The Good Stuff:

Originally released in 2021 Cohiba’s Serie M is a bit of a departure for General Cigar. First, this is the first time the manufacture has teamed up with Miami’s own El Titan De Bronze factory. Sandy Cobas and her team were chosen to create the first Cohiba made in the USA based on their great success as one of the best cigar factories to date. Next, the blend is also slightly out of the norm for General cigar as it utilizes a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers form the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The Serie M is offered in a single 6 x 52 format packaged in boxes of 10 running $29.99 a cigar. Only 50,000 cigars are being produced.

• Size: 6 x 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $29.99
• Pairing: North Coast Barrel Aged Old Rasputin XVIII (Imperial Stout 11.3%)

Prelight:

The Cohiba Series M starts out with a great looking, medium brown wrapper which is covered in yellowish-brown inconsistencies. The wrapper’s texture is slightly toothy with a slight amount of oils. The wrapper feels very thin and brittle while the cigar a a whole feels a little lightly packed. The wrapper is folded over the foot of the cigar while it’s laid perfectly over itself all the way up to the cigar’s little round rat tail style cap. There are a few smaller veins located through the cigar’s body. The cigar is then finished with a dark green Cohiba band with the words “Serie M” on it and secondary gold “Miami, USA band.

The wrapper on the Cohiba Serie M gives off notes of cashew, honey and tobacco with the foot of the cigar is mostly the same with just a little bit of spice peaking through the cigar’s closed foot. he cold draw produces some great notes of cashew, musk, and natural tobacco over some light honey notes.

First Third:

The Cohiba Series M starts with a quick initial blast of black pepper which faded quickly allowing the cigar to release bold notes of cedar, honey and cashew over light creamed coffee, musk, and natural tobacco with a bit of earthiness. The draw is flawless and every little puff kicks out a good amount of gray smoke which dissipates almost instantly while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is pretty thick but also pretty even leaving behind a flaky trail of medium gray ash which fell into my ashtray about 3/4 of an inch in.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Cohiba Serie M the cedar and honey still lead the packed backed by coffee. musk, cashew, and a light berry note that I only pick up in the second third but is heightened on the retrohale. This cigar is really hitting its stride now and the flavors are rockin’. The burn line has started to really clean up, and the ash is now much more compacted. I close out the second third with only a minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Cohiba Serie M and the Pecan and cedar are owning this flavor profile backed by honey, berry and musk. It’s not overly complex but the flavors are different enough for each other that it makes picking them apart fun. The cigar burned perfectly from start to finish. It took me 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub. There was no harshness nor any extended heat. The cigar was a bit on the dry side due to my own handling of the cigar so the wrapper was a bit more brittle than it should be. While it cracked slightly this never hindered the overall experience and I burned right through it.

Overview:

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered the Cohiba Serie M. I didn’t research the cigar before smoking it and just lit it up and was very impressed the first time. After that, I dug into the researched and realized that it was created at El Titan de Bronze and I should have known it was going to be great. Each one I had after that impressed me even more. The flavor profile is just incredible, nicely complex without being overdone, the burn is perfect, and the construction is flawless. The only issue is $29.99 is pretty steep for just about any cigar. But if you are looking for a Uber-premium that you can really get lost in, dissecting, and enjoying, it may be worth the coin.

Pairing:

Blast from the past! This 2015-ish Barrel aged Old Rasputin XVIII has been begging to be popped. Aged in rye whiskey barrels this 11.3% ABV Imperial stout is brewed at the North Coast Brewery in Fort Bragg, California. The beer leads with an unexpected blast of banana over roasted malt, chocolate, plum, brown sugar, and a really light clove with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more chocolate, plum, pecan, and a lightly barrel note. While the flavors in the Cohiba Serie-M were more on the earthy/musky side the beer helped support the underlying sweetness found within the cigar and made for a great pairing. Thanks for the hookup JG!

The post Cohiba Serie M appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Black Works Studio, a branch off Black Label Trading company, releases it’s first drop earlier this year: The Intergalactic. The Intergalactic is a limited edition cigar created at the company’s Fabrica Oveja Negra facility in Nicaragua. The cigar features an Indonesian Sumatra wrapper over an Ecuadorian Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar is offered in two sizes: Robusto (5 1/2 x 50) and the Corona Larga (6 1/4 x 46). Both come packaged in boxes of 20 and both run $10.50 per stick. I nabbed mine over at Fox Cigar Bar.

• Size: 6 1/4 x 46
• Wrapper: Indonesian Sumatra
• Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $10.50
• Pairing: Bottle Logic / Voodoo brewing Deprecophobia (Imperial Stout 13.61% ABV)

Prelight:

The Black Works Studio Intergalactic starts out with a medium brown wrapper with lots of both darker and lighter areas scattered throughout. The wrapper itself is slightly toothy with only a small amount of oils coating it. There are a few larger veins running from the cigar’s semi-enclosed foot up to it’s round, triple-wrapped, pigtail style cap. The cigar as a whole feels well packed with some softer areas around the center of the cigar. The cigar is ploished off with a great black, silver, and blue band with a skull in a space helmet as well as the Intergalactic and Black Works Studio logos on the back. P.S. those black embossed stars on the band are an incredible touch.

The wrapper gives off some light herbal aromas while the foot of the cigar carries lots of spice and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw draw produces notes of date, cedar, and natural tobacco with some light spices.

First Third:

The Black Works Studio Intergalactic starts out with a burst of black pepper which faded extremely quickly allowing the cigar to release some great herbal notes of black tea and light floral over raisin, cedar, natural tobacco, pecan, and spice. The draw is flawless and every little puff kicks out a good amount of white smoke which dissipates very quickly while the cigar releases only a minor amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is as thin as it gets and extremely consistent as it leaves behind a trail of compacted white ash which held on for a little over a half inch before falling into my lap.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Black Works Studio Intergalactic the cedar flavor really takes hold of the profile and it’s fantastic. Backed by bold black tea and pecan over lighter earthy notes and spice. The retrohale only brings out more of that great cedar flavor. The burn line is still perfect as I haven’t had to reach for my torch. I close out the second third with no signs of nicotine.

Finish:

The profile final third of the Black Works Studio Intergalactic was very similar to the second. Cedar and black tea lead the charge backed by pecan, chocolate, earthy notes and spice. The burn line got a little wild in the last third, but again, I never once had to touchup and relight the cigar so no marks taken there. It took me an hour and a half to take the cigar down the nub and I experienced no harshness nor extended heat. I closed out with only a very light amount of nicotine.

Overview:

The Black Works Studio Intergalactic is a solid cigar, yet is a bit of a departure from what I normally expect from the brand. In the past, most of the Black Works offerings have been bold, unique, and in your face while the Intergalactic is much more calm and nuanced while still having a bit of the Black Works flare. Because of this, I think the cigar is better suited for the community as a whole since the experience isn’t aimed nearly as narrow as the rest of the cigars in the portfolio. I can easily see this being a staple in a good amount of the cigar community’s regular rotation and even the perfect cigar to bring new smokers to the brand. Now did I still enjoy it? Yes I did. I just think for my personal profile I would normally gravitate to other cigars in the Black Works portfolio before one of these.

Pairing:

Deprecophobia is a collaboration between Bottle Logic Brewing and Voodoo Brewing Company. The Double Mash imperial stout is aged in bourbon barrels for two years before being bottled resulting in a 13.6% ABV beer. The Deprecophobia starts out with a ton of sweet molasses, caramel, chocolate, raisin, and lots of bourbon with a very heavy, sticky mouthfeel before finishing with more molasses and chocolate over lighter raisin and coffee as well as really light malt. This syrup-like beer is fantastic if you like heavily bourbon barrel aged stouts. The chocolate, raisin, and coffee paired beautifully with the flavors in the Black Works Studio Intergalactic.

