These pre-release samples were graciously sent over from our good friend @terencereilly82. Excitement for a new Quesada blend started forming when @Quesadacigars dropped a bomb of a tweet announcing the first new blend from the MATASA (Manufactura de Tabacos S.A.) factory in the Dominican Republic. This isn’t just your average everyday blend though, this blend has a purpose.

The Good Stuff: Q d’etat is a play on the concept of “coup d’etat”, an attempt to help unite cigar smokers in support of their rights. The concept formed after a retail store in Springfield MO lots it’s right to smoke within it’s own store due to a lack of exemption file. Sadly, this is happening all over the US as cigar smokers and retailers are constantly having to fight for their smoking rights. In total, there will only be 1,000 boxes of the Q d’etat released, in 3 different sizes. The first is the “Molotov” which is obviously based off the Molotov Cocktail fire bomb used by the Fins against the Russians. This size will run $7.95 a stick, will be available in boxes of ten, and the release is set at some point in January. Details on the other two sizes in the line have yet to be released.

This is an interesting concept and can easily be taken the wrong way. The release in no way is created to incite violence, but to inspire cigar smokers and retailers to take action and do their part to protect their rights. In fact, each box will contain a registration form for the Cigar Rights of America. If you are unfamiliar with CRA, then you need to get with it. Check them out and do your part!

Size: 5 x 44/58 /38 –  Wrapper: Dominican  –  Binder/Filler: Dominican

As you can see by the pictures, the Quesada Q d’etat Molotov does in fact, look like a small Molotov. I really can’t wait to set this thing on fire. The cigar starts out with a smaller gauged round (44rg) then quickly expands into a wide bodied cigar (58rg) before a long, slender taper down to about a 38rg before being capped off with a very interesting compressed nub cap which represents the “rag” portion of a Molotov Cocktail. Interesting indeed, this cigar really does look like one. The format is really intriguing and I really can’t wait to light it up and see how well, or how badly it performs. Size aside the Q d’etat Molotov is wrapper in a crazy oily, dark and medium brown wrapper. This cigar is so oily it looks wet. The wrapper is very thick and firm and despite being a crazy size that I can imagine it pretty difficult to roll, the construction is impeccable. No soft spots, no flaws, and only two smaller veins no longer than an inch each. These samples do not have bands, but here is an ide of what the final band will look like:

And here is a sample from the inside of lid of the box:

The wrapper on this Quesada Q d’etat Molotov gives off a really sweet, oaky aroma while the foot of the cigar bears a very spicy and peppery tobacco aroma. The cap cut clean and crazy easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw is a very interesting cashew and tobacco with just enough spice and pepper to east my lips and tongue. The draw is much looser then I initially thought it would be too.

First Smoke: Quesada’s Q d’etat Molotov starts off with a ton of really bold tobacco flavors. Outside to the tobacco I picked up hints of chocolate, spice, some deep strong oaky/cedar flavors, and just enough pepper to leave a slight tingling sensation on my lips. I’m also picking up a slight saltiness from the wrapper. The draw, is perfect. Which was pretty much the main thing I was concerned about due to the cigar’s strange size. It fits very comfortably in the hand as well. The Q D’etat only leaves behind trace amounts of cedar scented stationary smoke while it sits in my ashtray. The burnline is even for the most part with only a few small waves leaving behind a very tightly compacted medium and light grey ash. The ash held on for about an inch before giving way into my lap. That’s right, I screwed that one up. This picture is close enough to the end of the first third to get away with it.

Halfway There: After reaching the bulb in this Q D’etat Molotov, the cigar really started to smooth out. The bold tobacco flavor is now just an afterthought as the dark chocolate, cinnamon, and spice flavors take over. There is a bit of that oakyness still tossed in there as well. The retrohale is a lot spicier than I expected, priming my nasal passage with a very sharp oak and spice. The burnline is still pretty even, and I am already feeling a nice little nicotine buzz from this little cigar.

Finish: Finishing up the final third of this Q D’etat Molotov and it’s still going strong. One thing to note is there is a tiny bit of sap coming from the cap of the cigar. So little I barely noticed it, so it really didn’t impair the experience at all, I just thought it was worth mentioning. On the same note, keep in my this is a pre-release so it may even be slightly young which may explain the sap. This little cigar goes out with a bang as the flavors began to ramp back up as well as the body of the cigar. The main flavor is not this crazy strong oaky/cedar flavor which is still being backed by the spice and cinnamon as well as some natural tobacco. Don’t let the size fool you, this cigar packs quite a bit of a punch, not to mention it burns incredibly slow. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this little guy down to the nub with no harshness at all. The cigar finishes off really nice, clean and smooth, leaving me with a nice little nicotine buzz.

