Now let me just toss this out there.. One thing I’m not happy about when it comes to AJ’s cigars is the restricted distribution and sale of most of them, namely through cigar.com and all it’s affiliates such as cigarsinternational.com. I don’t have a problem with those retailers, but they seem ot have a problem with the awesome people North of the border since they don’t ship to Canada. So needless to say, they are more difficult for me to get my hands on. This also affects a lot of people who prefer to purchase cigars from local B&M’s. Ok, so now that we got that out of the way, what else do we know about this cigar.

Well, the Morro Castle brand actually has roots in the Cuban cigar industry but A.J. Fernandez took ownership of the brand and began blending and manufacturing them in Nicaragua. He also gave what seems to be a throw back to the original heritage by using some Cuban seed leaves in the filler. I stated the MSRP below as being $5 but if you get them by the box and catch them on sale, they can actually be had for prices well below $4 per stick in the Belicoso vitola. Other available vitolas include the Robusto, Toro, Torpedo and Churchill.

We have quite a few other reviews from AJ’s massive resume on the site as well, some of my personal favorites include the Man O’ War Armada, Man O’ War Virtue and a more recent popular cigar that Tony reviewed, the San Lotano Oval. So I think this cigar has a lot to live up to and hopefully it’s lower price will give it a slight edge in the final thoughts section. I received most of my samples through trades and/or gifts, the cigar I’m lighting up today comes from a trade made this past Christmas, let’s see how it stacks up!

Cigar: Morro Castle
Drink: Lindeman’s Cuvee Rene Lambic Beer
Vitola: Belicoso (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban Seed Nicaraguan and Honduran
Price: MSRP $5.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The outside of this cigar looks very shiny and smooth, it’s glistening with oil and has a nice golden-brown glow to it
• Even though there are no large veins, the cigar is fairly bumpy. Most likely due to a rough binder
• The cap of this cigar is finished very cleanly and with expertise as the leaf blends seamlessly into the rest of the cigar
• The length of the Morro Castle has a nice little spring to it as I squeeze it lightly
• The foot appears very well packed and cleanly finished, it’s easy to see a lot of care went into the construction
• Cutting the cap was clean and easy, I didn’t have to cut much and I’m left with a good draw

Burn:
• The foot did not want to co-operate wit ha slow toasting and just refused to start glowing, but after a few draws it seems to have evened out
• Despite a somewhat challenging toasting, the Morro Castle is burning razor sharp through the first couple of inches
• I ran into a few wrapper issues that caused some burn problems, but I’m attributing these to the cold day today, I can’t knock the cigar since the first half burned perfectly

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of smoke coming from this Morro Castle cigar, just one draw seems enough to provide a thick cloud of smoke
• Even when resting, there seems to be a fair bit of smoke coming from this cigar
• The ash seems to be coming along with a nice white color but it seems a little flaky so far, we’ll see how it progresses
• Even though it looked a little flaky and weak, the ash managed to hang on for about 1.5 inches and it stayed a nice shade of light grey/white for the whole way through
• Another solid ash lasting past the 1 inch mark, showing some good construction quality on this cigar even with the very cold temps today

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off very little aroma, maybe just a touch of woodsiness
• The aroma on the foot is also fairly faint but it brings out a little bit of cedar and some mild baking spice notes
• The pre-light draw brings more cedar and a little more of those baking spices, now with a bit of sweet paprika mixed in
• The first few draws after lighting had an extremely bitter and dry after-taste that I’ve never really had so early on in a cigar
• As I slowly progress, the bitterness is tapering off a bit, I hope it completely disappears soon
• Flavor wise, the Morro Castle is kicking out a spicy cedar mix with a touch of earthiness thrown in
• The body seems to be hovering in the low end of medium right now and retrohale has just a slight bite and smooth yet dry cedar finish
• It took about an inch of the cigar before I can say the bitter dryness is completely gone, I’m now left with an enjoyable profile of cedar, mild baking spices and earthiness
• The whole balance of this cigar is really hitting it’s stride as I get to the halfway mark, the spices and cedar have developed nicely
• There is a bit of sweetness sneaking into the mix too, maybe like a roasted nutty caramel type of profile, very interesting.
• The earthiness is still lingering and the finish has changed from the dry start to a creamy sweetness, much, much better!
• The body and retrohale haven’t changed much as I get into the final stretch, maybe just a touch higher in the medium range on the body
• The flavors seem to have all melded together in the last third, they aren’t bad but they aren’t as interesting as they were in the middle
• The flavors stayed tasty to the nub with no harshness at all, a good finish

Final Thoughts:
I think it’s pretty easy to tell that I wasn’t a fan of the first inch of this cigar. That bitter dryness is not a great way to make a first impression. But I’m glad to say I stuck it out and kept going because this turned into a pretty good quality cigar. It had a nice array of flavors and the burn was damn near perfect. When you factor in the price you can get these at by box purchase, it makes them a worthwhile purchase. I had a few in this vitola and they all seemed to suffer from bad starts so if I were to purchase them again I’d probably opt for a larger vitola to get more of the sweet spot in the experience.

Pairings:
I took a bit of a risk with this pairing today. I’m no Lambic aficionado like Tony, but from the few I’ve had I know that they are very sweet and usually flavored with some sort of fruit such as raspberry or cherry. They are tasty, but probably not a great pairing for a cigar. So I found this lambic that doesn’t seem to be flavored, I knew it was going to be sweet but I hoped it would still work out. It’s from Lindemans brewery in Belgium and is called the Cuvee Rene. So it is sweet, but not nearly as sweet as their flavored offerings and it’s got a fair bit of carbonation. Surprisingly though, it seemed to work well with a cigar, especially one with a bit more body and a touch of spice to counteract the beers sweetness. It’s sort of hard to describe a lambic beer but I guess you could compare it to an alcoholic version of pop. This particular one has some citrus notes to it so maybe like a delicious and alcoholic version of 7UP or Sprite? I’m probably way off but that’s what I think, lol. Either way, it was tasty and went well with the cigar. Other options for the Morro Castle would be a porter or dark ale, maybe a strong coffee and even some black tea.

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

Today’s review comes courtesy of Lou B. who you can find in the comments section every now and then. I met Lou at a herf a little while back and he’s been holding some awesome Cigar-B-Cue’s where we eat, smoke, drink and talk. At the last little gathering, Lou handed me a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and said that I had to try it and squeeze in a review if possible. We chatted a little about how my history with most Rocky Patel sticks is a little shaky but I would give it a shot.

