-Tony

On the heels of my review of Padilla’s Reserva San Andres, I now bring you another of the company’s newer and lower priced lines.  Like the San Andres, La Pilar is intended to bring to the smoker an affordable, yet high quality cigar.  Utilizing an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper, they come in three box-pressed sizes:  Robusto 5 x 54; Toro 6 x 52; and Churchill 7 1/4 x 57.  Prices run between $5.50 and $7.10.  Hopefully, Padilla will get its website up one of these days or at least post an email contact, so I don’t have to search all over the internet and/or contact retailers for accurate info.  I obtained a handful of the Robusto size from our friends over at Cuenca Cigars, and want to thank Ana Cuenca for confirming the sizes.

The basics:

Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder:  Nicaragua
Filler:  Dominican Republic, Nicaragua Jalapa and Esteli
Size:  Robusto 5 x 54
Price:  $5.50
Smoking time:  One hour, eighteen minutes.
Pairing:  Unibroue Don de Dieu (ABV 9%)

Pre-light:

The Padilla La Pilar No. 4 is draped in a medium brown wrapper with reddish orange cast and streaks of darker brown throughout.  A few very small veins are apparent, the fairly smooth surface has a light oily sheen, and the boxed roll is firm but not hard.  For some reason, though, the cigar feels like it’s more of like a 52RG than 54.  I suppose that’s just the way it goes with box pressed sticks.  The rather large primary band is bright gold and red on a white background, while the secondary band is gold on black and reads “No. 4 Craft Batch Series”.  The wrapper scent is of light barnyard with a bit of tang, while the foot shows mossy earth and natural tobacco.

First third:

The Padilla La Pilar immediately gives up a good mouthful of smoke, showing wood, earth, and pepper laden spice.  The pepper quickly recedes and there is a brightness on the retrohale that I can’t quite place, along with something akin to a smoked roasted nut.  The burn has started out pretty thick and wavy, requiring a quick and painless touch-up, and the ash, while a bit flaky, holds on for a good inch before dropping into my ashtray.  The nutty flavor has backed out, and some light roasted coffee notes come and go.

Middle third:

Entering the center portion the cigar, the La Pilar is holding to a solid medium body with no nicotine strength.  The burn line continues to waver, but any corrections are very quick and easy.  Wood and earth still the main flavor components, while black pepper pungency (but not the bite) and a bit of yeasty bread show on the retrohale.  A slight amount of char is also showing, which seems to be a recurring theme in many of the cigars I’ve been smoking lately, so that’s probably more a reflection of my palate than the cigar.  As the cigar moves toward the latter part of this section, the body has risen beyond medium, but not quite to medium-full.

Final third:

Into the final third of the Padilla La Pilar No. 4, the pepper has begun to make a comeback, both in flavor and on the lips and tongue, while the other flavors have pretty much remained static.  At this point the cigar has displayed a tendency to want to go out and I notice a bit of tunneling.  That doesn’t last long though, and it is soon back on track, and a brighter, almost citrus note has emerged to mingle with the darker flavors.  The La Pilar smokes cool and firm down to the nub with little harshness, ending up at a medium-full body and just a very slight nicotine kick.

Overview:

I very much enjoyed the two La Pilars that I had smoked prior to this one, and although this one wasn’t quite up to the level of those, it was still a solid smoke.  I didn’t have the burn problems with the others that I encountered on this one, and I actually picked up some added sweetness and depth in those that weren’t present I this particular cigar.  For $5.50, it’s not the most complex cigar around, nor would I expect it to be, but this is a slam dunk to pick up on and try out, and I will certainly be getting more of them after I get through the two that I have left.

Pairing:

It’s been quite a while since Unibroue’s Don de Dieu has been featured here at Casas Fumando, but this is an outstanding Canadian brewed triple wheat ale that sports a great combination of sweetness, citrus fruit, malt, and overall balance in an effervescent mouthful.  Don de Dieu means “gift of God” in French, and refers to the name of the ship that Samuel de Champlain was on board when he arrived to establish the city of Quebec in 1608.  Its presentation hides the 9% ABV sneakily well, and it’s a great companion to just about any medium to medium-full bodied cigar, so the match-up was everything I expected of it.  The Padilla La Pilar No. 4 would also go very well with a strong ale or Scotch ale, a red wine, a fruity bourbon, or sweet rum.

