Boutique Blends – Aging Room Quattro F55

***On May 5, 2016, the FDA released their ruling to subject cigars to heavy regulations by August of this year. Cigar Rights of America is working tirelessly to move legislative exemptions for cigars through Congress. They have also begun a petition that is up at petitions.whitehouse.gov that you can find HERE. As I write this, an additional 94,967 signatures are needed for the White House to respond to this petition. You can contact your U.S. Senator and Congressmen directly, which has never been easier by going HERE.***

Boutique Blends led by Rafael Nodal specializes in small production lines with several  brands that have steadily gained popularity – Swag, Aging Room, Oliveros, and, the more recent, La Boheme. Up for review today is the Aging Room Quattro F55 that is no newcomer to the market, but never reviewed here at Casas Fumando.

Manufactured in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera La Palma, available vitolas include: Stretto (4 1/2 by 26), Espressivo (5 by 50), Concerto S (6 by 50), Maestro (6 by 52 Torpedo), Vibrato (6 by 54), and Concerto (7 by 50).

You can purchase your own through our good friends at Famous Smoke Shop.

The Facts

Samples Provided by Famous Smoke Shop
Price: $10.16*
Vitola: Vibrato
Size:6 by 54
Wrapper: Indonesian Sumatra 2003
Binder: Dominican Habano
Filler: Dominican Habano
Smoke Time: 2 Hours

*Priced at Famous at the time of review

Pre-light

The Aging Room Quattro F55 wears a medium brown Sumatran wrapper that is a rough looking leaf with some color imperfections, stretchmarks, a couple medium sized veins, bumpy, and a couple of odd indentations. Bringing the F55 Vibrato to my nose, there is an apple cider vinegar and cedar aroma. The nose on the foot of the cigar is rich with notes of cedar, chocolate, raisin, and just enough pepper to tingle my sinuses. With all of the character of the leaf, it is difficult to make out the cap. Since I normally take very shallow cuts, I doubt I will over cut. The richness transfer from the aroma right to the cold draw that has little resistance. The same rich cedar and potpourri spices come across on palate.

First Third

After removing the foot band on the Aging Room Quattro F55, the cigar fires up quickly and instantly delivers a mouthful of rich and spicy smoke. Under a rich cedar that leads the charge, the is a natural tobacco sweetness and a hefty amount of pepper. While the flavors are full, the finish is clean with some coffee and pepper. About an inch in, the smoke completely died out. Knocking off the ash, I find half the cigar extinguished requiring a complete re-light.The burn has been all over the place, but somehow pulls itself back in line. An ugly white and black ash is being formed, which probably has to do mostly with the relight.

Middle Third

Moving into the second third, the flavors from earlier carry along  with the addition of toast and a grape-jelly sweetness. While it is pretty early on, I am already feeling some of the nicotine from the F55 in my gut. The cedar is a combination of pencil shavings and camp fire. The burn, after progressively getting worse, required another touch-up. Hopefully, this will be the last time I’ll have to put a flame to this Quattro F55.

Final Third

Earth and coffee arrive in force pushing out the flavors that joined in in the second third, but continue on with the flavors of rich cedar, natural sweetness, and pepper that have made up the core since the first third. The pepper shines through on the retrohale almost making a sneeze come on. With only a few minutes remaining with this cigar, a very pleasing nuttiness comes across.

Wrap-up

Right from the start, the Aging Room Quattro F55 produced an abundant amount of smoke, delivering rich and full flavors. The core of the smoke was made up rich cedar, natural tobacco sweetness, and pepper, with the addition of a few new flavors making an appearance as the cigar burned down. What caught me off guard with this cigar was the strength that absolutely kicked my butt. While I was able to burn through several of the samples with no issue, the strength in the cigar reviewed put me over the edge requiring a quick dose of sugar to counter the nicotine hit. The only major complaint I have in the performance arena was the funky burn and the cigar going out in the first third. With the change in seasons, I noticed the humidity in my humidor gradually rising, which I first thought was the issue. However, the same problem was noted in another sample that I dry-boxed for a day or so. With that said, I still found the Aging Room Quattro F55 Vibrato to be a very good cigar. I love what the guys at Boutique Blends are doing with the Aging Room brand and Dominican tobaccos. My only caution would be to have this cigar after a large meal. Lastly, a big “THANKS” goes out to Famous Smoke Shop for providing the samples.