I have to admit I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to the Zino Platinum cigars, the Z Class is the only cigar in their line-up that I’ve had. Now I have had myself a few Davidoff cigars and they are the creators of the Zino Platinum lineup. Davidoff is well known for producing high quality cigars so does the Zino Platinum Z Class live up to that name?

The Z Class is one of the newer lines in the Zino Platinum inventory and are claimed to be a smooth and spicy medium-full bodied cigar. One thing about the Z Class I really love is their packaging. The box is actually a sleek Gun Metal colored tin packed with 20 cigars each. It also rounds out the line-up with the fuller bodied profile and comes in 4 standard sizes, Toro, Robusto, Pyramide and Corona.

The name and the sleek box remind me of a Mercedes-esque imagery for this line-up of cigars. The whole package is fairly attractive and now it’s time to see if it lives up to the reputation of it’s parent company and the look and feel of the brand as a whole.

Cigar: Zino Platinum Z Class 643C
Drink: Southern Tier Brewing Company Imperial Choklat Stout
Vitola: Corona 643C (6 x 43)
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Peruvian Pelo de Oro
Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran Ligeros
Price: MSRP $8.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Z Class presents with a dark cinnamon brown wrapper that is rugged and rough
• There are a fair bit of visible veins but none seem to be too large or concerning
• The weight of this cigar is fairly heavy compared to others in the same vitola
• The top of this cigar is finished with a clean double cap while the foot looks to be moderately packed, there are a couple of small visible caps
• From cap to foot, the whole cigar is fairly firm when squeezed
• The cap was very tough and took quite a bit of effort to clip off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw seems pretty tight as well, lets hope that opens up

Burn:
• Toasting took a good amount of time and left me with a fairly evenly glowing foot, just a couple dark spots that refused to catch until my first draw
• We’re off to a bit of a wavy start here, hope that doesn’t keep up for too long…
• The slight wave at the start never did correct itself so I needed to give it a small little touch up around the 1/3rd mark
• After that touch-up the Z Class is smoking much better with a fairly clean burn, there is a slight wave but nothing out of control as I pass the half-way point
• I also have to note that this cigar is burning very slowly, definitely giving you time to enjoy without having to draw too often

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite a pretty tight draw, I’m still getting a ton of smoke from this cigar
• Even while resting, the Z Class is pumping out a fair bit of smoke and giving off a burnt wood type of aroma
• The ash comes off with a nice light grey tone but it is flaking quite a bit
• Due to it’s visible weakness, I’m ashing this cigar at about a half-inch right now
• Ash seems to get pretty weak consistently around the half inch mark, so I’ve been ashing it to avoid any disasters

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Zino Platinum Z Class is fairly woodsy and musty, a pretty bold aroma
• The foot adds more of the mustiness and with that comes a touch of spice and sweetness
• First thing I noticed on the pre-light draw was a spicy tingle on my lips and tongue, beyond that I was met with a very pleasant sweet cedar flavor
• Initial draws are filled with the musty woodsiness I was picking up on the aroma, so far the spice and sweet cedar are no where to be found
• Within a few draws, the mustiness seems to have disappeared and I’m left with the woodsy flavors and a variety of spices, mostly like a mild or white pepper
• The spice has started to settle down as I reach the end of the first third, now I’m balancing out nicely with some woodsy and earthy flavors
• So far the body has been in the low end of medium and the small bite on the retrohale is combined with a somewhat dry spice finish
• The sweet cedar seems to be trying to make an appearance but the earthy and woodsy flavors are drowning it out, hopefully they will balance out a bit more although I am enjoying it as is so far
• The sweet cedar is putting up a good fight and starting to be more dominant, I’m really enjoying the balance here now
• The bite on the retrohale remains fairly tame but the dry finish has changed to a more smooth creamy finish, adding the the enjoyment factor on this cigar
• The last third is turning out to be a creamy and enjoyable finish, the balance is just right with the cedar, sweetness, earthy and spicy flavors
• The nub of the cigar was easy smoking with lots of flavor and no harshness, a good finish to a tasty cigar

Final Thoughts:
This was my first venture into Zino Platinum territory so I went in with an open mind and no biases for or against the brand. I didn’t really know much about the brand at all before I did research for this review. Turns out that the Z Class is a pretty tasty cigar. It had an interesting flavor profile and burned fairly well. There was nothing that really stood out too much but the whole experience was enjoyable and I don’t really have any complaints. The price was a tad bit higher than I would have liked for a corona sized cigar but the flavors were very enjoyable so I’m a bit torn here. Drop these to $6 for the corona and I’d be more interested. But having said that, if I saw them at a B&M I’d be curious to try some of the larger vitolas as there definitely is some potential here, I may enjoy those a lot more. I think some people would really enjoy these so I’d have to suggest giving a 5-pack a try, there is definitely a market for this profile. I think this cigar has definitely sparked in interest in trying more Zinos, they are very tough to find for me but maybe my next trip south or the border, these will be on my radar.

Pairings:
I believe this is the final brew I have remaining from the haul I brought back from Florida earlier in the summer. It is the Imperial Choklat Stout from Southern Tier Brewing Company. This brew pours super black but with surprisingly little foam in the glass. The flavors are pretty unique here and I wouldn’t compare this to a typical stout. It’s definitely got a lot of hoppy bitterness but it doesn’t have much of the creaminess I tend to find in a lot of stouts. It’s almost closer to a porter in my humble opinion, but I am no beer guru. But despite that, the beer has some very good flavors going on here. There is a ton of dark chocolate flavors in this brew and they pair amazingly well with the hoppy bitterness I mentioned. There’s also a hefty serving of malt making this taste almost like a non-creamy alcoholic milkshake? lol. I’m surprised to see it also clocks in at 11% Alc./vol., I can’t even tell it’s that strong since it’s so smooth. So did it pair well with the cigar? Indeed it did! The smooth and bold flavors on the Choklat Stout mixed nicely with the flavors of the Zino Platinum. Similar stouts and porters would do well here, and of course a nice Port would have been even better! haha

Now there isn’t a whole lot of info out there about the ELO #3 so I’ll do my best here. If anyone has any more accurate or additional info, feel free to add it in the comments and I’ll be glad to append it to the review! From what I found while researching, this cigar comes exclusively from New Havana Cigars and is an “encore” release of a popular cigar they had previously sold in 2008.

It seems the cigars were sold at record speeds as do many of the limited releases from Tatuaje and especially from New Havana Cigars. As with many cigars from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje, this is a Nicaraguan puro and is rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. At the moment only New Havana Cigars is selling the ELO series from what I understand but it is possible that the retailers could expand, depending on demand and supply of course.

Now this next part is pure speculation but there may be some truth here. Apparently, the ELO series, which runs with numbers 1 thru 5, are overruns of some other popular Tatuaje cigars. And just to clarify, an overrun is not a 2nd, it’s basically just extra stock without any imperfections. From some reading, it seems this ELO #3 is the counterpart to the Tatuaje Verocu #2. Reading that and looking at some pictures of the Verocu 2 seems to be pretty accurate, but who knows.

So remember, a lot of this info is just stuff I found randomly and not from any official sources, so I’m not sure how accurate it is. Feel free to share any more info on his cigar if you have it, I’d love to learn more about it! Now I won’t do any more speculation or yapping, let’s just get straight to the review!

Cigar: Tatuaje ELO #3 2011
Drink: Muskoka Brewery Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has a pretty rough and beefy wrapper on it
• Despite having quite a few decent sized veins the oily sheen of this cigar definitely makes it attractive to look at
• The triple cap topping off this cigar is very smooth and well applied, so I can’t complain there
• Now the foot of the cigar looks like it has it’s fair share of filler leaves in there, very packed
• Surprisingly though, there is a nice give and spring to this cigar when squeezed
• The more I look at these veins the more they worry me, I’m hoping they don’t cause any burn issues here…
• The cut with my double bladed guillotine cutter made a huge mess and little pieces of tobacco leaves went everywhere
• The pre-light draw seems a bit tight but we’ll see how it goes
• The draw actually turned out to be ok, it is a bit tight but it’s not affecting the experience so far

Burn:
• The toasting was slow and steady and although there were some problematic spots it all lit up fairly evenly in the end
• The burn through the first inch of so has been razor sharp and super slow, so far so good!
• The burn continues to be stellar and slow through the whole first half, I’m actually very surprised because I saw a few good sized veins
• I had one little peninsula form in the last third of the cigar but it actually corrected itself, all in all this was a superbly burning cigar!