The post Black Works Studio Intergalactic appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Originally released as a store exclusive for R. Field Wine Co. in Honolulu, Tatuaje has brought one of their most highly taught cigars back to marketing. While this isn’t a store exclusive, the 2021 version is still a highly limited run at only 1,000 boxes released. Created at the My Father Cigars S.A. factory in Nicaragua the Tatuaje T110 features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar comes packaged in boxes of 25 running $10 per cigar. These sold out in record time. I was able to score a handful of these from our friends over at New Havana Cigars.

• Size: 4 3/8 x 52
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $10
• Pairing: Bottle Logic Jam the Radar (Imperial Stout 14.56% ABV)

Prelight:

The Tatuaje T110 starts out with a rustic looking wrapper scattered with splotches of dark brown, orange, and light brown. The wrapper’s texture is slightly toothy and insanely oily. The wrapper feels very dense and hard while the cigar as a whole is nicely packed and very heavy especially considering the cigar’s size. The T110 showcases some small veining as well as some nice webbing in the tobacco leaf as the cigar’s short body leads up to it round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with the updated version of the iconic T110 label which displays the new Tatuaje crest in the front along with the classic red, white, green and blue rings.

The wrapper on the Tatuaje T110 gives off some great sweetness, brown sugar, and cedar aromas while the foot of the cigar carries a ton of spice over some nice earthiness. The cold draw gives off some nice oak, leather, and spice flavors.

First Half:

The Tatuaje T110 starts out with a huge blast of cayenne pepper that left my tongue and lips screaming for a second. Shortly after the first few draws the pepper faded allowing the cigar to showcase some great cedar, leather, spice, and almond over some more earthy, grassy, mossy notes. The result is a pretty complex start which is exactly what I remember from the OG T110. The draw is great allowing a very thick cloud of gray smoke to be released with each puff while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The draw line is pretty wavy with one larger wave that has a mind of its own. I smoked through a handful of these and had minor burn issues with a few of them, but nothing that really impacted the experience and in all cases corrected itself. The ash left behind is tightly compacted and a very consistent medium gray color holding on for about 3/4 of a inch before falling into my ashtray with a thud.

Second Half:

The Tatuaje T110 is still piling on the flavor as the cigar leads with spice, cedar, almond, and leather backed by some light pilonciilo, earthiness and an interested raspberry note keeps popping in and out of the experience. The retrohale brings out some of the pepper I picked up at the start and a ton of spice which holds me back from doing it too often. The burnline has completed corrected itself without any help form my torch I expected and the draw is perfect. It took me a little over an hour to smoke this down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, nor any extended heat. I close out the cigar with a crazy little nicotine kick.

Overview:

That Tatuaje 110 is everything I remember it being. A complex cigar that will kick your butt if you aren’t ready for it. The flavor profile was great, the burn was awesome after the slight stumble at the start, and the price is on point. If only these weren’t so limited. If for some reason you happen to stumble across any, buy them. All of them. You won’t regret it.

Pairing:

Jam the Radar is a 14.56% ABV bourbon barrel aged Imperial stout brewed with cacao nibs and raspberry by Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, California. The beer leads with heaps of natural raspberry, milk chocolate, light bourbon and roasted malt with an extremely heavy and sticky mouthfeel with more raspberry and chocolate. Its not the most complex beer, but it sure is fantastic. The chocolate and raspberry pair perfectly with with T110 especially with that raspberry flavor I picked up in the second third.

The post Tatuaje T110 2021 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

In 2015 Black Works created their “Studio” cigar line which is used to showcase some of their unique blends. This year the Studio line welcomes the Hyena. Created to celebrate Black Work’s creator, Jame’s Brown’s wife’s many years spent in Africa the Hyena features a very rare African Cameroon wrapper over a Nicaraguan Habano binder and all Nicaraguan fillers. The Hyena is offered in a 6.5 x 42 Lonsdale as well as a 5 x 46 Corona Gorda format. Both come packaged in boxes of 20 running between $12 and $12.50 per stick. I purchased mine over from our friends at Cigars International who have them in stock now.

• Size: 6.5 x 42
• Wrapper: African Cameroon
• Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $12.50
• Pairing: Hidden Springs Moby Thiccc (Imperial Stout 13% ABV)

Prelight:

The Black Works Studio Hyena starts out with the very dark, rustic looking cigar that is splotched with lighter, darker, and even orange shaded areas. The wrapper itself carries some slight tooth, and a ton of oils as its laid seamlessly over itself. The cigar’s body showcases only minor veins as it leads up to the cigar’s round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with the standard Black Works black and white band with the Hyena emblem and graffiti symbol printed across it.

The wrapper on the Black Works Studio Hyena gives off a good amount of floral and cocoa aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice and earthy scents. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a good amount of rich chocolate, floral, and musk flavors.

First Third:

The Black Works Studio Hyena starts out with a very subltle blast of black pepper which faded after the first few puffs allowing the cigar to release rich dark chocolate and oak notes over some great cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, black cherry and earthiness along with a great musk. The start of this cigar reminded me of some of the more potent German gingerbread cookies we have each Christmas. The draw is absolutely perfect as each and every tiny puff kicks out a massive cloud of thick, white smoke which seems to take forever to dissipate. The cigar releases a good amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray as well. The burnline is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white and light gray ash.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Black Works Studio Hyena and a lot of those nutmeg and cinnamon notes have calmed down allowing the cigar to showcase much more musk, earthiness, and oak over black cherry and floral flavors with light notes of black tea, honey, and almond. This is a hell of a flavor profile. The retrohale brings out some subtle spice that I don’t necessarily pickup during the standard experience. I close out the second third with only a tiny little nicotine hit.

Finish:

I’m kinda bummed heading into the final third of the Black Works Studio Hyena. Not cause the cigar isn’t great, but because it’s almost over. The flavor profile is still boasting earthy notes over oak and musk with lots of black cherry and pecan over lighter floral and pine notes now. This has been a complex, yet extremely enjoyable flavor profile from start to finish. The cigar took me about an hour and a half to smoke down to the nub and I just didn’t want to put it down. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat while I only got hit with a minor nicotine kick.

Overview:

The Black Works Studio line is unique, and the Hyena is a perfect example of that. Cameroon is a tobacco that I don’t often smoke, and every time I do I wonder why I don’t smoke more of it. The tobacco is just so flavorful which is on full display in this African version, which is the first time I have ever tried. The cigar is packed with very deep, rich, and complex flavors that will keep you on your toes but more importantly, are all extremely pleasant and appealing. This was probably one of the better cigars I’ve smoked all year and something that I will definitely keep on hand going forward.

Pairing:

Moby Thiccc is a 13% Bourbon Barrel Aged stout from Hidden Springs brewery in Tampa, Florida. Brewed with toasted coconut, chocolate and almond this beer leads with all the flavors in a boozy almond joy. Loads of coconut up front over rich milk chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and just a dash of almond with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more milk chocolate, light coconut, and a hint of bourbon barrel. The adjuncts in this beer nail the taste pretty perfectly. I am not a huge fan of coconut in beer but this was just subtle enough to be present, but not dominate the profile. The chocolate and almond mashed brilliantly with the flavors in the Black Works Studio Hyena while the sweetness helped push the flavors in the cigar to another level.

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The Good Stuff:

Diamond Crown is a blend that most of us have come in contact with at least a few times in our lives. It’s been a staple when it comes to ultra-premium, mild/medium body cigars. J.C. Newman has introduced a new addition to an already vast Diamond Crown portfolio with the Pyramid No. 7 with is a 6 3/4 x 54 torpedo. The blend starts with a Connecticut Shade wrapper which J.C. Newman highlights as a “Connecticut Fermented Wrapper”. Under the wrapper is a Dominican binder and 5 different undisclosed fillers from the Caribbean and Central America.

The No. 7 joins seven other formats: No. 1 (8 1/2 x 54), No 2. (7 1/2 x 54), No. 3 (6 1/2 x54), No, 4 (5 1/2 x 54), No. 5 (4 1/2 x 54), No. 6 (6 x 46/54), No. 8  (5 x 58).