So here I am today about to light up this cigar. I have had a few Vintage 1990′s a while ago but it’s been a rather long time so other than a few notes I made for myself I don’t have much to go on. I actually decided to ignore my old notes and go at this one blindly!

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 is the oldest cigar in his vintage line. This particular blend is made with Maduro Broadleaf wrapper dating back to 1990. So the wrapper on these cigars is near 12 Years old and apparently the filler is at least 5 years old before being rolled. That makes for a very well aged cigar right out of the box so let’s hope it has the smoothness you would expect on such a well aged smoke.

It seems that the Vintage 1990 line is also available in a wide variety of vitolas that come boxed in quantities of 20. I even stumbled upon some being sold as bundles so you can save a few dollars there too. The vitola Lou gifted me with happens to be their Churchill which also has a box-pressed look to it. The cigar also seems a lot smaller than the claimed 48 ring gauge, possibly due to the pressing. I’d say this cigar is almost around 42 or 44 ring gauge from a quick glance.

Now this cigar also has quite the reputation which can sometimes hinder a cigar. It’s been given a 92 rating by Cigar Aficionado and even been named to the Top 25 Cigars of the year twice. So this sets the bar fairly high when you read something like that before lighting up. But regardless of that, I’m going into this review with a clear mind and hoping for a good smoke. This one’s for you Lou!

Cigar: Rocky Patel Vintage 1990
Drink: Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2011
Vitola: Churchill (7 x 48)
Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Price: About $8.00
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is velvety smooth and has the color of milk chocolate bar, it’s actually quite appealing to look at
• There are some veins and seams running along it’s length but none of them look large enough to pose any problems
• The vitola on this cigar is pretty interesting, but despite that the single cap looks to be expertly applied and clean
• The foot follows in the same ‘footsteps’ (cheesy pun, I know…lol) and is very well packed
• That also links into the fairly firm feel of the whole cigar, there is a tiny give when squeezed but not much, I think I’ll blame that on the box pressing process
• The cap clipped off nice and easy but left me with a bit of a tight draw, hoping that doesn’t continue and it opens up soon
• Glad to report that the draw opened up nicely within the first inch

Burn:
• The toasting was easy and fairly even, getting me off to a good start easily
• I usually get some funky burn lines on box pressed cigars but through the first couple inches this one is flawless
• Not much to report here, as I get to the halfway mark I’m still moving along flawlessly
• Still more nothing to report, lol. No wavy lines, no canoes, no tunnels, just the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of resting smoke coming off this cigar, could be a little too much if I were in an enclosed room
• Even with a tight draw, I’m still picking up a fairly good amount of smoke from each puff
• The ash on this cigar is a nice even tone of light gray and is keeping itself fairly clean and tight
• Got to just about an inch before the ash fell off
• Next ash got to about an inch again before I tapped it off cause it was looking ready to fall
• Seemed to get a pretty consistent 1 inch ash on these that stayed clean

Tasting Notes:
• Running the cigar under my nose gives an easily noticeable aroma of coffee, but mostly of cedar. It’s light and pleasant, not overpowering
• The foot does away with the coffee but does carry the aroma of cedar and maybe a little bit of greenery
• I get the same greenery and cedar flavor as I take a pre-light draw after clipping the cap. Also an odd liquor type of flavor, almost like infused but you can tell it isn’t, interesting to see if that will carry into the smoking experience
• Initial flavors are mostly woodsy and earthy notes, maybe with a hint of coffee in there
• The coffee flavors are developing a bit as the cigar burns, still very mellow but they are there, maybe with a bit of cocoa too
• The start of this cigar as been fairly mild for the most part, maybe just approaching medium and the retrohale has almost no bite but gives a smooth cedar and coffee finish
• The liquor flavor I was getting is making slight appearances here and there, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but it’s keeping the experience interesting. It’s sort of sweet and mixed with the coffee flavors I guess my closest comparison would be Kahlua or something similar
• The whole cigar seems to be quite well balanced to me, I’m getting a good variety of flavors that keep changing up on me and keeping me interested, none of them are overpowering the others
• The array of flavors has stayed the same through to the last third but the fact that they keep taking turns being the dominant one has kept me interested and enjoying the whole cigar so far
• Flavors got a little more intense near the nub, but no harshness or bitterness so I got to enjoy it to the very end

Final Thoughts:
So I have to admit I came into this cigar with some hesitation due to my past experiences with Rocky Patel sticks. I’ve had a few good ones, but most were not in my flavor profile. Even with Lou’s claims of how much he enjoyed this I was a little worried. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed this cigar! I wouldn’t put it into my top 10 but I would keep it on regular rotation as a reliable mild/medium bodied stick if I can find it on sale or maybe in the bundles. It had an interesting set of flavors that were very well balanced and it burned superbly. I don’t really have anything negative to say. If there was one critique I could make it’s that the flavors were not very pronounced. They were there, but you really had to sit and concentrate to pick up on them. Maybe this is due to their extended aging? I’m not too sure… You could easily enjoy it’s smoothness without paying attention, but if the flavor were a little more intense, this might have been a top 10 contender for me.

Pairings:
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the Innis & Gunn Brewery and everything I’ve tried from them to date. Their Oak Aged Beers are simply the best I’ve been able to find so far with a sweet caramely smoothness. Every year they also come out with a Winter Seasonal, and as I mentioned in my last review, I’m a bit of a sucker for Winter Seasonals. So I had to get this, their Winter Beer 2011! The crappy part is that it’s only available in a Sampler pack here. Although I really enjoy their other beers in the sampler, it comes with a glass. I think I’m up to 5 or 6 Innis & Gunn glasses now because I keep buying the sampler packs they have for their seasonal beers… lol. But enough about my ranting, this beer keeps to my expectations for this brewery and brings a TON of flavor to the table. Along with the classic Oaky notes, you can pick up some citrus, vanilla, toffee and the signature caramel smoothness. All of their beers seem to pair best with a good mild or medium bodied cigar, so it fit very well in with the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. Other good pairing would be a similar beer like a blonde or amber, and possibly a nice cup of coffee.