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke coming from this cigar is plentiful but it seems a little thin, not a bad thing just something to note
• The resting smoke is fairly minimal but it does give off a nice woodsy aroma
• The ash on this ELO #3 2011 is a very nice whitish color with accents of black striping here and there
• The ash lasted easily past an inch with a strong and clean looking structure before I tapped it off into the ashtray
• Loving the strong and clean ash on this cigar, another easy passing of the 1 inch mark on the second ash

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of this cigar has surprisingly little aroma, maybe just a touch of woodsiness to it
• The foot is similarly lacking in aroma but I did detect a touch of floral notes in there, kind of surprised cause I’m used to getting a lot of spice from Tatuaje cigars
• The woodsy and floral flavors are still there on the pre-light draw but now I’m definitely picking up the trademark Tatuaje peppery spice that I’m used to, tingling my lips and tongue
• The first few draws had a very charred taste, might have been due to the extended toasting but I’m glad they went away fairly quickly
• The next array of flavors seems to be a musty woodsy type of flavor with a side order of mild spices and just a dash of leather
• The retrohale on the Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has just a small bite and a smooth creamy cedar finish
• The body is resting at a comfortable mild-medium right now
• Now I’m not sure if it’s partly the beer here but I’m getting a nice thick rich flavor on this cigar, like a dark chocolate or roasted espresso, really enjoying it
• The flavors continue to get richer as the cigar burns, the spice has mostly disappeared and I’m left with a nice woodsiness backed by those delicious espresso and dark chocolate
• The body started to kick up into the full category in the last third but it still maintained a smooth creamy finish and lots of rich flavors
• The strength of this cigar seemed to sneak up a bit on me at the end, I got a little bit of a nicotine kick but not much. Might be due to smoking this earlier in the day and having only a small lunch
• The flavors diminished a bit as I hit the nub but they didn’t get harsh, just sort of washed out, still enjoyed it up until my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a darn tasty smoke. I’ve had a bit of an up and down experience with Tatuaje lately but I always come back because when Pete Johnson does it right, he does it really right! The perfect burn, the awesome ash and the great array of rich flavors made for a superb smoking experience. The slow burn also gave me plenty of time to enjoy the cigar without the need to babysit it. I have to say that this blend definitely carried some similarities to the Verocu line, especially the Verocu Tubo since I smoked it not too long ago. So maybe there is some truth to that info… If you can track down a few of these I would definitely recommend you give them a try.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is definitely an interesting one. It comes from a brewery about an hour North of me in what we call “Cottage Country”. It’s from Muskoka brewery and it is called their Winter Beard which is a Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout. Now I took a bit of a risk here since I actually haven’t even tried this brew before today and I’m glad to say it worked out rather well. I was a bit scared that the cranberry flavor would be overpowering but it’s actually barely discernible at all. You can get a touch of sweetness but it’s not a super fruity flavor at all. Even the double chocolate is fairly balanced. Once thing to note is that this is probably one of the thickest beers I’ve ever drank. It poured out like well aged port but it surprisingly had very little head (foam) to it. I found the richness of the beer to be a perfect match for the richness of the cigar, they both played to each others strengths and made for a great overall experience.

The Ramon Allones brand isn’t too popular, but the Specially Selected seems to have garnered a fairly faithful offering. The brand actually began way back in 1837 by it’s two founders, Ramón and Antonio Allones. After a variety of ownership changes the company was eventually purchased by the Cifuentes company who also owns the Partagas brand. Manufacturing for all Ramon Allones cigars also comes from the same Partagas factory in Cuba.

The brand used to have a much larger vitola selection but since 2001, when Altadis bought a heft portion of the company, a lot of the sizes have been discontinued. The Ramon Allones brand is also heralded as one of the first Cuban cigar manufacturers to use full colored emblems on their boxes and possibly one of the first to produce the infamous 8-9-8 style of packaging.

As of current research, Ramon Allones is currently selling cigars in 4 vitolas along with an occasional Regional Release or Special Edition to round out the line. The particular cigar I will be smoking today comes from a box with a fairly recent date of May 2011. It will be interesting so see how this cigar performs early in the aging process since the recomended age time for this cigar is roughly 3 years.

Cigar: Ramon Allones Specially Selected
Drink: Innis & Gunn Spiced Rum Finish Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (4.8 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $7.00 in Cuba
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Each of the cigars in this box had a consistent soft box pressed shape to them
• The Ramon Allones Specially Selected also has very few larger veins
• The triple cap atop this cigar looks clean and well applied
• Although fairly firm, the cigar has a nice little spring to it when squeezed
• The foot looks to be very well packed
• The cap cut off cleanly leaving just a little mess in the ashtray
• The band unfortunately had a little too much glue on it and took some of the wrapper with it when removed
• The draw was good but I somehow got a huge tar buildup on the cap so I had to clip it a little further at around the half way point of the cigar

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven and long but it evened out with a little extra effort
• At first the Specially Selected was burning nice and even but then one side started burning much faster than the other so I was left with a huge wave that needed correction
• I actually find this to be a pretty common problem on a lot of my Cubans for some reason
• After that one minor burn issue the cigar has been progressing well without any need for corrections
• I like how the RASS is staying lit easily without the need for constant babysitting

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings a little less smoke than I’d like
• Surprisingly though, the resting smoke is off the charts at times
• The ash is a disappointing looking dark grey and black, not very attractive at all
• It does have some strength to it though, the ash is clean and lasts about an inch or so before I tap it off
• The second ash lasted another inch with the same consistency, the colors weren’t so dark this time possibly because I didn’t need to touch it up at all

Tasting Notes:
• Pre-light draw was all about the cedar, lots of fresh cedar aroma coming off this cigar
• Initial draws brought more of the fresh cedar flavors and a bit of earthiness
• There also a touch of the signature saltiness on my tongue
• The body overall has started fairly mild and there is no bite on the retrohale at all
• The whole experience has a nice cedar finish to it, even on the retrohale
• As the cigar progresses I’m getting a creaminess being added to the mix that is balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• One unique note I’m picking up here and there is a licorice type of flavor, very interesting and it would be nice to see it develop a bit more
• The licorice is dancing around with the cedar and I’m getting some mild spices peeking in here and there
• Just past the halfway mark I noticed a decent tar buildup on the cap, lucky for me I caught it before I touched it with my tongue, so a quick clip and I was good to go.
• The rest of the cigar proceeded tastefully but I really wish that licorice flavor would have jumped out a bit more

Final Thoughts:
The Ramon Allones Specially Selected turned out to be a nice mild to medium classic Cuban cigar. I don’t think it does anything new or special but it’s one of the more affordable Cubans you can find and they seem to be constructed consistently well from the ones I’ve had a chance to enjoy. The cedar and earthy flavors are enjoyable and the hint of licorice and spice brought an interesting layer to the mix that kept my attention. I did get some tar on some of the ones I smoked but it wasn’t anything terrible, one quick clip kept it at bay. I can see myself possibly getting some more of these in the future but I’d be curious to see how they age first, maybe I’ll revisit them in a year or so and see how things have changed. Good to know they are tasty and not overpowering while fairly fresh, so grab a few to try if you can.

Pairings:
Another Innis & Gunn you say? Of course! These guys make some awesome beers and I keep finding more new ones to try. Today’s choice is called the “Spiced Rum Finish” and came as part of the Winter Sampler pack. I’ve never had this particular brew before so I was curious to see how it turned out given my awesome track record with this brewery. Well, what an interesting beer this turned out to be. At it’s core, you can tell the classic Original Oak Aged style is there but it has an extra punch. Each sip gives just a tiny little spicy kick of raw cinnamon or cloves, maybe even a touch of pepper. Very unique that’s for sure and damn tasty if I say so myself. Very disappointed to see that it’s only available in the holiday pack cause I would easily vouch for a case if it were available to me. This paired perfectly with the mild to medium bodied Ramon Allones Specially Selected and would pair very well with other medium bodied cigars. Other suggested pairings for this cigar would be coffee or other lighter amber brews, maybe even a Tripel.

Today we have a fairly limited cigar up for review that I actually don’t think got all that much Press. It comes from the B&M Exclusive line by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje. If you haven’t stumbled across any of these before, you can find one of the previous ones reviewed here on Casas Fumando, it was the Tatuaje Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary. Pete Johnson continues this line with the Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011.

The TAA in the name actually stands for the “Tobacconists Association of America” and unlike his previous B&M Exclusive releases, you will actually be able to find these in more than just 1 store. The total distribution went out to 40+ TAA retailers across the United States of America. There was also a larger production turned around for this cigar with numbers totaling up at 30,000 cigars. This worked out to 1,500 boxes of 20 cigars per box, and if you had a retailer in your area, they would have sold between $10 and $11 per cigar.

As with most exclusives from Tatuaje and Pete Johnson, they don’t last too long on shelves and are already fairly scarce in most areas. One thing that made them a bit of a draw to Tatuaje fans is that Pete hinted the blend was similar to that of the Pork Tenderloin and the Brex. Both of those were limited releases from Tatuaje that were difficult to track down. Pete also decided to change up the shape of this cigar a little bit. You can find that it is a slightly rectangular box-pressed shape and the 5.675 x 54 vitola is also non-standard. I actually found the vitola here to be a good balance between a Toro and Robusto.

The cigar itself comes wrapped in an interesting Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Now the wrapper alone doesn’t make the cigar, but both Tony and I both seem to have a great appreciation for a lot of Broadleaf cigars so I’m hoping this continues the trend. It’s terribly cold out here today but I’ve got my propane heater to keep me warm from the outside and a nice tall bottle of beer to keep me warm on the inside. So let’s see what the Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011 has in store for me!

Cigar: Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011
Drink: Wychwood Brewery Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer
Vitola: Box-Pressed Toro/Robusto hybrid (5.625 x 54)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $10
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje TAA is actually a tad rough looking on first glance with a few medium to large sized veins and some uneven areas in the diameter
• The wrapper looks like a tasty chocolate bar with a bit of toothiness and I’m actually getting some sort of glitter type effect on it, could just be my lighting (I later realized the glitter was likely caused by the temperature being so cold that the humidity droplets were icing over…)
• The cigar sports a closed foot and a box pressed shape, the triple cap ties up the presentation nicely
• There is a bit of inconsistency with regards to firmness on the cigar too with some areas being soft and springy while others are very firm
• The cap clipped away fairly cleanly with my double-bladed guillotine cutter, I’m met with a bit of an open draw here that concerns me
• The draw remains very open which is disappointing

Burn:
• I actually peeled away the closed foot pieces to reveal a nice clean foot for my toasting since I’ve had terrible luck in the past with closed feet
• This resulted in a nice and evenly toasted foot and kicked me off to a great start
• A bit of a wave started after the toasting, we’ll see how it progresses
• The wave is progressing to be worse and will definitely require some touch-up soon
• The cigar almost went out and needed a fairly hefty touch-up, but we’re chugging along again now
• The draw seemed to get a bit tighter after my relight/touch-up and the burn has been a little more consistent, although still a tad wavy

