The cigar I’m talking about here the is Cuaba Distinguidos. Now Cuaba is brand that does not have its own factory in Cuba, it’s actually made at the Romeo y Julieta factory. It’s also fairly young, dating back to only 1996 when Francisco Linares launched it. All of their cigars are fully hand made and stuffed with only premium long filler. The region most of their tobaccos come from in Cuba is called the Vualta Abajo.

One unique thing about the Cuaba brand is their choice of vitolas. If you take a quick peek at their line-up, you will see that all the cigars in their inventory are actually made in the perfecto shape with a variety of sizes ranging from a short 4 inches all the way up to a long-smoking 9.1 behemoth. The goal behind the brand was to revitalize this vitola for all cigar enthusiasts. The Perfecto shape was very common in the early 1900’s but as you can see from most cigars on the market today, both Cuban and non-Cuban, this vitola is not very common at all.

I ordered a 10-count box of these cigars in the fall and they’ve had a chance to rest for a few months now. They just recently passed their 1.5 year mark according to the date on the bottom of the box. I think they’ve had plenty of time to age and it’s about time to start smoking them and seeing if they are worth keeping on hand longer, smoking through them now or getting rid of them so other people, lol. So let’s see where this one falls in todays review!

Cigar: Cuaba Distinguidos
Drink: Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection New World Tripel
Vitola: Perfecto (6.4 x 52)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $11
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This Cuaba Distinguidos is a nicely shaped cigar, very different in terms of most cigars on the market today
• The wrapper is a light woodsy brown type of color, just a shade darker than a connecticut would be
• There are a few sizeable veins on this cigar so I hope it doesn’t cause any issues for me
• From head to toe, there is quite a bit of firmness on this cigar, almost no soft parts to be found
• The cap is finished with a smooth single leaf that looks like it was supposed to have a pigtail at the end but someone cut it off
• I can’t really comment much on the foot since it’s tapered into a small end but from what I can see it is well packed

Burn:
• The toasting was pretty simple since the foot was so small, I opted for a nice focused single flame torch and tried my best to only light up the foot
• The burn started off fairly well but after almost an inch it seemed there was a hole in the filler that caused a bad burn spot, hopefully it will realign itself without my help
• Happy to report that the major hiccup in the burn fixed itself without any help at all, very nice
• Burn line continues to be nice and even, it’s not perfect and has a slight wave to it but I haven’t had to touch it up and it’s burning without me having to pay any extra attention to it
• It is actually burning a lot faster than I would have thought
• A couple minor touch-ups were needed in the last third but it didn’t ruin the experience

Smoke & Ash:
• There isn’t too much smoke coming from this Cuaba Distinguidos, it is fairly light and thin and takes a few draws to really fill up your mouth
• The ash seems to be holding on nicely, it has mostly light and dark grey accents
• It’s also fairly neat and tidy with no flaking or messiness to it at all
• The first ash held on just past an inch before I tapped it off
• The second ash held on nice and cleanly until just passed the one inch mark again, good construction on this cigar so far
• The smoke volume seems to have ramped up in the second third which is a welcome change in my books
• The smoke volume kicked it up a notch again in the last third, really full and thick now
• Final ash stayed consistent with another 1+ inch before being tapped off

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma has a nice woodsy and floral aroma to it
• The pre-light draw has a bunch more cedar and some slightly sweet notes
• The initial flavors offer more cedar notes but now mixes in a bit of roasted flavors
• The cedar is the main flavor through the first third but it’s very soft and mild, almost just giving a plain light tobacco flavor, hoping that ramps up somehow soon
• Similarly to the flavor, the strength of this cigar is super mild with no bite on the retrohale and just a slight cedar finish
• As we pass the first third the flavors are finally starting to step up a bit, the cedar is joined by some light coffee notes and a bit of licorice
• The coffee, cedar and licorice have remained through the second third, slightly more flavorful than the first bit of this cigar but I still feel like I’m wanting more of these flavors
• The flavors continue to gather some intensity as I get near the last third, at this point they are sort of what I had hoped they would have started out at. A bit late but we’ll see how they do now
• I’m starting to pick up some light baking spice notes, almost like a gingerbread cookie type of thing
• The licorice and coffee flavors took the lead in the last third which were an interesting combination
• In the last 2 inches, I started picking up some more intense spices, maybe a bit of cloves or pepper, not too strong or overpowering but they are there
• The body approached a light medium at this point, if the cigar would have hit this note earlier I think it could have been a killer smoke
• The Cuaba Distinguidos didn’t have any harshness at all to the nub and finished with some nice tasty flavors, if only they were like that earlier