The Good Stuff: I was one of the very many people intrigued as rumors began to fly about a possible Liga Privada in “A” format. Not that I am an “A” kinda guy, but that’s a huge departure from anything currently in the Liga Privada line. Not to mention that I am an open Liga Privada Fan Boy. That won’t make this review biased though, trust me. After about a years worth of rumors Jonathan Drew confirmed that they would in fact be making an “A” sized Liga Privada, and began to hype it up with some Jonathan Drew style tweets and Facebook posts.

I just had to put the "A" next to a Dirty Rat for size comparison. And for laughs.

As time went on, we discovered this wasn’t a real release, but instead a special type of product. What I mean by that is, Drew Estate actually created the Liga Privada “A” as a special promotional product.  The “A” is actually a tweaked T-52 blend. More than likely they needed to refine the blend and mellow it out a bit to fit the format. I’m glad too, I don’t think I could handle a straight up 9 inch T-52. These cigars will not be available to purchase, instead, they will be given out at certain Liga Privada events due in part to the limited amount of T52 leaf as well as Drew Estate wanting something special as a thanks to it’s customers. Plus, in my opinion, I don’t think the format is easy to sell. I was actually on Smoke Inn’s radio show “Kiss my Ash Radio” this passed weekend with Erik Espinosa from EO Brands and he made mention that he was actually present some time ago when he and Jonathan Drew opened the first box of Liga Privada Unicos “A”. That being said, I think it’s safe to say these will be readily available at Liga Privada Events.

I don’t smoke “A” sized cigars often at all. But there is a reason for it. “A” sized cigars were created to honor celebrations. This is a special treat sort of size, to be smoked to celebrate special occasions. With good reason too, they are normally 9” long and usually take around 3 hours to smoke.  That being said, lets get started!

Size: 9 ¼” x 47  -  Wrapper:  Connecticut Stalk Cut Habano  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  -  Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican – keep in mind this is just an assumption, knowing that it’s a tweaked T-52 blend.

Prelight: This is a GIGANTIC cigar. It almost feels too heavy to hold and wants to fall from my hand when I hold it near the head of the cigar. That goes with all “A” sized cigars I guess. They aren’t the most practical cigar, but they aren’t trying to be. Once you get passed the size of this cigar you are greeted with the beautiful T52 style wrapper that we have all grown to love. The wrapper is incredibly oily with medium to dark browns and oranges mixed in. The construction is perfect with only a very few larger veins. Usually veins of that size would run the entire body of a robusto sized cigar. I just though it was funny that the Liga Privada Unicos “A” had 2 longer veins stacked one after another, and they still only ran about half the body of the cigar.  Anyways, the wrapper and the entire cigar in general is very solid and durable. There aren’t any soft spots on the entire cigar. The cap is very similar to the pig tailed, rounded cap that the Dirty Rat carries, only twice the size. And the band is identical to the  Unicos Series bands that all the Liga Privada carries, blue and gold with a gigantic “A” on them.

The body of the cigar gives off a nice, strong cedar and sweet tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar gives off nothing more than a very subtle spice. The cap clipped extremely easy and clean using my Liga Privada Double Bladed cutter. The cold draw was interesting, instead of greeting me with a nice pepper I was expecting, The “A” let loose this crazy strong cedar and sweetness which got me interested in just how “tweaked” this blend really is.

First Smoke: Right away the Liga Privada Unicos “A” kicked out the flavors I expect from the T-52. Cedar, spice, sweet tobacco, and cocoa. One thing was still missing, the pepper. In all honesty I’m glad too, a 9 inch pepper-bomb just doesn’t seem like it would sit too well with me. Despite the distance in which the smoke must travel, the draw was perfect and plentiful. It only took me my normal 2 puffs to get a mouthful of thick, white smoke. The burnline is a bit wavy and thick, but nothing too concerning, white the stationary smoke, as with most Liga Privada blends, is crazy. This cigar is spewing out tons and tons of thick, cedar scented smoke as it sits in my ashtray. The ash left behind is somewhat flaky, and really dark grey with spots of lighter grey. It only held on for about two thirds of an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The sweetness has really started to pick up into the second third of this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. By this point, I’d be finishing a robusto format cigar, but this cigar is still keeping my attention by adding a ton of spice and the sweetness I mentioned to the already sweet mashup of cocoa, and cedar. The burnline has completely corrected itself and is burning dead even now. The retrohale is BADASS coating with an absolute blast of cedar each time I do it. I am feeling a very slight nicotine kick after the second third, but no where near what I was expecting form a Liga Privada blend.

Finish: Switching it up again, I started to get this nice, subtle floral flavor during the last third of Drew Estate’s Liga Privada Unicos “A”.  The sweetness has mellowed out quite a bit, and I am left with a really smooth cedar, cocoa, coffee and floral mixture. Surprisingly for the size I’m really not picking up much more than a really slight nicotine kick. The burnline has been perfect since the second third, and I haven’t had to relight, or even touch up this cigar once. All in all it took a few minutes shy of 3 hours to take down this beast of a cigar. It’s crazy how the final picture looks similar to the length of a “First Smoke” robusto picture. This thing is huge.

Overview: I have a short attention span. Very. I blame the internet and technology for that. That being said, I never really got bored while smoking this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. It had just enough change ups to keep my attention, but at the same time was smooth and seamless enough not to overpower me with each jump. I think finding balance in a cigar as big as this, and keeping the cigar’s complexity has the be an incredibly difficult task for the blender, and Drew Estate did a hell of a job with it. The cigar wasn’t as powerful as the other blends in the Liga Privada Line, with good reason. I don’t think I could handle a 3 hour T-52 It would leave my crying on the floor. Although this isn’t a cigar I’d smoke often, I really enjoyed it a lot. And in terms of the format, it’s not made to be consumed often. As stated, it’s a celebratory cigar. And I really think it’s a great addition to my humidor when I want something special and have a few hours to burn, pun intended.

Pairing: I said it many times, and will say it again, Winter is the season for beer. With all the awesome porters, stouts, and Christmas ales it’s a wonder why I’m not trashed from morning to dawn. St. Bernardus isn’t a stranger to this blog. In fact, it’s one of my favorite breweries out there. This Christmas season Abbey Ale hits the mark on all accounts. It’s strong (10% ABV), sweet, flavorful, and well balanced with fruity, malty flavors and just a hit of spice. Needless to say it went perfectly with the Liga Privada Unicos “A”. At about $13 a bottle, it’s not something you can drink everyday, but when you find it, pick it up. It pairs great with any full bodied, full flavored cigar.

