02
A wine from 1901, poured today by the glass.
WHY WE CAN
That is how we can pour a hundred-year-old wine by the glass.
We are a cigar bar and a wine bar. There is a reason we can pour more than 100 varieties by the glass. Madeira wine loses very little of its flavor after the bottle is opened. It is still good to drink months later — years later, for that matter.
The reason lies in an unusual method of production. Madeira is a wine that is aged with heat. In the age of exploration, casks warmed through long voyages across the equator arrived tasting better than when they left — that accident was later established as a method.
It has already passed once through the severe environment of heat. That is why contact with air does not break it down. Thanks to this quality, we can serve by the glass a wine from 100 years ago that would otherwise be available only by the bottle.
What the heat gives rise to is a toasted, complex flavor suggesting nuts, caramel, and dried fruit. Because the acidity is firm, even the sweet styles never finish heavy.
Available by the glass. Line them up and compare.
HOW WE SERVE
Sweet, or not sweet. That much is enough for us to pour the first glass. If the words will not come, we will ask two or three questions of our own, and answering those is all it takes.
"Whatever you think" is an order too. If you have a figure in mind, say so first and we will work within it. It is the first-time guest we recommend this to most.
From bone dry to intensely sweet, the shelves are stocked so that a glass can be matched anywhere in between. It is not a choice between sweet and dry. There are many steps in between, and the bottle we open for your third glass is not the one we opened for your first. If it misses, say so. The next glass will come closer.
Three glasses in an evening and your taste stays with us. From the next visit on, there is less to ask.
Each glass is a different colour.
TASTING
There are things about this wine that reveal themselves only side by side.
01
Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey. Line up all 4 at the same 10 Years Old and from the same producer, and the span from crisp and dry to richly sweet becomes clear at once. Blandy's 10 Years Old, Barbeito 10 Years Old. It is the combination our guests order most, and the quickest route to knowing Madeira.
02
Vinhos Barbeito, Blandy's, Pereira D'oliveira. Same age, same grape, and still the character of the maker comes through. One draws on acidity, another builds sweetness. The same island, the same grape, and yet the difference is genuinely surprising.
03
Take one grape and line up 5, 10 and 15 Years Old. You see what time does to flavor. The younger glass is not the lesser one. Each age has a merit of its own. We can also set up the comparison with Sercial or Verdelho.
04
We also arrange flights made up only of bottles over a century old. Some are built around a nineteenth-century vintage. For an anniversary, or to close an evening of entertaining. Numbers are limited, so a call in advance is the surest way.
05
A cigar tastes one way in its first half and another in its second. Switch to a different glass for the second half and the same cigar shows an entirely different face. When you choose a cigar here, we suggest the glass to accompany its second half as well.
How many glasses, and how far back you go, can be left to us as well. "Three, on the lighter side" or "carry me through to the last one" — we will build the evening around it.
A wine from 1901,
still alive today.
VINTAGE MADEIRA
YOUR YEAR
From 1901 to 2013. You are welcome to choose by naming the year.
Madeira is one of the few drinks that can be ordered by year.
A birthday, the year you married, the year your child was born, the year you founded your company. A wine bottled in that very year, still in fine condition to drink. There are not many drinks of which that is true.
Those over a century old are 1912, 1908, 1907 and 1901. Going back further, there are vintages from 1875, 1862, and 1850.
It does not have to be an anniversary. Drop in, name a year, and that is all we need to pour it. A single glass is perfectly fine. If there is a year you have your heart set on, call ahead and we will check the stock and set it aside.
The years are written on the shelf labels.
GRAPE VARIETIES
From dry to intensely sweet. Choose to match the strength of your cigar.
| Grape Variety | Flavor | Sweetness | Cigars That Pair Well |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sercial Sercial | High acidity, crisp and dry. Citrus and almond. | Dry | Lighter Dominican cigars |
| Verdelho Verdelho | Balanced. Midway between smoke and honey. | Medium dry | Medium-bodied Nicaraguan cigars |
| Bual Bual / Boal | Caramel and raisin. Full-bodied, yet never heavy. | Medium sweet | Cuban cigars in general |
| Malvasia Malmsey | Rich and concentrated. A finish of dried fruit and coffee. | Sweet | Full-bodied cigars, or a glass to finish the evening |
SINCE 1811
The historic house of Madeira, family-run for 7 generations. Its 10 Years Old series shows the character of each grape variety with unusual clarity, which makes it the ideal place to begin.
SINCE 1946
A relatively young house, yet highly regarded for a refined, contemporary style. It avoids excessive sweetness and works with acidity. We carry more from this maker than any other.
SINCE 1850
A house known as a treasury of old wine, still releasing nineteenth-century vintages from its cellars. We carry its dry and sweet bottlings at 5, 10 and 15 Years Old.
MADEIRA CASK
Once a Madeira cask is emptied, it is used to finish whisky. The sweetness and toasted aroma left in the wood pass into the spirit.
Madeira cask they may all be, but the five come from five different distilleries. We keep them side by side so that the difference can be tasted. Madeira for the first glass, whisky for the second. Ordering them one after the other is the clearest way to follow it.
One of the five is Ardbeg "Anthology". It comes from a distillery known for heavy peat, and that smoke runs straight alongside a cigar, with the sweetness of the Madeira cask sitting behind it. The other four we pick across the counter, looking at the cigar in your hand. The sweetness of the first glass stays with you to the last draw.
We will suggest a glass to match each cigar.
ALSO
It becomes the base of a cocktail, and there is a path for those who do not drink.
COCKTAIL
The same resistance to oxidation makes Madeira an unusually good cocktail base. We keep eight signature cocktails built on Madeira infused with ginger, smoked duck or shiitake.
COFFEE
Dark-roast beans chosen with cigar pairing in mind, brewed in a French press. Extracting the oils along with the coffee gives a deeper aroma. Some guests say it pairs with a cigar better than alcohol does.
NON ALCOHOL
Our bartender will ask what you enjoy and mix it to suit. For those who would rather not drink but still want the same atmosphere. Espresso, tea, and Aso milk are also available.
A vintage you are looking for, advice on a tasting flight, a private room reservation — please feel free to ask.
092-272-1289Inquiries taken 5:00 PM – 3:00 AM (following day), closed Wednesdays
