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.

The Late Harvest might sound familiar to any wine aficionados we have around here. In the wine world, some grapes are harvested later in the season to produce a slightly different type of wine typically called a Late Harvest. It’s even a popular method of making Ice Wine which is a very interesting dessert wine especially common to the Niagara region wineries up here in Ontario.

Contrary to what the name actually seems to mean, the Late Harvest cigar from Viaje is not actually produced with tobacco leaves harvested later in the season. It’s trademark is actually that the filler being used is sourced from the last priming’s of the tobacco plant. These last priming’s are left on the plant slightly longer and are also exposed to the sun longer, this produces a darker, thicker, oilier and stronger leaf. The blend is said to have about 90% of it’s filler from these last priming’s.

To put the limited blend into perspective, the Late Harvest is made in 125 boxes of 35 cigars each making a grand total of 4375 cigars(if my math is right). The Late Harvest was debuted at IPCPR 2011 and it seems like Andre is planning to make a yearly release of it, although the yield could change from year-to-year. The production factory of these cigars is located in Honduras, the popular Racines Cubanas factory which is part of Casa Fernandez Cigar company.

My one gripe here is that there’s no indication on the band of the production year. Although I know this one is a 2011 release since it’s brand new, I would have liked to see an indication for future years to compare with and keep track of when aging. I guess we’ll have to be vigilant and make note of them if you’re not buying a box. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, lets see if these cigars are worth aging and worth trying out next year…

Cigar: Viaje Late Harvest
Drink: Wychwood Brewery Wychcraft Blonde Beer
Vitola: Toro (6 x 48)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $9.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Viaje Late Harvest is a bit of a rough looking cigar with a few medium sized veins running up and down along with some bumps here and there
• The wrapper presents with a medium cinnamon brown colour with some dark speckles here and there, it’s also fairly coarse
• The top of the cigar is finished with tight little pigtail on top of a triple cap that looks clean and well applied
• A little squeeze produces almost no give, the Viaje Late Harvest is fairly firm from foot to cap
• With a quick glance at the foot it’s easy to see this is a well filled cigar with almost no gaps to be seen
• Clipping off the cap with my double bladed guillotine cutter was fairly easy and left a nice clean cut

Burn:
• The foot of the cigar lit up very quickly and easily while toasting
• The initial burn has an interesting zig-zag pattern… let’s hope it tightens up
• Zig zag seemed to calm down and although it’s a bit wavy we’re off to a better start now
• A couple small corrections were needed in the first half but they were very minor and did not affect the flavor of the cigar
• A couple other small touch-ups through the cigar but nothing major, it burned very well for the most part

Smoke & Ash:
• The Viaje Late Harvest is producing a good amount of smoke from each draw, it’s not super-thick and billowy but it’s not light either
• Resting smoke is also fairly moderate, nothing over the top but it is notable
• The ash is looking to be a pretty dark tone of grey as I smoke through the cigar
• I’m also getting some flaking so I don’t think the ash is going to last too long
• It started to look really weak at about an inch so I tapped it off into the ashtray
• As I hit the halfway mark it seems the thickness of the smoke has been slowly increasing, getting a nice billowy thickness now

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the Viaje Late Harvest has a fairly strong barnyard aroma to it, smells like it’s fresh from a farm!
• The foot, on the other hand, is strong with earthy and woodsy aromas followed by just a touch of peppery spice
• Pre-light draw brings an interesting mix of fresh cedar, earthiness and a touch of sweetness
• Initial draws bring more of the woodsy and earthy flavors I caught onto earlier, with a touch of very mild spices
• After a few draws there is a kick of pepper to this cigar, you can feel it on the back of your throat as well
• The Viaje Late Harvest is starting off in the mile-medium bodied range and the retrohale is giving a nice little bite with a smooth cedar finish
• The strong pepper faded as quickly as it appeared and I’m back to a nicely balanced cedar and earthy flavor profile
• There is a touch of tart sweetness that I’m picking up now and again although it’s not too strong right now
• The woodsy flavors are developing nicely and I’m getting a nice bready flavor coming in all wrapped up with a smooth and creamy finish
• The bite on the retrohale is pretty much gone now but it’s still giving me a smooth creamy cedar finish that I’m really enjoying
• As I creep into the final third, some of the spices are starting to make a comeback. It’s not the strong pepper like before but rather a more mild white pepper profile
• The Viaje Late Harvest finished on a smooth medium note with no harshness at all, I enjoyed it’s creamy finish and sweet tart cedar flavors right to the nub

Final Thoughts:
This was an interesting and unique cigar and I’m glad I was able to give it a try. As I mentioned, my access to Viaje cigars is pretty limited so it’s always a treat when I get a few sent to me in a package and this one was not a disappointment. It had an interesting variety of flavors that were very well balanced along with a smooth creamy finish to round it all out. The burn had a couple small touch ups but nothing worth complaining about. Considering the type of filler used here I was expecting a much stronger cigar but I ended up with a smooth medium bodied stick that I really enjoyed. The price on these is also fairly reasonable considering the limited production runs they are offered in. If you can track down some of these they are definitely worth a try. I’m curious to see if they change much from year-to-year…

Pairings:
Today I have another offering from Wychwood Breweries. Just recently, I tried out their winter ale called “Bah Humbug” with the Tatuaje TAA and I’ve also done a full review of their buby beer called Hobgoblin. This particular brew is their Blonde beer called Wychcraft. It clocks in at a light 4.5% alc./vol. and is triple hopped and filtered. It made for a perfect midday beer with lots of citrusy and malty flavors to it. An interesting combination since most blondes don’t carry too much of the malts with them, but I guess that’s where the triple hopped process makes a difference. I found that the Wychwood Breweries Wychcraft paried quite well with the Viaje Late Harvest. The cirtusy sweetness of the beer complimented that tart sweetness that sometimes made an appearance in the cigar and neither of them over-powered the other. I’d recomend sticking with a lighter pairing similar to the Wychcraft with the Viaje Late Harvest, choice such as a thick stout or strong coffee might drown out the cigars flavors.

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.

Andre Farkas is the brand owner of Viaje and has been leading the brand into a successful time with a pretty large following. For the most part the Viaje lines are fairly limited so this results in a split opinion between a lot of people. Some cigar smokers are not fans of seeking out rare or limited cigars while other love the thrill of the hunt! Tony also reviewed a couple other Viaje’s recently including the Platino Lancero and the Oro Reserva #5.

One of the lines that Andre and Viaje have been releasing is called the “Skull And Bones”. We are into the 3rd iteration of the brand and each year the band and blend is changed. Tony reviewed last years release which was simply called the “Skull and Bones #2″ and had a White on Black band with the “Jolly Roger” logo on it. In case you didn’t know, the “Jolly Roger” is the skull and cross bones symbol that was commonly flown by pirates. There are other variations of the “Jolly Roger” but this is the most common. Below this band you will find a thinner White on Black band that just says “Skull and Bones”. Oddly enough, there is no mention of Viaje on the cigars.

