September and October 2015 Recap

Most Memorable Cigars Smoked

1. Crowned Heads – Las Calaveras 2015
2. La Mission du L’Atelier
3. Tatuaje – La Riqueza
4. Mel Caribbean Corp. – Bella Dominicana

 September and October Cigar Reviews

Review Highlights

Jeremy’s Reviews
Mel Caribbean Corp. – Bella Dominicana 

Bella Dominicana delivered medium/full flavors at the start and transitioned to more of medium smoke throughout the last two third. The strength behaved exactly opposite with reaching medium/full at the end. I would characterize the core of the smoke, or the most consistent flavor, as sweet, rich woodsy notes with no lack of complexity and change-ups and a fair amount of pepper spice.

J. Fuego – Vudu Sacrifice and Vudu Dark, Famous Smoke Shop Exclusives

Sacrifice: Right of the bat, the Sacrifice delivered full-flavors that were full in body and medium in strength. I have absolutely no complaints in the performance department. While the draw was stiff at the pre-light, once lit, the draw was fine and the burn and ash was exceptional for a cigar less than $3.00. Not overly complex, but highly enjoyable smoke that I could see picking up in the evening and standing up to fuller body beverages.

Dark: The Vudu Dark is my cup of tea. The flavors of earth, cocoa, and pepper suited my palate with an evolving strength that moved from mild to medium/full throughout the smoke. Compared to the Sacrifice, the burn-line was not nearly as even, but was of no concern. I actually ordered up a jar of No. 7s, and I believe you may be hard-pressed to find a better cigar for the price.

Macanudo Estate Reserve 2015

Macanudo Estate Reserve 2015 delivers medium flavors, body, and strength, sometimes pushing full, with an effortless performance. The sweetness noted in the first third brought a nice balance to the dark and sour/floral flavors and was sorely missed once it exited in the middle third and never made a return. The sour floral or grapefruit essence held my interest throughout but I longed for the return of the sweetness.

Carnage, a Famous Smoke Shop Exclusive

Famous Smoke Shop’s Carnage blended by Nestor Plasencia delivers medium flavors and medium/full strength with a consistent profile with a core of rich woodsy notes and pepper spice, with some subtleties that are much more noticeable if this cigar is not hot boxed. The Carnage Robusto required one touch-up, but other that I don’t have any complaints on the performance.

Tatuaje La Riqueza Lancero

The core of the flavors were dark and spicy, with lots of subtleties in the profile and change-ups in each of thirds kept me engaged the entire time. Each time I burn through one of the Tatuaje lanceros in the Limited Lancero Collection, I feel like I just found my new favorite Tat. As it stand today, this may very well be my favorite.

Tony’s Reviews

Padron – Damaso No. 8

In my case, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of everything that you have come to expect from Padron in the case of the Damaso. The body was lacking, the flavor profile was less than stellar, and the price point was way too high for what the cigar delivered. Not to mention that I really tried to take my time with this cigar, but even then it burned way too quickly. It seriously only took me about 50 minutes to smoke this down to the very nub.

Crux Du Connoisseur

Each of Crux’s cigars have been hits in our book, and the Crux Du Connoisseur is no exception. In fact, it’s probably one of my favorites by the company. The cigar sports lots of character with a complex and interesting flavor profile that isn’t too far over the top.

Guest Reviews by Jeff Oda

L’Atelier Extension de la Racine ER14

Looking over my review of the first release of the Extension de la Racine (ER13), it appears that this one is quite a bit different in the flavors it presents, and I have to wonder if the shape of the cigar has something to do with that.  I definitely missed the Asian spice and floral elements that were present in the ER13 and that I enjoyed so much, so perhaps the Parejo shape is a better fit for this blend than figurado.

Roberto Duran Cigars – Neya 

The flavors were enjoyable and reasonably complex, and the experience was very much in line with the Duran EPF target.  The previous two that I had actually lasted about ten to fifteen minutes longer than this one, so YMMV.  At four bucks, I think that this cigar is an absolute bargain, and I have no qualms about recommending it to someone who’s looking for a high-value medium-plus bodied stick.

AJ Fernandez Enclave

The AJ Fernandez Enclave turned out to be a solid smoke, which while not the most complex around, provided a good range of flavors with enough transitions to keep me interested in it.  Construction and burn were top-notch, it smoked nice and slow, and the price is absolutely consumer friendly.

