It Takes Two to Make It Right

THE SCENT, TASTE AND BODY OF TORRES BRANDIES GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE HARMONY OF HABANOS

History books don't tell about the exact origin of brandy. Alcohol contents in beverages have come a long way from ancient times, but brandy, as we know it today, came to life in the 12th century, though its fame peaked in the 14th century.

Brandy is a generic term that designates any distilled wine or grape marc. This family is made up of beverages from different regions that take on their own legal specifications in an effort to tell them apart as far as grape varieties, number of distillations, kind of distiller, growing methods, type of oak and other elements are concerned. On that basis, each and every brandy will have labeling features that would identify how long they have been aged in the barrels. For instance, the XO labeling for cognac indicates six years of aging at the very least.

Cognacs and Armagnacs are the best-known brandies out of France; their names indicate a particular manufacturing region. This geographical identification doesn't apply in the same way to pisco, a grape-based distilled drink that still has Chile and Peru at odds about the region that first came up with it. Italian grappa also belongs to the brandy family, even though is also made up of grape marc. The same procedure applies to the making of Portuguese bagaceira, French marc, Greek tsiroupo and Galicia's marc.

Cognacs and Armagnacs are the best-known brandies out of France; their names indicate a particular manufacturing region

The Cuban vitola portfolio is rich in possibilities and each brandy matches harmoniously with every cigar’s tasting strength The multi-award-winning Bodegas Torres, delivers out-ofthis-world brands to those who crave this particular drink

Mexico produces top-notch brandies, as well as California. Greece also proposes a great brandy with features of its own, such as the chance to either further scent or sweeten it. This world-class product is called metaxa.

In Spain, sherry wine from Jerez and Catalonia certify their regional origins and give brandy lovers a one-of-akind product that rest on a drying and manufacturing system called soleras and criaderas, in which brandy is continuously siphoned on and off.

Penedes, home to the multi-award-winning Bodegas Torres, delivers out-of-this-world brands to those who crave this particular drink.

A thorough analysis of its tasting records yields a list of major organoleptic elements when it comes to harmonizing them with Habanos. The “harmonizing” term is used randomly on purpose because it fits exactly with the pleasure generated by the combination of cigars and drinks in general.

Differentiating traces that tell Torres 5, Torres 10, Torres 15, Torres 20 and Jaime I brandies apart are supposed to exist. What are the most significant ones to keep in mind when choosing a Habano?

Alcoholic contents in all five examples above hover around 38 and 40 percent, major values in terms of strength and sweetness that bring them closer to Cuban cigars. Acidity level –just another standpoint to bear in mind- are in the neighborhood of 0.3 g/lt. and 0.7 g/lt.

Smelling notes are far more complex as years of aging accrue, and this is a decisive element for harmony. Walnut and pruned fruit notes in Torres 5 come along in Torres 10 with special scents of cinnamon and vanilla, just as a token of the time they spent being aged in American white oak barrels. What's more, the Torres 15 oozes out smoked and dark-roasted notes, let alone that of dry fruits. The Torres 20 –it takes double distilling and siphoning from new to old oak casks- makes the spirit more complex with notes of pruned fruits, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. Jaime I –a blend from different soleras that have been handpicked from among the oldest in the cellar- rounds out its noble taste with notes of roasted hazelnut, vanilla and toffee. It's evident that the five brandies cover a different range of perception from an organoleptic point of view.

Wrapping things up, the oily and tannic character of Torres 10, Torres 15 and Torres 20 packs a wallop among patrons with persistent, concentrated and deep strength, always in crescendo as the numbers rise. However, Jaime I imposes smoothness out of its long aging. Again, the five distilled spirits show off a somewhat creaminess and tannic taste, a key to choosing the right Habano to puff on.

Each and every brandy will be harmonized with the corresponding strength of the cigar. The Cuban vitola portfolio is rich in possibilities. The Habano's particular expressions in terms of sweetness, acidity, spicy taste, bitterness, creaminess and salinity, as well as the herby, floral, mineral and fruity tastes –especially of dry and pruned fruits- complement the aroma and taste –as well as the structure- of the selected brandy.

The final say is in the hands of the smoker on an organoleptic basis. If sipping a Torres brandy and puffing on a Habano reach their full potentials –without overlapping moments or disparities- then the experience of that moment will have just one definition: Habano-drink harmony.