Overview: This cigar was an interesting one. The format and the blend on the Quesada Q D’etat isn’t something you encounter too often. The size, although strange, really makes for a comfortable and controlled smoke while the bolder, more robust blend suited my tastes perfectly. This isn’t really a cigar for a smoking novice, but I really think the more seasoned smokers will be able to appreciate the hard work, and the complexity of the smoke. The flavors and the change-ups really keep you entertained while the experience as a whole is enjoyable. The price point on these cigars make them a perfect cigar for your everyday rotation. I really can’t wait to try this blend in other formats. Needless to say Quesada has done it again. After last year’s success with the Seleccion Espana, Oktoberfest, and Domus Magnus I really expected great things from the company and couldn’t wait to see how the next blend would turn out. I don’t think the Q D’etat trumps those three blends, but it fits in perfectly with them and I would highly recommend picking these up once they are released. Boxworthy for sure, especially at that price.

Pairing: It almost seems like this beer and this cigar are made for each other. I paired this Q d’etat Molotov with a beer that often shows it’s face around this blog, New Belgium’s 1554. 1554 is a Brussels’s style black ale that fits perfectly into the winter season, but is luckily found year round. Brewed at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado this 5.6% ABV “enlightened” ale boasts flavors of dark chocolate, malted nuts, and caramel with a smooth creamy finish. Pair it with your next maduro, you won’t regret it.

The post Quesada – Q D’etat Molotov appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Abdel J. Fernandez has been a big name in the cigar industry as of late. Mostly because of his Manowar, Diesel, and Ave Maria blends, but it looks like he is starting to get away from the vendor exclusive market and distribute cigars on his own. The San Lotano line is one of the first one of these blends that the consumer will be able to find in their common brick and mortar shops.

The Good Stuff: The San Lotano line is being produced in Esteli, Nicaragua and comes in three different blends. The Habano, the Connecticut, and the Maduro. I smoked through all three, in different sizes as well and I have to say that I enjoyed the Maduro the most. A neat side note is that so many people I spoke with were blown away by the Habano. This just shows A. J.’s skill, and reach to the subjectivity of cigar smokers today. This is something that can make or break any manufacturer. Not to mention you can now find them on twitter (@AJFCigars), and they are actually very active, informational, and just a blast to talk with.

Size:  6 x 52 (Box Pressed)-  Wrapper: Mexican Maduro  –  Binder (dual): Honduran and Dominican  –  Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan  – Body: Medium

Prelight: The San Lotano Maduro is a beautiful, box-pressed, toro cigar. The wrapper is the wonderful, deep, dark, brown so dark that it is almost black. The wrapper has a nice little gleam to it too making this cigar look like nothing more than a chunk of dark chocolate with some cigar bands on it. The thick, and EXTREMELY firm body carries minor, very small veins, and no soft spots leading up to the rounded off double-cap. The band on the entire San Lotano line is black, with a gold, orange, and green crest holding the “San Lotano” name as well as a gold banner with “By A.J. Fernandez” and some small circular pictures showing tobacco production. There is also a secondary black and gold embossed band that simply states “Maduro”.

The San Lotano Maduro gives off this massive chocolate and mossy smell. The foot carries the same aroma only its amplified by ten. The cap was very easy to clip using my double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a really strong chocolate taste, with a bunch of spice and a little leather off the tail end.

First Smoke: Just as the prelight, and cold draw characteristics suggested this San Lotano Maduro starts out with a crap load of dark chocolate and spice. After the spice settles a bit the San Lotano shows its true colors with a much more bolder, chocolate, coffee, and leather flavor with just a little bit of fruit. This cigar really doesn’t give off much, if any stationary smoke, however the draw was thick and plentiful.  The burnline is phenomenal, dead on and razor sharp leaving behind a nice semi-compacted trail of light and medium grey ash. Which held on for about an inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: The flavors really mellowed out into the second third of this San Lotano Maduro.  Which really caught me off guard as the first third finished off with the crazy spice build up. The flavors are still chocolate dominant with a smooth woodsy backing and hints of fruit. They just aren’t as powerful as they were. The retrohale however is rocking with just a ton of spice and chocolate. The burnline is still just perfect and I am only feeling very slight nicotine teases at this point.