Now this years “Skull and Bones” carries essentially the same two bands with the exception that the White parts of the band are now Red. The look of the cigars is pretty interesting and I like the way the band looks. Another difference I noticed is that the foot of this cigar is clean cut while in Tony’s review of the #2, there is a closed foot. This release of the Skull and Bones series came out in March of 2011. As mentioned, this is the follow up to the previous “#2″ and the first released “Daisy Cutter” and apparently this years blend should pack a heftier punch, I guess I’ll find out soon!

The names of the vitolas may seem odd to some people but there is a method to the madness. The original Skull and bones release was called the “Daisy Cutter”. A quick search shows that a “Daisy Cutter” is a bomb used to flatten forests into a nice helicopter sized landing zone. There are also 2 vitolas released for this years blend, the WMD (Short Robusto) and the MOAB (Short Torpedo). WMD stands for “Weapon of Mass Destruction” and MOAB is “Massive Ordinance Air Blast”, both of which keep the trend of bomb related names. So let’s see how explosive this cigar is and dive right into this review!

Cigar: Viaje Skull And Bones WMD
Drink: Creemore Springs urBock Dark Beer
Vitola: Short Robusto (3.75 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun-Grown Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $9.00-$10.00
Burn Time: almost 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Skull and Bones WMD has an awesome dark chocolate wrapper that is super toothy with a touch of oil
• There are some minor veins here and there that are visible but none seem large enough to pose and problems
• The entire length of the cigar has a nice give to it when squeezed, never too firm
• The foot looked to be very well packed and I’m not sure if the picture will get this but you can pick out two very distinct colors of filler leaves
• The cap is finished in a very clean triple cap and looks well composed
• Draw is a tad tight but nothing that will bother me through the cigar experience

Burn:
• Toasting was even and slow, leaving me with a nice glowing foot
• The start of the burn is going a little wavy, I’m hoping it kicks itself back into line without a touchup
• Luckily, the burn did correct itself and although we’re still going a little wavy it’ more in control now
• I had a couple small touchups needed here and there but none were too major, it burned quite well for the most part
• A quick note, I think burn is EXTREMELY important on short vitolas like this so a poor burn would cost a lot of points so I’m glad it burned nicely for the most part
• The whole cigar burned surprisingly slow, good value for the dollar

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is giving me a very full mouth of smoke that is thick and billowy
• The ash has a bit of a medium grey tone to it and is showing signs of some flakiness early on
• The ash fell apart before even hitting a half inch
• The flaky ash continues but this time we got closer to an inch before falling off
• The ash continued to be flaky and a bit messy, falling off before reaching one inch each time

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is fairly light with just a hint of woodsiness
• The foot has a similar woodsiness with a hint of peppery spice that tickles your nose
• Pre-light draw is dominated by a nice light cedar
• Initial draws are very interesting, I’m getting a burning wood flavor that reminds me of a fresh campfire. I LOVE the smell of a campfire so I’m loving this start. (Note: I’ve never tasted a “Campfire” but if it were possible it would taste like this, lol)
• Aside from the campfire flavor, I’m getting some peppery spice and a bit of leather
• The retrohale has a nice medium bite to it but a bit of a rough woodsy finish
• So far through the first inch I’m getting a comfortable medium bodied smoke
• The woodsiness continues to be the most dominant flavor with some other spices sneaking in now, more like a strong nutmeg or close and a bit of earthiness
• Not too much change-up as I head into the last third, the whole cigar has been nicely balanced and smooth
• As I get to the nub there is a definite build-up in body to the full range but it’s not getting harsh, i like that
• Near the end, the main flavor was still cedar but I started getting some nice coffee and nutty notes
• Brought out the toothpick near the end to get that last bit of enjoyable cigar burned down without burning my fingers

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this cigar, especially for it’s size. I’ve been leaning towards larger vitolas lately but had a short timeframe this afternoon and went for a shorter cigar. There were enough favors to keep me interested and on my toes the whole time and it burned very well for the most part. I was a little worried about the cigar being strong after reading some reviews but it wasn’t as ass kicking as I was expecting. It is full but it didn’t give me a hard nicotine kick. the price for a cigar this size is also a bit high although it is actually cheaper than previous years releases. Luckily it burned a lot longer than I expected so I felt I got my money’s worth on it. The limited nature of these cigars (and most Viaje’s) make them harder to find but if experience is any indicator, most of Andre Farkas’ work is worth tracking down.

Pairings:
Creemore is actually a little town not too far from where I live. They pride themselves in making their brews with all natural spring water direct from their local spring. The Creemore Springs brewery mainly focuses on their Lager but they also brew a lot of other varities in smaller batches. The beer chosen today is a Dark Ale called an urBock. Bock beers began in Munich and can be traced as far back as 1612. It is actually a Ruby beer and not the darker chocolate color of some other Dark Ales. It’s also surprisingly fuller and thicker than the average Dark Ale with a smooth roasted malty flavor. It paired very well with the Vieje Skull and Bones WMD and is an excellent brew to pair with almost and strength of cigar. Other good pairings for this cigar would be coffee, a dark cola, or some Porto of course! lol (Are you tired of hearing that yet??)

Prelight: Cigar #9 starts out with a very smooth, consistent, yellowish brown wrapper. This could be some good Connecticut, Ecuadorian, Sumatran, or maybe even Cuban. The construction on this cigar is spot on bearing only one large vein between the body and the seamless, round double cap. And I use the term “double cap” loosely cause quite frankly, I can’t even tell if it’s double or triple. The cigar feels extremely hard when compressed. All except the foot which is very squishy. The wrapper feels really delicate and I am scared to handle it too much for fear of tearing or breakage.

This cigar is really holding back on its prelight aroma. I can barely get a slight cedar scent from the wrapper. So light that I can’t tell if it’s the actual cigar, or just some aroma it picked up from my humidor. The foot give off a very interesting sweet smell. It’s not something I smell too often in cigars. It’s a lot lighter and I can’t really smell much of the tobacco. It almost smells like sweet bread mixed with clean sheets or something. Really strange I know, and I am pulling really far its true. But, it’s worth noting that the small amount of aroma that I am pulling from this cigar isn’t one that I come across too often. The cap of this cigar cut super easy. Like, crazy easy. It felt as if I didn’t even need a cutter. The cold draw is really dry, and gives off an almost mossy leather type flavor. Don’t be turned off by that though. I picked up the same flavor in my review of the AVO LE10 and absolutely loved the cigar.

