Now let’s make sure we don’t confuse this with the new release of Maduro cigars that Illusione has put out recently. The new ones are easily noticable by their red and gold band, which signifies the maduro line. A couple years ago in 2010, Dion Giolito, the mastermind behind Illusione cigars, released a limited run of the ~hl~ lancero cigar in a maduro wrapper. There had the same band as normal, but with the obvious difference of the maduro leaf.

You may have also stumbled upon a limited release of the ~hl~ in a Candela wrapper at the time as well. I wasn’t able to get my hands on any of those, but the maduro version caught my attention a lot more anyway. From what I understand, the filler and binder remain the same in this limited release which includes some Corojo ‘99 and Criollo ‘98 lead. Only the wrapper was swapped for a San Andreas maduro leaf from Mexico.

If you’ve checked out some of other Illusoine cigar reviews, such as the ‘888’, Singulaire, ~mk~, ~88~, or the Epernay, you will know that each cryptic name has a special meaning behind it. I won’t reinvent the wheel here, this is Dion’s explanation of the ~hl~ name directly from the Illusione Cigars.com website:
My Lancero , the lance. Get it? Constantine was the first Christian Emperor to lead Rome. It was fabled that he had possession of the very spear that punctured the side of Jesus while on the cross. He was said to carry this relic into battle and, it was said that it helped him win his many battles. It is an artisan blend and, the mildest of all my cigars.

Cigar: Illusione ~hl~ Maduro
Drink: Ayinger Celebrator
Vitola: Lancero (7.5 x 40)
Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $9.75
Burn Time: About 1 hour

Construction:
• The Illusione ~hl~ Maduro is wrapped up by a very tasty look dark chocolate leaf that is extremely toothy
• The texture of the wrapper is like sandpaper and it’s a bit bumpy in some areas but the veins few and the ones you can see are all fairly small
• The entire cigar has some firmness to it when squeezed, it has almost no give from end to end
• The cap is finished off with a sort of pigtail, I’m not sure if all mine were damaged but it seemed like a bit of the pigtail is always broken off
• It’s easy to see that the foot is very well packed and neatly finished
• Even though it seemed a little tight on the pre-light, the draw is actually very good

Burn:
• The toasting was fairly quick and easy given that the ring gauge is pretty small on this cigar
• Burn has been spot on through the first couple of inches, no complaints to be had here so far
• I’m very happy with the burn on this cigar for the most part, I tend to have bad luck with lanceros
• I did need to make one correction just past the half way mark as the cigar started burning unevenly
• I needed a couple more small corrections as the cigar continued, I think the cold is factor here today too, hovering at 34F right now…

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m having no problems getting a big mouthful of smoke from each draw, it’s not too thick though
• The ash is quite nice for this lancero vitola, staying clean and strong and holding out for just over half an inch
• The color on the ash is interesting as well with some white and nearly black zebra striping happening
• The resting smoke is moderate and fairly consistent, it pushes out a nice line of slightly sweet smelling smoke
• Subsequent ashes held on to about a half inch each time and stayed clean without any flaking

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a nice sweet chocolaty aroma to it
• The foot has an even more interesting aroma, more sweet chocolate with an addition of cinnamon and nutmeg
• The pre-light draw on this Illusione ~hl~ Maduro brings more of the sweet chocolate but this time with a more peppery spice instead of the lighter cinnamon and nutmeg I got on the foot aroma
• The initial draws brought out a strong coffee flavor to mix with the stronger spices, definitely a burst of flavor at the start here but it might be a little bit charred
• After only half an inch, the flavors seemed to balance out a bit more and the charred flavor disappeared. I’m left with a smooth cocoa and coffee profile with hints of spice peeking in here and there
• The coffee flavors definitely seem ot be developing nicely as the spice slowly drops off
• The retrohale at this point still has a bit of bite to it but the finish is smooth and sweet, very tasty and mostly in the mild-medium range
• The nutmeg and cinnamon flavors started making a comeback in the middle of the cigar, adding another nice dimension to the experience
• All of the flavors continue to be awesomely balanced and taking turns being the prominent ones, there’s also some woodsiness in there too now
• The creamy finish really is the icing on the cake here, makes each draw very enjoyable
• In the last third of the Illusione ~hl~ Maduro the body started picking up into the higher medium range and all the favors started getting more intense
• The intense sweet coffee, cocoa and spices are really making for an enjoyable last third here, they balance together so nicely

Final Thoughts:
Well it’s no surprise to me here but this is another rock solid stick from Dion Giolito of Illusione cigars. It’s no secret that Tony and I are fans of his cigars and from my experience with the ones I’ve smoked he has an excellently high ratio of great sticks. The Illusione ~hl~ Maduro lives up to my past experiences and offered me an interesting and multi-dimensional flavor profile that I think could be enjoyed by a very wide range of cigar smokers. It feels like one of those sticks you could hand to a new smoker or an experienced smoker and get a positive experience either way. Remember that this one has been aging for nearly 2 years so if you tried it earlier I’ve heard they used to pack a bigger punch. The price I paid for mine seems to be around the average price and this is one of those times when I can say the nearly $10 price tag is almost worth it. If i did have one complaint it would be that the cigar didn’t last long enough, I wanted it to keep going, lol!