Finish: Although the final third of this San Lotano Maduro finished a lot milder than I would have liked, the flavors did really ramp back up towards the end. The main flavor all the way through was the chocolate. In the final third more of the cedar and tobacco flavors snuck it carrying a bit more of that fruit along with it. The cigar had just a slight amount of harshness into the nub, but nothing off-putting. I felt no nicotine, and the cigar took about and hour and forty five minutes to take down.

Overview: I honestly love the new stuff AJ has been coming out with, this maduro was no exception. My only gripe is the size. A smaller, stouter vitola would make this a perfect everyday cigar. I just haven’t been going for the larger sticks lately. Even though the weather in El Paso is suited for it, I just favor the robusto/coronas. This cigar is perfectly priced, and something I would definitely recommend to any cigar smoker from the novice to the everyday guy (or gal).

Pairing: This pairing is no surprise if you follow us here at Casas Fumando. New Belgium’s 1554 is the ideal candidate to pair with absolutely any maduro cigar. The cigar is your standard Brussels’ style black ale. Thick, and dark with a strong chocolate, nut, and roasted malt flavor. I was actually going to pair this cigar with another stout but a 1554 happen to catch my eye when I was going through the fridge. You just can’t beat the pairing.

The post San Lotano Maduro Toro, by A.J. Fernandez appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

This cigar is one stirring up lots of talk on the twitter boards as of late, as it is the brain child of one of the #CGARClan’s very own Skip Martin, in combination with Mike over at Adrian’s Cigar. Everyone pretty much within the twitter cigar community knows of both of these guys, and thier superior knowledge in all things tobacco related. Knowing this, combined with Skip’s distinct full bodied blends of choice, i knew we were in for a nice little treat way before hearing any type of reviews.

The Good Stuff: The CroMagnon line, from what I know, isn’t fully available yet. And when it is, I believe the only place to get it will be direction from @CroMagnonCigar, or from the Hava Cigar Shop (which is an online store that Skip runs ever since the hurricane blasted through his B&M). I picked up the first run sampler pack from Skip a few weeks ago that he calls the “Taxonomy”, and really enjoyed smoking through the entire line. Skip made mention that the first sampler packs were intended for his disposal, but he was so happy with the blend that he couldn’t wait to get these cigars in the hands of BOTL and SOTL everywhere.  The entire selection will have nice “Cro Magnon” themed names and will come in five sizes: The Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52), the Anthroplogy (5.74 x 46), the Mandible (5 x 60 at first release but will be 4.5 x 60 going forward) , the EMH a.k.a the Early Modern Human (5 x 56), and the Cranium (6 x 54) and will run you around six to eight bucks a stick. Today, I decided to review the Knuckle Dragger. You can purchase any of the Cromagnon line direct for Havacigarshop.com.

Size: 4 x 52  –  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  – Binder: Cameroon  –  Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Full

Prelight: The CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger is one ridiculously oily cigar. In fact, this has to be one of oiliest cigars I have ever hand. Just handling the cigar leaves a silky layer of oil on my fingertips. The CroMagnon sports a very hefty, thick, very dark almost bittersweet chocolate brown wrapper. There are patches of darker spots throughout the leaf that covers the body of the cigar. The construction is impeccable. The body of the cigar shows only very small, smooth veins leading up to a nice, rounded,  double cap. It’s worth the note that some of the cigars I received in my sampler pack from Adrian’s actually had triple caps. This Knuckle dragger may have a partially covered up one. I’m not sure if they will be double, or triple, but hopefully Skip will read this and shed some light. The cigar is really firm to the touch, and the wrapper feels very durable.

The CroMagnon gives off a hell of a lot of pungent, sweet tobacco scent with hints of cedar and even a bit of bready dough scent coming from the foot of the cigar. The cap clipped very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw released by the CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger starts off with just a wisp of pepper backed by a ton of sweet tobacco, and some mixed in earthy flavors.