Smoke & Ash:
• There is an absolute insane amount of smoke coming from each draw of this cigar, I could make smoke signals rivalling campfires with this cigar!
• Surprisingly, there isn’t much resting smoke coming off the cigar, just a moderate amount giving off a burning wood aroma
• The ash appears nice and clean so far with a light grey color tone
• First ash lasted just about an inch before falling off into the ashtray
• Second ash seemed to keep with the 1 inch mark as it’s standard

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has very little aroma, maybe just a bit of sweet tobacco
• Since the foot is closed, there isn’t much variance on the aroma but I do get a little bit of spice there
• The pre-light draw brings more sweet tobacco and spices, both in greater intensities now
• The initial draws offer an interesting mix of spices dominated by a white pepper type of flavor, mixed in there is also some cedar woodsiness that balances it all out
• The array of spices keeps changing as I smoke the Tatuaje TAA, there’s a variety of cloves, nutmeg and raw cinnamon along with the white pepper
• The initial sweetness I detected is pretty much gone but the cedar flavors seem to be balancing out the profile for now
• There is a very small bite on the retrohale and the finish is a nice smooth cedar flavor
• The body seems a little hard ot place right now, but I’ll say we’re near medium so far, I suspect that will increase soon though
• As I approach the half way mark I can’t say I’m getting much else in the flavor department, still spices and cedar
• It’s not a bad profile but I’m hoping it changes up a bit soon to keep me interested
• The balance of the cedar seems to be fading away and I’m getting more into a bland tobacco flavor paired with some mixed spices
• The Tatuaje TAA never really passed the medium threshold, stayed in the range until the end with only a slight buildup
• I really wish that initial sweetness made a presentation here, it would really bring a nice dimension to this cigar…
• Flavors going into the last 1.5 inches are really fading away, mostly getting a burnt woodsiness and some leathery flavors
• Had to put the cigar down a bit early as the flavors started getting harsh

Final Thoughts:
The Tatuaje showed some promise initially and I was enjoying the flavor profile from the start. Unfortunately, that profile didn’t change much as the cigar progressed and actually got a little bland shortly after the halfway mark. I also had a few issues with the burn and an extremely open draw. I think the cigar had some potential and maybe needed a little more rest time in the humidor, I’m not too sure. I’ve come to expect a higher calibre of cigars from Pete Johnson’s B&M exclusive lines and I don’t think this one lived up to the expectations I had. I’d definitely want to try another couple after they’ve had time to rest though and see how age treats them.

Pairings:
As we all know, Christmas is just around the corner and that means by favorite time of year in the brewery world! Christmas and Winter ales are probably my favorite seasonal brews and there’s always cool gift packs available too. You may recognize the Wychwood Brewery name from their famous Hobgoblin ruby ale which I’ve enjoyed in my review of Illusione 888 Slam and it’s own review here. This offering is called “Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer” and is one of theie seasonal ales. I actually found the flavors to be very similar to the Hobgoblin and not as “heavy” as you might expect. It’s basically got that smooth ruby ale character with an added touch of spices common in winter seasonal ales, such as cinnamon. I found it to be a very tasty pairing to the Tatuaje TAA since it offered a change of pace from the cigars profile and kept the whole experience a little more interesting.

Nestor Miranda is the founder of the Miami Cigars and Company and has recently started producing his own blends that come attached to his name. These include the Nestor Miranda Collection 1989, the newer Nestor Miranda Special Selection and the recent Casa Miranda. The Art Deco cigar also carries the Nestor Miranda blend and is currently sold in 3 vitolas, all of which are over 50 ring gauge.

The Art Deco is a joint effort effort between Nestor Miranda & José Pepin Garcia. I think we all know that Don Garcia is no stranger to success in the cigar industry and if he has a hand in the blending, you can usually be guaranteed it will be a quality cigar. The blend consists of 60% Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and 40% Dominican San Vicente, plus Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano 2000 binders rolled and triple-capped in dark, shimmering Nicaraguan Corojo ’06.

I actually picked up this cigar as part of a box set which included 4 Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky’s (2 Oscuro and 2 Rosado) along with an Art Deco. I’ve also enjoyed a few singles of the Robusto Grande vitola bought separately. I want to mention how awesome I think this band is. It’s so retro and different and the colors really pop. The cigars are also packaged in retro tins with the same neat design. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover! So I think that’s enough chatter, let’s get onto the review

Cigar: Nestor Miranda Art Deco
Drink: Unibroue Don De Dieu
Vitola: Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’06
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano ’00
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 & Dominican San Vincente
Price: $8.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This looks to be a wonderfully constructed cigar, very even in diameter with a dark golden brown wrapper
• The whole cigar is very firm when squeezed and has almost no bumps on the wrapper
• The head of the cigar is finished off with an extremely clean triple cap, it’s easy to see some extra care went into making this cigar
• The foot looks to be mostly well packed with a one gap that looks a bit under-filled
• The cut was fairly easy despite the firmness of the cigar
• The draw seems to be a bit more open than I’d typically like but it’s not terrible
• Seems that the draw tightened up a bit near the halfway mark making for a perfect draw each time

Burn:
• The cigar toasting was very easy with a short time frame to get the foot evenly glowing
• The initial burn was a bit wavy but it quickly corrected itself and started burning razor sharp after that
• Through the first half I have no complaints about the burn here, it’s still razor sharp and requires zero attention from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw is fairly full but it’s actually not that thick in density
• The resting smoke here is almost non existent at times, it’s a very friendly cigar to have while non-smokers may be nearby
• The ash is starting off with a nice light gray color and looks to be tight and clean
• I’m getting some awesome striping on the ash and its staying clean and strong
• It lasted nearly 2 inches before making an awesome nosedive into the ashtray. A perfect 10 anyone???
• The next ash only lasted about an inch but it stayed clean and crisp and fell off easily into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives a strong earthy and barnyard aroma with a touch of cedar
• The aroma on the foot carries through with the earthy and cedar notes but adds in a slightly sweet spice, maybe of raw cinnamon
• The pre-light daw brings an interesting mix of sweet notes on top of the cedar, possibly some dried cherries
• Initial flavors are stong in the cedar department with that slightly dried cherry taste in there, very interesting!
• The cedar has stuck around through the first inch but the initial sweetness has tapered off a bit
• For the most part, the cigar has started off in the low end of the medium range with a small bite on the retrohale
• As I continue along, I’m getting a bit of leather and the initial earthy aromas are making an appearance in the flavor department now
• As I pass the halfway mark, the mix of cedar, leather and earth has me seeking a little something more. It’s not bad or harsh but I feel like there’s something missing since the sweetness disappeared…
• As the cigar continued I started getting a bit of the sweetness returning here and there along with some slight nuttiness
• The body is building ever so slowly in the last third, heading into the high medium range
• Some toasted nutty/almond flavors are making this last third a lot more interesting along with the dried cherry sweetness that keeps rearing it’s head here and there
• The nice final mixture of flavors stuck through to the nub with almost no harshness, a very nice finish

Final Thoughts:
As with all of the Miami Cigar offerings I seem to come into them with high hopes. They’ve had such a great track record recently that I only expect the best. The Nestor Miranda Art Deco is a well balanced cigar with a variety of flavors. The first and last 3rds of the cigar were interesting and kept me on my toes but the middle portion seemed to lack something. The burn was excellent the whole way through and overall construction was top notch. The price is also very reasonable so it’s something I would probably buy again, perhaps in the Coffee Break vitola (4.5 x 50). I think that size may be the sweet spot and keep the interesting flavors going from start to finish. If you like a good medium smoke with an interesting profile these are worth checking out.

Added note: I asked Tony his thoughts here and he’s only smoked the Coffee Break vitola and loved it. I’ve only had the Robusto Grande, so I think my guess that a smaller vitola would make this cigar great is probably a good guess!

Pairings:
So this beer comes with a funny sort of story.  I’ve done a few other reviews with Unibroue brews and always loved them, not to mention they are also Canadian which is a plus in my eyes!  Unfortunately, most of their brews are actually not even available for me to purchase cause of the ridiculous taxes and restrictions in my province. The brewery is only about a 5 hour drive away, but it’s in another province… So, I actually picked this bottle up in Florida. Yes, that’s right. I drove 1600 miles away from the brewery to actually buy it! I guess that speaks to the silliness of our taxes here! lol
Enough of my complaining, let’s move onto the actual beer. I had no idea what to expect from this as I’ve never had it before and the bottle doesn’t really explain what type of beer it is. The name of this beer, “Don De Dieu” literally translates to “Gift from God” so I figured it can’t be that bad!
After doing a bit of research, I found out this is a triple fermented wheat beer that is also unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance in the glass. The flavors in this brew are excellent, mixing a little bit of fruit, maybe some vanilla and very smooth malty finish. This is not your average wheat beer though, it packs in 9% ABV and the triple fermentation without filtration makes it feel a lot fuller bodied than you might expect. I found it to be an excellent pairing with the Nestor Miranda Art Deco as it offered up lots of interesting flavors. I think a fine tawny port would also be an excellent pairing here or perhaps keep it simple with a dark soda.

Smoke Inn’s Microblend Series is aimed at reproducing the effects that Microbreweries have had in the beer industry. As many of you know, microbreweries have made a big impact in their industry and really opened up the market to new types of beers that a lot of larger breweries don’t seem to try. Stepping out of the comfort zone as some would say. Smoke Inn has done the same thing and is making use of smaller yield tobaccos to produce new blends that would previously not have been created. They have also utilized a variety of different manufacturers to achieve very different flavor profiles.

I’m not gonna lie here, Padron is a brand that I typically enjoy everything that they do. They clearly have a name in the industry that speaks to their high quality and excellent blending. Their 1964 Anniversary Series is part of their more premium line of cigars and with that they always carry a larger price tag. In my experience, the higher price tags on this line are usually justified by smooth, tasty cigars and perfectly burning tobacco leaves.