• Size: 6 3/4 x 54
• Wrapper: Connecticut Shade (Connecticut Fermented Wrapper)
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Selection fo 5 different fillers from Caribbean and Central America
• Body: Medium
• Strength: Mild/Medium
• Price: $20.70
• Pairing: Bottle Logic Transmit in Color (Imperial Stout 14.72% ABV)

Note: Big thanks to Cigar Coop for posting all the information obtained fo the above. You can read his review here.

Prelight:

The J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 starts out with an incredibly consistent light/orangish brown wrapper. The wrapper’s texture is silky smooth with only minor oils coating it. The wrapper feels very thin and brittle so I didn’t handle it too much, but the cigar as a whole felt very light in weight as well as pack. The body of the cigar showcases only very mild veins as it leads through the cigar’s beefy body to the cigar’s tapered, pyramid style cap. The J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 is then polished off with the standard maroon, yellow, and red band with the Diamond Crown crest we all expect.

The wrapper on the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 gives off a ton of honey and pecan aromas while the foot is much more earthy with notes of cedar and natural tobacco. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a sweet mixture of honey, cedar, natural tobacco and light clove.

First Third:

The J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 lit up with ease using my S.T. Dupont single flame torch. There was a small rush of black pepper that only lasted through the first few draws before completely exiting the experience leaving behind bold cedar, pecan, and honey with light notes of black coffee, clove, and vanilla. The draw is perfect. Each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of thick white smoke which dissipated pretty quickly while the cigar releases only minor amounts of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white and light gray ash which held on for a bit over an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 and the flavors have balanced out a bit, but are still there in force. The cedar, honey, and vanilla now lead the way backed by black coffee, and pecan. The clove has made its exit. The retrohale brings out a little bit of spice that I don’t pick up during the normal experience so I find myself doing it quite often. I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 and not much has changed. The cedar, honey, and vanilla are till in charge of the flavor profile backed by black coffee and pecan. Its not the most complex flavor profile, but it doesn’t need to be as I am quite enjoying it. I close out after about an hour and a half of smoking time which no harshness, nor extended heat and no nicotine however while the cigar smokes VERY fast, I needed to remind myself to slow down as on a few occasions my speed cause light sap to build up.

Overview:

I have been gravitating towards more milder cigars as of late, especially with the weather warming up and the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 hits on all the marks that I look for in a great milder cigar. Flawless construction, great flavor profile, can hold its own against a bolder pairing while holding my attention. Yeah, its expensive, but the experience provided is a adequate for the price point. This is a cigar I could see keeping in my regular rotation for those awesome summer evenings.

Pairing:

Transmit in color is an Imperial Stout brewed by Bottle Logic out in California. Coming in at 14.72% ABV this stout is brewed with Mexican Bella Vista coffee, Ceylon cinnamon and piloncillo before being aged on staves from bourbon and tequila barrels. The beer leads with rich dark chocolate, dark fruit, black coffee, light cinnamon and brown sugar with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with more dark chocolate, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla. I only pick up a very mild amount of barrel as its overpowered by the sweetness and other flavors in the beer. That’s not a bad thing though as I really enjoy what the beer has to offer. The vanilla, coffee and chocolate paired up wonderfully with the flavors in the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 while the cigar held it’s own with such a full-bodied beer.

The post J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Partagas on here. The Serie E No.2 was released in 2011 at the XIII Habanos festival in Cuba. The Serie E was the first release from Partagas that showcased a larger ring gauge. The blend is made up of an all-Cuban makeup with tobaccos from the Vuelta Abajo in Cuba. The Serie E No.2 comes packaged in boxes of 5 and 25 running $15 a cigar.

• Size: 5 1/2 x 54
• Wrapper: Cuban
• Binder: Cuban
• Filler: Cuban
• Body: Medium
• Strength: Medium\Full
• Price: $15
• Pairing: Deadbeach Brewery Crying Fist 2020 (Imperial Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

the Partagas Serie E No.2 starts out with a very consistent light brown wrapper which glows yellow as the sun hits it. The wrapper’s texture semi-toothy with a good amount of oils. Quite a few medium-sized veins can be found running through the cigar’s body along with some natural webbing in the tobacco leaf leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is very heavy, and very tightly packed with the only soft-spot being at the tip of the foot. The cigar is the polished off with the standard red and gold Partagas band we have come to expect from the band.

The wrapper on the Partagas Serie E No.2 gives off some very light cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar carries a bit of sweetness over a very musky/mossy scent profile. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a mixture of cashew, dirt, natural tobacco and light clove.

First Third:

The Partagas Serie E No. 2 starts out with a very mild white pepper blast which is only present for the first few draws leaving behind some great cashew and honey notes over bold cedar and natural tobacco with light notes of clove and citrus. Despite being packed very tightly the draw on this little beast if perfect as each puff kicks out a ton of thick, white smoke which quickly dissipates while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The cigar leaves a slight tartness on my lips after each draw. The burn line is a bit wavy and thick, but nothing too concerning as it leaves behind a trail of tightly compacted light gray ash which held on for about 3/4 of an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third if the Partagas Serie E. No 2 and the flavor profile is still rocking. I am used to a bit more milder repesentations from Cuban cigars but this one is killing it with bold notes of cedar, natural tobacco and cashew while the honey, citrus, and clove notes all remain in the mix. A nice dark chocolate flavor keeps peeking its head in as well. The retrohale brings out more of the cedar and natural tobacco flavors. I close out the second third with only trace amounts of nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Partagas Serie E No.2 and the flavors just keep on coming. The cashew, natural tobacco, and cedar are the still leading the charge backed by clove, honey, citrus, cocoa, and an awesome nutmeg flavor now. The cigar had been hovering between the medium and medium/full bodied arena for a while but the final third pushed it well in the medium/full bodied space. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat. I close out with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Overview:

The Partagas Serie D No. 4 has and probably will always be my favorite offering from the company, but the Serie E No.2 has become a close second and I have been smoking the hell out of these cigars. I really enjoy the flavor profile and increased body while the larger ring gauge is actually quite comfortable. The price is as good as it’s going to get for a higher-tier Cuban cigar and the construction has been perfect. These have been in my regular rotation for a bit now and I will likely stay there until I run out.

Pairing:

Brewed in good ol’ El Paso, TX Deadbeach’s Crying Fist is a Garrison Brothers bourbon barrel aged version of it’s famous Abuela stout. Coming in at 10% this beer leads with a ton of rich chocolate and vanilla along with with cinnamon and soft nice with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more sweet chocolate, brown sugar, anise, black licorice and a nice bourbon bite. The boldness of the beer paired perfectly with the higher bodied-profile Partagas Serie E. No.2. I’m really glad I decided to go with a beer that had more bite as the cigar really held its own.

The post Partagas Serie E No.2 (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Starting back in 2008 Tatuaje released its famous Monster series and the cigar community went wild over them. Released in extremely small amounts to an even smaller amount of retailers across the US this cigar line quickly because one of the most sought after releases year after year. I’ve been lucky enough to smoke each and every one and we reviewed almost all of them right there on Casas Fumando:

• 2008 – The Frank
• 2009 – The Drac
• 2010 – The Face
• 2011 – The Wolfman
• 2012 – The Mummy
• 2013 – The JV13
• 2014 – The Jekyll
• 2015 – The Hyde
• 2016 – Krueger
• 2017 – The Michael
• 2018 – The Bride

The Bride is the latest, and final installment into the Monster Series. The cigar is released in one a single 7 1/8 x 49 format carrying a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. As usually there are 2 different box options, 666 Dress Boxes with carry 13 cigars and additional 4,500 Boxes which carry 10 cigars each. The Bride runs $13 a stick and I purchased mine over from our great friends at Cuenca Cigars.

