CigarBQue Portland Recap

Recently I attended CigarBQue Portland, an event founded in Chicago but this year expanded to include touring the cities of Denver, Atlanta, Austin, and recently here in Portland, OR before it moves on to Philadelphia (September 15), St. Louis (October 13) and Tampa (November 10). The event brings together local chefs and local mixologists in an outdoor barbecue setting along with Diamond Crown cigars.

The ticket sales from CigarBQue also goes towards raising some money for charity, the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation which partners with the Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral (IDDI), a Dominican-based nonprofit organization that for the last 30 years has been fighting poverty by providing training & the skills necessary to make a positive change for those living in both urban and rural regions of the Dominican Republic through education, disease prevention and empowerment.

Here’s a recap of the CigarBQue Portland event, which took place at Castaway on August 11 2016.

Participating Chefs/Restaurants Included:

• Mike Delaney, Ned Ludd presented pork ribs with potato salad and pickles
  
• Rodney Muirhead, Podnah’s Pit
  
• Cliff Allen, The People’s Pig brought to the table Pork Sandwiches 3 ways- with BBQ sauce and slaw, with Toasted Chili Sauce and pickled onions, and Marinated Peaches with basil and mint.
  
• Carlo Lamagna of Honky Tonk Tacos and Clyde Common offered Lengua Adobo Taco Filipino-style on a Three Sisters Tortilla with Escabeche
  
• Johnny  Nunn, Verdigris made Chilled Corn Soup with Smoked Trout and Beet Relish
  
• Eric Ferguson, Red Hills Market created a Smoked Beef Brisket tostada with Mezcal flamed jalapenos, heirloom tomatoes, and cigar smoked avocados and radishes and micro cilantro
  

Participating Mixologists Included:

• Steven Sirok of Driftwood Room inside the Hotel DeLuxe, which I missed in taking a photo or trying
• Jacqueline Stuart of Accanto creating the cocktail Pesca Acida with Corralejo Reposado Tequila, Lime, Peach-Ginger Juice, Pink Peppercorn Salt Rim
   
• Jacob Grier of Cocktails On Tap, created a cocktail called Shift Drink with Templeton Rye, Lemon, Ginger Syrup, and Fernet Branca
   
• Tommy Klus of La Moule Trinidad Especial with Zaya Gran Rerva, Old Trinidad Rum, Apricot Liqueur, Lime, Mint
  
• Joe Frade of LeChon made a horchata inspired cocktail – I sipped a bit from a friend’s but I was all out before I got there to take photos, oops!
• Lindsay Druhot representing Pok Pok Som made Strawberry Fields with Aviation Gin, Pok Pok Som Strawberry Drinking Vinegar, Aperol, Fresh Lemon, and Mint
  

I thought CigarBque Portland was an amazing event- the booths for the mixologists were inside so they could keep up with the ice while outside on the patio in the summer sun with shade and breeze were all the food booths and cigar table so you can pick a cocktail, some bites of food, and see how they paired with the variety of Diamond Crown cigars. A few large tables and plenty of cocktail tables dressed up with black tablecloths and floral arrangements in cigar boxes created a classy atmosphere, while there was also a cute photobooth available with a backdrop of tobacco field, ha ha.

Seriously though, it was a classy but casual event with excellent cocktails (full size! real glassware!), plenty of food that offered spicy and sweet contrasts and comparisons with the cigar smoke. I’m not sure if they will be touring back and there will be a CigarBque Portland here next year, but if you are in one of the cities they are having the event and you love cigars or are cigar curious, this was a fantastic way to try it, especially with food and drink created with cigars in mind.

Disclosure: I had a complimentary ticket to this event, but was not required to write this post or given any compensation. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.