Now let me tell you why I’m doing this. My reasons are two fold… The first is completely Tony’s fault. Big surprise right? lol. He’s bragged about this cigar a few times and how much he enjoys it. A few days ago we started chatting about how I’ve never really been impressed by an Alec Bradley cigar, so he tightened the chains on my desk and told me I had to review it, or else! Ok, not really, but he did ask me to give it a chance. Secondly, I was at a little BBQ herf (Hosted by a good BOTL, Lou at Rumours Furniture) today and had another discussion on Alec Bradley. This time it was with one of Lou’s friends named Jarvis. A really nice guy who also started bragging about Alec Bradley…

So, I basically caved in and decided to give this cigar a try. I had a few Prensado cigars but only in this vitola so that’s why I’m reviewing it instead of a new vitola. I won’t go through and re-write all the good stuff about Alec Bradley or the store of this blend. Check out Tony’s review of the Prensado or you can also get more info from my review of the Family Blend and the Vice Press. So without further adieu, I sit here in my backyard on a warm and damp evening while I prepare to clip the cap of this cigar and see where my Alec Bradley bias takes me…

Cigar: Alec Bradley Prensado
Drink: Six Grapes Reserve Tawny Porto
Vitola: Box-Pressed Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: $9
Burn Time: A little over 1 hour

Construction:
• Very smooth box pressed appearance with a darker milk chocolatey colored wrapper
• There are almost no veins and the ones that are visible are very thin
• The top of the cigar is finished with a smooth triple cap that blends in very well
• The foot of the cigar is very well packed as is the rest of the cigar which is very firm to the touch
• Cutting was firm but clean
• Draw is just about perfect despite the firm feel of the cigar, no problems in this department
• The band was perfectly applied, it didn’t just fall off but still slid off easily

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and lit up fairly quickly to a nice even glow
• A slight touchup was needed at the start but other then that it is burning very well
• As I hit the halfway point, I’m happy to see no burn issues and it’s coming along razor sharp
• A slight burn issue near the last third, but it corrected itself without my intervention
• Cigar burned a bit hot in the last inch but I kept smoking it anyway

Smoke & Ash:
• I was met with lots of smoke right off the bat here, fills your mouth nicely
• The ash first appears to be nice and strong, well constructed and definitely pressed
• The color on the ash is a little dark, venturing from a medium grey to an almost black
• Ash continued nice and strong until about the 1 inch mark when it fell off into the ashtray, I thought it would last longer since it looked so well packed
• All other ashes were about the same 1 inch and kept the clean and strong look to them

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off an interesting sweet aroma, mixing some nice cocoa and coffee notes
• The foot offers more sweet coffee notes and a bit of mild tobacco, as well as a mild spice
• The pre-light draw seems to have lost the sweetness and is replaced mostly by a tobacco flavor, some woodsiness and a bit of peppery spice on my lips
• Initial flavors really pop on this cigar but are not overpowering, I was met with a good helping of leather and cedar alongside a touch of coffee and nutmeg-like spices
• The retrohale on this cigar is giving a nice light bite with a smooth woodsy finish
• This cigar is very well balanced, I’m figuring it’s in the medium to full range but it’s so smooth that it doesn’t feel that way
• As I reach the halfway mark, the spice is picking up a bit with a little more pepper and raw nutmeg
• The coffee and leather notes are also developing nicely and adding some roasted flavor to it
• Getting into the last third, the coffee flavors have sort of tapered off but the woodsy and cedar notes are making a nice appearance
• There’s been a nice creaminess from the start that has persisted and is just getting better as he cigar progresses
• The smoothness continued right to the nub with a great balance the whole way through

Final Thoughts:
Ok, I gotta honestly say that I enjoyed this cigar. I went in with some bias as you can tell from my intro but it seems that once again you can’t judge a book by it’s cover (or it’s brand). It started off with a nice burst of flavor and burned well through most of the cigar. The box-pressed shape was also very comfortable and a perfect size to smoke. The body was into the fuller range but the smoothness and balance made it blend in so nicely. So I must avow that I found an Alec Bradley cigar I enjoyed from start to finish. Now the biggest downside to this cigar was the price. I didn’t look up the price until after I smoked it and I was a little shocked, especially since it’s one of the smaller vitolas in the line. This did not taste like a $9 cigar to me and that disappointed me because it was pretty good on all other accounts… I wouldn’t say this cigar makes me an Alec Bradley convert but it will open my eyes to at least try a few more blends from this brand.

Pairings:
Today we have another new port that I stumbled across at the liquor store recently. It’s called Six Grapes and is considered to be a Reserve Tawny Port which was bottled in 2004. I was pleasantly met with a great mixture of in-you-face fruit mostly dominated by a strong blackberry tartness. The port also had a nice full bodied feel to it and coated the palate very smoothly leaving a nice sweetness on the tongue. The coating of your palate is one of my favorite aspects of pairing port and cigars because it’s like a fresh cleanse after each sip. It paired excellently with the woodsy and spicy notes of the cigar. I would definitely recommend trying it out. This cigar could also pair well with a nice strong coffee, scotch or maybe a dark soda.

This beer will be paired with a cigar that I have waited far too long to review. Drew Estate’s Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig. I reviewed the No.9 flying pig sometime ago and you can view the review here. In any case, I finally decided it’s time to tear through this review.

Again, if you know me, you know how much I love the Liga Privada line. I could smoke these cigars back to back, day after day. My poison is the No.9 Robusto. Needless to say, this may sound a bit biased, but I am always 100% honest. If a cigar sucks, then it sucks. And if a cigar is great, I have no problem boasting.  I smoked a ton of these prior to doing the review and I can already tell you (and apologize for the spoiler), but there won’t be any “sucking” this time around.

The Good Stuff: The Liga Privada line is very exclusive. It originally started as a private blend created solely for the smoking enjoyment of Drew Estate’s President, Steve Saka but due to pressure from the Drew Estate staff, was finally released to the public. At that time, the only blend available was the No.9 which consists of 7 different tobaccos including an absolutely beautiful, Oscuro Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. That wrapper is one of the main reasons why Drew Estate was forced to create a new, similar blend using a different wrapper. The wrapper in question is the Stalk-Cut Habano and the blend is called the Liga Privada T52. The wrapper on the No.9 is very expensive, and very rare. In order to fulfill demand Drew Estate created the T52 which is more of a permanent addition to their portfolio. I personally enjoy the No.9 more, but the cigar community is split right down the middle. The Flying Pig size was originally released in the No. 9 blend and limited to only 2,000 boxes of 12 ever to be released. Because of the difficulty in rolling these cigars the T52 Flying Pig will be limited as well to 3,250 boxes of 12, and run about $12 a stick. I’m not sure if they still have them, but I picked mine up over at Bonita Smoke Shop. These cigars were released in November of 2010 so I highly doubt there are very many left on shelves. Get them while you can!