First Smoke: Lighting of the cigar was cake. And what some REALLY strange flavors I am pulling out of this thing. First, it started off with a really strange Marijuana type flavor (no joke). After the first few draws that changed into a charred, burn type flavor. All that before balancing out to a mossy, leather, creamy woodsy flavor with this neat little kick of spice that I can only feel during the aftertaste. The cigar gives off some slight stationary smoke, but it’s VERY pungent with a strong woodsy and spice aroma.  The burnline is a very sharp, but wavy at times. Nothing too concerning though as it leaves behind a very light grey trail of flaky ash. Remarkably, the ash held on well over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Interesting enough, the second third of this blind cigar is being totally dominated by this strong cashew flavor. My mouth seriously tastes like I have been smoking cigars and eating mixed nuts for the last 3 hours.  Outside of that I am still getting the same mossy, wet wood flavors I was getting in the first third and just a pinch of the spice on the aftertaste along with this slight metallic taste. The retrohale on this cigar is strange to me. I’m not really pulling strong spice and cedar from this cigar, but the retrohale is just that. It’s enjoyable though and gives a nice change up in the cigar’s profile. I am not feeling much of any nicotine at all from this cigar. The burnline still has some slight waves, but is overall doing a good job correcting itself. Believe it or not, I am actually feeling a little nicotine kick from this cigar.

Finish:  Down to the last third of this blind cigar, and overall it’s been very interesting. The flavor mash-ups while, not ideal, really keep you on your toes. The main flavor now has resolved to the mossy wet wood flavor more than the cashew. The cashew is still in there, but it’s really toned down a lot as the body began to ramp up. I am not finally getting some of the cedar flavor too, but it may be too little too late. I would have liked this a lot more upfront to balance out the moss taste. This cigar really took a lot longer then I thought to burn, ending up at a total of an hour and a half smoking time. Burnline was dead even by the end of the experience and required no touch ups, or relights what so ever.

Overview: Overall this was a good cigar. It’s definitely a departure from what I am used to smoking, but that doesn’t make it a bad cigar. The flavors aren’t something you come across everyday which made me really want to smoke more of the cigar and really pull to see what else I could pick up. The body ramp up at the end was really nice, but like I said, I really wish some of the cedar flavors came though a little more. It’s almost as if the cigar never really got it’s chance to shine.

So what did I think it was? PSh, who knows. I really had a hard time with this one as it probably isn’t anything that I have ever smoked before and if it is, it’s not anything I have had in while. My first guess would have to be a Tatuaje Ambos Mundos Sumatran. The wrapper on this cigar really had the characteristics of Sumatran Tobacco. Plus, I don’t smoke those often enough to be able to pull them out of a crowd. Second guess? Man, I really don’t know. Maybe a Bolivar Cuban? I haven’t had one of those in a while either, but I do remember them having a little kick of strength with an overall mild composure. Either way, my guesses are swayed very heavily on overall appearance of the cigar cause quite frankly, I really don’t think I have ever smoked this cigar before.

The Reveal: Turns out this cigar was far from my predictions. The Zino Chateau.

First of all. Let me start off by thanking Brooks for honesty. Why you may ask? Well, if any of you have read Brook’s review on this cigar you would know his thoughts on this. I remember reading it when he posted it and being BLOWN away by how honest, and upfront his opinions where on this cigar. In fact, I remember him actually saying “While I have loved a few and have been disappointed by a few (Dominican) Davidoffs in the past, to say this is a “Shitty” cigar would be slandering shit” Woah right? He then goes on to say: “I was going to give one of these away, but decided that would be torture to whoever received it, so count yourselves lucky.”  That’s where his honesty about me comes into play. He obviously sees me as an enemy.

All kidding aside, I am really glad that he sent this stick. As you can read above you can tell I didn’t think this was a great stick. But I also didn’t think it was that bad either. What this does is really confirm two things. 1) That taste is purely subjective. and 2) that I am a complete idiot for my guesses. Both the Tatuaje and the Bolivar didn’t deserve that.

Well, I wont really go into specifics about this cigar. I will say this, it’s probably may more pricey than it’s worth. To read Brook’s full review (which I strongly suggest you do, you’ll get a kick out of it) follow this link.

A batch of these cigars were actually sent to me by one of you, our readers! If you are familiar with out comments section you’d see the name “JJO” popping up a lot more lately. Jeff has been one of our most constant readers and reached out to me to get my thoughts on this cigar. If any of you ever want me or Daniel to take a look at a certain cigar, all you have to do is ask! Now, if you like this review give a quick thank you to JJO for providing them, and make fun of Daniel for something. You know how we do. Anyways, thanks again Jeff, now onto the show!

The Good Stuff: Est. 1844 has been popping up a lot in a few of my mail order catalogs. Cigar.com and Cigarsinternational.com to be exact. And the only other site I have ever seen them on is cigarbid so I think it’s safe to assume that these are another exclusive cigar, but I could be wrong. Another more confirmed rumor is these are actually blended by the master-blender AJ Fernandez. If that is in fact the case, then I wouldn’t doubt these would be exclusive to the above sites.  I was able to track down some information on forums saying AJ did in fact blend this cigar, but I wasn’t able to confirm that on either of the above sites. The blend starts out with a San Andreas Maduro Mexican wrapper. This is another tobacco that AJ is familiar with which further solidifies that he just might be the mastermind behind this blend. The Binder and Filler are both Nicaraguan puro. One thing that I do know for sure is that if you’re lucky and you catch these cigars on sale you can actually snag them for less than $4 a stick.

Size: Amerada No. 50-extra (6″ x 50)  -  Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Medium

Prelight: I can’t remember the last time I smoked a figured. Flying pig maybe? I’m not sure, but I do know that figurados aren’t something I smoke regular. Not that I don’t like them, they just aren’t made in most blends. But that didn’t stop the est. 1844 from making them. In fact, every cigar in the line is some sort of figurado.  Outside of the obvious obllonged shape, the est. 1844 starts with a very old. Rustic, almost wet-muddy-maduro looking wrapper. The wrapper is very spotty, with medium and dark brown colors doing most of the work. There are a view larger veins, but in this case they almost add to the character of the cigar. The wrapper pairs wonderfully with the interesting map-like/ancient designed band that spans around the cigar simply stating “est.” in light bright and “1844” in a dark read on top of a tan, gold and light brown print.  I actually really like this band. It’s a departure from the everyday band design. The cigar starts with a small foot which immediately blows into a full ring width before tapering off to a very pointy cap near the head of the cigar. The wrapper is very tooth and has a really rough/dry feel to it. The 1844 is very, very firm as it’s tough for me to get any play when I squeeze it. No soft spots at all.

The wrapper has a very sweet chocolate smell to it. It almost smells like brown sure, or chocolate  chip cookies while the foot just explodes with spice and tobacco. This may make for a very interesting mix-up. The cold draw produces just a nice, smooth tobacco flavor. I was expecting to really taste the sweetness from the wrapper, but it didn’t shine thought to the cold draw. Hopefully I pick up a bit more of it in the actual experience.

