Newair 15 Inch Wine and Beverage Refrigerator – 13 Bottles & 48 Cans Capacity with Dual Temperature Zone Wine Cooler, Black Stainless Steel & Double-Layer Tempered Glass Door, Compact Wine Cellar Built-in Counter or Freestanding Fridge. Entertain with elegance thanks to the Newair 15” dual zone compact wine cellar, with a spacious beverage center, the only refrigerator of its kind on the market. It features the innovative SplitShelf, which helps maximize storage space for taller beverages. Thispremium beverage cooler has two cooling zones to keep your wine at the perfect serving temperatures and carbonated drinks icy cold. The craftsman beech wood wine racks and seamless, black stainless-steel door are high-end details your guests won’t overlook. Now you can enjoy all your favorite wines and beverages in one space. 

NewAir Website – https://glnk.io/0mqpl/tonycasas

You can purchase this refrigerator directly from NewAir using this link. If you use code CASAS10 you will get 10% off your total purchase!

Shipping/Unboxing

Shipping is always a breeze with NewAir. First of all, they usually ship FEDEX which in my opinion, has the lightest hands in the delivery game. The unit arrived 2 days after it was shipped in a large brown cardboard box. The box was secured with plastic straps to ensure nothing was loose, and arrived with no damage at all to the outer box. Once you remove the straps, you can slide the box off the top of the unit and find the NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator nested in a Styrofoam container, surrounded by styrofoam sleeves, while the unit itself is covered in plastic to protect against any scratched (in the follow photo I removed the plastic and styrofoam).

Setup

Seeing up the NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator requires almost nothing! The unit is fully assembled and the drawers are pre-installed. The only item that needs work is the handle. To installed the handle all you need to do is peel back the rubber seal on the inside of the door, locate the two pre-drilled holes, linsert the two supplied screws in each hole and lineup the door handle. After that it’s a matter of tightening the screws and you are done.

I used this outside as a standalone unit so the only other step I had to do is adjust the leveling feet on the bottom by twisting each one to make sure the unite was completely level. It’s really to plug in. One step you may need to take is adding humidification control to the bottom wine portion of the unit. There is a small, removable dish under the bottom shelf which allows you to place humidification control (such as humidification beads in my case) into the unit to control the humidity levels in the bottom wine portion. After that, you are ready to plug the unit in and let it rock.

Storage

This little beast holds a ton of beverages. First, the top two shelves. These accurately hold exactly 24 – 12oz cans perfectly. They also slide out just a bit so that you can get your hands back there and reach those pesky cans hidden in the back. NewAir actually provides an alternate top shelf as well that allows for 16 – 12oz cans to be stored on the top, then an open space is utilized by allowing 16 – 12oz cans on the second shelf along with 8 – 16 oz cans (or taller), or bottles. This is great flexibility.

The bottom are features three vented, cedar shelves. Both the vents, and cedar are important components as you will want to control the humidity in the bottom area if you are storing wine over long periods of time. I was able to comfortably fit 3 wine bottles on the top shelf, 3 on the second shelf, and 5 stacked on the bottom shelf. That’s a lot of wine. In the picture below the bottles are actually the large-based style bottles that are about 30% wider than a standard wine bottle and they still fit perfectly.

Cooling

I actually let this cool empty overnight to let the material acclimate to the cold before adding any beverages to the NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator. Empty, it took the top area about 15 minutes to drop down to 45 degrees and the bottom area about 35 minutes to drop down to 50. These are my ideal settings so these are what I used for testing. I added a calibrated digital temperature gauge to the top shelf on the top area and the middle shelf on the bottom area to check the temperature accuracy and I am happy to report that in both areas the temperature was within 2 degrees of the unit’s setting. The next day I loaded room temperature drinks to the fridge. My thought process here was to gauge how long it took to cool each section after warm drinks were loaded in the worst case scenario. The top section reached 45 degrees about 3 hours after loading while the bottom section reached 30 degrees in almost an hour. Both performed very well. As the temperatures have gotten warmer here (mid-80’s) I also have been keeping tabs on how much the temperature fluctuates within the unit. The top area will only fluctuate about 3 degrees during the day and the bottom unit sits consistently at 50. Another impressive win for the NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator.

Features/Convenience

The two separate zones are incredible, and truly separate. What I mean by that is they are completely blocked off from on another allowing you to control not only the temperature in each section, but also the humidity using the hidden, removable dish under the bottom shelf in the wine section of the fridge. The front touch panel is elegant, lighted, and very simple to use. There is a setting to toggle between celsius and fahrenheit, a up/down setting as well as display for both sections, and a light toggle button which allows the user to turn the blue interior LED lights which are located at the top of the fridge and above the bottom section to the on setting with full brightness, mid-brightness, and off. Another note is that the temperature setting display will show you what the temperatures are set at while you adjusting, but will show the current temperature of each section when you are not adjusting the setting.

The NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator also features a lock with key to keep the riff-raff out of your stash as well as bottom front-facing vents to exhaust any heat generated by the cooling unit.

Overview

Let’s be honest. This is an incredible machine. The NewAir NWB057BSD0 Refrigerator delivers in all aspects. The build quality is impeccable including the materials used, the features are perfect and easy to use, while the overall performance and storage of the machine are more than optimal. I also like the design, and the elegance of the overall product. It would fit in just about any standalone situation or under even the nicest of kitchen counters.

The post NewAir NWB057BSD0 Wine and Beverage Refrigerator appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

During the pandemic my wife and I redid our entire back patio. We enclosed it, added a TV, dining area, couches, plants, lighting, and fans. Essentially we created an outdoor living room so that we could escape our house without ever leaving. The minute we’d get off work (we both still work from home) we’d venture out back and stay there until it was bed time. With the edition of the NewAir NCI080SS00 Ice Maker it makes our patio retreat more complete especially with the amount of drinking we do. 