Converse to what you might expect from Padron, the SI-15 blend made form Smoke Inn is a huge vitola (6 x 60 to be exact). The Padron lines are usually available in a variety of smaller vitolas with the occasional larger ones and I found it odd to see a single blend made only in this larger vitola. I should make note that I’m not a huge fan of these large ring gauge cigars. It seems that I always run into burn issues, or draw issues or just a plain bland profile from too much filler. From what I could gather, the blend doesn’t really differ from other vitolas in the 1964 line but since there is so much more filler, the cigar has it’s own unique profile. Let see if that holds true and read on through my review! (Cheesy, I know… lol)

Cigar: Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural – Smoke Inn Exclusive
Drink: Sierra Nevada Stout
Vitola: SI-15 (6 x 60)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted by Smoke Inn ($18.50 MSRP)
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• This is a hefty looking cigar with a significant ring gauge and a slightly box pressed look
• There are quite a few visible veins along the length of the wrapper but none seem to e large enough to cause any burn issues
• The color of the wrapper is a very soft medium brown and gives off a slight shimmer in the light, showing some of it’s nice oily qualities
• Surprisingly, the top of this massive cigar is covered by only a single cap, and it does a good clean job of it too!
• The whole cigar is consistently firm when squeezed with very little give
• From the foot, you can see some gaps in the filler, hopefully this won’t lead to any tunnel issues which I seem to run into often with larger ring gauge cigars
• My double bladed guillotine cutter was barely able to fit on this huge ring gauge, but it managed to get a nice clean cut
• The draw is very open even with my small cut

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven as can be expected with larger ring gauge cigars
• Burn is going very well through the first inch, it was a messy start but I’m happy to see a good auto-correction!
• The cigar is also allowing me to smoke it slowly without any problems or worries about it going out
• Through to the half way marked I’m impressed by a razor sharp burn
• I started to get some wavy burn in the last couple of inches which needed a couple small corrections

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m getting surprisingly less smoke than I was expecting, perhaps a downside of the very open draw
• In hindsight, I think I should have gone with a V-Cut or Punch with this cigar
• The resting smoke on this Smoke Inn Padron 1964 SI-15 is fairly minimal and gives off a pleasant woodsy aroma
• The ash has a very nice white color to it with only a few spots of black here and there
• It’s also holding on strongly with no flaking or curving
• First ash lasted nearly two inches before gently being tapped off into the ashtray
• The smoke picked up thickness around the halfway mark and now I’m getting a big mouthful from each draw
• Second ash also held nice and clean for nearly two inches, great construction as I would expect from Padron

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a typical Padron aroma, giving off slight hints of coffee and some tobacco sweetness
• The foot seems to tell a bit of a different story, it had a lot more sweetness to it, mixed with some cocoa and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw tastes mostly of tobacco and a bit of earthy notes, nothing exciting about this part of the cigar
• Right off the initial draw I get a very interesting baked bread type of flavor
• I have to note that this cigar is extremely awkward for me to hold and smoke, it’s just too large of a ring gauge than what I’m used to
• Along with the baked bread flavors, the Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15 has some mildly bitter coffee flavors and slight hint of sweetness once in a while
• The body of this cigar is starting off in the higher end of mild, it’s not quite medium. From the retrohale I get a small bite a smooth cedar finish
• The bitter coffee flavors continue to develop nicely and I’m really enjoying them. There is also some cedar and spice sneaking in as the sweetness disappears
• The body is slowly creeping into the medium category as the coffee flavors turn into the wonderful bittersweet espresso flavors I’ve come to love from most Padrons
• The bitter espresso notes have really taken control with about 2 inches left to go
• I’m also getting hints of a strong bitter chocolate here and there along with some cedar, a very tasty profile I must say!
• The bitterness turned a tad harsh in the last inch, but nothing terrible

Final Thoughts:
I’m pleasantly surprised to say I really enjoyed this cigar. I came into this with some serious skepticism about the vitola as my experiences with 6 x 60′s has been fairly poor. This cigar did not suffer from those same problems! The flavors were not muted by all the filler and the burn was spot-on even after a poor toasting (for the most part). Despite the larger ring gauge, the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 kept the signature flavors I’ve come to enjoy in all the Padrons I’ve smoked. I think Smoke Inn has a definite winner of an exclusive on their hands here. Be sure to check out their website and order some to try if you can. They are a bit on the high scale in terms of pricing but if you compare to other Padron 1964′s it’s on par, and so is the flavor! If you are a fan of 6×60′s this is definitely something to add to your wishlist! You can buy there here from the Smoke Inn eShop.

Pairings:
Sierra Nevada is a brand that I can’t get locally, it seems they have absolutely no distribution in Ontario that I know of. So I picked this up along with the rest of my beer haul from Florida. I’m a big fan of stouts and porters and in general, they are hard for me to find locally. As you might guess from it’s name, the Sierra Nevada brewery is located in California and today Im enjoying their Stout with my Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15. The Sierra Nevada Stout is surprisingly smooth with a slightly bitter and full flavored maltiness. I was actually expecting this brew to be a bit thicker but it’s not as thick as other stouts while still maintaining a nice full flavor. It has a very long finish on the palate and leaves some bitter chocolate and coffee notes. This was an excellent pairing for the Padron 1964 SI-15 and complimented the flavors so well since they actually had similar flavor profiles. I would also recommend a strong coffee or port with this cigar, I think both would match nicely!

Now onto the cigar… If you attended IPCPR back in 2010 or read articles about the event, you probably heard about the new blend from El Primer Mundo, called the Liga Miami. I recently stumbled across a few of these sticks at the bottom of my humidor and realized they’ve been sitting there since sometime last year (oops?). With the upcoming IPCPR 2011 in July, I figured it would be a good cigar to pick up and review.

The Liga Miami blend from Sean Williams(Twitter: @PrimerMundo) made some waves at IPCPR 2010, especially in the blogosphere where a lot of reviewers were impressed by the unique array of flavors this cigar offered. The El Primer Mundo website is currently under construction, but before it went down you could also read up on their previous blends, the Connecticut Shade and Habano Criollo Maduro. The Liga Miami has the same company band on it but also adds an additional goldish-brown and silver band with the words Liga Miami on it.

The cigar itself is produced in Miami at the El Titan de Bronze factory. Willy Herrera of El Titan de Bronze also has a hand in making them This is a big change from the other two blends which are made in Esteli Nicaragua. You’ll also nice there is no box press on this cigar like the other offerings from El Primer Mundo.

Along with today’s Robusto vitola, you can also find the Liga Miami in a Toro and Churchill size. The cigar has an interesting mix of tobacco including a double binder and some ligero used in the filler. So without any more babbling from me, let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: El Primer Mundo Liga Miami
Drink: Waterloo Brewery Radlermass Lemonade Lager
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown
Binder: Double binded Nigaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican Republic (some Ligero)
Price: about $9
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Liga Miami has a very nice reddish colored wrapper surrounding it
• Slightly oily and rough, the wrapper has some medium sized veins running along it
• There was a nice spring to the cigar when squeezed, not enough to seem under-filled though
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean triple cap, definitely some attention to detail there
• The bands themselves take up quite a bit of real estate on this cigar, at least a good 1/3rd
• The foot looks the be moderately packed
• The cut was fairly easy and left a clean opening but made a bit of a mess in the ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting didn’t go so well, had some unevenness to it and I just couldn’t get it all lit properly without some assistance from a couple draws
• Despite the my failed toasting, the burn started off surprisingly well through the first inch
• Burn was razor sharp through the first half
• The cigar has burned nice and slowly the whole way through and allowed me to enjoy it slowly without ever feeling like it was going out

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke coming from the cigar straight from the start
• The ash has a very nice white color to it
• Despite the nice color, the ash is getting a little flaky very fast
• The resting smoke on this Liga Miami is consistent and has a very unique aroma, you get a bit of sweetness on the nose. Very pleasant.
• Ash managed to hang tight for close to two inches

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Liga Miami has a nice sweetness to it, along with a bit of cedar
• The foot definitely brings more sweetness and a tasty mild spice, almost like Cinnamon Sugar
• The pre-light draw brought with it a heavy helping of woodsiness and a bit of earthiness
• The initial draws offered up more of he woodsy flavors with a subtle note of sweetness in there, still along the same lines of cinnamon sugar
• The sweetness is definitely building up in this cigar, almost adding a syrupy flavor to the mix
• Body has been mostly mild to start and the retrohale has the tiniest bite with a smooth and creamy finish
• Adding to the syrupy/cinnamon sweetness, the cigar has a very pleasant creamy finish
• The woodsiness is still hanging around, is that burning caramelized wood could smell like? lol
• Body built up to a nice medium around the half-way mark
• The sweetness has tapered off a bit now, it’s still there and I’m getting some nice nutty almond flavors
• Definitely seems like the ligero was saved for the last half of the cigar, I’m getting some leathery flavors in the mix now and a touch of spice
• With about 1.5inches left, the sweetness has mostly left the mix but the remaining flavors are balancing well and the body is still a comfortable medium
• The creamy finish has remained consistent, I think this can probably be attributed to the double binder along with a smooth wrapper
• The creamy finish and leather/woodsy flavors continued to the nub with no bitterness, this was a finger burning cigar!