Size: 4.25 x 60  -  Wrapper: Stalk-Cut Habano  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  -  Filler: Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig is a strange looking little cigar. The obvious shape is the real story here. It’s a very short, very stout, very chubby perfecto cigar. It starts with a small point which quickly grows into a very large ring-gauged body filled with a very dark brown and orange, toothy wrapper. This cigar feels like sandpaper. The wrapper is very thick and tough showing only little veins throughout the entire body. After the thick body, the cigar begins to taper off, much like the foot, into a very small point only to be capped of by a nice, spiral pig tail style cap. This is a crazy looking cigar, and despite it being so different that I am used to, it feels a little strange holding it in my hand. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s not comfortable, if that makes any sense. Not to mention this cigar is so heavy due to being so jam-packed with tobacco.

The wrapper gives off a very, very woodsy aroma with just a bit of grass mixed in, while the foot smells just like my humidor, very cedary with only a slight bit of spice.

Clipping the Flying Pig was a breeze using my double bladed Palio Cutter. The cold draw seemed a bit loose, providing me with a very bold, in your face cedar mixed with a ton of black pepper.

First Smoke: The Liga Privada T52 lit up nice and easy with my triple flame torch. Usually I have problems lighting the tips of perfectos evenly, but none of that this time.  The draw on this cigar is beautiful. It’s so smooth, without being too open, pumping out this massive cloud of thick, lingering smoke. The Flying pig also lets loose this huge trail of stationary smoke. You can see the oils just burn off this wrapper. The smoke smells sooooo good! Very cedary with some sweet spices in there. But it’s probably not something you’d want to smoke around people who can’t stand a lot of smoke.  The flavors were interesting. I was really anticipating this huge pepper punch right off the back, but I didn’t get it. There was only slight pepper notes mixed into the very bold, woodsy cedar, nutmeg, and a bit of prune. The burnline is a bit thick and probably as even as I could have hoped for from the start of a perfecto. The ash left behind is this very tightly compacted white ash with dark grey mixed in.

Halfway There: Going into the second third of this Liga Privada Flying Pig T52 I started to get this neat little bready taste. It’s still just an afterthought compared to the strong cedar, cinnamon, and slight plum flavor but it’s bringing in a very nice little balance to an otherwise bold cigar. This thing is a smoke machine. I can’t stress that enough. You could use a few of these in place of a fog machine at a dumb little emo-goth rock concert. The retrohale is a bit sharp for my liking, but I find myself throwing a few in every here and there just cause I love the strong cedar coating it gives me. This is a strong cigar no doubt. It’s about noon here and I haven’t eaten in a couple of hours. Needless to say I’m already feeling a bit of a nicotine buzz off of this stout little cigar. The ash held solid until I accidently knocked it off while trying to remove the band after the second third. If you check out the picture on the Flying Pig No.9 review, the ash actually held on until I could no longer keep the cigar in my hand before burning my fingertips.

Finish: Despite taking my time on this cigar there was still a bit of harshness into the final third. I guess that’s expected  with a cigar this size. Outside of the harshness the cedar has really been the dominant flavor in this cigar. Towards the end all the other flavors really faded out letting that cedar flavor really take off. The body on this cigar is just ridiculous. It’s not for the faint of heart. I got a very mean nicotine kick within the hour it took to smoke this cigar. Make sure you have something to eat before decided to take this cigar on!

Overview: Although I really enjoyed this cigar, the No. 9 will always have a special place in my heart. That blend is just, perfect. The T52 flying pig is a great cigar. Very strong, flavorful, and interesting. My only gripe is that harshness. I don’t remember that in my No .9 pigs, and I encountered it on just about every one of the T52 pigs that I have smoked. The other sizes in the T52 lines don’t produce it either. It’s probably just the size. Either way, these are still an awesome cigar to have around. The price is a bit steep, but anyone who smokes, and appreciates the Liga Privada lines are already expecting to shell out top dollar for each of their cigars. I do, and I don’t mind the prices at all. I think ever one is well worth it. If you find these, grab them. They won’t be around for very long.

Pairing: FINALLY! This is my first beer in almost 3 weeks. I know I pre-empted a little bit and I am hoping that I don’t pay for it later, but I needed it. As winter is coming to an end, I wanted to get this pairing out of the way before it was too late. I paired my T52 Flying pig with some of Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome ale. This is another one of my favorite winter seasonal ales. This brew was brewed in Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery (Tad caster) in England. It’s a bubbly orangish amber ale producing a very smooth, lightly floral, sweet ale. The pairing really helped bring the body of the T52 down and smooth it out. I wouldn’t suggest anything too strong with the T52 as it’s already a strong cigar to begin with. Sweet Tea is the perfect, ideal pairing with this cigar, but apple juice, or any sweet brown ale would go perfectly as well.

I smoked a few of these cigars, but this one in particular was actually sent to me by our good friend Mike at Mikestogies.com. Mike was the man who actually sent over the sticks I did on my first blind review set which you can view here. He’s a great guy, with great reviews.

The Good Stuff: Each year Camacho releases a limited release cigar called the Liberty Series.The tradition started back in 2002 and is one of my favorite annual releases. They retail anywhere between $18 and $22 a stick and come in boxes of 10 individually coffin-boxed cigars. If you’d like to read our review of the 2009, you can see Daniel’s take on it here. Again, the scenery may look a bit different. I am doing yet another review at my favorite local shop, Tobacco Rd.