Final Thoughts:
The size and ring gauge on this cigar seems pretty daunting at first but when you actually light up this cigar you realize it’s not really as bold as it looks. The Cuaba Distinguidos started off very mild and much lighter than I would have liked with mostly just cedar flavors. Lucky for me, the flavors increased their intensity a bit around the halfway mark and threw some more notes into the mix. The intensity did eventually pick up more but I had to smoke through most of the cigar to get to it. If you are looking for a nice strong post-dinner cigar you won’t find it here, I’d actually suggest this more as a morning or afternoon smoke for the more frequent cigar enthusiasts but it can also make a good intro to new smokers who want to try a larger vitola. The flavors themselves weren’t bad but at $11 a cigar I was hoping for something a lot more complex. Unfortunately, the difficulty in rolling this type of vitola often raises the prices so there’s not much we can do. It’s worth trying if you haven’t had a Cuaba before but I probably wouldn’t be purchasing a box of these again anytime soon. It had the right idea but it just seemed to execute it a little bit late in the game. These were also fairly young in terms of Cubans at only 1.5 years so I wouldn’t age them very long as I’d be afraid they might get even more mild with time. But that could be a good thing depending on the person of course.

Pairings:
It seems that I don’t get too many Samuel Adam’s brews up here North of the border. I’ve really only seen the Boston Lager and maybe one of the seasonals. A short while ago I was lucky enough to stumble across a few of these New World Tripel’s from their Barrel Room Collection which looked might interesting, so I picked some up. I’m a sucker for pretty much anything that is aged in an Oak barrel so I had high expectations and this Sam Adam’s brew did not disappoint. This is a very flavorful brew with tons of light fruity notes backed by a dark and thick base. Mix in there some hefty malt and the awesome Oak flavors and I’m sold. This is a darn tasty brew and worthy of trying! As for a pairing, I think I failed here today. The first half of this cigar was so mild that the brew strongly over-powered it. I think a much lighter blonde or amber beer would have gone better, possibly with a nice coffee taking the cake as my number one suggestion on this Cuaba Distinguidos.

The post Cuaba Distinguidos (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

So this week I sat down on a crazy warm day to write my review. It was like 65 degrees today and only 2 days ago it was 5F! 55 degree difference in 2 days? Crazy right?! Well I made the most of it and sat down with a cigar I’ve been wanting to review for awhile. It is the Nicks Sticks Little Havana Blend by Perdomo, a special budget friendly blend created by none other than Nick Perdomo himself!

The Nick’s Sticks line comes in 3 wrapper types and all are filler and bound by Cuban seed Nicaraguan tobacco. There is a white label for Connecticuts, a black label for Maduros and todays blend is the Sun Grown marked by a deep red/burgundy label. The Nick’s Sticks name actually dates back to the beginning of the Perdomo brand and these cigars were only available at their store in Little Havana, Miami at the time. Nick listened to his fans and customers and by popular demand the blend is now being produced in larger quantities for distribution across the nation.

You will notice that the price of these cigars is very accessible and if history is any indication, they will carry the trademark quality and consistently that I’ve come to know from the Perdomo brand. I’ve always been amazed at how Perdomo can produce such consistent sticks for a fraction of the cost of some other manufacturers. So does the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend live up the Perdomo legacy and will it be another winner in their growing line up of cigars? Read on to find out what I thought!

Cigar: Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Torpedo (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Nicaraguan
Binder: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Price: About $4.00 – $4.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a soft but rough texture to it with very few veins
• There do seem to be a few bumps and even two little tears in the wrapper
• The cap is amazingly finished and blends seamlessly into the rest of the wrapper
• The foot appears full and well packed and the whole cigar has a nice firmness to it but with just the right amount of spring when squeezed
• The cut was super clean and easy leaving me with a perfect draw

Burn:
• Toasting was very even and easy, it’s like the cigar wanted to light itself
• There’s a slight wave as I burn through the first inch but nothing major so far, let’s hope it doesn’t turn bad
• The burn is still slightly wavy but it’s keeping the wave at a good minimum and not causing issues, burn has been good so far
• Just after I passed the halfway mark the wrapper cracked just below the band, nothing major now I’m just hoping it doesn’t explode on me
• The wrapper split didn’t get bigger but it did cause a bit of a wonky burn that needed a little correction from my lighter
• Quick note that I didn’t have the spilt problem on any other Nick’s Sticks cigars that I smoked in any wrapper