The post Padilla La Pilar Series No. 4 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: The Montecristo Epic is labeled as the boldest Montecristo blend in the Altidas U.S.A. portfolio. The main story in the Epic is the inclusion of Dominican tobaccos that date back as far as 2007.  Along with the Dominican filler the Epic also includes Nicaraguan fillers, Nicaraguan Binder, and a Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.

The Epic is available in  3 different sizes (Toro, Robusto, and Chruchill) with a limited edition No. 2 format available later this year. I’m not sure how much the limited edition vitola will run for, but the standard Epic sizes range from $12 to $14 a stick and will come in boxes of 10. These samples were sent to me by Altidas U.S.A.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican (some aged since 2007)/Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: ~$13
Pairing: Weihenstaphaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (5.3% ABV)

Prelight: Lately I have had the pleasure of smoking some remarkably well constructed cigars, and Montecristo’s Epic, falls right in line. This cigar is a beauty. Starting with its crazy thick, oily, toothy, consistently medium brown wrapper with some slight, webby shades of dark brown. There is a lot of smaller, webby veins, but not really any larger ones that might mess with the burn during the experience. The large, beefy body leads up to a beautiful, round double cap. The Epic is finished off with your standard, brown and gold, Montecritso band and the addition of a secondary gold, yellow, and brown label carry the words “EPIC” and “Premium Selection ‘07” printed on it. This cigar is incredibly firm, it’s almost rock hard. There isn’t a single dense, or soft spot throughout the body of the cigar. I just hope it isn’t too tight when it comes down to smoking it.

The wrapper on the Montecristo Epic gives off a very tart, citrusy cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar pumps out a very creamy, spicy, cedar and coffee aroma. The cap on the Epic took a little extra attention to clip using my Palio double bladed cutter, but I was left with a very nice, clean cut when it finally when through. The cold draw produces some really sharp, tart cedar with some coffee and natural tobacco flavors.

First Smoke: Surprisingly, I was greeting with quite a bit of black pepper on the first couple of draw of the Montecristo Epic.  Once the pepper began to fade away this crazy tart, and I mean TART flavor took over. It reminded me a lot of orange peel only with more tart, less sweetness. Underneath the tart flavor is a nice, bold coffee, natural tobacco, cedar, and nutty profile. Despite my earlier reservations, the draw on the Epic was magnificent. Every little puff kicked out a ton of thick smoke. The burnline was razor sharp with only some slight waves leaving behind a flaky medium and dark grey ash. The ash only held on for about a third of an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The tartness started to let off a bit in the second third of this Montecristo Epic. As the tartness faded the cigar became much more creamy with some sharp cedar notes laid over lots of coffee, chocolate, and nutty flavors. The retrohale is way too sharp and tart for me, so I only did it once or twice before calling it quits. The burnline is now burning dead even and still razor sharp and I am feeling no nicotine at all at this point.

Finish: I was really hoping that by the final third of the Montecristo Epic the tart flavor would have fizzled out. No luck. In fact, along with all the other flavors, it’s actually beginning to ramp up. Other than the tartness there is still some very sharp cedar, very bold coffee, and creamy tobacco with hints of spice. The Epic didn’t require a single touch-up or relight as it took me almost 2 hours to take this cigar down. I felt a slight nicotine kick after finishing the cigar, but nothing too powerful.

Overview: While the Montecristo Epic is one of the better Non-cuban Montecristos blend I have had, it just didn’t do it for me. That tartness was a bit too overpowering, had it not been there, or even a bit milder then I think I would have really enjoyed this cigar. When you factor in a $13 price point, I just don’t see myself pulling the trigger on these. Check them out for yourself, let me know what you think. I know that there are far more reviewers out there that really enjoyed this cigar then there are who didn’t.

Pairing: Ahh yes, another wonderful German beer. Weihenstephan is labeled as the oldest brewery in the world. It takes some great beer to be around for that long and this brewery can do no wrong. Today’s selection is one from their very few darker offerings. The Hefeweissbier Dunkel, or Dunkelweizen is one of my favorite brews they make. Brewed at the legendary Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in Germany, this modest 5.3% ABV is packed with flavor. The dark ale starts out with a bitter wheat followed by orange, coriander, cinnamon, and prune flavors. This is a great after dinner summer beer. It’s heavy, sweet, and paired quite nicely with the tart/sweet flavors in the Montecristo Epic.

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