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a surprisingly unique and enjoyable cigar. When I hear ligero I usually brace myself for a powerful cigar with a straightforward flavor profile. This was definitely not the case with the El Primer Mundo Liga Miami. The first half of the cigar was totally unexpected. Sweet, smooth, creamy notes with a superb burn. Very uncharacteristic of a ligero filled cigar and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The last half came closer to what I expected from this cigar but it still had a smooth and balanced creaminess I don’t usually find in ligero cigars. I’m curious if the extra age in the humi made a difference since I didn’t smoke one when I first got them. It’s easy to see there was a lot of care and planning that went into this cigar and the final result speaks for itself. These are something everyone should try and can go well as a mid-day or evening cigar.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was from Waterloo Brewery, just a short 1 hour drive from my house. It is part of the Seasonal Collection and is called the Radlermess. It is a Lemonade Lager and has an interesting story behind it. The term Radlermess comes from Germany and was coined by a Innkeeper not far from Munich. The story says that he was overloaded with cyclists one day and was running low on beer so he took a risk and mixed his remaining beer with some lemon soda. It was a big hit! In German, Radler means cyclist and Mass means a liter of beer.
I took a bit of a risk with this pairing but based on the past few Liga Miami’s I’ve smoked I figured the sweetness from a lemonade beer would go nicely. I was worried the beer may have been too sweet but they did a good job balancing the lemonade and beer together. It actually worked out very well! The sweetness of the beer complimented the sweetness of the cigar at the start. As the cigar turned a little more into the woodsy/nutty/leathery flavors, the beer counteracted them, leaving a nice sweet aftertaste between draws. I think this beer would also go excellently with some connecticut wrappers. As for the cigar, an Amber lager would have gone well here too, as would my favorite tawny port. Maybe even a nice coffee with a bit of sugar to add some sweetness.

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard us and other blogs jabber on about La Aurora. They’ve been turning out some fantastic cigars as of late so I can’t really blame all the great press they’ve been getting. Also worth mentioning, Guillermo Leon recently bought out La Aurora and is now running the successful ship! He’s not shy to turning out quality smokes as you can see in our review of the fairly new Guillermo Leon Signature Cigar. I decided to pick up a La Aurora cigar but instead of one of their fancy new blends, I went with one of their blends that’s been a staple on their profile for awhile now. That cigar is simply called “La Aurora” but a lot of people seem to call it the La Aurora Cameroon so it’s easier to differentiate.

The Cameroon addition to the common name comes from the wrapper used to hold this cigar together. The majority of the leaf used in this cigar is harvested from the El Cibao Valley in Dominican Republic, the hometown country of the La Aurora factory. The La Aurora Cameroon is available in a variety of boxes not typically seen in other blends. You can actually pick these up in full presentation boxes of 5, 10, 20 and 25 cigars. As you can see from the pictures, I managed to get myself a 5 pack box of the Doble Coronas.

Let me note that this cigar is huge! It’s much bigger than what I normally smoke as my max comfort range is usually in the Toro/Torpedo range. But at the price they are I couldn’t resist. Be sure to check out some of our previous La Aurora reviews as well, such as the 107, 100 Anos, Broadway Series, or the 1495 Connecticut. The weather here in Toronto is wacky as usual. It’s gone super hot and dry back down to very cold and damp all within a couple days. At least it was some nice cigar smoking weather while it lasted so I sat down with this cigar and prepared for a long review session. Let’s see how it went…

Cigar: La Aurora Cameroon
Drink: Waterloo Brewery Dark Ale
Vitola: Doble Corona (7.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano and Nicaraguan Olor
Price: $3.50
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• This cigars wrapper has an interesting dark cinnamon color with specks of a darker brown here and there
• It has a velvety touch to it and a bit of toothiness
• There are some major veins running down the side of the cigar but I’m hoping they don’t cause any major issues
• The foot of this cigar was well packed, and given it’s size that kind of worried me that it would be a tight draw
• Given the length of this cigar, I’m amazed at how even the diameter is from start to finish, very well made
• The head of the cigar is finished with a slightly messy double cap, a few folds can easily be seen
• For the most part, the length of the cigar has a soft spring to it, but I did notice one very firm part about an inch above the foot
• The cap clipped off easily and made a slight mess in the ashtray
• Draw is perfect! I’m amazed because I usually have bad luck with large vitolas

Burn:
• Toasting took a bit longer than usual and even after 30 seconds with my large culinary torch I couldn’t get it glowing properly but I started smoking it anyway
• As expected, my poor toasting led me to require a retouch within the first inch
• After that first touch up, the burn was been excellent up to the halfway mark here
• As I make my way into the last third, still no burn issues and continuing along fairly razor sharp

Smoke & Ash:
• This thing is producing a ton of smoke, each draw fills my mouth completely and with ease
• The resting smoke is still fairly full and gives off a nice sweet woodsy aroma
• The ash on the La Aurora is nothing pretty, it has some light and dark grey tones and is fairly flaky through the first inch
• The ash lasted just over an inch before I tapped it off because it was flaking and looked like it was snowing every time I moved the cigar
• The second ash was a little less flaky and held on for nearly two inches, this was also the part of the cigar that was a little firmer and could explain the difference

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma gives off a light sweetness and earthy aroma
• The pre-light draw is woodsy and earthy with a touch of spice on the lips
• Initial draws bring earthy and woodsy flavors mixed with a bit of coffee, a nice start
• As the cigar progresses, I’m picking up some sweetness here and there, almost like some sugar was added to the coffee flavor
• Cigar has been mostly mild through the first bit
• Approaching the halfway mark, the sweet coffee notes are becoming more prominent and I’m getting some raw cinnamon notes in there too, the earthy and woodsy flavors are still there but are more in the backseat now.
• The retrohale is very smooth with a small bit and a roasted coffee finish
• As I get into the last third stretch, the coffee has developed very nicely into a roasted coffee flavor, the sweetness and raw cinnamon still remains
• The finish at this point has turned super creamy as well, a very tasty touch!
• The intense sweet coffee and cinnamon flavors continued to the end, with some added roasted cedar. Although the last half didn’t change much it was still very enjoyable
• The retrohale developed a stronger kick to the end, still tasty and not overpowering
• The body also developed towards the end of the cigar, coming in at a comfortable medium

Final Thoughts:
Let me start by saying I was very impressed by the overall construction of this cigar. I always tend to have burn or draw issues when it comes to very large vitolas, especially ones that are well priced. This cigar hit those marks with flying colors offering a perfect draw and great burn. The flavors were also extremely enjoyable and offered a bit of dimensionality to keep it interesting. This cigar is still larger than what I would normally smoke and I think it would be even better in a smaller vitola. I also found through some searching that these are commonly offered as “Factory Seconds” at some retailers with this huge vitola selling for under $2! That’s just crazy good! Even the normal retail of this massive vitola is under $4, that’s a hard price to ignore for such a good cigar. These will definitely be part of my regular rotation at this price and I would highly recommend you seek them out.

Pairings:
For today’s I went with a trusty brew that I always have on hand. It’s from Waterloo Breweries located only about an hour from my house and it’s their Dark Ale offering. Their Dark Ale is surprisingly light and refreshing but offers the great notes of roasted hops and a slight bitterness mixed with a mild fruity and malty flavor. The La Aurora Cameroon is a fairly mild stick so this brew fit it well with it’s crispness. The bitterness and mild fruits paired excellently and accented to roasted and sweet notes of the cigar. I think an IPA or Amber lager would also pair well here. The flavors of the cigar could also compliment a nice coffee.

Up for review today is the Pinar Del Rio. A fairly new brand to me and probably to many but they have been making a pretty big splash in the boutique cigar market. Pinar Del rio is actually the name of a City and Province in Cuba but despite the name, the company is not based in Cuba and does not roll Cuban cigars. In fact, the Pinar Del Rio company is based out of the Dominican Republic.

The creator behind the Pinar Del Rio lines is Abe Flores. There’s also a deep seated family tie to him for this company. At this moment they are up to 5 different blends with one more new one coming to IPCPR 2011 this year. The Clasico Exclusivo line is one of the milder of their offerings being wrapped with a Connecticut leaf. The company and it’s cigars have received a lot of positive press so I thought it was time we featured one of their cigars.

The vitola up for review today will be the lancero. The Clasico Exclusivo line is also available in a variety of other vitolas ranging from a Corona all the way up to Churchill and Double Magnum. Their 9 available sizes should make it easy for anyone with a vitola preference to find their own ‘sweet spot’. The cigars are adorned with a blue and gold band carrying the Pinar Del Rio name and accented with an additional deep red and silver band with the Exclusivo words on it.

Cigar: Pinar Del Rio Clasico Exclusivo
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Lancero (7.25 x 38)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Criollo 98 / Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican Republic
Price: $5.00-5.50
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A nice honey and orange colored wrapper surrounds this cigar
• The wrapper itself is somewhat bumpy and a little rough to the touch
• There are a lot of small veins running along the cigar and some seem to have a greenish color to them
• Only a tiny spring can be felt while squeezing the cigar, it’s fairly firm form end to end
• The clean triple cap is finished with a small pigtail
• A well packed foot finishes off the bottom of this cigar
• Cap clipped very easily and fell neatly into the ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting took a little longer than I would have expected given the smaller ring gauge and my Creme Brulee torch, but still lit up evenly
• Initial burn has been pretty straight and steady
• Through the first half and no burn issues at all, also staying lit easily with no need for extra draws
• May have spoke too soon… right after I wrote the above point I picked up the cigar for another draw and it was completely out… relight and off we go again
• Resting smoke really picked up around the halfway mark

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the first puff I’m getting a nice mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Even though I get so much smoke on each draw the resting smoke is fairly minimal
• The ash is a nice light grey color and keeps fairly clean
• Although looking strong, the ash falls off in less than a half inch, but it is a lancero so I usually don’t see very long ash on these anyway
• May have spoke to soon about the neatness, the next ash portion looked like a flower blossoming!
• Ash got a little longer and cleaner as the cigar progressed, only split the one time

Tasting Notes:
• The cigars wrapper doesn’t have a strong aroma, just a mild tobacco and hay-like hint
• The foot of the cigar brings more hay aroma paired with a bit of earthiness
• Pre-light draw brings more hay and earth, definitely a good helping of a “dirt” flavor in there
• Initial draws bring more of the earthy flavors and offer a nice smooth finish
• The body has started off mild and the retrohale has a smooth creamy finish to it with no bite
• Getting quite a bit of dryness on the back of my throat from this cigar
• As I hit the halfway mark, I’m still getting a mostly earthy flavor with a touch of cedar here and there
• I’m getting a touch of white pepper as the cigar progresses, possibly form the binder, an interesting touch to a Connecticut cigar
• As the cigar moves along, I’m really enjoying the slight pepper hint and the creamy finish, it’s an interesting combo and very well balanced
• As I get into the last third, the intensity of the flavors seemed to pick up a bit and the cigar started burning a little hotter, the body also picked up tad to medium
• I’m getting a bit of a sugar cookie type of flavor here and there, I wish it would stick around a bit more
• The pepper flavors are definitely developing in the last bit of this cigar and the retrohale has a nice little bite to it too, all while maintaining a fairly smooth finish
• The earthy flavor seems to have stuck around for the entire cigar, always playing a part in it’s flavor profile
• Near the nub the body continued to pick up, almost approaching full but no bitterness which is nice

Final Thoughts:
The Pinar Del Rio Clasico Exclusivo hit the spot for me today as an early day smoke. It brings something a little different to the typical Connecticut world but doesn’t shy away from still being mild enough to enjoy in the morning with a coffee. The price on these is very fair and the construction and burn was very good for the most part. It wasn’t overly complex but also not boring making it a good cigar for almost anyone to pick up and enjoy. I think a larger vitola may not be the best selection for this cigar but I could be wrong depending on how the added filler changes the flavor of the cigar. I think I’ll have to pick up a few more in other vitolas and experiment but I’m pretty happy with this one. If you want to add something a little different to your Connecticut line up, give this one a try.