Size: 7 1/8 x 49
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13
Pairing: Bruery Melange 10 (Imperial Ale 15% ABV)

Prelight:

The Tatuaje Bride starts out with an absolutely beautiful, extremely consistent dark-brown wrapper. There is no color difference throughout the entire cigar. The wrapper’s texture is very firm and dense while it is covered with a whole mess of gritty tooth. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the cigar’s round triple-cap. The cigar feels tightly packed and very firm from foot to cap. The Bride is polished off with the standard white and black Tatuaje band we have all come to expect and with most of the other Monster releases the bands state “Halloween” on each of it’s sides. 

The wrapper on the Bridge gives off a good amount of cocoa, spice, and cherry while the foot of the cigar is more pepper-forward with notes of dirt and musk. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces mostly cocoa and musk flavors.

First Smoke:

The first few puffs on the Tatuaje Bridge release some soft cayenne pepper that just teased my palate before fading away letting the bold cocoa, musk, tartness and plum take over. There is some really nice mixed in cedar that comes and goes as I smoke down the first third. The draw is flawless and every little puff releases just the perfect amount of thick, white smoke which hangs out quite a while before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted light gray to white ash which held on for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second this of the Tatuaje Bride and the cocoa has really taken over the flavor profile backed by cinnamon, musk, spice, sweet brown sugar, a bit of dirt, and deep cedar. Its a great mixture of flavors. The retrohale brings out just a bit more of the spice and a bit more of the cedar. The burn line is still absolutely flawless as I close out the second third with only a very minor hint of nicotine. 

Finish:

Into the final third of the Tatuaje Bride and I am absolutely loving this cigar. The flavor profile is incredible with heavy amounts of cocoa, brown sugar, and spice backed by cedar, musk, and vanilla. It took me two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat. I close out with only a very minor nicotine kick wishing that this cigar wouldn’t end.

Overview:

I have been a long-time fan of the Tatuaje Monster series and the Bride is easiest one of my favorites in the portfolio. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad these portfolio was closing out. The flavor profile was right on par with my personal preference all while maintaining a medium/full profile that won’t leave any cigar smoker on their ass. I am glad I got a handful of these as they’ll be pretty hard to find going forward.

Pairing:

The Melange 10 is VERY sweet as it leads with candied malt, banana, cocoa, apple, musk, spice, and cinnamon with a very light mouthfeel before the beer finishes even sweeter with more cocoa and cinnamon, banana, caramel, and just a soft touch of Chile. The booze is dangerously well hidden in this beer. The Melange 10 made for a perfect pairing with the Tatuaje Bride as the musk, sweetness, cinnamon, and cocoa really paired up well together. This beer can easily overpower a lot fo cigars but the Bride really held it’s own. I could see pairing this cigar with a great tawny port, spiced winter ale, our a nice barrel aged stout.

The post Tatuaje Monster Series #13 The Bride appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Illusione Cruzado has been around for a few years now. I actually reviewed it for the first time way back in 2009, you can check that review out here. The blend has been updated throughout the years but this newest version actually got a design update as well. Blended by Dion Giolito, owner of Illusione, and manufactured these at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua utilizing a Nicaragua Corojo Rosado wrapper, Nicaraguan Filler and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 filler. The Cruzado comes in four sizes: Churchill (6.7 x 48), Gordo (6 x 56), Robusto (5.2 x 50), and the Short Robusto (4.2 x 48) all packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $8.25 and $11.25 a stick. These were sent to us by our awesome friends at Fox Cigar Bar. You can order them directly from them here.

Size: 5.2 x 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo 98 / Corojo 99
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $9.20
Pairing: Ballast Point Hight West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea (Imperial Porter 12% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Cruzado starts out with a very natural, rustic looking wrapper. It’s medium brown in color with lots of darker brown and orange splotches scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The wrapper carries a good amount of natural webbing as well as some medium-sized veins. The wrapper’s texture is very gritty and toothy with a decent amount of oils. The wrapper feels a bit thin and I don’t want to apply too much pressure but I don’t encounter any soft spots leading up to the cigar’s triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a simple, beautiful, elegant black, white and gold band with the Illusione logo as well as the Cruzado brand embossed across the front.

The wrapper on the Illusione Cruzado gives off a good amount of cedar, cashew, and musk aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more spicy, sweet, and natural. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a great amount of natural tobacco, musk, earthiness and spice. 

First Third:

The Illusione Cruzado starts out with a small black pepper punch which quickly drops out after the first few puffs leaving behind a great mixture of musk, spice, cedar, coffee, vanilla, earthiness and sweetness. This cigar starts out incredible. The draw is perfect as each little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke which hangs around for a considerable amount of time before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin but a bit wild leaving behind a semi-flaky mixture of medium and light gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray. 

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Cruzado the flavors begin to cream out a bit resulting in a balanced mixture of vanilla, spice, coffee and cedar lead by musk and earthiness. The retrohale really brings out the spice and even a bit of the pepper that isn’t resident through the traditional experience. The burn line is still pretty wavy but my torch has remained in it’s case so nothing concerning there. I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine hit.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Illusione Cruzado and this is where the already fantastic cigar begins to really showcase what it’s all about. Bold cedar, and musk lead the charger backed by vanilla and coffee with light notes of spice, oat, and cinnamon. The burnline has almost completely corrected itself and I never once had to break out my torch to touchup or relight the cigar. It took me an hour and a half to smoke the Cruzado down to the nub and I wish it would have just kept going forever. No harshness, no extended heat, and I closed out with a pretty minor nicotine kick. 

Overview:

If it wasn’t already obvious I thoroughly enjoyed this batch of Illusione Cruzados. The profile is complex, yet balanced, with a ton of flavor and a subtle strength making for a perfect cigar. I could see just about any enthusiast enjoy this experience while it’s an ideal cigar for a novice looking to break into the premium market. In my memory the Cruzado series always smoked very fast, but the last few I’ve smoked from this tweaked blend actually burnt extremely slow making for a long-lasting experince. 

Pairing:

Brewed by Ballast Point brewing in San Diego, California Victory at Sea is an imperial porter with chocolate, vanilla, and coffee added. This High West version then takes that beer and ages it in High West Rye Whiskey barrels and the outcome is amazing. The beer leads with loads of vanilla and coffee, malty, good amount of sticky toffee and sweetness with a great barrel chewiness, and small amount of coffee. The mouthfeel is very thick and heavy before finishing with even more sweetness, vanilla, spice, and a bit of whiskey. The alcohol is very hidden under all the sweetness and the whiskey really starts to come out more as the beer warms. The vanilla, spice, sweetness and coffee pair beautifully with the existent flavors in the Illusione Cruzado without overpowering the cigar. I would also pair this cigar with some great black or creamed coffee, Belgian Dubbel, or Tawny Port wine.  

The post Illusione – Cruzado Robusto appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Cigares Prive line used to be a limited production run that Illusione had converted over to a full-production line last year. The line comes with two different wrapper variations, Corojo and Mexican San Andres. Today we focus on the Corojo. Produced at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Nicaragua the cigars starts with a Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan filler. The Cigares Prive comes in 3 different sizes: Robusto (5 x 52), Prensado Suave (5 1/2 x 56), and the Presado 660 (6 x 60). Each format comes packaged in boxes of 25 and run between $7.90 and $8.90 a stick. Big thanks for Fox Cigar Bar for sending a few of these my way. You can order them directly from them here.

Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Corojo
Filler: Corojo
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $7.90
Pairing: Bottle Logic Number Crunch (BA Imperial Stout 13.6% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Cigares Prive starts out with a very worn, rustic looking, beautiful wrapper. I say beautiful cause I love it when cigars look natural. The wrapper features a medium brown color with some scattered splotches of darker brown areas along with some orangish areas mixed it. The texture is semi-toothy with a good amount of oil and some medium-sized veins running through the cigar’s body leading up to the round triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is firm and the only soft areas are located around the foot of the cigar. The cigar is polished off with a dark blue version of Illusione’s beautifully elegant bands which simply states “Cigares Prive” across the front in white.

The wrapper on the Cigares Prive gives off some bold spice and natural tobacco aromas while the foot carries more mossy, sweet aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladder cutter. The cold draw produces lots of spice, sweetness, cocoa, and natural tobacco.

