A weather-beaten Eastwood with chiseled jaws readying his gun at the first knock of door, letting in the nasty old crook to his most coveted province! After the fight that followed which did not even need a shot, Eastwood would walk in slow motion, grab a drink and bite off his cigar’s end, ready to light up, still surveying the crook for life – a classical “Western” moment and some part of it livable in real life!

Let’s face it this time – what could be a better way to wind up the delightful day than relax and set ablaze each sip of our favorite drink (single malt scotch is what I like) with a heavenly cigar! Cigars and whiskey are seriously two of the finest things in life and when working in a group, the two can invoke the most enchanting of experiences. It works for me and I see no reason why it would not for you or anyone else!

It has taken some hundreds of judges, several brain storming (rather “tongue storming”) events and tasting sessions (mostly) in Cuba and Scotland to actually cherish the experience. The partnership between the asserters of two of the finest relaxants on the planet, that is, cigars and whiskey, has avowed this delicate combination as one of the finest, that human civilization could ever conceive. My last visit to Paris for celebrating the anniversary of a world renowned lighter brand provided me with yet another reason to glorify the cause, where I had the opportunity to cherish this paradisiacal combination of Havana and Scotland – cigars and single malt. Ever since, I am easily disposed to battle whoever opposes the heavenly combination of cigars with whiskey, reasoning as wastage of taste.

Refinement on earth for me, of course, is now defined by single malt whiskey, illuminated by the glow of the best rolls. Cultivating on my recently refined tastes owing to the newly developed liking (which, in no time, turned into an obsession); I started pairing these two manifestations of refinement in various combinations conceivable. And to the utter dismay of my contesters, I would be glad to gloat that a variety of cigars complement a variety of whiskeys. However, my favorite amongst all remains no more than mild single malt lighted with a medium/full-bodied cigar (preferably, Cuban).

A lighted Cohiba Siglo IV and a glass of Highland Park Single Malt Scotch make a stunning pair and these are the names that reflexively pop out of my mouth when asked to brand my love for the delicate ecstasy. A Partagas D 4 also does go really well with a Lagavulin Single Malt. However, (high time I stopped being nepotistic) there are certain cigars that just do not go with whiskeys – scotch or not..! I do not need to name any because once one cultivates a taste for it, it is quite easy to decipher an odd pair!