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HABANOS NOT ONLY BRING DELIGHT TO AN AFTER-MEAL TALK TO WRAP UP A GOOD DINNER OR AS A COMPLEMENT TO A GLASS OF SPIRIT OR A CUP OF COFFEE. THEY ALSO PROMISE A WHOLE LOT MORE AS THEY CLINCH NEARLY UNLIMITED COMBINATIONS OF GASTRONOMIC SENSATIONS

New cuisine trends worldwide are increasingly turning experimentation into the right process to awe and captivate patrons. These are times in which the bolder cooking gets, the more outcomes it reaps. Innovating –as long as it’s done with knowledge and sound judgment- leads to stardom and opens up the gateways to new pleasures.
In the universe of sensations haute cuisine has at its disposal, pairing takes the upper hand because combining tastes means enamoring the palate. Therefore, matching drinks and meals –thought out to puff on a habano a little bit later- is supposed to be the highest notch in the complex realm of pairing, some kind of gastronomic poker hand for those who know how to revel in pleasures.
A top-drawer wine or a deluxe spirit fits in with a Cohiba, a Montecristo and even a Hoyo de Monterrey, as long as the right vitola within the large habano portfolio is handpicked correctly.
However, what would happen if you picture the pairing beforehand just to set the palate for the enjoyment of a good habano?
Even though the commonest trend in the world is a long menu card for a meal bathed in good wines and crowned by coffees, spirits and the inevitable habano, today’s busy lifestyle, the dynamics of social life and the influence of culinary globalization have put small food helpings, and even tapas, on the limelight, making the tryout of different tastes and gastronomic fusions far more fashionable.
Tapas offer the freedom to try a large number of tastes and textures. That explains why this Spanish tradition has caught on all over the world and has come to the rescue of habano lovers.
It’s now customary among premium cigar enthusiasts to order tapas a tad before swinging for the fences with spirits and habanos, a pleasure that could perfectly pan out to be quite a journey of experimentation if patrons take into account the need to harmonize the meal and the drinks they are about to have, the smoker’s frame of mind, the time available and even the environment. That would make them pick wisely as far as habano brands and vitolas are concerned.
If the meal is modern, sophisticated, made up of small helpings and stylized dishes –like many of the tapas that are dished out today- it’s logical to choose a modern and refined habano, featuring a mild-to-strong taste, kind of subtle, with elegant sourness and well balanced in terms of scent and taste.
However, since the universe of pairings lets people try out with just about anything, let’s not deny contrasts, well-specialized dishes that almost set the palate for a strong-tasting habano, good enough to team up with big-time wines or spirits and wipe out together the aftertaste of the tapas in the mouth.
For instance, a tapa of well-seasoned vaquitas a la plancha (grilled beef strips), might as well be followed by a Churchill from Romeo y Julieta. On the other hand, shellfish-stuffed peppers –teeming with clear-cut sour tastes- will probably go well with a Magnum 56 from H. Upmann. A tapa of Parma ham with cured and semi-cured strong-tasting cheese from La Mancha, sprinkled with a grand reserve wine hailing from the Old World, could fit better with a Cohiba Behike and a glass of ultra-premium spirit. 
Nonetheless, this is probably nothing but sybaritic daydreaming. The truth is that today, thanks to a wide array of sensations habanos have to offer, reaching out to them can also be done through long experimentation, beginning with something as simply complex as a tapa.