Size: 6 x 54 (11/18)  – Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatran  - Binder: Honduran Corojo  – Filler: Honduran Corojo and Dominican Ligero

Prelight: The Camacho Liberty 2010 holds true to all the past Liberty series in terms of presentation. The Liberty starts out encased in a dark blue, shiny, painted coffin box. Each box has a sticker with each cigar’s unique number. This one happens to be 775 /40,000. Once the seal on the box is broken I was showcased with a nice cedar scent and a tissue wrapped cigar placed carefully inside the box. Once then tissue is removed you are presented with the standard, flashy, black and silver Camacho band that you would expect. One interesting thing about this band is out of all the 2010 Liberties that I smoked, this was the only one with  a black band. All the rest of them had a dark blue similar to the color of the paint on the box. The band is very similar in design from the previous years. The Liberty 2010 also comes fitted with a nice little foot band that simply states “Liberty Series” in silver on dark blue ink. The wrapper on the Liberty is a very light, very consistent, milky brown. The smaller foot leads up to a much wider body before tapering off to a smaller, rounded cap that matches the size of the Liberty’s foot. For the most part the cigar is very firm to the touch with the exception of the foot. There is a crack at the top of the cigar from the head to about the middle of the band. Mainly just a wrapper crack. It looks as thought it didn’t harm the binder. Normally I wouldn’t review a cigar that already has a crack in it, but this is my third Liberty 2010 from three totally different boxes that have similar cracks. Not to mention I had a few similar issues with the 2009’s I smoked last year. This just must be a delicate wrapper. The wrapper has this immense scent of straight up cedar. It seriously smells like the inside of a brand new humidor. which happens to be of my favorite scents in the world. Some how the foot has an ever stronger cedar scent with just a little whiff of spice. The Liberty cut very clean with my double bladed cutter. Lucky enough, the crack didn’t increase much in size.  The cold draw kicks out this wonderful milky, cedar flavor and leaves behind just a tiny bit of spice.

First Smoke: The Liberty 2010 starts off slightly different than I expected. Instead of being smacked in the face with soft cedar, the cigar starts off bold, with some earthy, leather notes. Not long after the cigar turns into this just massive cedar bomb, holy crap. This is the reason why I love these Liberties. Outside of the cedar there is a slight spice sneaking into the mix. All around this cigar is starting off very smooth and flavorful. The draw is easy, and plentiful, but the main story is the stationary smoke. The Liberty 2010 gives off a ton of cedar scented stationary smoke that even overpowers the other three cigars that are going in the room at the time. The burnline is slightly wavy, but I always have that problem with this size. They almost always fix themselves. The ash is a very light grey with some slight flakes, but overall tightly compacted. The ash held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: One major difference with this year’s 2010 Liberty is a big one for me. The cigar burns so much slower than the previous year. The 2009 was soooo good, but at the price point I was always hesitant to spend the money to buy a cigar that would burn so quickly. The cedar is still rocking very hard into this second third. The spice is still there as well with notes of leather and some really creamy chocolate. The retrohale in this cigar is absolutely amazing. After a few retrohales I swear my nasal passage made me feel as if I have been locked in a humidor for the last 3 days. The body is slowly starting to creep in as well. It’s not full, but it is noticeable. The burnline has completely fixed itself and is holding solid as I expected. The ash is ugly, but the experience is wonderful.

Finish: The cedar has begun to fade a bit into the final third of this Camacho Liberty 2010. The cedar is still the main flavor with the backing flavors of spice, and this really strong leather flavor. The body has really ramped up too, which is totally unexpected.  I’m even getting a slight nicotine kick from this one. There was a slight harsh build up into the last inch but nothing too concerning, it was almost expected.  All in all the cigar finished very smooth, a bit heavier than I expected, and burned much slower taking about an hour and forty five minutes to finish.

Overview: The Camacho Liberty has always been a cigar that I look out for every year. The similar blends are just wonderful. The cost is a little high, but it’s a great cigar, for those special times. The slower burn was great, but it had its own drawback. Towards the end of the experience the cedar starting to get overwhelming and it made me want the tobacco flavors to come in and really take over. The crack really didn’t make much of a difference, and seldom does in this cigar. All in all, it’s a good cigar, at a decent price. But the Liberty is not something that I would put in my regular rotation due to the price, and availability. I do however love to keep a few of these on hand to satisfy those cedar cravings.

The cigar itself is made entirely from Honduran tobacco. The leaves are actually from Christian Eiroa’s farm in the Jamastran region of Honduras. The wrapper is made up of Camacho’s single production of Habano leaf. This of course is at this time and could very well change in the near future.

I was gifted one of these cigars and purchased a couple more for myself. I decided to light this one up with a similarly limited production beer which you can read more about at the bottom of the review in the Pairing section.

Cigar: Camacho Cigars Liberty 2009
Drink: Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Beer – Canadian Cask 2010
Vitola: 11/18 – Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Price: $16-$20
Burn Time: 2 Hours

Construction:
• A very smooth milky chocolate wrapper surrounds this cigar
• Triple cap is very cleanly applied
• The foot doesn’t appear to be too packed, there is some room in there
• The cigar has a slight bulge in the center
• There are some soft spots on the bulge but the foot and head of the cigar are slightly firm with a good spring
• The cigar has two beautifully designed bands, one in it’s normal last 3rd of the cigar and one near the foot
• The cut made a bit of an explosion of tobacco leaves but was clean on the cigar
• Before even lighting it’s evident that the draw is very open
• Despite seeming very open before lighting, the draw feels very comfortable with more resistance than expected
• Both bands slid off effortlessly preserving the wrapper almost untouched

Burn:
• Very easy toasting, was even and quick
• Through the first inch the cigar has been razor sharp with just a small wave
• The wave developed into a small canoe that I needed to fix with my lighter
• A few small canoes developed as the cigar went on and some fixes were required but nothing major and flavors were ever affected
• Stayed lit effortlessly without the need to babysit the cigar

Smoke & Ash:
• TONS of smoke right from the start
• Lots of resting smoke also giving off a delightful cedar aroma
• Ash a appears a bit weak but is not flaking and holding strong
• Very light colored ash, almost white but has a tinge of gray and some dark highlights
• Even though the ash looked weak, it held on for almost 2 inches before falling off
• This cigar is a smoke machine! lol

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a massive cedar aroma presence to it, smells fantastic
• The foot has more of the cedar and a bit of sweetness
• The pre-light draw is very cedar flavored with a smooth creamy sweetness added to the mix along with a light spice
• Initial draws are like a sweet cedar with a hint of spice. If you could prepare and eat cedar I imagine this is what you would want it to taste like, haha
• The Retrohale has more of that great cedar flavor, a small bite and a great sweet finish
• Cigar has been fairly mild through the first 2 inches but a nice creamy cinnamon spice has taken over with the cedar in the background, very tasty
• At about the halfway point, the spice has picked up a bit more but I’m also getting a nice sweetness
• Passing the halfway point, the sweetness is letting off a bit and the cedar has once again become the prominant flavor with a toasted wood type of background
• The retrohale has also developed a bit more of a bite and the finish has turned to a smooth cedar
• The cigar started mild but has developed into a good medium and seems to be slowly picking up body
• Getting some subtle coffee and leather notes as I approach the final stretch
• Cedar flavors stuck through to the end and a bit of bitterness just before the last inch

