My Favorite Cigar
David Rose • Chef
Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Diplomatico
David Rose is in his “office”—and smoking double. He has chickens going on a trio of Big Green Egg barbecue grills and an Avo Maduro in his free hand. “We call that multitasking in the culinary world,” says the cook who wears many chef hats. He made his name on the Food Network, became a popular guest across the medium and is now executive chef of Omaha Steaks.
Along the way, Rose created a dinner series he calls TLC, for Tastings, Libations and Cigars. It’s all part of a life in which a cigar is never far away. (He even smokes while riding his Harley.) For the dinners, Rose’s practice was to choose the cigar first, then retrofit food and drink to go with the fourth course, i.e. his smoke. “The cigar acts as a palate cleanser for desserts,” he explains.
His favorite is the big Padrón in a natural wrapper. “I love its nuances of cocoa and chocolate.” But the cook, who first took a puff on his 21st birthday, has many darlings, including Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Series, Camacho, Liga Privada and Room 101 The Big Payback.