First Smoke: The CroMagnon kicks out a ton of thick smoke, be ready for it! The first couple of draws surprised me with a nice little pepper punch that was nothing more than a memory after about 5 minutes of smoking. After the pepper faded out I was welcomed to a very sweet tobacco flavor with some very woodsy undertones. I can’t really place it, but it’s not cedar. Something more rich and deep with accents of dark chocolate. As I stated before the draw is very thick, and very easy, you may not want to hit this too many times each draw. The smoke produced is very thick, and very pungent. Although the CroMagnon doesn’t give off a lot of stationary smoke, the draw is enough to annoy the hell out of any non-smoker that may be sitting around you. The ash left behind from the perfectly even burline is a very tightly compacted white with light grey and held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Probably due to the Cameroon, there is this very nice floral flavor being added to the flavor mix into the second third of the CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger. Outside of the floral addition the flavors are still rocking hard with the woodsy and chocolate flavors. There is also a little bit of slight fruit mixed in. This cigar really packs the flavor. The burnline is still dead-on and I’m really not feeling too much strength off this cigar. Sure there is some there, but after so many people made such a big deal about the power this cigar pushes through, I have yet to see it. This also goes along with something I have touched on before. Not all cigars effect everyone the same when it comes to the body of the blend. There has been some more medium cigars that I thought were ass-kicking and just as well there has been some stronger cigars that I thought were less than impressive in the strength category. Cigar smoking is purely subjective from any angle you look at it. I’m just simply stating my personal opinions.

Finish: The CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger, and every vitola I have smoked, has really taken a long time to get through. These things burn incredibly slow, which usually leads to harshness into the final third. Surprisingly enough the cigar has actually mellowed out a bit into the final third. The flavors are still holding true, but the cigar has gotten much easier to smoke. The dominant flavors are the woodsy and tobacco flavors backed up by soft hints of chocolate, some coffee hints, and even notes of the pepper making a brief re-appearance. The body is still there as well, but it really isn’t anything concerning. All in all the small stature of the Knuckle Dragger took a little over an hour to smoke.

Overview: One thing I liked about this cigar was the marketing. It was a nice little “CroMagnon” theme and each of the names for the vitolas matched up. Along with the theme Skip and Adrian’s took a very social media heavy approach to getting the word out focusing strongly as Twitter. But, they didn’t hype this cigar up at all. Instead, they let the community know it was out there, gave them the first peeks, and then let Twitter speak for the cigar itself. From what I have gathered, the outcome has been very positive. It’s not about how much you can hype up your blend, its how well the cigar community views it. They will tell you if it’s worth your hard work, and in this case they have. I for one, really enjoyed this cigar. I would have been one of the first people to tell you otherwise too. I know Skip well, and he’s the type that wouldn’t let anything less than stellar hit the market and it shows. The CroMagnon is a perfect full-body, full-flavor cigar that won’t knock you on your ass. At least it didn’t for me. Would I purchase it again, oh I will. Is it box worthy? For sure.

Pairing: I decided to pair this CroMagnon with an all time favorite, and my all time go-to beer New Belgium’s 1554. 1554 is a traditional Brussel’s style black ale brewed by the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado with an ABV% of 5.6. I smoked a bunch of these CroMagnon’s and each time I kept thinking to myself how awesome they would go with some 1554. The tart fruity flavors, with the chocolate malt and caramel undertones really married up to the similar flavors I pulled out of this CroMagnon. This cigar would also pair great with just about any stout, some black coffee, sweet tea, and even your favorite port.

The post Adrian’s CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

This just catches me as odd, and makes Gurkha cigars seem more like a novelty than a cigar brand to me. But lately, I have heard quite a few people in the cigar community speak freely, openly, and honestly about how great some of the Gurkha lines are. Not to mention my local shop owner boasts about a certain Gurkha that blew his socks off. Naturally, I gave in and I am here today to review (my first) Gurkha, The Shaggy madura toro.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

 The Gurkha family is amongst the leaders if not the leading company when it comes to Dominican Republic cigar manufacturing. It has been said that the Gurkha family’s main goal is to produce the finest vintage cigars in the world. They take every step in each and every cigar that comes out of the factory very seriously and the shaggy is no exception.

The Good Stuff: The Gurkha shaggy isn’t the newest cigar to hit the streets. In fact, It has been out roughly 3 years already. The Shaggy is packed with a 6 year aged Dominican binder and filler wrapped with an 8 year aged Connecticut wrapper. The amount of work that goes into each one of these cigars alone is enough to grab my attention.