Pairings:
Today I just went with plain old coffee for my pairing. It’s nothing fancy or freshly ground, there was already a pot made that was nice and hot and I’ll admit, I was just too lazy to make anything else. Plus it smelled good so that’s that. It paired nicely with the creamy and mild flavors of the cigar, I wouldn’t suggest going for a strong coffee here as it could drown out some of the mellower flavors. Other than a coffee, I think a dark soda, amber or wheat beer, or even just simple water would also make a good pairing.

The cigar we are reviewing today is the Cuba Aliados Miami. This is a special edition cigar that is rolled in the Miami, Florida factory. Each cigar comes packaged in cellophane and wrapper with a stamped cedar sheet. One thing I found odd was that the cedar was not secured in anyway, so as soon as it came out of the cellophane the cedar fell off.

There isn’t too much information out there on this cigar. What little I did find was that the rest of the Cuba Aliados line is produced in Honduras and this special edition cigar is the only one rolled in the Miami factory. I do know we don’t really talk much about the Reyes Family of cigars but they are a fairly large producer and have a strong variety of lines. I’ve had a chance to smoke a few from their selections and although none have really stood out, none have been poor either. So let’s see how this one does and get on to the review.

Cigar: Cuba Aliados Limited Miami Edition
Drink: RocketFuelCoffee.com Kona Kaze
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The cigar is very evenly rounded from cap to foot
• The wrapper is a honey-brown color and has some visible veins running through it but none appear large enough to pose any problems
• The foot appears fairly well packed but not cut evenly
• The top of the cigar is finished with a super clean triple cap
• The entire body of this cigar is fairly firm with almost no spring
• The wrapper did have some parts that chipped off even though I’ve never removed it from the cellophane
• The cap cut off cleanly but the draw on pre-light seems a bit tight
• The cigar expanded quickly after the first inch and caused a nice size crack in the wrapper
• Surprisingly, the crack did not get any larger and posed no issues

Burn:
• Toasted was fairly quick but it refused to glow evenly, hopefully it doesn’t affect the burn too much
• The uneven toasting did affect the initial burn of the cigar and required a quick touch up
• Burn has been very good through the first half after my small correction
• Another small correction needed near the end as it seems the wrapper stopped burning and it started tunneling on me, killing the flavors

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw offers a moderate amount of smoke, a little more would have been preferred
• The ash is very clean and tight, color is very light grey
• The resting smoke here is consistent, nothing overpowering but the stream of smoke rising off the cigar is steady
• The ash held strong for nearly 2 inches before tumbling into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a sweet cedar and tobacco aroma
• The foot offers more sweet woodsiness and a touch of spice on the nose
• The pre-light draw brings with it a lot of cedar flavors
• Initial draws have some light and very flavorful cedar and tart notes
• The cedar and tart flavors are giving a nice creamy finish as the cigar progresses past the first third
• So far it’s been fairly mild with no bite as I pass the smoke through my nose, finish is still nice and creamy
• As I approach the half-way mark, I’m getting a light coffee flavor sneaking into the mix now and again
• As I get into the last third, the flavors haven’t changed much but the body has increased a bit, landing in the medium range now
• As the body continues to ramp up slowly, the other flavors are slowly becoming less noticeable and it’s becoming more of a burning wood flavor
• A strong bitterness started creeping in towards the last 1.5inches, a big change from early parts of the cigar here
• After a small touch up to the wrapper the bitterness subsided a tad
• Some of the bitterness came back so I had to set this down early

Final Thoughts:
I’m on the fence with this cigar. It started out as a nice smooth and fairly mild cigar with some good cedar flavors. As the body picked up near the end of the cigar I found that the balance was thrown off a bit. The flavor profile suggested a light early day cigar but the stronger body started to drown out or overpower the flavors. They also didn’t change a whole lot and the bitterness at the end was a disappointment. I’ll note that the intensity of this bitterness wasn’t the same as my previous experiences with this cigar, but it was always present. I think this cigar would have been a much better smoke if it stayed mild or if it had some more intense or flavorful notes to balance it out. that’s not to say I didn’t like most of what it had, it just didn’t seem to be as balanced as I would have hoped. It’s still worth trying a few of these as the construction was nice and the price isn’t bad either.

Pairings:
It was earlier in the day when I went outside to enjoy this cigar so I decided to sit down with some coffee. I also brewed a pot for review with the Carmelo Red Label not too long ago. It’s an interesting light and bold blend of Hawaiin Kona and Espresso beans making for a mouthful of flavor. It paired nicely with most of this cigar but I think something more bold would have been better near the end as the body of this cigar ramped up. But a strong coffee would have overpowered the beginning of this cigar. This goes back to the whole unbalanced thing I mention above. I think this would have also paired well with a nice stout or tasty Amber beer.

Monte Pascoal is made by the Tabacos Mata Fina Ltda company and is part of the Orsi Family Group. The tobacco portion of the Orsi’s company was established very recently in 2007 but they also have business in Wine, Steel, and Real Estate. The Monte Pascoal name comes from a part of Brazil where the first Portugeuse explorer landed in Brazil. As with the Dona Flor, the Monte Pascoal is a Brazilian Puro Cigar.

The Monte Pascoal line is available in 6 Vitolas and are all made with the same blend of Mata Fina and Mata Norte leaves. The blend of tobacco sounds very interesting and I’m hoping to get a lot of the expected cocoa and coffee notes that I typically get from Brazilian wrappers. Let’s light this cigar up and see how it stands. As always, I’m going into this review completely unbiased and will be giving my wholly honest opinion as I burn away.

Cigar: Monte Pascoal
Drink: Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny
Vitola: Corona (5.623 x 42)
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Mata Norte
Price: About $6
Burn Time: Just over 1 hour

Construction:
• A slender rough looking cigar with a medium brown wrapper and some dark brown accents
• There is a fair bit of bumpiness on the wrapper and a few prominent veins but none look problematic to the burn
• The entire cigar is consistenly soft and springy
• The triple cap is finished tightly and clean
• The foot looks moderately packed, a couple open spots can be seen
• Cutting the cigar was effortless and fairly clean and didn’t cause any wrapper damage
• Draw it spot on, lots of air but just enough resistence

Burn:
• The small corona sized cigar toasted easily to a nicely glowing foot
• The burn line glows brightly with each draw, staying nice and straight but it seems to be moving quickly
• The burnline is still razor sharp through half the cigar and has started to burn a bit slower
• This burn is perfect, absolutely no waves or retouches from start to finish!

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is offering up a hefty mouthful of smoke
• Very little resting smoke but it gives off a mild and pleasent woddsy aroma
• Ash is fairly strong and clean, colouring is light gray with lots of black accents
• Ash held on just past an inch before I gently tapped it off
• Subsequent ashes all held on around an inch and stayed clean and tight

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a sweet cocoa and tobacco aroma to it, very inviting
• The foor brings different aromas of woodsiness and a bit of mild spice, possibly nutmeg
• Pre-light draw brings a bit more cocoa and woodsiness, this time I get a bit of nuttiness too
• Initial draws are mostly woodsiness and some tobacco flavors
• Retrohale is faily mild with just the smallest bite a woodsy finish
• As I approach the halfway mark I haven’t gotten many new flavors, maybe just a bit of nuttiness, sorta like raw almonds
• The existing flavors are well balanced but I’d like to have a bit more variety/dimensions soon…
• I’m getting slightly more body and bite as the cigar progresses near the last third
• Some slight bitter coffee notes started near the end of the cigar. At first it was enjoyable but then the bitterness took over

Final Thoughts:
Similar to the Dona Flor (also from CigarsFromBrazil.com) this cigar ranked in the mild-medium range. It would be a good early day cigar with your morning coffee or something light after lunch. Unfortunately the flavors never “wowed” me on this stick. The were tasteful and well balanced but didn’t offer enough variation or complexity to keep it interesting. With a shorter vitola like a corona I wouldn’t expect tons of dimensionality but I usually like to see at least one noticable change in flavor direction as it smokes. The cigar itself burned very well and is worth trying if the woodsy and tobacco flavors are in your favorite profile. The initial aromas on the wrapper and foot promised some more interesting flavors that never came to fruition.