First Smoke: The est. 1844 starts off with a really nice pepper flavor. Just enough to really tease my tongue and the back of my throat. Under the pepper is some real soft spice, lots of upfront tobacco, a little chocolate, and just a bunch of really earthy, natural flavors. The draw is really easy and pumps out a ton of smoke, but one thing I might mention is the thickness of the smoke isn’t something I’m used to. It’s actually very light and dissipates almost instantly when it hits the air. Kinda strange, but nothing off-putting. I just thought I’d mention it. The burnline is surprisingly even for a perfecto, producing a nice, solid white and light grey ash that held on for a little under an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Into the second third of this est. 1844 and I am enjoying the flavors so far. The wrapper really brings in some distinct sweet, chocolate flavors into this portion of the cigar while maintaining a traditional profile with woodsy, natural tobacco, and earthy flavors. The retrohale is very smooth, coating with a very nice chocolate spice prime. The burnline is still dead even and the ash is holding up particularly well considering how windy it’s gotten over the last 20 minutes or so. I am not feeling any nicotine at all from this cigar. It’s medium at best, but not mild in flavor.

Finish: Going into the final third of this cigar I was surprised to catch a bit of harshness so early on. It wasn’t really strong, but it was there. Looking through that the flavors have remained the same, but dulled out quite a bit. The est. 1844 has now became a more woodsy, natural tobacco taste with some harshness and just a bit of sweetness on the aftertaste. The burnline has remained dead even the entire times and I am surprised how well the ash held together on the cigar despite the increasing winds outside. I wish I could say the same for my ashtray though, I fear there wont be any ash left to lay my band in for my final photo.

Overview: This is a good solid smoke for the money. Towards the end of the experience the est. 1844 started to fall pretty flat, but was very tasty up until that point. I’d love to try one of these in a smaller size, but wouldn’t really reach for the larger ones. Considering the price point these are good sticks to keep around. They are mild enough to smoke in the morning with coffee, but have just enough flavor to enjoy after dinner as well. Ideal for novice smokers, but the more seasoned bunch may crave just a little bit more from a cigar.

Pairing: I decided to pair this 1844 with a VERY strong ale. This usually isn’t a good recommendation as the beer can easily overpower the cigar, but in this case the cigar’s flavors really stood it’s ground and made for a delightful pairing. Stone brewing  (home of Arrogant Bastard) is known for its EXTREMELY strong and bitter beers. They aren’t for everyone, and are proud of that. The beer I paired with today is called “Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale”. Dark in color this 8.7% ABV beast isn’t for the faint of heart. Don’t let the dark color fool you. This ale is very bitter, very hoppy, and balances out with some oaky, malty flavors. I really enjoy Stone’s beers, but again, be careful. They are an acquired taste. I think the est. 1844 is the perfect cigar for iced tea, which I paired one with not too long ago. This cigar would also go great with coffee and any brown soda.

Let’s clear something up first.  Everyone seems to have their own name for this cigar.  Its equivalent to the music industries “Self-Titled” albums.  Remember back when Metallica released their self titled album?  Everyone had a name for it and it eventually became known as “The Black Album”. (Random example I know, but work with me here!)  I seem to see a similar occurrence with this line. The two most common names seem to the “The Padron Classic Line” or “The Padron Thousand Series” (obviously coming from the fact that most of their vitolas are numbers in the thousands). The actual name for this line is simply the “Padron Series”.

Padron is well known for their two more popular lines, the “1926 Serie” and the “1964 Anniversary Series”.  You can also check out my review of the 1926 40 Years or the 1926 No. 35 and the 1964 Anniversay Series Principe.  Those two popular lines often carry a fair hefty price tag whereas this line can be had at very valuable pricing.  It’s a diverse line coming in 15 different sizes and offered in both Maduro and Natural.  One thing to note is that the two different wrappers are usually very hard to tell apart.  The Natural wrappers tend to have a very dark color to them in my experience.

Although this is a much less expensive line, the cigars are still all hand rolled and are made using quality tobacco.  All of the tobacco included in the Padron Series is Sun Grown Nicaraguan and they are aged a minimum of 1.5 years.  The cigar I’m smoking today has also been in my humidor for close to 2 years.  So let’s see how Padron’s more budget friendly line stands up:

Cigar: Padron Series 2000 Natural
Drink: Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: About $4
Burn Time: A little under 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper is rough and has quite a few veins along with a dark cinnamon brown color
• The top is finished with a single cap, not terribly applied but a little messy
• The cigar has some slight give when squeezed but it’s mostly firm throughout
• Foot appears moderately packed, a bit of a gap in the middle which I’m hoping doesn’t cause a tunnel
• The band is fairly minimal and simple, comparably almost to some Cuban Montecristo bands
• The cut was nice and easy, leaving a clean end
• I made sure not to cut too much off the cap since experience tells me these can have open draw.  If you take care to make a shallow cut you’re greeted with a perfect draw

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and easy, the whole foot glowed evenly with minimal effort
• The burn is amazingly razor sharp through the first inch, almost no wave at all
• This Padron 2000 is staying lit easily without the need for me to keep drawing on it
• Through to the halfway point I’ve had absolutely no problems with the burn, razor sharp the whole way
• No burn issues right down to the nub, I never had to take my lighter out after the initial light. That’s the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the first draw I’m getting a ton of smoke from this cigar with very little effort
• The resting smoke is also fairly prominent and gives off a nice cedar aroma
• The ash here is very good, has some very bright white spots accented with some darker grey areas
• Ash appears tight and neat but also seems a bit weak
• After a little more than an inch, I tapped the ash off into my ashtray
• The second ash fell off on it’s own into the ashtray after about an inch

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is a mixture of hay and some coffee beans
• Pre-light draw brings more hay and a ton of earthiness, almost felt like I had dirt in my mouth for a second
• Initial draws have a very strong appearance of delicious coffee and some cedar notes
• The cigar starts off fairly mild and the retrohale has a nice light bite and a very smooth coffee finish
• As we get through the first third, I’m also picking up some mild cocoa notes here and there
• The finish on this cigar is very smooth and the whole profile is well balanced
• The coffee flavors are developing very well as I smoke this Padron 2000
• The cocoa notes are making a strong appearance near the last third and I’m also getting a nice nuttiness
• The body hasn’t changed much at this point, just a slight increase
• Retrohale has stayed nice and consistent with a tiny bite and smooth coffee finish
• The coffee flavors continue to get more intense, now more comparable to a stronger espresso
• The more intense coffee flavors along with woodsy, cocoa and nutty continued to the nub with very little bitterness, allowing you to enjoy it until your fingers burn

Final Thoughts:
Well I think the fact that I’ve ordered a few boxes of the Padron Series cigars may have already given up the fact that I really enjoy them, and this Padron Series 2000 Natural is no exception.  I think that’s easy to see from my notes above. I’ve always been met with great burn and flavors in all of the vitolas I’ve had from the Padron Series. They are also more on the mild side which make a great first cigar at a herf or an early day cigar. It’s also something you can pass out to new cigar smokers without hurting the wallet and you can be sure they will enjoy it. If you haven’t had the chance to smoke one of these or you are part of the group who thinks all Padrons are expensive, then you definitely need to track some of these down and give them a try. Considering the cost of these, especially if you find them on sale, you can’t go wrong.

