Schrepel tried to achieve the flavors purely from the blending process: combining three Still Austin bourbons, each with a different mashbill that brings something unique to the table. The main ingredient is the brand’s Blue Corn bourbon, which contributes most of the sweet notes; its Red Corn and White Corn bourbons are also in the mix, adding fruity, nutty, and spicy influences. The final blend was cut down to proof using 50% ABV bourbon rather than water, mirroring a traditional cognac-making method called petites eaux. According to Fraley, that technique brought out distinct notes like rancio, walnut, and almond paste that are emblematic of older cigar-batch cognacs. (Schrepel tested the blend with cigars before and after the petites eaux was added, and he says the process made all the difference.) But the pair is torn over which cigars are the best partner. After trying it alongside a variety of stogies from Oliva to Rocky Patel, Schrepel feels that Tanager pairs best with cigars from Arturo Fuente. Fraley prefers it with Davidoff Escurio cigars.

At the end of the day, do cigar blends actually take pairing to another level? As usual, it all comes down to preference.

Another player in the cigar whisky space is Old Elk, which sets itself apart through its blending methodology. Island Blend, the second release in its Cigar Cut series, is composed of rye, bourbon, and wheat whiskeys finished in sherry, port, rum, and sauternes barrels. Master blender Melinda Maddox doesn’t actually smoke cigars, so her approach is a bit unorthodox. She noses the cigars and builds a profile around the aromas she picks up. She also taps into her background in the restaurant world, leaning on wheat whiskey for the pastry notes it contributes and gravitating toward casks that held wines that generally pair well with food. “The intent is that these are pairing whiskeys, whether it be with steak, or chocolate, or cigars,” she notes.

But, at the end of the day, do cigar blends actually take pairing to another level? As usual, it all comes down to preference, and enthusiasts are sure to swear by their own personal pairing formulas. The editors at our sister publication Cigar Aficionado found that certain ones like Tomintoul, Joseph Magnus, and Dalmore certainly fit the bill. One thing we do know for sure is that many of these whiskies work just fine without a cigar, with the majority scoring 90 points or higher in our blind tastings. So even if you don’t enjoy cigars, these curious pours are still worthy of your consideration.

7 Cigar Whiskies to Try Now

94 Tomintoul Cigar Malt Speyside single malt scotch, 43%, $130

Peated and unpeated malts matured and/or finished in oloroso casks
Campfire smoke, chocolate-covered peanuts, and hickory

92 Buzzard’s Roost Cigar rye (Batch 3), 52.5%, $75

Finished in new American oak barrels smoked with tobacco leaves
Licorice, baked apples, and jalapeño peppers

92 Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential The Untitled Cigar Malt Project American single malt, 57.45%, $100

A port-finished peated malt blended with unpeated malts finished in four different casks
Moroccan mint tea, crème brûlée, and baking chocolate

92 Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Armagnac, Sherry, & Cognac Cask Finished straight bourbon, 56.8%, $200

Joseph Magnus bourbon blended with older high-rye bourbons
Red berries, spice, pepper, and tobacco

92 Old Elk Cigar Cut Island blend, 55.85%, $130

A blend of three straight whiskeys, each finished in one of four casks
Maple syrup, Red Hots, and cinnamon-spiced cocoa

91 Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve Highlands single malt scotch, 44%, $180

Matured in oloroso casks, bourbon barrels, and cabernet sauvignon barriques
Sherry, brittle toffee, and cherry liqueur

90 Starlight 5 year old Carl T. Huber’s Cigar Batch bourbon (2024 Release), 55.85%, $80

Finished in Brazilian amburana barrels
Cinnamon rolls, gingersnaps, and antique shop oak