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-Tony

Cigars blended and/or manufactured by Abdel (AJ) Fernandez have certainly not been ignored here at Casas Fumando, as there are too many reviews of them in the archives to list or link to.  Suffice to say that we are all fans of what he has put out ever since he burst onto the scene several years ago.  The Enclave follows on the heels of the New World that he and his father Ismael introduced last year, and is a tribute to the community of cigar smokers the world over.  Although I have yet to try the New World (I know, shame on me), the premise of the Enclave was too much for me to pass up on it for a review before I could get around to the New World.  With all of the vitolas of the Enclave being of a 52 ring gauge, it is right up my alley in terms of size.  Those sizes are Robusto 5×52, Toro 6×52, Figurado 6.5×52, and Churchill 7×52 and fall within the $6 – $7 range.

The cigars for review were once again provided by Cuenca Cigars.

The Basics:

Wrapper:   Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder:  Cameroon
Filler:  AJF Select Nicaraguan and AJF Piloto Cubano
Size:  Figurado 6.5 x 52
Price:  ~$6.80
Pairing:  Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale (7.7% ABV)

Pre-light:

The AJ Fernandez Enclave presents itself in an oily wrapper, uniformly medium brown in color and sporting a couple of medium sized veins.  It is for the most part firmly packed with a few slightly softer spots, starting with a blunt foot and culminating in a sharply pointed cap.  The main band is primarily blue, red, white, gold, and sepia, and depicts a Native American astride a horse, while the secondary band of red, blue, and gold reads “A.J. Fernandez”.  The wrapper displays scents of tobacco and light earth.  The foot gives off tobacco, earth, wood, and light coffee.

Snipping the cap, I’m greeted by a snug draw, but that may be the effect of the nearly closed foot, so we’ll see how that progresses.  The flavors on the cold draw are light cedar and tobacco with a touch of sweetness.

First third:

Despite the slightly tight draw, the Enclave produces a decent of smoke featuring sweet cedar and just a hint of white pepper.  Earth and leather become apparent, more so on the retrohale.  Although I needed to make a quick correction due to the shape of the foot (i.e. my iffy lighting technique), the Enclave is now burning with thin and even line.  The ash which is part white and part gray (again, most likely due to the shape) looks solid, save for a crack about ½” down, and sure enough, it falls on me ¾” in.  The smoke output has increased and inch or so in, and the body has likewise gone up to a solid medium, bringing in a bit of musk and fleeting bread notes.  It has become nice and smooth on the entry, while leaving a bit of lingering tickle on the back of the tongue and throat.  Sweetness has become more apparent in the wood flavor, with bread on the retrohale.

Middle third:

Entering the second section of the AJ Fernandez Enclave, the cedar, earth, and leather continue to drive the flavors, while some bitter coffee and herbaceousness has come into play.  The sweetness has backed off and the body continues to climb.  With bitterness creeping up, I have given the stick a quick purge, and the sweeter notes immediately come rushing back.  Since my initial touch-up, the Enclave has been burning beautifully, with a razor sharp and even line, although the ash still wants to drop off unexpectedly.  The flavors have become earthier, and the woodiness darker.

Final third:

The Enclave continues to smoke smoothly, picking up more pepper, and the body is now at medium-full and climbing, and so is the strength.  There is a certain brightness that has entered the mix that helps to balance the darker flavors, and the sweetness has again come back into the picture.  At the two hour mark, with the strength kicking at me and the body at nearly full, I put the cigar down, although it is still smoking cool and without harshness, even at this point with an inch left.

Overview:

The AJ Fernandez Enclave turned out to be a solid smoke, which while not the most complex around, provided a good range of flavors with enough transitions to keep me interested in it.  Construction and burn were top-notch, it smoked nice and slow, and the price is absolutely consumer friendly.  Mild smokers and those who have an aversion to strong smokes might want to build up to this one, but for those who like their cigars on the stronger side, this would be a good one to pick up and try. It’s a worthy salute to the brotherhood/sisterhood of cigar smokers at a great price point.  I’m now interested to see how it shows itself in one of the Parejo shapes.

Pairing:

After smoking my first Enclave, I decided that I wanted to go with something on the sweeter and smoother side, so I went with the Claymore Scotch Ale by Great Divide.  While it does have a good amount of malty sweetness to it, it also is not so sweet as to be cloying.  Medium bodied and balanced out with a touch of tartness, it proved to be a good match with the cigar, helping to bring out more of the sweetness of the Enclave, while not overpowering it.  A strong ale or dark Belgian would also make for a great pairing.

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