Pairings:
For the pairing today we have one of my favorite summery blonde brews from one of my favorite breweries. It is the Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer. It’s a wonderful Scottish brew which is aged in Oak casks for a minimum of 77 days. I also paired this brew with Man O’ War Virtue a while back. Don’t let the lighter color of this beer fool you, it is full of flavor and surprising more bold than you would expect. You get the obvious oak flavors in every sip which make a wonderful layer on this brew. Along with that, you get some smooth caramel and slight malty flavor with a fresh and crisp finish. The pairing with the Padron Series 2000 was a pretty good one. The oak flavors in the beer accented the woodsy flavors in the cigar although I think the brew would pair better with a Connecticut. Coffee seems to be my favorite pairing with any of the Padron Series or a coffee flavored porter/stout.

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 G.A.R. line of cigars is currently only offered in the Original or White Label. There were two other blends in the G.A.R. lineup called the Lux and the Vanguard but both have been recently discontinued. I heard a little “rumour” that there may be a new addition to the G.A.R. lineup very soon so be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the Gran Habano website! G.A.R. stands for it’s creator’s initials, George A. Rico, who is the mastermind behind Gran Habano Cigars. Be sure to check out some of our other Gran Habano reviews, including the new Azteca, Gran Reserva #3, Corojo #5 or the Connecticut #1 which was part of this Blind Review post. There is also a ton more information about the company in each of those reviews if you were curious to learn more about Gran Habano and it’s history.

The G.A.R. line was blending by Mr. Rico to be a full-bodied and full-flavored cigar that promises to be complex throughout. It is currently offered in 4 vitolas and today I will be lighting up the Robusto Grande size. One interesting thing about this blend is the use of a mild Connecticut leaf as the binder underneath the more powerful Corojo wrapper. Sounds like it could be a nice creamy compliment to the spicy and full offering, we’ll see how it plays out as I burn through the cigar.

Cigar: G.A.R. by George A. Rico. White Label / Original
Drink: Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny Port
Vitola: Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $6
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A very even and round looking cigar wrapped with a wonderfully oily and dark cinnamon brown wrapper
• A triple cap tops off this cigar with a mostly clean finish
• The wrapper is mostly vein-less and smooth except for two large veins running the length of the cigar
• The cigar has a perfect soft spring when squeezed that is consistent from cap to foot
• The band holds it together at the foot which appears to be well packed
• The cut cut off as clean as could be and with minimal effort

Burn:
• Took quite a bit of time to get the foot glowing and even then it wasn’t even, but after a quick draw everything was back in order
• The burn started off promising but then needed a correction within the first inch
• The cigar kept burning a little uneven and eventually it needs a slight re-light every so often
• It is burning quite slow and letting me enjoy it without extra attention
• Cigar began to tunnel and burn a bit hot near the end

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is offering up a full mouth of smoke
• Resting smoke is very minimal and gives off a woodsy aroma
• Ash is a very light grey color, almost white, and appears to be holding strong
• Tapped off the first ash just past an inch, it could have held on longer but my re-lighting seemed to affect it’s structural integrity
• All the other ashes were still around the one inch mark or less

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a light sweet tobacco aroma
• The foot has a similar sweet tobacco aroma but paired with a faint fruity-coffee mixture
• The pre-light draw offers up a kick of spice and cedar that you could never guess from the aromas
• Initial draws smack you in the face with a ton of tasty woody flavors
• The retrohale at this point is also full of woodsy flavors and lacks any bite
• A nice mellow bready flavor kicked in, nice
• After about an inch I’m getting some nice mild coffee flavors
• As I approach the middle I’m getting some clove flavors and a slight tartness to the mix
• The retrohale still has no bite and the same woodsy finish
• The body has held steady around the mild/medium and is continually giving me a nice creamy finish
• The coffee, bready and clove flavors are all still present as I reach the last third, they are each developing slowly on their own and taking turns as the dominant flavor
• I find that the clove flavor is developing the most and also mixing in a white pepper like flavor, I believe this is the Corojo wrapper starting to shine near the end
• The body started to pick up a bit more as I passed the past third
• The G.A.R. ended with more coffee and clove notes and subtle hints of pepper, very little harshness

Final Thoughts:
This was a tasty smoke with a good variety of flavors to keep you on your toes as you smoke through it. None of the flavors were overpowering or off-putting. My only complaint on this cigar would be the number of touch-ups it required. The touch-ups usually tend to change the flavor for at least a few draws and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Some of these burn issues could also be attributed to the cold temperature out here today, I find that below freezing temps can easily affect a delicate wrapper. But aside from that issue this is a cigar worthy of trying. It promised to be more full bodied then I found it to be, but that might have been because of the Port that I paired it with. It also promised to be complex and full-flavored and I fully believe it lived up to that. It’s offered at a fair price which can make it a good option to be included in your regular rotation.

Pairings:
Sorry for the lack in uniqueness in my pairings lately, I haven’t gone shopping for beer in awhile and I picked up two bottles of this port because they were on sale. If you’re one our wonderful faithful readers you’ll recognize this Quinta do Tedo Tawny Port from a couple of my recent reviews including the Monte Pascoal and the Miraculous Templar Maduro. Please check out those reviews for more details on this Port. The fruity flavors here are pairing well with the cloves and coffee. The higher sugar content of the Port is also helping to any nicotine effects that this cigar may have offered. I think a nice Scotch would have been a great choice here or a tasty bold coffee.

We’ve had a few Padron cigars reviewed on the site already. You can read my reviews of the Padron 1926 No. 35 Maduro or Padron 1964 Principe, or check out Tony’s review of the special edition Padron 46 Years. Padron prides itself on releasing only Nicaraguan puros, which means all the leaves contained within the cigars are grown in Nicaragua. Check out one of the above linked reviews for more information about the Padron Cigar company and it’s Cuban heritage and inspiration.

Today’s review comes from the Serie 1926 line and is called the “40 Years”. Although it seems named similar to the yearly special editions (45 Years, 46 Years, etc…) it is actually part of the regular production Serie 1926 line. The cigars name is significant of the year it was added to the line. It has a unique box-pressed

I was lucky enough to find myself a slightly warm day to enjoy this cigar, of course warm to me this winter is still well below freezing, but I’ll take what I can get until spring comes around! As you might be able to tell, I’m already a big fan of Padron cigars, but as with all my reviews, I go into them as unbiased as possible and give it a fair review. This also means that I will have high expectations for this cigar and might work against it in the outcome. Take a read through it and let me know how your thoughts here might compare to mine.

