The provisional results of the first Whisky and Cigar Shoot-out in South Africa have been released. The event, held as part of the Whisky Live festival in Johannesburg, attracted a large number of industry participants and enticed many members of the public.
Bernard Gutman of the Cigar Club of South Africa moderated a panel of five experts, including Stephen Camisa from the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky, America and Damien Riley-Smith, publisher of the Whisky Magazine in London. The panel commented on the 12 whiskies and two cigars and fielded questions from an enthusiastic audience who were also enjoying the taste sensation. The Cigars and Whiskies were tasted blind to ensure the integrity of the process.
The cigars were two of Cuba's finest. The whiskies were all exceptional and included some whisky that is not available in South Africa.
When the cigars were smoked and the tasting glasses drained, the score sheets were tabulated and the results were as follows:
The choice of the best pairing
First:
Partagas Serie D No 4 Cigar with the Wild Turkey Rare Breed Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
Second:
Hoyo de Monterey Epicure No 2 Cigar with the Dalmore Cigar Malt.
The Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was the second most popular pairing with both Cigars.
The panel and participants were also asked to rate each whisky on it's own:
The favourite whisky overall was the Aberlour 10, followed closely by the Coal Ila 12 and Glenfiddich 15 Solera Reserve. Favourite Single Malt was the Aberlour 10 year old, favourite blend, the Jameson's 12 year old and the favourite Bourbon, the Eagle Rare.