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of smoke coming from every draw on this cigar
• The resting smoke is equally abundant and giving off a nice campfire type of aroma
• So far the ash is very clean, very white and holding strong through the first inch
• The first ash rolled off into the ashtray shortly after the 1 inch mark
• Each subsequent ash stayed strong just past the one inch mark before I tapped it off
• The smoke stayed full and thick throughout the entire cigar

Tasting Notes:
• The dry aroma on the wrapper of this cigar definitely shows signs of cocoa and soft tobacco
• The foot brings forth a ton of woodsiness an a good helping of baking spices
• Pre-light draw brought more cedar flavors and spices with just a touch of cocoa in there too
• Initial flavors on the Perdomo Nick’s Sticks are cedar, a bit of leather, some baking spices and a touch of earthiness in there too
• The body is definitely on the mild side with a very smooth woodsy finish
• The leather and spices seem to have tapered off a bit and I’m left with a smooth woodsy cigar with some hints of earthiness and cocoa
• The retrohale on this cigar brings an interesting spice mix and the finish is smooth and woodsy
• As I get near the middle of the cigar it seems the body has stepped up a bit to a nice smooth medium
• The flavors continue to be well balanced and enjoyable despite not changing up a whole lot, there is a nice fresh baked cookie type of flavor appearing now and then
• The spice is making a nice slow comeback and balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• The flavors really started to pop in the last third, no harshness but a definite spike in the spices and cedar and a touch more body as well
• Getting a slight coffee flavor in the last third as well that’s joining the other flavors nicely

Final Thoughts:
I’m a pretty big Perdomo fan and enjoy a lot of their cigars. I find that they are all well made, and enjoyable. They seem to fit into the comfort zone of a lot of smokers and can be a good “Ol’ Faithful” stick to keep in the humidor. Having said that, I came into this review with high expectations and I was not left down. At a cost close to $4.00 for a Torpedo stick this is definitely a budget friendly cigar and it fits the bill perfectly. It had some interesting flavors and a great burn (minus one minor wrapper crack that didn’t really cause any major problems). I have to say that Perdomo has another quality and reliable stick on their hands with the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown and I will definitely be seeking out more of these. Their price also makes them easy to hand out to friends without breaking the bank and everyone gets a good cigar in the process. Grab some an enjoy!

Pairings:
As you may know I’ve been battling some cold/flu symptoms lately so I visited my doctor and got some nice anti-biotics to help clean out whatever it is that’s been bothering me. So that means I gotta lay off the alcoholic pairings for a little while. I decided to make myself just a plain cup of coffee with a bit of milk to go with today’s cigar. It ended up being quite a nice pairing. There weren’t any strong coffee flavors from the cigar so it almost added a nice little dimension to the whole experience. I think a nice dark ale would have been a perfect pairing here too.

The post Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now let me just toss this out there.. One thing I’m not happy about when it comes to AJ’s cigars is the restricted distribution and sale of most of them, namely through cigar.com and all it’s affiliates such as cigarsinternational.com. I don’t have a problem with those retailers, but they seem ot have a problem with the awesome people North of the border since they don’t ship to Canada. So needless to say, they are more difficult for me to get my hands on. This also affects a lot of people who prefer to purchase cigars from local B&M’s. Ok, so now that we got that out of the way, what else do we know about this cigar.

Well, the Morro Castle brand actually has roots in the Cuban cigar industry but A.J. Fernandez took ownership of the brand and began blending and manufacturing them in Nicaragua. He also gave what seems to be a throw back to the original heritage by using some Cuban seed leaves in the filler. I stated the MSRP below as being $5 but if you get them by the box and catch them on sale, they can actually be had for prices well below $4 per stick in the Belicoso vitola. Other available vitolas include the Robusto, Toro, Torpedo and Churchill.

We have quite a few other reviews from AJ’s massive resume on the site as well, some of my personal favorites include the Man O’ War Armada, Man O’ War Virtue and a more recent popular cigar that Tony reviewed, the San Lotano Oval. So I think this cigar has a lot to live up to and hopefully it’s lower price will give it a slight edge in the final thoughts section. I received most of my samples through trades and/or gifts, the cigar I’m lighting up today comes from a trade made this past Christmas, let’s see how it stacks up!