Cigar: Padron Serie 1926 40 Years Natural
Drink: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Vitola: Box-Pressed Torpedo (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $25
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• A slightly rough yet well made cinnamon brown wrapper with a box-pressed torpedo shape
• No major veins but lots of smaller ones can be seen
• The tapered cap finishes cleanly but it very firm, making me worry about draw issues
• The body of the cigar has a soft spring to it
• As with most Padrons, the wrapper has a very appealing toothiness to it
• The foot appears fairly well packed but does have a couple holes
• The cut was very clean and firm, I did have to cut a fair bit of the taper off to get a decent draw
• This cigar had a crack in the wrapper near the foot, likely due to shipping damage as none of the others I’ve had were like this

Burn:
• Had some trouble getting the foot to light up evenly, starting off with a wavy burn now
• After a few draws the burn line straightened right out nicely
• The crack extended about two inches down the wrapper and definitely affected the burn but it still burned quite well despite that
• A slight peninsula formed just as I passed the end of the crack, a small correction and we’re back in good form
• A few more peninsulas here and there but they mostly corrected themselves
• The cigar burned nice and slowly the whole way through

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke from each draw right from the start of this cigar
• There’s quite a bit of smoke from a resting position as well, giving off a nice cedar aroma
• The ash is not splitting but it does look a bit flaky and weak, we’ll see how it holds up…
• Started to get more flaky as it progressed so I tapped the ash off at about an inch before it fell all over me
• Second ash also fell off after about an inch, seems to be on par with the others I’ve had of this vitola
• Lots of flaking as the cigar burns further along

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is strong of cedar and tobacco
• The foot has more hints of cedar but also a strong presence of earthy aromas and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw is more cedar and a lot more spice, leaving a tingling sensation on the lips and tongue
• Initial draws are mostly of a burnt woodsy type flavor with some earthy notes mixed in
• After a few draws the flavor smoothed out to a nice cedar with some hints of white pepper
• The retrohale is very smooth with a little bite and a tasty cedar finish
• As i finish the first third, I’m getting some hints of coffee creeping in as the pepper slowly fades away
• So far the cigar is just about on the edge of mild and medium and very smooth, no dryness either
• The coffee kept developing nicely and the cedar is still around, also getting some cinnamon or nutmeg on the finish now
• Just past the halfway mark, an interesting bready (think fresh dough) and creamy flavor has popped up, it’s very enjoyable and the cigar is balancing out so well
• The bite on the retrohale is just right, not overpowering and still offers a smooth finish of cedar and coffee
• More coffee flavors developing and turning into an espresso like taste, I find this in a lot of Padron’s and it always impresses me
• Straight down to the nub the flavors are still going strong with no harshness at all

Final Thoughts:
As with most Padron’s I’ve enjoyed, this one did not disappoint. Each time I’ve lit up this vitola I’ve been greeted with a variety of flavors and dimensions that kept it interesting the whole way through. Even with a large crack running a good length of the wrapper, the cigar still burned fairly well. Unfortunately, this cigar loses points in the price department. It carries a hefty tag at about $25 and a lot of shops will over price these due to the name, not to mention taxes in some states/countries. It’s definitely something worth trying as this offers a great cigar smoking experience but it’s not something that can be had on a regular basis for most people. Try to grab a few to save for special occasions and you will not be disappointed!

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is one that seems to be a well known brew, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It comes in a good sized bottle and definitely has lots of character from this UK based brewery. It’s a nice dark stout with lots of head and a smooth finish. You won’t find any bitterness with this brew. The chocolate notes are not as pronounced as the name might suggest but are definitely there and offer a very smooth malty flavor. This brew is an excellent choice for any cigar with hints of coffee or cocoa, I find it really helps those flavors shine. It was no disappointment here as it paired very well and made the coffee notes of the Padron Serie 1926 40 Years really shine. This cigar would also pair quite well with Port, Coffee or a smooth scotch. I also paired this brew with a blind review I did awhile ago of the Perdomo Patriarch Maduro, read that one here.

The Ideology was intended to diversify the line of 262 Cigars by bringing a smooth, mile and creamy profile.  The cigar is wrapped with a Rosado leaf which I find to be a great alternative to the Connecticut when seeking a mild cigar for anytime of the day.  As I mentioned in my last review, the 262 Cigar company is made up of a small group of passionate cigar smokers who have embraced the online and B&M cigar communities to promote their product.  By leveraging these communities they’ve been able to establish themselves as a good name in the cigar world.

The blend of leaves in this tobacco all come from some of my favorite tobacco leave regions including Nicaragua, Mexico and Dominican Republic.  Each of these leaves offers a unique and tasty profile and I’m excited to see how they blend together.  It’s nice to see a cigar aimed at the mild market when it seems a lot of new cigars are being aimed at strong, full bodied smokers.

Cigar: 262 Cigars Ideology
Drink: Erdinger Weissber Dunkel
Vitola: Box-Pressed Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Dominican
Price: $8.75 from 262 Cigars Website (www.smoketherevolution.com)
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A very clean and even square pressed toro cigar
• The wrapper is a nice matte chocolate brown color with almost no visible veins
• The head is finish with a clean triple cap and seems to have a little more shine then the rest of the cigar
• The foot is very well packed and the cigar is fairly firm to the touch with whole way through
• The cut was nice and clean, falling off in a neat bunch into the ashtray
• Draw is just right, not too much effort and not too airy

Burn:
• Toasting took a little while to get even but eventually glowed nicely
• Burn started off a bit wavy but quickly corrected itself and is burning razor sharp now
• Still no problems on the burn as I pass the halfway mark, this is a great sign since I usually have problems with box-pressed cigars, but not this one

Smoke & Ash:
• Getting a nice mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Resting smoke is fairly minimal
• The ash is producing a nice white color to it and looks tightly wound
• Despite it looking nice and strong, the ash fell into the ashtray after about an inch
• The one inch mark seems to be the sweet spot for this ash, but it cleanly falls into the ashtray without me having to worry about it at all

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is very light but I get some hints of coffee and hay
• The foot gives off a bit more hay on the aroma and some hints of coffee and cocoa, maybe even a small touch of spice
• Pre-light draw brings mostly hay and a sweet tobacco type flavor
• Initial draws have a nice cedar flavor and some hints of coffee, starting off nice and mild
• Retrohale is very mild with no bite and at this early point is not giving any distinct flavors
• The coffee flavors have developed a bit more on the finish and also on the retrohale, cigar is still fairly mild
• Getting a bit of creaminess on the finish, a nice touch
• The creaminess has also translated to the retrohale and it also developed a tiny little bite
• The body started to pick up a bit near the end, it’s just teetering on the edge of medium right now
• The cedar/woodsiness made a more prominent appearance in the last third
• The mild smoothness of this cigar is very enjoyable and relaxing, not too in your face
• Some bitterness started to develop in the last inch or so of the cigar, but it wasn’t terribly off-putting
• Smooth cedar flavors lasted to the end

Final Thoughts:
This was a nice mild and enjoyable smoking experience.  The flavors were never overpowering and it smoked smooth and easy the whole way through.  It also had a great burn and nice amount of smoke from start to finish.  This cigar would be a good addition to a selection of early day smokes or when you just want something smooth and mild to relax with. It’s nothing overly complex but still a relaxing and enjoyable cigar.  It would also make a great option for beginner cigar enthusiasts looking for something that won’t knock their socks off.  It also sets itself apart from a lot of other mild cigars which tend to be Connecticut wrappers.  The Rosado wrapper gives it a different flavor while still keeping it creamy and mild.  Anyone looking for a change in their early morning smoke should give these a try.  Their price comes in a bit high to be an easy every-day smoke but still fair enough to be part of a weekly rotation.