Final Thoughts:
There’s no denying this was a great cigar. I, for one, am a big fan of cedar flavors in a cigar and this one had tons of it! Add to it the sweet and spicy notes and you’ve got the makings of agreat cigar in my mind. Now I did have some minor burn issues with these but none were major and they never required a full re-light so flavors never got harsh. The biggest hurdle with this cigar for most people will be the price. Between the cost of the coffin and the extremely rare wrapper used on this cigar I can see why they are priced this way. At this point they are becoming harder to find although they are still available if you look. Even with the price these are definitely worth at least trying. I would definitely recommend tracking one down before they disappear completely

Pairings:
Today’s pairing comes from the Scottish Brewery of Innis & Gunn. Their Oak Aged beer is one of my favorite blondes and makes a great pairing for almost any cigar because of it’s woodsy flavors. This particular batch was a limited production run called “Canadian Cask” which was produced especially for Canada Day 2010 to commemorate Canada’s birthday.

This beer is aged for 54 days in Whiskey barrels and mixed with a malted rye crystal to give it an incredibly unique and flavorful experience on the palate. This is only the second year Innis and Gunn has produced this brew and I definitely hope they continue the tradition.
This cigar paired well with this brew and I would definitely recommend it, they just worked so well together. Other pairings could be a nice scotch, oaky red wine, dark soda or a coffee.

Here’s a picture of the box from this brew, it has a whole story about how it came to be and how it was made.

This cigar was another part of the blind trade I did not too long ago. This particular cigar was new to me but I did have a few of them in my humidor that I hadn’t yet tried. As you’ll see in this review, a proper pairing, at least for me, is extremely important. This is even more relevant when enjoying a full bodied cigar. Doing a blind trade can sometimes impact a proper pairing choice.

The A. Fernandez Signature Series is made in their factory located in Esteli, Nicaragua. Abdel also maintains a wonderful crop of tobacco and he personally oversees all aspects of the cigar making process. He was born in Cuba but raised in Nicaragua and has been a pivotal part of what has made Nicaraguan cigars so popular. I think that’s enough chatter for now, let’s get into this review.

Cigar: A Fernandez Signature Series
Drink: Waterloo Brewing Co. Dark Beer
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan Ligero
Price: about $5.00
Burn Time: 1.25 hours

Construction:
• Light golden-brown wrapper
• No major veins and a nice oily sheen to it
• Clean triple cap
• Evenly round in construction
• Fairly firm from head to foot
• Foot looks well packed
• Cut was very messy and wrapper cracked in 2 places near the head
• Small cracks were forming just above the burnline all over the place but never caused any burn or draw issues until the end
• The cracks near the cap kept getting worse and worse as the cigar burned

Burn:
• Toasting was very slow and uneven, didn’t seem to want to light up
• Burn has been nice and even, no problems in the first couple inches
• Staying lit easily without the need for extra draws
• Burning fairly quickly for this vitola
• The cracks in the wrapper caused the burn line to get wavy
• Once the wrapper stopped burning and the cigar started tunnelling all of the flavors went downhill

Smoke & Ash:
• Ash is nice and clean, light grey with some black spots
• Looks strong but falls off every inch or so right into the ashtray
• Smoke is moderate on the draw, a good amount
• Resting smoke is fairly abundant and gives off a burning wood type of aroma

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is fairly mild, slight tobacco and cedar scents
• Foot aroma is mainly of cedar with a bit of a sweet yet peppery kick
• Pre-light draw is mostly cedar with some peppery notes
• Initial flavors are mostly of toasted wood and a bit leathery, the initial pepper spice is also very abundant
• Retrohale is fairly mild with the same burning wood taste and a tiny kick of peppery spice
• Body has been in the mild-medium range for the first half
• Approaching the halfway mark, burnt wood and leather are still the dominant flavors, I pick up a touch of honey and spice here and there, but nothing exciting yet
• Not too dry on the palate
• Retrohale picked up a tiny kick in after the halfway mark but no new flavours
• The body began to ramp up into the full range as the cigar progressed
• Got very bitter in the last two inches and had to set it down early, most likely due to the messy wrapper near the end

Final Thoughts:
The first half of this cigar was interesting with a burnt wood type of flavor and a bit of leather. There was also a fair bit of pepper throughout. Leather and pepper are not my favourite types of flavors in a cigar so this will heavily impact my opinion. There was a sense of complexity here that I know I overlooked since I was too focused on those two flavors that I just couldn’t enjoy the rest of this cigar to its full potential. Second half lost some flavour and didn’t change much else and the cracks near the head were getting progressively worse. Some damage in transport is also likely to blame here.
The pairing here was also a poor choice as you can read below. This is part of the learning process in a blind trade. It really teaches you how important a proper pairing can be with some cigars. It definitely detracted from a proper review of the cigar but still feel it was worth posting this to show how a blind review and sometimes work against a cigar. One suggestion I thought of after this is to recommend some pairing for you blind trades or at least mark a cigars strength so the person lighting it up can give it a fair opinion.

Pairings:
I had never had any ales from this Brewery before, it’s about 1.5 hours from where I live in Waterloo, Ontario. It’s a nice dark red beer with lots of flavor, very smooth and not bitter at all. Definitely something I would buy and enjoy again. It went well with this cigar but I wouldn’t pair it with anything stronger than a medium. This definitely had a negative impact on this cigar since it just wasn’t complimenting it properly. A coffee, port, sweet tea or soda would all mix well here.

Post-Review Notes:
I had a couple more of these in the humidor that I hadn’t tried yet. Since doing this blind review I did give them a try with a proper pairing and have to say that it was much better. It went perfectly with port and with some Glenlivet 12 year Scotch. I had more complexity out of the cigar and the flavors had some more dimensionality near then end. This is more of what I would expect from A. Fernandez. Again, another testament to how important a pairing can be and the learning process involved in these blind trades.