First Third:

The Illusione Cigares Prive starts out with a quick blast of black pepper which quickly fades to release bold spice, cocoa, vanilla, oak, and a bit of moss/dirt on the tail end of the taste. The cigar is starting out fantastically. The draw is effortless and releases a great amount of thick, white smoke which each puff. The burn line is a bit wavy, but not too concerning as it leaves behind a trail of compacted white and dark gray ash which held for about 3/4 of a inch before falling off.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Cigares Prive and an interesting pine flavor has really come on in the flavor profile backed by the bold spice, cocoa and vanilla with some light oak and natural mossy flavors. The retrohale brings out a lot of the pepper that I haven’t really been picking up in the experience. I close out the second third with nothing really in terms of nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Illusione Cigars Prive and the flavors have changed up quite a bit. The main flavor is now the oak and a mixture of oaty/grain with a good amount of vanilla and pine backed by soft cocoa, a bit of light coffee and spice. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I’m surprised with how slow it burned. I experienced no harshness, nor any extended heat and only a little bit of nicotine.

Overview:

Again, I am a big Illusione fan and I absolutely loved the Cigares Prive. The flavor profile is complex, bold, and extremely enjoyable while the construction was flawless. Add in the ease of finding these and the low cost per cigar and it’s easy to see why these will find their way into my everyday rotation. This was probably one of the more full-bodied cigars I have had in their portfolio and I am still amazed with just how smooth it went down.

Pairing:

Number Crunch is a Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial stout finished with a variety of cacao nibs and vanilla brewed at the Bottle Logic brewery in Anaheim, California. Coming in at a whopping 13.6% ABV this beer packs a punch. The beer starts out very sweet with a whole ton of chocolate and vanilla. It almost tastes like ice cream. It’s sticky with very heavy bourbon notes, caramel, and roasted malt with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with more cocoa and vanilla pouring on. The alcohol is completely hidden in this beer. The vanilla and cocoa is what drew my attention to this pairing as the Cigares Prive are heavy on both flavors as well. The beer is BOLD and will overpower most cigars but the Cigares Prive really held its own and never once got overpowered by the body of the beer.

The post Illusione Cigares Prive Corojo appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Late Hour is the newest addition to Davidoff’s highest selling Winston Churchill line. This is one of the few cigars we’ve seen Davidoff create in recent times containing barrel-aged tobacco. The Last Hour uses tobacco that has been aged for six months in Scotch singly malt whisky casks. The cigar starts out with an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper over a Mexican San Andres Negro binder covering filler tobaccos from Dominican Republic and Nicargua. One of the Nicaraguan fillers, a Condega Viso was the specific tobacco that was aged in Speyside scotch barrels. The Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour is offered in three different sizes: Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 54), and the Churchill (7 x 48) which all come in boxes of 20 ranging between $17.50 and $20.10 a stick. I purchased a few of these over from our friends at Atlantic Cigar Company a while back, and then was gifted one by Jeremy’s sister on my birthday. I can’t remember which formats I got from where so I figured I’d mention both. Thanks Amy!

Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Dominican Republic (Olor, Piloto, San Vicente) / Nicaraguan (Condega, Esteli)
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $17.50
Pairing: Prairie Artisan Ales Pirate Bomb! (Imperial Stout 14% ABV)

Note: Thanks goes out to halfwheel.com for the wrapper/binder/filler breakdown

Prelight:

The Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour starts out with a beautiful dark brown wrapper. Probably one of the darkest wrappers I’ve seen on a Davidoff off cigar. The color is semi-consistent with a good amount of darker splotches scattered throughout the cigar. The wrapper carries a good amount of tooth and grit and a stunning amount of oils which actually rubbed off a bit on my fingers as I inspecting the cigar. The wrapper feels very hard and dense while the cigar as a whole is incredibly firm and heavy. I really hope that doesn’t cause any issues as I get into the smoking experience. The wrapper carries a few mild veins as it leads up to the cigar’s round, double wrapped cap. The Late Hour is polished off with a beautiful black and gold band with elegantly showcases a silhouette of Winston Churchill himself, the Davidoff Logo, and the Winston Churchill branding as well as a secondary black band with simply states “Late Hour”.

The wrapper on the Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour gives off a whole mess of different aromas. Starting with plum, spice, oak, and mud while the foot of the cigar is much more spice-driven with backing notes of sweetness, peat, and earthiness. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some nice plum notes with honey, spice, oak, and moss.

First Third:

The Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour starts out with an unexpected cayenne pepper blast. Once the pepper begins to wear off I am greeted with lots of pine, moss, peat, honey, plum, cinnamon, and a bit of cocoa. I am really really digging how this cigar is starting out. The draw is perfect as each puff kicks out a desirable amount of gray smoke which dissipates rather quickly. The burn line is razor thin and wild but I haven’t had to touch it up so I’m not complaining. The ash left behind is slightly compacted and medium gray in color. It held on for about an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour and the flavors I usually identify Davidoff with are really starting to come out. The cigar now leads with the peat and moss, earthiness, and oak over great splashes of spice, honey, sweetness, vanilla, and a nice little booze bite at the end of the taste. The retrohale helps reinforce the peat, spice, and booze and I am enjoying doing it quite often. I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour and the flavors are still pouring it on. Leading with peat, moss, earthiness and spice backed by vanilla, honey, and a bit of a scotch kick that became more noticeable in the final third. It took me almost 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I wish it would have lasted even longer. While the burn line was a bit wavy at times I never once had to touch up or relight the cigar. I experienced no harshness, not any extended heat as I closed out with a decent little kicking kick.

Overview:

I have really enjoyed the trend of more full-bodied cigars coming out of the Davidoff factory and the Late Hour tops that list. What a fantastic cigar that kept true to the Davidoff palate. The cigar is complex, yet easy smoking sticking true to it’s roots. Its rather expensive, but it’s Davidoff so that’s expected. This is a great cigar for those full-bodied smokers out there who have stayed away from Davidoff due to it being too mild for them. I would say this would have a place in my regular rotation but I just can’t do that with a $20 cigar. But this is something I’d spring for when I want something special especially around the holiday season when I’m drinking more stouts.

Pairing:

Prairie Artisan Ales is probably one of my most featured beers on Casas Fumando. For this week’s pairing I went with the Pirate Bomb which is an Imperial stout brewed with Cacao nibs, Coffee, Vanilla and Chiles aged in Rum barrels. The Tulsa, Oklahoma brewed beer comes in at a whopping 14% ABV. This stout leads with a whole ton of of sweetness, cocoa, vanilla, malt, heavy creamed coffee, and spice with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing very sweet with a good amount of booze, spice, cocoa, and vanilla with an awesome Chile flavor on the aftertaste. I love the Bomb series and I venture to say that the Pirate and Christmas bomb are probably my favorite from the bunch. Its so easy to pair these with just about and dark, sweet cigar and it showed with the Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour. The beer added some great cocoa to the cigar which was probably the only thing I thought was missing.

Giveaway Winner:

And the winner of the 3 pack of Tatuaje Michael is:

Ken Fellenstein!

Congrats! Send your address to casasfumando[@]gmail.com and I’ll get these in the mail! And a big thanks goes out to everyone who entered! Keep a look out as we have been on a roll with Fox Cigars giving away cigars like crazy so I am sure another one is right around the corner.

The post Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour + Giveaway Winner appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Drew Estate’s Pappy Van Winkle Tradition is the second release from the Drew Estate/Pappy partnership and made it’s debut at this year’s IPCPR show in Las Vegas. This extremely limited cigar can only be purchased at Drew Diplomat retailers. The Drew Estate press release carried a hefty amount of information on the cigar:

From Kentucky, Julian Van Winkle President of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, “I was invited to Cigar Aficionado’s A Night to Remember by Jonathan Drew in 2016 and was presented with a non-banded, wooden box of cigars with white bands on it that just read “Exclusively for my Friend Julian by Willy Herrera Sincerely Jonathan Drew”. I loved this blend because of its balance, shortly thereafter, my family and I visited La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Nicaragua and I smoked the same blend most of the trip. By the end, I knew this would be the Pappy Van Winkle Tradition.”