Pairings:
I haven’t paired a port for a review in quite some time. Not sure why, I’ve been enjoying some Port with cigars but it never fell in line with one of my reviews. Today I’m pairing with a bottle that’s new to me. I saw it at the store and decided to give it a try. It’s a 2004 Late Bottled Vintage from Quinta Do Tedo in Portugal. It ranks in at 19% alc./vol. but it tastes no where near that. This particular Tawny Port is a bit sweeter then I’d usually like. It has lots of bright and fruity flavors such as blackberries and a tartness akin to cranberries. It also has a presence of a Merlot like wine to it. It’s very tasty and great for anyone looking to just start into tasting Tawny Port. In this particular pairing I think the port was too sweet for this mild cigar and would have been more enjoyable with a stronger cigar pairing. This cigar would have paired much better with a cup of coffee, dark cola or an amber beer.

The actual company producing the Dona Flor cigars is Menendez Amerino which has been in business since 1978. The blend for the Dona Flor was created by Felix Menendez and offers a wide range of sizes from cigarillos up to up Double Coronas. They also have a few special blends in the line which were developed with the help of Arthuro Torano. I actually reviewed one of the special blends, called the Dona Flor Selecao, not long ago.

Today’s review is of the Double Corona with the Mata Fina wrapper. Some of the line is also available in Connecticut or Mata Norte wrappers. This will be my first review in temperatures that are NOT below freezing (Yeay Me!). It’s actually exactly 32F tonight as I light this up. So let’s dive into the review on this Dona Flor and see how it stacks up.

Cigar: Dona Flor
Drink: Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Winter Beer
Vitola: Double Corona (7.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazilian
Filler: Brazilian
Price: Around $5
Burn Time:

2 Hours

Construction:
• A long and slender shaped cigar with an appealing dark chocolate brown wrapper
• The wrapper displays some oiliness and roughness with a few larger veins, one in particular looks like it could cause some burn issues
• The cigar felt a little lumpy in areas but mostly gave a nice soft spring
• Although they say this is a 50 ring gauge cigar it seems a little smaller then that to me and it’s not box-pressed
• The overall construction reminds me of some old or mid-range handmade Cubans with it’s rough appearance
• The head is finished with a rough triple cap and the foot appears to be quite well packed
• The cigar cut Easily under my Colibri double bladed Guillotine cutter
• Initial draw seems to be a bit open but not too open that it ruins the experience
• Cut was nice and easy with only a slight mess
• Just past the halfway mark the draw tightened up a bit

Burn:
• Toasting was even and easy, any dark spots were easily cleared with a light exhale on the foot
• Despite the rough appearance the burn is going very sharp so far
• There’s no need for extra draws here, the Dona Flor is staying lit easily without extra attention
• No problems at all through the length of the cigar, my only complaint here is that it burned a little fast and got a bit hot near the end

Smoke & Ash:
• Ash is coming along even and tightly wound
• First ash held on about an inch before gently falling into the ashtray
• The smoke here isn’t overpowering, I’d say a little shy of what I’d like
• The second ash held nice and strong until tapping it off at almost 2 inches
• As the draw tightened up the smoke from each draw become a comfortable mouthful

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is mostly cedar with some mild tobacco
• The foot offers similar aromas plus a slight cocoa sweetness
• Pre-light draws have more cedar but along with it came a bit of a tart sweetness and some raw cinnamon
• My first impressions in the flavor department bring me a bit more tart sweetness and cinnamon along with the same cedar that been around
• Body is starting off in the mild range
• As the cigar progresses, cedar becomes the main flavor with the raw cinnamon sticking around. That tartness is coming and going
• At the end of the first third I’m starting to pick up hints of the cocoa I initially got on the wrapper
• So far the retrohale has been fairly straightforward, very mild with no bite and just a slight cedar finish
• As I approach half-way the flavors are balancing out a bit more and the cocoa is being matched with a nice coffee flavor I was expecting from this Brazilian wrapper
• The body increase a bit in the final stretch but nothing overwhelming, just holding steady in the medium range
• No bitterness on the finish and the flavors stayed consistent and balanced from the half way mark other then the coffee notes developing nicely to the end

Final Thoughts:
This was a perfect cigar to kick back and relax with. It’s nothing earth shattering or revolutionary but it hits a perfect balance of interesting and mild flavors that can be enjoyed any time of day. The milder body makes it a great alternative to Connecticut wrapper cigars in the early day with a coffee or any other time. It also burned exceptionally well making it an easy cigar to enjoy without requiring much attention. you won’t find a powerhouse or a pepper bomb here but you will find an enjoyable cigar at a fair price that can be included in your daily rotation easily. After some research I did notice they were slightly difficult to find online but not impossible. You can also ask your local B&M to sign up to be a wholesaler on their website to try and get the cigars in.

Pairings:
I can’t get enough of the beers that this brewery produces. I’ve been hooked on their Original and now the Scottish brewery of Innis & Gunn has hit another homerun with their Winter Beer. I’ve enjoyed the Original brew in my brevious reviews of the Camacho Liberty 2009 and the Man O’ War Virtue. You can see from those reviews how much I enjoyed that brew. Now the Winter Beer picks up where the original leaves off and brings a fuller and richer beer that has a warming effect for the winter season. The brew itself is aged in Oak barrels slightly longer then the original and produces a warm sweetness with some added vanilla and caramel notes on top of a delicious malty flavor. This brew paired fairly well with this cigar although I think it would have gone better with a Connecticut wrapped cigar. A better choice with the Dona Flor would have been a dark stout or porter, coffee or a dark cola.

The La Aurora 1495 Series is a long-filler cigar line created to pay tribute to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. The numbers in the name represent the year the city was founded by Christopher Columbus. The original 1495 series cigar was a medium/full Sumtra wrapper blended from 6 different type of tobacco. The line was later expanded to include a wide variety of wrappers including Corojo, Brazilian Maduro, Cameroon, and the one being reviewed today, Connecticut.

Released in 2007, the variety of wrappers all include the same binder and filler. These cigars are a great way to discover just how much the wrapper really does affect the flavor of the cigar. If you’ve ever been curious to discover this, the La Aurora 1495 series is a great way to learn. The grouping of the various wrappers is called the Conoisseurs selection and is a fantastic idea created by Jose Blanco (Twitter: @joseblanco809). They are available in smaller bundles, as a sampler pack as well as a large case of 100. All of the non-Sumatran wrapped cigars are only available in a Robusto size while the Sumatra wrapper comes in 4 different sizes.

Cigar: La Aurora 1495 Connecticut
Drink: Unibroue Maudite
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Dominican Piloto Cubano
Price: $7.00-$7.50
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Wrapper has a slight oily sheen and a light brown color
• There are almost no veins on this cigar, very clean and smooth
• The triple cap is almost invisible, very cleanly applied
• Firmness is even throughout with a bit of give and a nice spring
• Foot appears to be well packed
• Cut was even, smooth and easy
• Draw is just right, no complaints there at all
• The cigar had two bands that were both easily removable

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and even, no dark spots at all
• Burn has been perfectly straight from the start
• Burn still has not gone even slightly wavy as I pass the halfway mark, razor sharp!
• Razor sharp to the end, awesome burn

Smoke & Ash:
• Generous amount of smoke on each draw but nothing overbearing
• A light resting smoke gives off a very nice cedar aroma
• Ash seems strong but does have a bit flaking around it
• Ash fell off easily into the ashtray after about 1.5 inches
• Second ash fell off at almost the exact same length, as if this cigar was programmed to do this, I love the consistency of this cigar

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a hay-like aroma with a bit of sweetness
• The foot has similar hay-like aromas and a touch of spice
• Pre-light draw brought lots of cedar and spice
• Initial draws are mild and have a nice cedar flavor with an added mild spiciness
• Picking up some light coffee and nutty flavors as I approach the halfway point, the spice also tapered off
• Retrohale is mild, not much bite but a great cedar finish
• Getting a nice creaminess on this cigar as it progresses
• The cigar is slowly creeping into the medium range just past the half-way mark
• The coffee and nutty notes really started to shine through as I approached that last inch of the cigar
• The cedar has tapered off a bit although still evident and the spice is making a nice comeback
• A tad of bitterness crept in near the end, but it wasn’t unpleasant, more like an espresso bitterness, tasty to the end

Final Thoughts:
This was a great Connecticut cigar. Typically, Connecticuts are very mild but with the Corojo binder and some of the various fillers this one had a bit more body to make it a little more interesting. The construction was amazing on this cigar, both visibly and in action while burning. It never had any issues at all. This is something I could definitely recommend to a novice or seasoned cigar smoker. The variety of wrappers containing the same filler and binder also make it a great learning experience. I’ve had 3 of the different wrappers and although they have some similarities it’s a great way to truly appreciate the influence of a good wrapper. The price of this cigar is also quite friendly and makes for an easy purchase without hurting the wallet. I will surely be looking for more of these and trying to get my hands on each one in this line, I suggest you do the same.

Pairings:
I’m a big fan of all the brews I’ve tried from Unibroue breweries and the Maudite is no exception. It clocks in as a strong beer at 8% but it’s so smooth and tasty that you can’t even tell. It’s got lots of froth and a fantastic smooth hoppy finish. The beer is fermented on a yeast base and the cap of the smaller bottles are covered with a golden foil that displays the breweries logo. If you can find this locally, I definitely recommend giving it a try. This is one of those cigars that can pair well with many different beverages including coffee, sweet tea, light beers, dark beers, or water. The flavors are not overpowering so I wouldn’t recommend going into strong pairings such as cognac or scotch.

This was a cigar that I have had quite a while ago and had high hopes of kicking out a review. Sadly, this cigar wasn’t easy to come by at the time. Only a select few shops through the US had them in stock and I had no idea which ones did. Luckily for me, my local shop Tobacco Rd. (where I happen to be doing this review from today) made the trip to IPCPR this year and was able to try this cigar out for themselves. It takes a lot for a retailer to bring in a completely new cigar manufacturer due to the uncertainty of how that shops feelings will adapt to the new cigar. Kurt Kendall must have made an impact on them as the shop’s owner wasted no time placing an order. Knowing my excitement concerning this blend Tobacco Rd. kindly gifted me a few of these so that I could finally complete this review.