Garo Habano Centum

Robusto (4.75×52), Corona (5.5×42), Toro (6.52), Churchill (7×48), and Salomon (7.5×58)

You can read a little bit more about the Garo Habano Centum by visiting their website at www.garohabano.com. The cigar comes wrapped with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I was excited to try this one out since I’ve had some great smokes that have wrappers from Ecuador. The description on the site also had some nice notes in it like toast, cocoa and espresso.

I’ve added a new section at the bottom of this review for pairings. Let me know what you all think of that little section at the bottom. If I get good feedback I’ll keep adding it to my reviews to help give you all some suggestions on what to pair the cigars with.

Garo Habano Centum

Cigar: Garo Habano Centum
Drink: Taylor Fladgate 10 year old Tawny Port
Vitola: Robusto (4.75 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.00/stick from the Garo Habano Website
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Very nice orange and cream colored band, almost antique looking with lots of little detail
• Very appealing medium brown and oily wrapper
• Two large veins running down the sides that will likely cause burn issues
• Cleanly applied double cap
• Foot has some holes in it and some of the filler appears to be very dark brown, almost black in color
• The bit of dark filler was also under the cap after cutting
• Consistent firmness throughout with a bit of spring to it
• Pre-light draw was very open on one sample, others were just right
• Lots of glue under the band and it caused a small tear in the wrapper, didn’t cause any major problems though

Garo Habano Centum

Smoke:
• Big mouthful of smoke
• Very light resting smoke

Ash:
• Light grey in color
• A bit of flaking
• Held on for over 1.5 inches

Garo Habano Centum

Final Thoughts:
The tasting notes on the website promise a variety of flavors (espresso, toast, cocoa) and complexity that I did not pick up in this cigar, the flavor was pretty straight forward. As with all my Garo’s so far, the flavors have been quite enjoyable. The downside is that they never change throughout the cigar. Let me be clear that this is not necessarily a bad thing. It is just a preference of mine to have some dimension to a cigar. The body never passed medium and it wasn’t overly complex, which makes this a good early day or beginner’s cigar.

Pairing Suggestions:
I paired this with some Tawny port and thought it made an ‘okay’ match. The flavors in a port are usually quite strong and sometimes very sweet and I find they match better with a full bodied cigar. The Habano wrapper made me think this was going to have a little more body than it did. A good red wine such as a merlot, or a dark porter/stout would make an excellent pairing. Light beers would not mix well. For non-alcoholic pairings, I’d suggest a diet soda.

Garo Habano Centum

Alec Bradley Prensado

I went through three of this sticks before formulating this review, two from trades that I had just resting in my humidor, and one was provided by one of our great sponsors Bonita Smoke Shop. All three were similar in vitola (Box Pressed Robusto), but oddly all of which changed up in color, from a dark, almost maduro to a soft light, creamy brown.

The Good Stuff: Alec Bradley’s Prensado was one of a number of much anticipated releases that went public during 2009′s IPCPR event in New Orleans this past year. It is create from a complex structure from  Honduran,  corojo wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder from Jalapa,  and a mixture of Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. It is also said to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date. 

Size:Robusto 5 x 50 boxpress  -  Wrapper: Honduran corojo  -  Binder: Nicaragua  -  Filler: Nicaragua/Honduras  -  Body: Medium/Full   

Alec Bradley Prensado

Prelight: The Prensado carries with is a very unique, and enticing band. The band itself is white, and gold embroidered with hints of black, brown, and an odd but pleasant mixture of teal. The band is is very large and has an image of what looks to be a medieval leather chest plate (not to be confused with a football). The color of the wrapper is very consistent, and a light, creamy brown. The cigar itself is very firm and only soft at the bottom-most foot portion. There is a very large vein running down the entire length of the cigar, and I’d be very surprised if this vein didn’t offset the burn of the cigar. The Prensado has a very sweet, organic tobacco smell around the wrapper, and an almost fruity cedar smell coming from the foot. The cap is rounded off with the triple cap that I would love see as a set standard on all my cigars.

Alec Bradley Prensado

First Smoke: This cigar was cut using my Palio double blade cutter, and lit up very easily under even my single flame torch that I hate, and hardly ever use. Alec Bradley’s Prensado started out with a slight hint of pepper, that only tingled my tongue for a few seconds before quickly diminishing. As the pepper faded flavors of cedar, cocoa, and tobacco became present. Despite giving off a massive, and very thick draw, the Prensado give off little to no stationary smoke. The stationary smoke is extremely pleasant, and smells of lightly burning cedar. The cigar is starting off extremely smooth. The ash is a very flaky, dark grey. The burnline is extremely sharp, but as expected it is burning a deep, offset crevice due to the massive vein running through the body of this cigar. Surprisingly enough, the ash held on for about an inch and a half before it gave out.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Halfway There: The Presando just keeps getting smoother, and creamier the further I smoke into it. The main flavor is that of cedar. It seriously tastes as if I chopped up my humidor and wrapped it in corojo. To me, this cigar reminds me a lot of Camacho’s 2009 Liberty, only at less than half the price. As stated in my introduction, this is supposed to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date, but oddly enough I am getting absolutely no nicotine buzz. I am drinking a pretty high alcohol content beer too and not feeling anything off this smoke, amazing. After a big touch up to the foot, the cigar is finally burning dead even, and just as sharp as when I began smoking it.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Finish: Wow, just wow. The smoothness of the Prensado is overwhelming. I usually enjoy robusto, or smaller vitolas, but I would be quite curious to see how a churchill of these bad boys panned out. I smoked this one incredibly fast (about 1.25 hours) to finish, and there were no signs of harshness all the way down to the nub. The flavor stayed very consistent with smooth cedar being the prominent flavor backed by a creamy, milky, cocoa. I had no problems with the burn after the touch up after the first ash and took this bad boy down until I could no longer hold it. My hands never got too warm which was incredible due to the loose draw.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Overview: Overall I was very impressed with this cigar. I loved the Camacho Liberty 2009, just hated the price tag and exclusiveness of it. Alec Bradley’s Prensado is a perfect replacement for an everyday rotation. The price is somewhere in between $7 and $10 and well worth it. All three that I smoked took a touch up or two, but not anything serious, and the overall experience made up for it. This is a perfect, everyday smoke for the experienced, and even casual smoker. Now I just need to get my hands on a few more.

Alec Bradley Prensado

This cigar was paired with one of my favorite beers, Chimay White Tripel. The strength, bitterness, and fruity undertones were a perfect pair for such a smooth cigar.

Alec Bradley Prensado