Drinks that pair with English blends?

[MontyTX]

I’ve recently purchased some larger bowl pipes for my English blends, which are great, but I’m finding that my palate goes stale halfway through. When smoking cigars I like bourbon, rye, and reposado rum (all neat), but for whatever reason I don’t like alcohol with any pipe tobacco.

I’ve tried getting tea, against my better judgement as it goes against the spirit of the Boston tea party. Seems to smack of British imperialism. And it leaves a weird sensation on my tongue that I don’t care for at all.

So, what do y’all like to drink with English blends?

 

[beefeater33]

Bourbon, Rye, and Reposado Rum.

 

[Brendan]

 

[OzPiper]

If you want to pair like with like, there’s peated whisky eg Laphroig or Aadberg

With cigars and English/Oriental blends I like something sweet as a contrast.
My favourite pairing is a very old Aussie tokay (rebranded as muscadelle to placate the Hungarians)

Mature Aussie tokays lose a lot of their youthful fruitiness and sweetness, and develop rancio and tea-leaf complexity

The best come from the area around Rutherglen & Glenrowan
Glenrowan’s other claim to fame is it’s the site of bushranger Ned Kelly’s last stand

 

[warren]

So, what do y’all like to drink with English blends?

I keep my smoking simple, everything from water, port, iced tea and so forth.

 

[elvishrunes]

So you’d think Smokey lat would pair well with Smokey peated whiskey, I tried last winter and the smoke of the pipe destroyed the smoke in the scotch, it wasn’t bad just a waste to me. I found just regular blended whiskey or bourbon was great, or beer, however if you don’t like booze with. I dunno water, juice, coffee or tea.

 

[Smokeybandit]

Coffee, black, as it pairs with anything and everything. ️

You’re welcome

 

[MidTNPiper]

Same, can drink bourbon and scotch with a cigar all day long, not so much with a pipe.

Coffee and a light english is my jam. Standard Mixture is my favorite pairing, but Westminster, Squadron Leader, etc all work. Dont prefer that combo with the heavier englishes though, too much going and dont compliment each other as much.

Nothing wrong with ice water or a Coke for me if not in the AM.

Oh and probably more Miller Lite than anything paired with a pipe in this house, haha.

 

[Akguy59]

I tend to have a Yuenling black and tan when I smoke an English blend. But, that is the only beer I drink at home.

 

[tartanphantom]

So you’d think Smokey lat would pair well with Smokey peated whiskey, I tried last winter and the smoke of the pipe destroyed the smoke in the scotch, it wasn’t bad just a waste to me. I found just regular blended whiskey or bourbon was great, or beer, however if you don’t like booze with. I dunno water, juice, coffee or tea.

You need a Scotch that is not only heavily peated, but one that is also oily on the palate, to stand up to latakia and dark fire smokiness. Even if a scotch is heavily peated, if it has a dry finish, it will dissipate too quickly before the smoke notes can marry in your mouth.

I find that most offerings from Laphroaig and Kilchoman will do the trick, as will Talisker; while Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain tend to finish much drier, and get overwhelmed by the tobacco flavors. Older expressions of Ardbeg also work, while the younger ones are a toss-up.

However, while I appreciate similar complementary flavor notes, I find that it's much more interesting to use contrasting flavors instead. For example, with most English blends, I find myself enjoying the combination more with a scotch that has heavy port and sherry notes, with less peat. 12-yr old Aberlour, 12-yr old Aberfeldy, Balvenie Double-Wood, The Arran Malt, and Old Pulteny come to mind off the top of my head; all great companions to a medium or heavy English or Balkan blend.

 

[PaulRVA]

Good Black Coffee , Peppermint Tea, Earl Grey,
If doing Alcohol Gin, Scotch, Rum or Pinot Noir were my usuals.

 

[BigR]

I prefer cold water with any pipe tobacco that I smoke. I've tried different drinks and it either altered the taste or was just nasty.

 

[Sturmgewehr]

A local brewery used to have a beer called 'Espresso Milk Stout'. Their description was; "Subtle notes of chocolate and coffee that give way into sweet flavors of caramel, dark fruit, and mild roastiness". That beer with Mixture 965 used to make me salivate. It was the perfect pairing for me. Sadly I can't find that beer any longer but perhaps you might find something similar and give it a try. I might try some Guinness or a red ale of some sort one of these days.

