Cigar Pairing: Plasencia Reserva Original Robusto

Brunch has a particular kind of softness: warm starch, fresh fruit perfume, and that slow, unhurried sweetness that makes time feel less mechanical. Pairing pancakes with a cigar can sound eccentric until you notice the underlying logic. Real maple syrup is essentially “wood sweetness,” and a well-made cigar is a carefully aged architecture of woods, sugars, nuts, and gentle spice. When the two line up, the result is not novelty; it is resonance.

The cigar in this pairing is the Plasencia Reserva Original Robusto (4 ¾” × 52), a blend built as a Nicaraguan puro—meaning wrapper, binder, and filler are all grown in Nicaragua. Plasencia presents Reserva Original as an organic cigar, and the profile is widely described as naturally sweet and aromatic, leaning into nuts, caramel/marzipan-like richness, and clean cedar. Those are precisely the tones that fresh fruit and maple syrup can amplify rather than fight.

The Pancake Pairing Concept

This pairing is an “echo pairing,” not a “contrast pairing.” The maple syrup echoes the cigar’s woody sweetness. Strawberries lift the aroma with a bright, slightly tangy perfume that keeps the palate awake. Banana contributes creamy density—important, because it smooths the dry edges of smoke and makes the cigar taste rounder and more dessert-like. The pancake itself (thin, crepe-style) acts as warm, buttery scaffolding: it steadies sweetness, supports fruit, and prevents the cigar from feeling sharp or overly dry.

Easy Recipe: Thin Pancakes with Strawberries, Banana, and Maple Syrup

Ingredients (makes 6–8 thin pancakes)

• 2 large eggs

• 250 ml milk

• 125 g plain flour

• 1 tbsp melted butter (plus extra for the pan)

• 1 tbsp sugar (optional, recommended for this pairing)

• Pinch of salt

• Fresh strawberries, sliced

• 1 banana, sliced

• Real maple syrup

Method

1. Make the batter. Whisk eggs and milk together. Add flour gradually, whisking until smooth. Stir in melted butter, sugar (if using), and a pinch of salt. Rest the batter for 10 minutes for a more tender pancake.

2. Heat the pan. Set to medium heat. Add a small knob of butter, then wipe with paper towel so you keep only a thin film.

3. Cook thin. Pour a small ladle of batter and immediately swirl the pan to coat in a thin layer. Cook for 45–60 seconds until the surface sets and the edges lift.

4. Flip. Cook the second side for 20–30 seconds.

5. Assemble. Fold the pancake on a plate, top with strawberries and banana, and drizzle generously with maple syrup.

Small upgrade: add a tiny pinch of salt directly over the maple syrup at the end. It intensifies fruit aroma and makes maple taste deeper.

The Bold Match: “Maple-Char Caramel Fold”

If you want the version that stands up to the cigar more assertively, do this:

1. In the same pan, melt 1 tsp butter.

2. Add ½ banana (sliced) and cook 60–90 seconds until lightly browned.

3. Add 1 tbsp maple syrup and let it bubble 15–20 seconds until slightly thickened.

4. Spoon that warm banana-maple caramel over the pancake, then add fresh strawberries on top.

This is “bold” because caramelization creates roasted notes that lock into the cigar’s nutty-caramel lane, while the strawberries keep the whole experience bright rather than heavy.

How to Smoke It as a Real Pairing

Start by eating a few bites first—maple, fruit, butter, and warm batter. Then light the Plasencia and take gentle puffs. Alternate bite → sip of water or coffee → puff. As the syrup coats the palate, the cigar’s cedar and nutty sweetness tend to read less like “wood” and more like “dessert structure,” with the fruit keeping the finish clean and buoyant. In that moment, the pairing stops being a stunt and becomes a coherent flavor argument: breakfast sweetness, refined by smoke, both speaking the same language of warmth and wood-sugar.