Pairings:
After getting the initial notes of coffee and cocoa on the wrapper I decided to pair this cigar with a nice dark beer.  My choice was Erdinger’s Dunkel, a dark wheat beer that goes through a strict fermentation process.  It has distinct notes of coffee and dark malts and goes down smooth with minimal hoppiness or bitterness.  This ended up being a very nice pairing for this cigar with the flavors from each complimenting each other.  Similarly smooth and flavorful dark beers would also pair well here.  A nice cup of coffee or dark soda would also make an excellent pairing.

Up for review today we have a special edition release from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. If you haven’t been following Pete or Tatuaje, you should know that he has a successful line of both limited and regular release blends and he shows no signs of slowing down. You can review some of the other cigars we’ve reviewed from Tatuaje, such as the recently released Halloween special, “The Face”, the Verocu Red Tubo or the Black Corona Gorda. You can also see more by clicking on “Cigar Reviews” at the top of the page and scrolling down to Tatuaje.

Today’s cigar is a special release as part of Tatuaje’s “Exclusive Series” and was made specially for the 100th Anniversary of Barclay Rex Fine Tobacconists. There’s not much extended information around about this cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which was one of the reasons I really wanted to track it down and give it a try. When it arrived it looked very tasty and appealing. Without further adieu let’s jump right in!

Cigar: Tatuaje Exclusive Series – Barclay Rex 100th Anniverary
Drink: Hirsh Brau – Holzar Bier Bavarian
Vitola: Toro (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $10
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Very smooth and round chocolate brown wrapper
• The foot is uncut, leaving the extra wrapper to wrap over the foot
• Fairly springy to the touch but even throughout
• The triple cap has a very clean finish
• No major veins but the minor veins offer a nice lighter shade of brown
• Cut was clean but made a bit of a mess
• Draw is perfect, not too open and not too tight

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly easy even without trimming off the excess wrapper on the foot
• Burn has been nice and razor sharp for the first third
• As I hit the halfway mark I’m still getting a razor sharp and slow burn
• No problems all the way to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• A fair bit of resting smoke rises off this cigar in the ashtray
• The cigar also gives a nice mouthful of smoke on each draw
• The ash is a nice light grey color and appears fairly strong and tight although the first one fell gently into the ashtray at about one inch
• Subsequent ashes were about the same length but still kept tight and clean

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a mostly barnyard or hay like aroma, but a bit of spice can be detected
• Given that the wrapper extends over the foot it has the same aroma at this point
• Pre-light draw is almost non-existent, very mild tobacco flavor with a bit of peppery spice on the lips
• Initial draws hold a bunch of pepper and cedar with some cloves on the finish, interesting start
• The pepper is continuing to be the dominant flavor through the first third with some added toasted wood
• The retrohale has a peppery bite with a nice cedar finish, so far we’re starting out near the medium range
• The toasted wood is developing a but more with some new coffee flavors as the pepper slowly tapers off
• The coffee is balancing nicely with the toasted wood, at this point the pepper is almost gone but the clove flavor is still around complimented with some nutmeg
• The cloves are building as the coffee develops, very interesting mix, I may need to put some cloves in my coffee grinds next time…
• Body is definitely building up, already at full as I head into the last third but still very smooth
• The cigar finished strong but was still smooth and flavorful to the end

Final Thoughts:
This is yet another great cigar from a blending master. It started out fairly strong and peppery but the change-up around mid-point proved to be very enjoyable. The burn and general construction of this cigar was spot on the whole way through. The price is also fairly accessible although they are yet another limited edition and that may turn away some people from purchasing them. If you are a Broadleaf or Tatuaje fan these are definitely worth a try as they do not disappoint. They finish fairly strong so make sure to have a good beverage and a full stomach before lighting one up.

Pairings:
The beer is completely new to me and I stumbled upon it for the first time in one of the holiday packs at my local store. It’s from a brewery called Hirsh Brau and the packaging claims it to be a “Bavarian Beer from Germany”. The English on the packaging and bottle after that is pretty much non-existant, it’s all German. A little online digging shows that this is a Dunkel (Dark Lager) from Sonthofen, Germany. It has a ton of flavor packed into with nice swing top bottle. Despite being a dark lager it is a fairly light drinking ale with bright flavors. It has a nice bitter finish with some hints of fruit and honey and lots of hoppiness. I don’t think it was the best pairing for this cigar, probably a bit too light. I think a nice dark stout or porter would have paired better. Also, this cigar would go fantastic with a good Scotch or Port as well as a nice strong cup of coffee.

The name of this cigar also held sort of a special meaning at this time. The name “The Mogul” seemed to fit perfectly with a recent promotion I was lucky enough to receive at work. So what better cigar to celebrate that accomplishment then with this one. Along with the interesting name, the cigar also has a very intriguing and creative slogan:

“The World’s in Your Hand”

Not only does the cigar have in interesting slogan, the Maldonado Dynasty also portrays it’s own slogan of:

“Always Demand the Finest”

The press release of “The Mogul” sums up this cigar wonderfully so give it a read here:

From the very start, Arapiraca was the choice of Wrapper we had in mind. Never wanting to settle, we stayed true to the rich, strong, slightly sweet leaf. The perfect blend of aged, sun-grown Maduro sweetness, with the boldness of Dominican Binder and leaf, all blended to perfection with Peruvian leaf. The Mogul is the perfect medium-full body premium cigar that will become parallel with the best of the best. Strong and luxurious. After all, we here at The Maldonado Dynasty have a saying: “Always demand the finest.”

We invite you to pick a box up and experience this handcrafted premium cigar for yourself. Also wanting you to to be comfortable in reaching out to us and sharing your comments and questions. After all, we work diligently to make our premium cigars for you, to bring you only the finest. We like to think we create extraordinary moments in time, moments you share with the special people in your life, worthy of The Maldonado Dynasty.
“The Mogul,” is slated for release in late 2010.

Paul Maldonado
President/C.E.O.
www.MaldonadoDynasty.com

Paul and his team have also been busy launching various “Black and White Jazz Affair” events across the country and they plan to continue that in the new year. Double check their website for dates near you! If the pictures and stories I’ve heard are any indication it has been a great success and lots of fun for everyone. As the press release states, the cigars should be hitting stores near you very soon so keep your eyes peeled. Now I have to admit that I had high expectations for this cigar, please take a read through the review and let’s see if it lives up to name, slogan and expectations!

Cigar: Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”
Drink: Islay Mist 8yr Blended Scotch
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Arapiraca Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price:
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A beautiful dark shiny wrapper surrounds this very evenly constructed cigar
• The oily wrapper also has a fair bit of toothiness to it, very appealing to the eye
• There are a few minor veins but none that pose a threat to the burn of this cigar
• The top of the cigar is cleanly finished with a triple cap that seamlessly blends into the cigar
• The foot appears well packed
• There is a slight soft spring throughout the cigar that is even and consistent throughout
• The band has an interesting coat of arms style and a great attention to detail
• The cut was very clean and easy

Burn:
• Toasting was amazingly even, leaving a nice orange glow on the whole foot
• Considering all the smoke this is producing it seems to be burning surprisingly slow
• The first couple inches so far are razor sharp, no wavering at all
• A few minor burn imperfections happened here and there but they were always quickly corrected without my help
• Considering the freshness of this cigar and the cold temperatures here the burn was absolutely perfect!