 

[starrynight]

I can only pair scotch and bourbon w/cigars.

Briar fox worked with Bourbon for me, but most if not all other pipe tobaccos when mixed with scotch/bourbon give off a floral bitter/sour vibe I don’t enjoy.

Beer and pipe tobacco, however, pair wonderfully for me.

Coffee always pairs, and the teas I have tried like dragonwell or high quality sencha have done well too.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I noticed in the past that beer hits the spot after I worked up a dry mouth from smoking latakia.

I say the past because I rarely drink a beer anymore... I actually can't remember the last time I had one.

 

[EveningSmoke03]

I’ve recently purchased some larger bowl pipes for my English blends, which are great, but I’m finding that my palate goes stale halfway through. When smoking cigars I like bourbon, rye, and reposado rum (all neat), but for whatever reason I don’t like alcohol with any pipe tobacco.

I’ve tried getting tea, against my better judgement as it goes against the spirit of the Boston tea party. Seems to smack of British imperialism. And it leaves a weird sensation on my tongue that I don’t care for at all.

So, what do y’all like to drink with English blends?

Personally, I usually drink either black coffee or tea most of the time either right before or right after I smoke (since I usually smoke while on a walk). But I find that, especially with English style mixtures especially tea or coffee is my go-to. For alcohol pairings I usually just either do brandy (I'm a bit of a brandy fanatic) or beer. I love whisky but only buy it on special occasions since it's so expensive, but it does go down nicely with a pipe.

 

[JOHN72]

Rye whiskey. Brandy or Cognac. Or a good whisky that is not smoky, but rather fruity.

 

[elvishrunes]

You need a Scotch that is not only heavily peated, but one that is also oily on the palate, to stand up to latakia and dark fire smokiness. Even if a scotch is heavily peated, if it has a dry finish, it will dissipate too quickly before the smoke notes can marry in your mouth.

I find that most offerings from Laphroaig and Kilchoman will do the trick, as will Talisker; while Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain tend to finish much drier, and get overwhelmed by the tobacco flavors. Older expressions of Ardbeg also work, while the younger ones are a toss-up.

However, while I appreciate similar complementary flavor notes, I find that it's much more interesting to use contrasting flavors instead. For example, with most English blends, I find myself enjoying the combination more with a scotch that has heavy port and sherry notes, with less peat. 12-yr old Aberlour, 12-yr old Aberfeldy, Balvenie Double-Wood, The Arran Malt, and Old Pulteny come to mind off the top of my head; all great companions to a medium or heavy English or Balkan blend.

Nice boss you know your scotch speaking my language, it was actually Ardbeg Wee Beastie I had a young Ardbeg indeed…. I did prefer the sweeter contrast whiskies yes, cheers. Laphroaig is my favourite.

 

[prairiedruid]

coffee with brandy

 

[tartanphantom]

Nice boss you know your scotch speaking my language, it was actually Ardbeg Wee Beastie I had a young Ardbeg indeed…. I did prefer the sweeter contrast whiskies yes, cheers. Laphroaig is my favourite.

Laphroaig is a primary component of my blood, like plasma.

I enjoy Ardbeg too, but the under-10-yo expressions tend to be fairly woolly. I think Ardbeg created Wee Beastie a few years ago in order to fill a market niche for a lower-priced alternative. Unfortunately, a 5-yo heavy-peat scotch tends to be a little rough around the edges, even if it is theoretically drinkable.

I'm far from proclaiming myself as an "expert" on anything other than my day job, which does not involve scotch or pipes, or tobacco.

However, I've actively researched, collected, pursued and enjoyed scotch for almost 35 years, so I've been around the block a bit, as well as the Scottish countryside itself. I've never limited myself to one region/style of scotch, but much like tobacco blends, each regional style has its own distinct character and charm, and I love the variety. I love talking scotch and sharing drams with anyone else who shares the passion for uisge beatha, no matter how much or how little they know. At the end of it, enjoyment is the end goal, not one-upmanship or snobbery.

I am partial to Islay and Campbeltown malts in particular, but I have much love for Highland, Speyside and Lowland malts as well. My philosophy when it comes to choosing scotch can be summed up as: "Why dance with only one lady, when you can dance with them all?"

Here's a pic of me on one trip to Laphroaig about 10 years ago-- this is the day they literally put me to work cutting peat in one of their peat bogs... well, at least they provided occasional refreshment between the labor!