Size: Toro 6×50  –  Wrapper:  Connecticut Maduro   Filler/Binder: Dominican  Strength: Medium

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

Prelight: The Gurkha shaggy is a pretty interesting cigar. First of all, the obvious. The Gurkha Shaggy has long filler tobacco literally sticking out almost an inch passed the foot of the wrapper, hence where the shaggy got it’s name from. The wrapper on the shaggy is a deep brown, and varies greatly in color. The wrapper on the shaggy looks almost like the brown, orange mesh-up on a calico colored cat, not to mention it is a lot lighter than the maduros I am used to. This isn’t a bad thing though. Many manufacturers are using synthetic dye to actually darken the shade and consistency of their wrappers. The Gurkha shaggy boasts just the opposite. The wrapper was very firm to the touch, and extremely veiny. It will be interesting to see how the burn line plays out amongst the shaggy foot and veiny texture. There are no soft spots, but there are two glue spots on the wrapper. One is a dab of excess glue that expanded passed the secondary band and spilled out onto the wrapper. The second looks almost as though the person handling the cigar had gotten glue on one of their fingers and used my cigar to wipe it off (I’ll post a picture of this further into the review). The shaggy is capped off with a very rounded double-cap. The band on the shaggy is far surpassed exceptional. This was something that has always drew me to Gurkhas. Although I haven’t purchased any, the packaging and brilliant wrappers make any Gurkha cigar stand alone next to any other cigar on the shelf.

This cigar was cut using my Palio double-bladed guillotine cutter and had absolutely no problems, or cracking during the cutting process. The wrapper smelled softly of cinnamon and ginger with a strong tobacco presence where as the foot carried the same tobacco scent along with very leathery aromas. The cold draw was very natural tobacco tasting, with hints of ginger, and leather.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

First Smoke: As expected with most shaggy-foot cigars, I had absolutely no problem getting the Gurkha shaggy lit under my single flame butane torch. The draw was wild and extremely loose at first, but I am expecting that to change once the burnline hits the wrapper. The first flavor right off the bat is spice. Spice, spice, spice. Luckily, after a few hard draws the pepper had winded down considerably leaving behind an amazing mixture of gingerbread, raw coffee, leather, and cedar. After burning into the wrapper the draw, as expected, tightened up quite a bit. The shaggy was still producing large amounts of thick smoke on the draw, while giving off little, to no stationary smoke. The smoke itself smelled pretty pleasant. That of earthy/woodsy aromas with a kick of spice. I was able to burn right through the glue spot in the following picture without any complications in the burn-line or changes in flavor:

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro with fingerprint shaped dab of glue

The burnline was very thin with slight waves. That’s expected when lighting up a shaggy footed cigar. The ashed produced in the shaggy area was a dark grey and very flaky while the ash in the wrapped area was a brilliant greyish white and extremely well packed. I got about two inches of ash before it gave way.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

Halfway There: Around the halfway mark the flavors began to smoothen out. The ginger and spice was still there, but had flatted with the leather taste. The pepper was no longer present, and the cedar was the most dominant flavor in the bunch. It also seems as thought I was pulling off a very slight citrus aftertaste, but that may have just been the beer I had paired the shaggy with. There was almost no signs of nicotine. This is one smooth and creamy cigar. The burn line had gotten just a little bit out of hand, but a quick touch up fixed that and it was back to normal. The shaggy is burning a lot quicker than most cigars I have had lately, but that may be due to the extremely well aged tobacco used to create it, and in no way dampened the overall smoking experience. 

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

Finish: One of the only things that have irked me so far about the shaggy is the massive bands it, alongside most other Gurkhas carry. I guess it’s a double edged blade between the massive amount of detail and significance they carry, and the amount of glue used to hold them on. The bands were both too tight to slide off, and carried much more glue that I had hoped for. As stated before some of the glue actually leaked out onto the wrapper of the cigar itself. But honestly, if band problems are the worst of my problems then this cigar has some great potential. The finishing flavors were much like the second half, gingerbread, leather and cedar. The pepper did make a brief re-appearance shortly before getting to the nub. One surprise was the smooth finish. There was no build up of harshness when reaching the end of this smoke, and that is not something I’m used to. Another good note, is the fact that I had no further issues with the burnline at all.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

Overview:The Gurkha Shaggy surprised me in many different ways. From the superb construction to the extremely pleasant taste. Needless to say my mind has been changed. I’m not full sold on Gurkha yet, but if my future experiences mimic even half of the enjoyment I have encountered while smoking this cigar, consider me a fan.

I would recommend this cigar to absolutely anyone. Enthusiasts will be able to appreciate the perfect construction and complex flavor profile. Novices will appreciate the smooth, creamy experience with the almost non-existent aftertaste. And non-smokers won’t be annoyed with you smoking one around them.

The value of this cigar is about average. I believe these were marked somewhere in the $7 – $8 range. Very affordable.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro

This Gurkha shaggy was paired with a New Belgium 1554 Brussel’s style black ale.

Gurkha Shaggy Maduro and New Belgium 1554

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