Cigar: Morro Castle
Drink: Lindeman’s Cuvee Rene Lambic Beer
Vitola: Belicoso (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban Seed Nicaraguan and Honduran
Price: MSRP $5.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The outside of this cigar looks very shiny and smooth, it’s glistening with oil and has a nice golden-brown glow to it
• Even though there are no large veins, the cigar is fairly bumpy. Most likely due to a rough binder
• The cap of this cigar is finished very cleanly and with expertise as the leaf blends seamlessly into the rest of the cigar
• The length of the Morro Castle has a nice little spring to it as I squeeze it lightly
• The foot appears very well packed and cleanly finished, it’s easy to see a lot of care went into the construction
• Cutting the cap was clean and easy, I didn’t have to cut much and I’m left with a good draw

Burn:
• The foot did not want to co-operate wit ha slow toasting and just refused to start glowing, but after a few draws it seems to have evened out
• Despite a somewhat challenging toasting, the Morro Castle is burning razor sharp through the first couple of inches
• I ran into a few wrapper issues that caused some burn problems, but I’m attributing these to the cold day today, I can’t knock the cigar since the first half burned perfectly

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of smoke coming from this Morro Castle cigar, just one draw seems enough to provide a thick cloud of smoke
• Even when resting, there seems to be a fair bit of smoke coming from this cigar
• The ash seems to be coming along with a nice white color but it seems a little flaky so far, we’ll see how it progresses
• Even though it looked a little flaky and weak, the ash managed to hang on for about 1.5 inches and it stayed a nice shade of light grey/white for the whole way through
• Another solid ash lasting past the 1 inch mark, showing some good construction quality on this cigar even with the very cold temps today

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off very little aroma, maybe just a touch of woodsiness
• The aroma on the foot is also fairly faint but it brings out a little bit of cedar and some mild baking spice notes
• The pre-light draw brings more cedar and a little more of those baking spices, now with a bit of sweet paprika mixed in
• The first few draws after lighting had an extremely bitter and dry after-taste that I’ve never really had so early on in a cigar
• As I slowly progress, the bitterness is tapering off a bit, I hope it completely disappears soon
• Flavor wise, the Morro Castle is kicking out a spicy cedar mix with a touch of earthiness thrown in
• The body seems to be hovering in the low end of medium right now and retrohale has just a slight bite and smooth yet dry cedar finish
• It took about an inch of the cigar before I can say the bitter dryness is completely gone, I’m now left with an enjoyable profile of cedar, mild baking spices and earthiness
• The whole balance of this cigar is really hitting it’s stride as I get to the halfway mark, the spices and cedar have developed nicely
• There is a bit of sweetness sneaking into the mix too, maybe like a roasted nutty caramel type of profile, very interesting.
• The earthiness is still lingering and the finish has changed from the dry start to a creamy sweetness, much, much better!
• The body and retrohale haven’t changed much as I get into the final stretch, maybe just a touch higher in the medium range on the body
• The flavors seem to have all melded together in the last third, they aren’t bad but they aren’t as interesting as they were in the middle
• The flavors stayed tasty to the nub with no harshness at all, a good finish

Final Thoughts:
I think it’s pretty easy to tell that I wasn’t a fan of the first inch of this cigar. That bitter dryness is not a great way to make a first impression. But I’m glad to say I stuck it out and kept going because this turned into a pretty good quality cigar. It had a nice array of flavors and the burn was damn near perfect. When you factor in the price you can get these at by box purchase, it makes them a worthwhile purchase. I had a few in this vitola and they all seemed to suffer from bad starts so if I were to purchase them again I’d probably opt for a larger vitola to get more of the sweet spot in the experience.

Pairings:
I took a bit of a risk with this pairing today. I’m no Lambic aficionado like Tony, but from the few I’ve had I know that they are very sweet and usually flavored with some sort of fruit such as raspberry or cherry. They are tasty, but probably not a great pairing for a cigar. So I found this lambic that doesn’t seem to be flavored, I knew it was going to be sweet but I hoped it would still work out. It’s from Lindemans brewery in Belgium and is called the Cuvee Rene. So it is sweet, but not nearly as sweet as their flavored offerings and it’s got a fair bit of carbonation. Surprisingly though, it seemed to work well with a cigar, especially one with a bit more body and a touch of spice to counteract the beers sweetness. It’s sort of hard to describe a lambic beer but I guess you could compare it to an alcoholic version of pop. This particular one has some citrus notes to it so maybe like a delicious and alcoholic version of 7UP or Sprite? I’m probably way off but that’s what I think, lol. Either way, it was tasty and went well with the cigar. Other options for the Morro Castle would be a porter or dark ale, maybe a strong coffee and even some black tea.

The post Morro Castle by A.J. Fernandez appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.