Drew Estate is honored to represent the Van Winkle Family with an ultra-premium cigar that reinforces the legacy for one of America’s true living icons, Julian Van Winkle. The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition features an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper, Indonesian Binder and aged fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. From his Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew President and Founder of Drew Estate notes, “The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition features an ultra-complex combination of extensively aged fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic that are blanketed with a flawless Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper. Availability is limited. I am humbled to extend the Drew and Van Winkle friendship, time tested honor, and craftsmanship to Drew Diplomat Humidors across the United States.”

The Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle Tradition will be offered in seven different sizes: Coronita (4 x 46), Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54), Toro (6 x 50), Belicoso Fino (5 x 50), Churchill (7 x 48), Lonsdale (6.5 x 44), and Corona (5.5 x 44). All except the Lonsdale and Corona come packaged in boxes of 10 running between $14.60 and $25 a stick. The Churchill can only be purchased at Drew Diplomat Spirits Retailers. Both the Lonsdale and Corona are not of sale. The Lonsdale  can only be obtained at Drew Diplomat Reward Events in October, November, and December 2017. The Corona can only be obtained personally from Jonathan Drew or Julian Van Winkle. Fox Cigar Bar, a Drew Diplomat retailer, was kind enough to send a few of these our way for review. In case you haven’t heard they recently launched a complete cigar shopping experience on their site! You can check them out and place your orders here. Tell them we sent ya! They should have these in stock as soon as they are released.

Size: 6 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican Republic
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $24
Pairing: Goose Island Bourbon County Regal Rye 2015 (Imperial Stout 13.2% ABV)

Prelight:

The Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle Tradition starts with a gorgeous looking medium/dark brown wrapper. The color is consistent for the most part with small splotches of darker brown scattered throughout the wrapper’s natural webbing in the tobacco leaf. The texture on the wrapper is decently toothy with a bit of grit and a whole mess of oils. The cigar actually leaves a little residue behind as I hold it to examine it. The body of the cigar carries some very mild veins as the wrapper leaf is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the cigars round, double-wrapped cap. The wrapper feels a bit thing and delicate so I didn’t play with the cigar too much, but it feels firm for the most part with no real signs of soft spots. The cigar is polished off with a red, gold, and white band featuring Pappy Van Winkle’s iconic crest in the front, as well as a secondary band with the word “Tradition” across the front of it.

The wrapper on Drew Estate’s Pappy Van Winkle Tradition gives off some pungent musk, oak, and sweetness while the foot of the cigar carries a bit of dirt, spice, and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some soft spice and pepper over honey, grain, and natural tobacco.

First Third:

The Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle Tradition starts out with a very natural-forward flavor profile full of honey, spice, oak, earthiness, some soft black pepper, and just a hint of cherry. I am really digging the starting profile of this bad boy. The draw is absolutely perfect as each tiny puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke while the cigar pours out stationary smoke like a chimney as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of white, and light gray ash which held on just over an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Drew Estate Pappy Bank Winkle and the flavors have remained consistent for the most part. The spice, honey, and oak lead the charged backed by earthiness, cherry, and even slight hints of pine. The beer I decided to pair with really helps bring out the sweetness and oak. The retrohale is phenomenal as it coats my nasal passage with straight up honey and oak and I find myself doing it more often than any cigar in my recent memory. The burn line is rock solid as I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

In the final third of the Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle Tradition the cigar really takes off. It’s strange saying that as the cigar has been stellar up until this point, but this is the sweet-sport of an already glowing cigar. The cigar has now reach the Medium/Full bodied point and the flavors really start to surround the oak. Oak forward backed by honey, pine, cherry, sweetness, musk, earthiness and natural tobacco. It took me 2 hours to smoke this cigar down to the very tip of the nub. My hands were burning, while my heart was burning for more. I experience no harshness, no extra heat, and only the slightest of a nicotine kick.

Overview:

Its no secret that I have been a longtime fan of Willy Herrera’s blends, and in all honesty I think the Pappy Van Winkle Tradition is right up towards the top of my favorite cigars that he has made. The flavors are solid, meticulous, complex, and so well balanced without hitting you in the face. That’s something I have always been able to appreciate with his blends and why he fits right in and Drew Estate. The Pappy Van Winkle is an exclusive, limited, and expensive cigar which fits right in with the Pappy branding. In all honesty, I think this cigar is worth the coin. I dropped so much money on the La Palina Goldies and I can easily see myself buying a box of the Traditions as well. If you find them, buy them. They won’t be around for very long. Again, hit Fox Cigar bar for yours. They should be releasing soon.

Pairing:

By now I think that we are all aware of the incredible Bourbon County Brand Stout produced annually, released on Black Friday by Goose Island Brewing in Chicago, Illinois. The Regal Rye variant is the same Imperial Stout, coming in at 13.2% ABV aged in Rye Barrels with Blackberries, Candied Cherries, and Sea Salt Added. The result is a boozy, sweet, sticky, tart, flavor profile with lots of berry, malt, bourbon, oak, and chocolate with an extremely heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more sweetness, tart berry, malt, vanilla, and chocolate. As the beer warms more and more of the berry and booze sneak out. This beer is fantastic and easily one of my favorite variants yet. The beer really helped bring out the cherry, oak, and sweetness in the cigar without overpowering it.

Giveaway:

Anyone who has been following our blog for sometime now knows that we have a very strong relationship with Fox Cigar bar in Arizona. Fox Cigar has two locations, one in Gilbert, and the other in Scottsdale. While Jeremy and I make sure to stop in and stock up on cigars whenever we are in town, Fox recently launched a full-on mail order cigar and accessory site. To celebrate, we teamed up with Fox to bring you one hell of a contest! Big thanks goes out to them for sending all these goods our way, to give to you. Up for grabs is:

Drew Estate Ashtray
Liga Privada No. 9 fitted Hat
Liga Privada No. 9 Cutter
Liga Privada L40 Lancero – review here
Liga Privada Dirty Rat – review here
Liga Privada Velvet Rat – review here
My Father Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial The Fox – review here

The giveaway will run between now, and Monday, August 21st when the winner will be announced. It’s a quick one so get on it ASAP! You can enter using the widget below. Must be 21 and over, and located in the US only. Good luck!

The post Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle Tradition + RARE LIGA PRIVADA GIVEAWAY appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

It’s no secret that the Mule Kick is one, if not my all time favorite cigar from the Crowned Head’s vast portfolio. Jeremy and I snatched quite a few of these up a few years back when this cigar was originally released in a very, very small batch. You can read his review here, and mine here. To my surprise the Crowned Heads decided to bring this bad boy back this year. While the qualities are still limited (2,000 boxes), they aren’t nearly as hard to find as the original release was (only 500 boxes). The blend remains very similar as well as the Mule Kick utilizes a darker Ecuadorian Habano wrapper which was originally supposed to be used on the Four Kicks but deemed too dark. The binder is still Nicaraguan while the filler is a tweaked mixture of the same Nicaraguan fillers from before. The cigar is offered in a single 5 7/8 x 52 format and runs just alrighty more expensive than the original release at $9.90 a stick. I purchased a handful of these over from our friends and cigarpimp.com.

Size: 5 7/8 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $9.90
Pairing: 2016 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (Imperial Stout 13.8% ABV)

Prelight:

The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 starts out with a milk-chocolate brown wrapper which is decently consistent in color outside of some darker areas located around the natural webbing in the wrapper leaf. The wrapper’s texture is extremely oil with some slight tooth while the wrapper itself feels very thin and fragile. The cigar is packed tightly with some softer spot located around the foot of the cigar. The cigar carries only a few smaller veins as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the round triple wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with the standard gold, red, and white Four Kicks band as well as an added gold and black secondary band stating “Limited Edition 2017”.