The Good Stuff: K. A. Kendall is the creation of Kurt Kendall and the 7-20-4 is loosely based off of a cigar manufactured In New Hampshire in 1910 called the R.G. Sullivan.

The name 7-20-4 derives from the R. G. Sullivan’s 7 story factory which was located on 724 Elm St. in Manchester, New Hampshire. The R.G. Sullivan factory was America’s largest manufacturer of 10cent cigars. Time’s have obviously changed since then. Sadly, the cigar factory (which produced close to 54 million cigars a year) closed back in 1963.

Size: “7-20-4”: 5 5/8 x 46  -  Wrapper: Brazillian Mata Fina  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Columbia  -  Body: Med/Full

Prelight: K.A. Kendall’s 7-20-4 is a beautifully solid, milk chocolate brown wrapped cigar.  The wrapper is a toothy, oily, consistently colored, thick wrap that showed only very few small veins. The cigar is very tightly packed, giving a ton of resistance when compressed.  Topping off the 7-20-4 is a seamless double cap leading up to a stubby little pig tail. The band on the cigar displays a much older, contemporary style of artwork than is present in most cigar marketing. It’s almost circus style, I love it. The band is covered with a red ink, embroidered with a gold metallic with holds the white on black “K.A.Kendall’s 7-20-4” logo.  The wrapper doesn’t give off much more than a soft tobacco and cedar scent while the foot of the cigar produces a slightly more pronounced tobacco scent with a bit of spice in the background. The pig-tailed cap of the 7-20-4 clipped clean (does anyone actually bite these off? Do they work?) using my double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a very grassy, earthy flavor with just a hint of pepper.

First Smoke: The 7-20-4 took a bit of extra work to get going using my single flame butane torch, but when it finally got lit it was unstoppable. The cigar produces a massive, thick cloud of smoke with every effortless puff. The 7-20-4 started out with just a little jab of pepper before transitioning to a pleasant cedar with a soft spice and hints of some sort of sweet flavor.. maybe raisin. The burnline is dead even, razor sharp, and leaves behind a nice trail of medium to light grey ash. The 7-20-4 doesn’t produce much stationary smoke at all, but what little came off the cigar was heavily cedar and tobacco scented. The ash held tight on this guy until about an inch and a half.

Halfway There: Into the second third of this 7-20-4 the flavors change up just slightly. First of all, the pepper is back, but it is very subtle, only present enough to tease my lips and the back of my throat. The cedar flavor has become much more pronounced and is now dominating my palette only to be backed up by slight chocolate flavors with a hint of spice. The cigar is very smooth and I am able to smoke it a bit quicker than normal. The retrohale is pure heaven and gives off a wonderful full-cedar prime. I am not really feeling any type of nic-kick at this point. The burnline is still perfect.

Finish: As if the 7-20-4 didn’t already hit all the marks the cigar really started to dominate into the last third. The flavor and the body really started to ramp up. The nicotine was just enough to make it noticeable without giving any real kick. The flavor finished off a very smooth and creamy cedar with a bit of spice, pepper, and earthy tones. I smoked this cigar faster than I normally do (I was excited to see the on my local shops finally) and yet, there was absolutely no harshness what  so ever. Nor did the cigar get even remotely hot towards the end. The burnline was perfect the entire length of the cigar with no touch ups or relights. The 7-20-4 burned at a perfect pace taking a little over an hour to take down.

Overview: K.A. Kendall’s 7-20-4 is a huge winner in my book. I was pretty sad after I tried my first one only to find how limited these are. I am really glad that shops like Tobacco road are starting to come around and see the value in this cigar. At about $6 – $7 this cigar will be a great addition to my regular rotation for a long time. Perfectly balanced, enough to even satisfy the most picky cigar smoker, and smooth enough to be enjoyable by the novice.

Pairing: This 7-20-4 was paired with a nice little bottle of Maredsous Tripel.  Maredsous is brewed at the Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat in Belgium. Much like Chimay, this beer is brewed by Trappist Monks and a large portion of the proceeds are donated to several charities. The Tripel is a very strong  (10%), fruity, tart beer. This may not have been such a great pairing. Ideally I think this cigar would pair much better with a stout or porter, or even a tawny port.  The zest and bitterness was just a bit too over powering and I found myself putting the beer to the side early into the smoke.

These sample sticks were sent to me courtesy of Gran Habano a week or so prior to IPCPR. Many of you may know there were a few things going on that really set me back on my review line up, but alas I am back on track and finally getting around to reviewing this cigar.

The Good Stuff: The Azteca sits in its own little corner as the newest, and most different cigar of Gran Habano’s line. The Azteca is a double maduro composed of a Mexico Maduro wrapper and binder grown in San Andreas encasing filler tobacco grown in Nicaragua and Panama. According to our friend Barry over at acigarsmoker.com (Check him out if you haven’t hear of him, great guy), “the first release of the Azteca has been aging since August, 2009″. This is a full body cigar and what seems to be a possible turning point for Gran Habano’s current portfolio. If I’m not mistaken, recently Gran Habano actually announced that they were going to be haulting the production of two of thier lines, the 3 SLS and the Cabinet Selection in order to put more attention to the Azteca Line.

Size: Puma 6 x 60  -  Wrapper/Binder: San Andreas, Mexico Maduro  –   Filler: Panama/Nicaragua  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Gran Habano Azteca Puma is a very thick and heavy cigar. I could probably knock someone out with this thing. It’s very firm to the touch and incredibly hard. The wrapper is very silky, and tough with very large veins running the entire length of the cigar. The wrapper itself is a deep, dark chocolately brown leading up to a seamlessly round cap. The band makes a huge statement sporting a large, brown Aztec calendar surrounded by orange and gold inlayed titling of the brand “Gran Habano” as well as the bold cigar name “Azteca”.  The back of the band has a small light brown and teal crest and the Brand Owner’s names “George and Guillermo Rico”. The band that surrounds the foot is a simple dark brown band with gold and teal bands as well as a gold and orange inlayed name of the vitola, in this case the “Puma”. These are incredibly detailed and beautiful bands. The wrapper of the Gran Habano Azteca doesn’t give off much more than a faint tobacco smell, where as the foot boasts of tobacco, cocoa, and earthy aromas.  The Azteca cut very clean using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw is VERY interesting. The first puff exclaims of a rich, more natural tobacco flavor teased with a very spicy, and earthy undertone with just a dash of cocoa.

First Smoke: The Gran Habano Azteca is a very differently tasting cigar. At least, in comparison to what I am used to. The initial flavors are jam packed with a very sweet, light, natural tobacco taste backed by soft spice, and bittersweet chocolate. The draw is remarkable. Each small puff produces a massive amount of thick, grey smoke. The Azteca give off quite a bit of earthy and enticing wood scented stationary smoke. The burn line started off slightly wavy, but corrected itself about a half inch into the cigar. I blame my single flame lighting technique on this larger ring gauged cigar. The ash left behind is a compacted, darker grey with black spots and just a few flakes here and there, mostly towards the foot of the cigar. As I got about an inch into the cigar the ash on the foot flowered and actually “bloomed” open.

This is common and didn’t hinder the experience in anyway, it’s just always interesting when you run into it. As a side note, this only happend to this sample, not the previous one I smoked. After the main “pedal” fell form the ash, The ash carried on and still held on for almost two inches before giving way.

Halfway There: Two thirds into this Gran Habano Azteca, I started to get a really, deep, and pleasant spiced woodsy flavor. This was followed up by the creamy cocoa, and sweet natural tobacco flavors. At this point this cigar has been smooth all the way though with no signs of nicotine. The retrohale is a bit spicy (not peppery) but gives your nasal passage a great little woodsy priming. The burnline tends to do its own thing every now and then, but always seems to correct itself before my lighter intervenes. I have yet to really feel any nictotine from this cigar.

Finish:  To my surprise the massive band on this Gran Habano Azteca slid off with extreme ease. Up until the final third  I haven’t felt much, if any nicotine buzz from this cigar but that has change up a bit. The body has definitely ramped up a bit. I’m not feeling a whole lot, but it’s there for sure. The cigar has remained incredibly smooth all the way though. There was no harshness built up towards the end and the final flavors were that of cocoa, wood, and again, that sweet spice. The flavors didn’t change up too much, the but the complexity and deepness were very satisfying and enjoyable. The burnline gave me no problems in the final stretch. All in all it took me about 1.75 hours to take down the Gran Habano Azteca Puma, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Oerview: Gran Habano is in the process of actually haulting manufacturing of a few of their lines in order to pay more attention to the Azteca. That being said, a lot of work has, and is currently being put into this blend and it shows. The Azteca is more an old school maduro producing great cocoa, woodsy, and earthy flavors with a smooth and balanced body. The 60 ring gauge was a bit large and uncomfortable to me (usually I enjoy larger vitolas but over the past few months I’ve been drawn to coronas). I really think the double maduro wrapper and binder would shine through with even more flavor on the smaller sizes of the Azteca. All in all I think the complexity makes for an excellent cigar not only for long time cigar smokers, but the flavors paired with the smoothness will satisfy beginners as well. At a price point of around $6 – $8 I think the Gran Habano Aztec will be finding it’s way into my regular rotation very soon.

Pairing: Having the Azteca before, and being quite aware of its smooth, creamy, chocolate upbringing I decided to pair it with another one of my favorite beers. St. Peter’s Cream Stout. St. Peter’s Cream Stout is a 6.5%, sweet, milk stout brewed a the St. Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk U.K. This cigar is a great pairing with most sweet tobacco, or maduro cigars. The creamyness helps smooth out the experience while the sweet chocolate undertones only enhance a cigar’s flavor. Black coffee, Brown Soda, Water,  or a rich Port would pair perfectly with this cigar.