Pairings:
Tony pointed me in the direction of this brew awhile back. At that time I was only able to track it down while I was vacationing in Florida. But recently I stumbled across it at my local store and immediately stock up on a few of their 4-packs. The maker is the very popular German brwery called Ayinger and today’s offering is the Celebrator. It’s a very interesting dark ale that comes pretty close to almost being a stout. It’s official style is called a “Doppelbock”. Basically, a Doppelbock is a stronger, maltier and comewhat creamier version of Germany’s traditional strong ale, the “Bock”. The flavors in this bottle are overflowing! there’s definitely a ton of maltiness which I really enjoy, theres a helping hand of coffee, some dark chocolate sweetness and a very smooth creamy finish. What a great brew! Did it go well with the Illusione ~hl~ Maduro? Of course it did, and it would go well with a huge variety of other cigars as well. they complimented each other very well with similar flavors. A nice cup of coffee or a stout would have also made a great pairing here today.

The post Illusione ~hl~ Maduro – 2010 Limited Release appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: A few samples of this blend was sent over to me by our friends at Rocky Patel. As the name states the 15th anniversary cigar is being released in celebration of Rocky Patel’s 15 proud years of production. Since the begenning of his time, Rocky Patel has produced enourmous amounts of award winning blends and has become a staple in just about any cigar smoker’s humidor. The 15th Anniversary is being produced in Rocky Patel’s own factory in Nicaragua in 4 sizes, Corona Gorda, Robusto, Toro, and Torpedo. I don’t have the specs on the sizes but I’m sure you get the jist of it from thier names. They will come in boxes of 20 with a release date set of July 30th, 2010. The size I am going to be reviewing is the Robusto.

Size: 5 x 52 (I’m guessing the ring gauge) box-pressed  –  Wrapper: Habana Ecuador  –  Binder: Jalapa  –  Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Full

Prelight: The Rocky Patel 15^th Anniversary is a beautiful, boxpressed cigar. The wrapper is an extremely consistant, milky brown that leads up to a perfectly applied triple cap. The cigar is very firm to the touch in all spots accept close to the foot, where it is noticeably softer. There are a few very small veins, but nothing too big or in need of any concern. Outside of a very small tear close to the foot of the wrapper the 15^th anniversary’s construction is spot on.  The scent of the cigar is a very, very pungeant tabcco flavor. It stinks so good. Really. Outside of the very strong tobacco aroma the 15^th anniversary gives off slight earthy and cinimon tones, only to be more prominent from the foot of the cigar. The 15^th anniversary clipped with ease using my Cuban Crafters perfecto double blade cutter. The cold draw is effortless and produces a very sweet, spice and cinnamon mixture with tobacco undertones.

First Smoke: The Rocky Patel 15^th anniversary surprised me with a splash of pepper right off the bat that was only present long enough to tickle my toungue. The pepper faded quickly and was quickly replaced with organic tobacco, chocolate, cinimon, cedar and a slight zesty tart flavor I couldn’t really pick out. It wasn’t prominent at all.  The burnline was a bit wavy right away with a few little runs that I hope don’t get too crazy. The draw was thick and effortless producing a very cedarisque scent upon release. This cigar prodces almost not stationary smoke, and the slight breeze made it extremely difficult to detect any scent being produced by it. The ash produced from the 15^th anniversary is a light grey with subtle darker spots and very flaky around the edges and held on for about an inch and a half before giving way. The ash and burn produced from this cigar reminds me of most cubans I have smoked. One note is how much I enjoy this vitola. Fits perfectly in your hand, and even more comfortably in your mouth.

Halfway there: Just as the tart flavor was beginning to overpower this cigar, I was pleasantly surprised with a burst of floral flavors.  The flavor has now became  much more sweet with hints of sweet tobacco, the floral I announced prior, cedar and cinnamon. This was a very welcomed change up as the tartness was just about to become unbearable. The retrohale is very pleasant, and helps coat the nasal pasagges with a cedar aroma/taste. I am starting to feel a slight dash of nicotine, but nothing too powerful at the moment. Still running very smooth, with no signs of harshness.

Finish: The tart, and harshness is starting to form now, but is casually cloaked by a strong boast of cedar. Along with that the floral flavor is still running full steam. This cigar definitely has it’s share of surprises. Each time the experience starts going down hill another characterstic is brought to the center stage. I am actually starting to feel the nicotine ramp up to a slight nicotine kick in the final third. The burnline is still even for the most part with no need to touch up, or relight the cigar. There was a quite ramp up in harshness within the final third, which sadly I expected. I took my time smoking this one too in hopes that it would offset any harsh buildup.

Overview: Honestly, There aren’t a lot of Rocky Patel cigar that really stand out in my opinion. That being said, the 15^th anniversary is one of the better sticks produced by Rocky Patel. This isn’t a cigar I’d pick up a box of, but due to the great change ups and constant differences in flavor it is something that I wouldn’t mind smoking again. It does keep you on your toes. But don’t let my opinion discourage your from picking up this product. I think the flavors produced and the overall experience would be stellar as far as other people’s wants from a cigar goes. Just not mine. Pick a few up if this sounds like something you’d like. Especially if you’re a fan of Rocky Patel.

Pairing: I paired this cigar with one of my all time favorite beers, Ayinger Breweries Celebrator Dopplebock. As many of you know, I love my Double’s and this beer is the cream of the crop.  Produced in Germany… you know.. Germany.. the country that should have won the world cup… but that’s a story for another day. (kidding of course, Spain is a really good team and deserved it) most, if not all of Ayinger beers are produced under the Germany beer brewing purity law of 1516 which limits of  all beers to be produced using only 4 ingredients. Barley, Wheat, Hops, and water. This Dopple Bock boasts a alcahol content of 6.7% enriched with flavors such as wheat, caramel, chocolate, and wheat. This made a great pairing for the cigar, but overpowered the mild stages in the experience. This cigar is best paired with something more mild such as tea, a nice pilsner or wheat beer, and even milk. That’s right milk.

The post Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.