The wrapper on The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 gives off a huge amount of bold cedar and spice with a bit of sweetness while the foot of the cigar is more natural with tobacco, spice, dirt, and oak aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great cashew, spice, sweetness as well as bold cedar and musk.

First Third:

You’d expect to bit hit with a pepper bomb right off the bat in The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017, but you’re not. You are greeting with some bold cedar, musk, pecan, honey, and spice with just a tiny bit of black pepper and floral flavors hiding underneath. The draw is perfect kicking out tons of thick white smoke with each little puff. The burn line has some slight waves, but nothing really concerning while it leaves behind a tightly compacted trail of white and light gray ash which held on for for an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Each time I puff on The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 I am reminded more and more why I fell in love with this cigar. Into the second third and the flavors are still rocking hard producing some awesome musk/cologne type flavors over pecan, cedar, honey, brown sugar sweetness, and light coffee. The retrohale brings out a bit more of the spice and pepper that you really don’t pick up in the experience. The burn line is now razor sharp and dead even as I close out the second third with a tiny bit of a nicotine punch.

Finish:

Shortly after getting into the final third of the The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 the cigar my dog bumped into my cigar holder knocking the cigar off the table and onto the ground. The cap of the cigar cracked. Sadness ensued. But one thing I learned was that it did not effect the cigar experience whatsoever. It kept burning like a dream and the flavor really didn’t get affected by the tussle. At this point the cigar is well into the full body and full strength realm while the cigar continued to ramp up into the final inch. I encountered no harshness, and no extended heat even after the wrapper broke open due to unforeseen circumstances *coughcoughPERRYDOGcoughcough*. The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 left me with a great little nicotine kick after the hour and forty five minutes it took to take it down.

Overview:

Not only was The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017 everything I remember it being, but I can easily one of my favorite cigars I have smoked all year. The cold flavors are a perfect match for my personal palate and the flawless burning experience is something you can easily count on from The Crowned Heads and their choice for top-notch manufacturers. The price is right where it should be, and I personally would even pay more than that for this cigar. My only gripe? You guessed it. I wish these were available full production so I didn’t have to be that guy hoarding them for years. I would purchase it over and over again and intend to do so while I can still get my hands on them.

Pairing:

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years then you are well aware of the greatness that is Goose Isnland’s Bourbon County Stout. Coming in at 13.8% This Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels is one of the most sought after beers year after year. Leading with a heavily sticky sweetness, bourbon booziness, cocoa, espresso, and vanilla with a very, very heavy mouthfeel this beer is sure to please before it finishes with even more sweetness, vanilla, coconut, spice, and espresso while the bourbon booziness sticks around for quite some time before going away. The sweetness, spice, cocoa and espresso all married up wonderfully with existing flavors in The Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2017, while the bourbon, vanilla, and coconut helped bring even more flavor out of an already potent cigar without overpowering it. I do thing this beer can easily overpower most cigars but we all know just how flavorful the Mule Kick is and it really held its ground and even added to the body of the beer in some instances.

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The Good Stuff:

The next Tobacconist’s Association of America release to hit the shelves is Drew Estate’s Herrera Esteli TAA exclusive. As I spoke about during my last review, the TAA is a small group of retailers (about 80) across the United states who meet up every year to discuss issues that the cigar industry faces, and this blend is only sold in those few shops to help support their cause. The Herrera Esteli is a variant of the original Herrera Esteli and is the first blend that Willy Herrera, Drew Estate’s master blender, has created for Drew Estate which utilizes Connecticut Broadleaf. Following the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is a Brazilian Mata Fina binder surrounded Nicaraguan fillers. The Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro comes packaged in boxes of 12 and runs $12 per cigar. Big thanks goes out to the Drew Estate team for sending a couple of these our way to review.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $12
Pairing: Modern Times City of the Dead (Imperial Coffee Stout 7.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro starts out with an absolutely gorgeous, consistent, dark brown wrapper. The wrapper’s color is very deep in most areas with a few lighter spots around the soft veins, and a bit of a darker shade coating the cigar’s cap. The texture of the wrapper is very, very toothy with a good amount of oils. The wrapper is very hard, and dense. It almost feels like it would take a chainsaw to get through it. The Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro’s body is beefy, round, and incredibly tightly packed. The cigar is very heavy as it leads up to a perfectly round double cap. The cigar is polished off with the red version of the Herrera Esteli band as well as a red and gold secondary band with the “TAA Exclusive” label on the front.

The wrapper on the Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro gives off a very pungent cocoa and cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice and natural tobacco scents. The cap cut surprisingly easily and clean using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great grainy/earthy flavors buried beneath a great sweetness and cedar.

First Third:

The Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro starts out with a nice, big cayenne pepper blast along with some really bold, dank, tobacco flavors. As the pepper fades the cigar unleashes some very bold coffee, chocolate, cedar, and musk all with a very sweet overtone. I wasn’t expecting the cigar to start off as bold as it did, but I’m not complaining. As i continue into the first third a nice, subtle black cherry fades in and out as well. The draw is perfect. Each tiny puff kicks out a great amount of thick, white smoke while the cigar unleashes a huge amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is a bit wavy, but not too concerning as it leaves behind a beautiful trail of solid white ash which held on for over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro and this cigar is still pouring on the flavors. The cigar now leads with a bold dark chocolate, espresso, and sweetness with some nutty, cedar, spice flavors backing it. The retrohale coats my nasal passage with even more dark chocolate as well as some sharp spice and cedar. The burn line is now burning flawlessly without the need of my torch while I close out the second third with only a very mild nicotine kick.

Finish:

The final third of the Herrera Esteli is much of the same, and there is nothing wrong with that. Strong dark chocolate, coffee, and cedar lead the way with a very sweet overtone and subtle nut, and spice. The flavor profile of this cigar is incredible. The body ramped up a bit in the final third, and barely reached into the medium/full zone. It took me an hour and a half to take this cigar down and I enjoyed every second of it.

Overview:

Willy has always been great at putting a classic touch into all of his blends. The Herrera Esteli TAA Maduro is no exception. The blend is as close as you can get to a classic maduro while utilizing modern tobacco. The Connecticut Broadleaf adds more sweetness, and a nice little tarty tang to the equation while helping the cigar reach a medium/full body experience. The price is a bit high on this cigar, but it wont stop be from stocking up. It seems like the manufacturers who have taken the time to create TAA exclusive blends have really kicking out some incredible blends, for a worthy cause. Do your part by supporting them, you won’t regret it.

Pairing:

Modern Times is a small brewery in San Diego, California that has created some of my absolutely favorite beers. The city of the dead is a 7.5% stout which includes Guatemalan coffee aged in bourbon barrels. That’s right, the coffee is aged, not the beer. Modern Times claims that this is the first time a beer had been created with barrel aged coffee (that they know of). Modern Times knows two things really well, coffee, and beer. Pair them both together and the outcome is outstanding. The beer leads with a ton of sweetness, dark chocolate, coffee, malt, and milk with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing smooth with even more coffee, chocolate and sweetness. This beer is way easy to drink, and only leaves behind a slight bit of the coffee acidity and a bit of bourbon. The beer and cigar were a match made in heaven as they both carried almost identical flavor profiles. I’d also pair this cigar with a sweet, spice rum, bourbon, or Belgian quad.

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The Good Stuff:

Back in 2009 Eddie Ortega and Erik Espinosa created one of my favorite blends at the time, the Murcielago. You can read my review of the original here. The San Andres wrapped cigar was then blended by none other than Don Pepin Garcia of My Father Cigars. Fast forward today and the Murcielago is now a private blend of Erik Espinosa’s Espinosa Cigars which is now being blended at Erik’s La Zona factory in Nicaragua. While the blend may not be identical, Erik spent the better part of the past 6 years trying to reverse engineer the blend resulting in the cigar offered today. The Murcielago starts out with a Mexican San Andres maduro wrapper, Mexican binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar is offered in three box-pressed sizes: Noir (5 x 52), Nocturne (5.5 x 56), La Lune (6.5 x 54) which come in boxes of 20 ranging between $9.50 and $8.50 a stick. These were sent over for us to review from the Espinosa Cigar team.

Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $8.50
Pairing: Southern Star Black Crack (Imperial Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Murcielago starts out with a gorgeous, very dark brown wrapper. The color is perfectly consistent while the texture features a whole mess of rough tooth, a good amount of oil, and a very hard, dense makeup. The cigar is very heavy, and I wasn’t able to find any soft spots throughout the cigar’s body. There are a very minor veins running the course of the Murcielago’s box-pressed body, but nothing concerning as it leads up to a round double cap. The cigar is polished off with a similar band that we saw on the EO Brands cigar, only it’s a deeper red and black with no gold.

The wrapper on the Murcielago gives off some rich spice, cocoa and coffee aromas while the foot of the cigar smells much sweeter with spice and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The Murcielago produces strong cocoa, espresso, and spice flavors on the cold draw with just a bit of saltiness and cayenne pepper on my lips.

First Third:

The Murcielago starts out with a good amount of that cayenne pepper both on my tongue, and in the flavor profile. After a few draws the pepper all but fades away leaving behind cocoa, espresso, spice, lots of floral and musk with this incredible almost sandalwood flavor that I’m really digging. The draw on the Murcielago is awesome. Each tiny puff kicks out tons of thick white smoke while the cigar gives off a whole mess of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is a bit wild at first but has been continuing to calm itself down leaving behind a decently compacted trail of medium gray ash which held on for an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Murcielago and the sandalwood has dropped out and the main flavor component is now a sweet raisin backed by soft cedar, cocoa, espresso, musk, and spice. The changes in flavor profile have been pretty entertaining so far. The retrohale brings that sandalwood back into the equation along with some very sharp pepper. The burn line is still pretty wavy but I haven’t had to reach for my lighter yet so I’m not complaining. I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

The body and strength have really ramped up into the final third of this Murcielago. The flavor is leading with the cedar again, but that awesome sandalwood has made a reappearance as well. It’s mild, but it’s awesome. The backing flavors are that of cocoa, spice, and coffee with a splash of sweetness and some soft tartness. It took me about an hour and a half to take this cigar down to the nub and I experience absolutely no harshness or extra heat. This was a hell of a cigar and I really enjoyed it. I close out with only a slight little nicotine kick.

Overview:

While I haven’t smoked many of the original Murcielago blends recently, I smoked enough to know my way around them. While this version of the Murcielago does have it’s similarities, it’s a whole different monster. The flavor profile is amazing, and the change ups constantly kept me on my toes. The burn was superior and despite a few waves it functioned flawlessly as I never once had to reach for my torch. The price point is right where you expect it to be and I’d feel comfortable buying a box, or even a few boxes of these to have around for my regular rotation. I’d have to smoke a few more of the original blend to be sure, but at this point I’d venture to say that I actually enjoyed this current version even more than the one prior. La Zona has been on a hot streak every since they factory was founded and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.

Pairing:

Southern Star Brewing Company is one of the few Texas breweries that you can find in pretty much every little store in El Paso ranging from bars and liquor stores to grocery and convenience stores. They make a few really good beers too. One of my favorites is their Buried Hatched Stout which I have paired with in the past. Today, I bring you their Black Crack which is essentially a bourbon barrel aged version of the Buried Hatchet Stout. The Black Crack opens up with a whole mess of sweetness, raisin, and cocoa with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with a ton of malt, caramel, raisin, cocoa, and vanilla. It’s easy to see why they call this beer crack, it’s so good it’s addicting. The price of this beer is a bit of a shocker coming in at about $14 a can. While the beer is outstanding, it’s not something I’d shell out that coin for too often. Still, its worth giving a go.

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The Good Stuff:

The Futuro is a cigar created by Warped Cigars in collaboration with Casa Fernandez with one goal in mind: to create a cigar unlike anything either of the two manufacturers have ever created in the past.  Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars and Max Fernandez of Casa Fernandez have been working together at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A (TABSA) for a while now, but this is the first blend that they jointly blended together. The blend utilizes 100% Aganorsa leaf from the Casa Fernandez Aganorsa farms. The tobacco used in the blend comes straight from the TABSA vault which contains their most prized material. The blend features a Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper,  Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 Binder and Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’99 fillers. The Warped Futuro comes in only two sizes which fit the creators’ own personal preference: the 109 (6 x 52) and the Suprema (5.6 x 46) which range run $9.25 and $8.75 respectively and both sizes come packaged in boxes of 20. This particular cigar was a gift from a good friend Jason while he was over last week celebrating some time with Jeremy while he was in town.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo ’98
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 / Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $9.25
Pairing: Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Narwhal 2015 (Imperial Stout 12.9% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Cigar Futuro starts out with a gorgeous, insanely consistent, medium brown wrapper. The color is as close to exact throughout the entire cigar as you can get. The texture of the wrapper is some slight tooth and a little roughness, lots of oil, with an overall silky feeling to the touch. The wrapper leaf is laid seamlessly and there are only some very minor veins running thought the cigar’s body which leads up to a nubby almost half-belicoso style cap. The Futuro feels real dense, and tightly packed with tobacco while the wrapper is decently dense with only a bit of softness around the foot of the cigar. The cigar is then polished off with a gorgeous, modern-old-timey style gold, royal blue, and red band which carries the “Futuro 2015” crest on the front, with the creators’ “KG” and “MF” initials on each side.

The wrapper gives off almost no aroma outside of a slight tobacco while the foot carries a lot of sweetness, spice, and earthiness. The cap cut very clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great sweet cedar, oak, spice, and gingerbread style flavors.

First Third:

Lighting the Futuro was cake using my Dupont single flame butane torch. The Futuro starts out with only some very light, extremely mild pepper which faded after the first puff or two. The main flavor profile leads with a great sweet cedar, cinnamon, gingerbread, soft tobacco, with a great oaky aftertaste. I absolutely love the flavor profile thats developing here. Each tiny puff kicks out a massive cloud of thick white smoke while the Futuro gives off a decent amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of white and medium gray ash which held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

As I smoke into the second third of the Futuro the pepper that disappeared in the first third has started to work it’s way, subtly, back into the flavor profile. The profile still leads with really sweet cedar, cinnamon and spice, tobacco, and just a pinch of cocoa. The retrohale really showcases the cedar as well as the spice. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin. I close out the second third with absolutely nothing in the nicotine department.

Finish:

So far the only complain I have about the Futuro is the amount of sap build up it’s been producing. A bit of clip, and slowing down my smoking speed has cleared that right up. The flavor profile is much the same, and I am totally ok with that. The Futuro leads with strong, sweet, cedar backed by cocoa, spice, cinnamon, and some really nice brown sugar. It took me about 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experience absolutely no harshness, or heat buildup, however I do recommend taking your time with it as the sap does tend to seep in when you rush through it. The burn line was solid all the way through and I never once had to reach for my torch to relight or touch the cigar up. I close out the cigar feeling almost zilch in terms of nicotine.

Overview:

This was my introduction to Warped cigars and if the Futuro is any indication as to how solid their blends are, it won’t be my last. The cigar’s flavor profile is incredible, the smoking experience was near perfect outside of the sap which was probably my fault to begin with, and the price point is more than reasonable. This is a box worthy cigar for sure and really can’t wait to try out some of their other offerings.

Pairing:

Sierra Nevada’s Narwhal is a beer that finds it’s way into my rotation every year. This year, I was able to score a few bottles of their Barrel-Aged variant. Brewed at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in California, this Imperial Stout rocks a modest 12.9% ABV. The Narwhal leads with great milk chocolate, malt, oak, and sweetness with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing very sweet with chocolate, espresso, oak, and more malt with a great amount of bourbon. This was a great pairing. This cigar has sweet bourbon pairing written all over it, but since I’m not a bourbon guy a barrel aged beer is my closest bet.

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