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke right from the first draw
• Tons of resting smoke as well making for some interesting designs in the air
• The smoke off this cigar is just incredible, an absolute smoke machine!
• The ash here is a work of ark, almost a solid white with some minor darker accents and so tightly wound, not even moving
• Ash held on for about 1.5 inches before gently dropping off into the ashtray in one clean and neat piece
• The next couple of ashes weren’t as long but still nice and clean and they always fell off in the ashtray
• The amazing amount of smoke on this cigar actually made taking pictures difficult, but the designs it made were interesting enough just to watch

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a nice cedar aroma with hints of sweet tobacco
• The foot has more cedar aroma complimented by a sweet cocoa and a touch of spice
• Pre-light was mostly cedar and spice, the spice left my lips and tongue tingling just a bit
• Initial draws are packed with a tasty cedar flavor and subtle hints of spice
• Retro-hale here is mostly cedar with no bite and a smooth finish, overall body is fairly mild so far
• As the cedar slowly started to back off a nice balance came into play with some nutmeg spice and a slight dried fruit flavor

• The dried fruit flavors, sorta like a sweet raisin, are developing very nicely with the nutmeg spice
• The cedar tapered off in the first third but as I approach the halfway mark it is making a comeback with a bit more spice as well
• The flavors here continue to develop with some nice coffee notes as the cedar and dried fruit go back and forth as the prominent notes
• Retrohale has also been passing between cedar and dried fruit, still smooth and no bite.
• Body is making a slow and steady progression approaching a smooth medium at the halfway mark
• The coffee has developed nicely into a sweet espresso flavor and is taking charge of the flavors, really enjoying all these subtle changes
• The cigar finished in the full range with a nice balance of espresso and cedar with no harshness at all

Final Thoughts:
There’s nothing negative that I can say about this cigar, this is what every experience should be like when you sit down with a cigar. It had lots of flavors and dimensions keeping it interesting the whole way through. The burn line was razor sharp right off the bat and never needed a correction or re-light even on this very cold day. Paul had warned me that there might have been burn issues since they were so fresh from the factory but I didn’t experience any at all. The smoke was astonishing and the ash was just perfect. A great experience all around and a definite must-try cigar with unique flavors and superb construction. The slogan for this brand is to “Always Demand the Finest” and rest assured, they live up to that!

Pairings:
At the recommendation of Paul Maldonado I paired this cigar with a Cognac. My choice of cognac today was the Remy Martin XO Special. I’m not a big cognac drinker but I do enjoy a glass occasionally and often with a cigar. Just as Paul had suggested, this made for an excellent pairing. The cognac itself was smooth and balanced and offered delicate floral notes and some raw cinnamon sweetness with a delicious finish. The floral notes seemed to go perfectly with the dried fruit flavors of the cigar. The subtle cinnamon sweetness was a perfect compliment to the cocoa and coffee notes. With both the cigar and pairing offering a fantastic finish this was an excellent match.
I believe this cigar would also pair excellently with a finely aged scotch or some aged Port, both of which are favorites of mine. As for non-alcoholic choices, I’d stick with a smooth and bold coffee. Water could even be a good choice to allow you to fully enjoy the flavors of the cigar.

The Story:
The sample of Scotch Whisky I will be reviewing today was sent to us by Master of Malt. Master of Malt is an online retailer specializing in Whisky although they also sell a variety of other spirits. You can see the review I did of their other sample here of the Master of Malt – Arran 12 Year Old Single Cask Scotch Whisky. The company is based out of East Sussex, United Kingdom and they ship almost anywhere in the world. The package arrived in Canada in record time and the bottles were extremely well protected. One of the wonderful features offered by Master of Malt besides their huge selection of spirits is the ability to get many of the spirits in a small 3oz sample bottle similar to the one pictured.

The Scotch Whisky being reviewed today is from the Bruichladdich distillery from the island of Islay. Islay is well known as the source of many of the worlds most peaty and smoky whisky’s available. Bruichladdich has a rich history dating back to it’s construction in 1881. The distillery currently has a wide variety of selections which can satisfy a very wide range of customers. Click here to see Master of Malt’s wide offering from this distillery, where they have inexpensive and very rare blends ranging from about $30 all the way up to over $1000!

The blend we are looking at today is called Octomore 02.2 Orpheus and is “the worlds most heavily peated whisky”. It is aged in barrels from a top Bordeaux vineyard called “Château Pétrus”. It is a limited release of only 6000 numbered bottles and weighs in at a hefty 61% alc./vol. It actually has a young age of only 5 years. This Scotch has also won the Best Single Malt in the World (Whisky Bible 2011) and Best Peated Whisky (Malt Maniacs).

Image courtesy of Bruichladdich.com

The Bottle:
As mentioned, this was a sample Dram sent by Masters of Malt but the full size bottle of the Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus comes in an elegant jet black bottle with a silver top. It is quite attractive and uniquely designed.

The Eyes:
The Scotch in my glass has a very warm golden tone to it with a shade of amber or reddish hue. It is a fair bit darker the most Scotch Whisky’s and looks delicious.

The Nose:
The claim of the world’s most peated whisky is easily evident in the aroma coming from this glass. Your nose is punched with hefty peat and smoky notes. Once you become accustomed to those aromas you start to pick up some of the woodsy and spicy notes that accompany it.

The Tongue:
This Bruichladdich offering is a blast to the taste buds. Right from the first sip you can detect the complexity this Scotch Whisky is built on. The peatiness is very evident but balanced well with the smoky and woodsy flavors. The finish has a touch of dark fruitiness that lingers on the tongue with the peat. There are also hints of spice detectable on the tongue.

The Final Drop:
There is no doubt that the Octomore 02.2 Orpheus from Bruichladdich Distillery is a powerful Scotch Whisky. With it’s high alcohol content and peatiness this is a complex but enjoyable drink. It’s definitely not something you want to drink quickly. In order to enjoy this to it’s fullest you need to take the time to pay attention to each sip and the dance of complex flavors it plays on your tongue.

I have to say that this Scotch Whisky is quite unique from a lot of others that I’ve tried. It’s definitely something that’s worth finding and tasting. Considering it’s limited production and uniqueness the price is actually very fair coming in at just over $80 from Master of Malt.

The Pairings:
The Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus is definitely a beverage that will pair extremely well with a full bodied and spicy cigar. The peat, smoke and spice make a perfect pairing. The balance of the two would enhance both the Scotch Whisky and the cigar. Here are some examples of cigars that would pair well here:
- Man O’ War Ruination
- Drew Estate Liga Privada Dirty Rat
- Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo
- Illusione Epernay