You can purchase your NCI080SS00  using the following link: https://glnk.io/zlkpm/tonycasas and if you use our code CASAS10 you will receive 10% off your total purchase!

Shipping/Box Opening

As always, shipping from NewAir was cake. I received a shipping notification from NewAir and my NCI080SS00 unit arrived 3 days later. The box was in great condition. Upon opening the Ice Maker is surrounded by a plastic protective bag which is then surrounded but 1 inch thick Styrofoam on the top, bottom and corners which provides ample protection to make sure the item arrived in one piece. After removing the shipping protection all stainless steel areas are coated in a film to protect any damage which was easy to remove. Something worth mentioning is that not only was it easy to remove, but it came off in one piece without leaving anything behind. 

Setup/Product Quality

NewAir states that the steel is fingerprint resistant however I do feel like I was able to make quite a few smudges while setting up the machine. I have all steel appliances and this machine does produce fingerprints slightly less easily than my other appliances. 

The setup process was pretty easy. First, I installed the rubber o-ring into the inside of the ice tray which allows any melted or excess water to dump out of the system. This then runs to a outlet host in the back of the machine (see example below this paragraph. I hooked this up to a line that feeds directly into my grass since I am using it outside, however I suspect you will hook this up to any drain feed you have under your sink if you use it in your kitchen. I then hooked up the water inlet using a quick release valve and waters supply from my outdoor faucet. If using a smaller one like I did this will connect directly into the back of the Ice Maker (see example below this paragraph). Then you open the water source and check for leaks. After this, you simply plug the machine in and it’s good to go.

The build quality is fantastic. The NCI080SS00 is solid, heavy, and very stable. I found that even the plastic components felt thick and durable. There is no double that this machine will last quite some time. One note is that the only item that I found that isn’t as durable as I would have hoped is the water inlet component in the rear of the machine. I am used to something a bit thicker, or even made of copper. I don’t think this will be an issue for most people, however if I ever decide I need to adjust the placement of my machine out back I will need to make note of completely removing the water source before doing so to make sure I do not tug and break anything there.

Settings

The settings on the NCI080SS00 Ice maker are pretty straight forward. There is an LED panel on the bottom of the machine which allows you to easily toggle any of these settings. First, there is a power button to toggle the machine on and off. Holding this button for a few seconds will actually keep the cooling on, but will stop the machine from producing ice. When the machine is processing ice a lighted image of ice cubes will appear. Every time the ice cubes drop a small stumble of what looks like ice in a can will display. I had to actually research what this was as it wasn’t too obvious, but this is the machine de-icing after each cycle so that it doesn’t freeze up. You can actually set the ice thickness on this machine which is a really cool feature by using the ”+” and “-“ symbols on the panel. Once the machine gets full a symbol of a can full of ice will appear and the machine will automatically stop producing ice. There is also a button that allows you to set a timer on when the ice machine will kick on, similar to a timer on a coffee maker. There is a secondary setting that you can also set which will allow you to adjust how long the ice maker will produce ice.

Ice Quantity

This is where the machine just completely excels. First, NewAir states that the NCI080SS00 will create 40 cubes in just 15-30 minutes. In my case it produced this in about 10 minute and kept churning out ice every 10 minutes or so after that. The entire basin was full within a single evening. For my personal use, I’d never have a use for that much ice, however in my case, this is perfect for those summer days when friends come over and we quickly need to fill up ice chests and keep them full. Now translated to a kitchen/restaurant environment and I personally think that this machine can probably keep up with a small full-service restaurant. I can honestly say I was impressed with the speed in which this machine created ice. I have a smaller table-top ice maker that we normally use and the NCI080SS00 blows it out of the water. The added ice scoop that the machine comes with is a bonus. Any smaller and it wouldn’t really be practical for single drink making, however a larger one would have been great for easily filling bags or ice chests. 

Ice Quality

After I first started the machine, it created decently clear ice. It wasn’t the clearest, however it was clearer than any ice maker I have personally used. After the first 2 or so hours it produces much more cloudy, white ice. I figured it could be trapped air, so I let it run for a day however the longer it ran the more cloudy the ice became. It’s still not as cloudy as standard ice, but I do wish that it would have been closer to what the ice maker had promised. The picture below is about the average clarity I get from this machine. Note, I may be doing something wrong, or may just need to run the ice maker for a matter of a few days. This is a new machine and with that there may be a break-in period to get all the air out of the water lines. I will update this review should anything change. 

Ease of Use

Really, there isn’t much you need to do once you get the NCI080SS00 ice maker up and running. It just does it thing. It will continuously pump out all the ice you need. There isn’t much maintenance, at least not yet. Another add-on item here is just how quiet this machine operates. I have it outside in an open area so it doesn’t really matter how loud it is, however I can’t hear it at all. For the sake of the review I sat next to this machine for over an hour as it was filling and outside of the routine ice-dump sound, the machine itself made little to no noise at all. Perfect for a nice quiet kitchen.

Final Thoughts

Not only is the NewAir NCI080SS00 a machine, but it’s a stallion. This machine is probably a bit over-kill for my needs, however I know I can rest easy knowing that I will always have enough ice for any of my entertaining needs. It’s a simple installation, beautiful quality build, and carries just about any settings I feel I would need. While I do wish the ice produced was as clear as the pictures online suggested, I do know that operating temperatures, condition, and water treatment in my area could greatly affect that. This machine will be the staple for our summer evenings out back.

Keep in mind you can purchase your NCI080SS00  using the following link: https://glnk.io/zlkpm/tonycasas and if you use our code CASAS10 you will receive 10% off your total purchase!

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The Good Stuff:

The Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express is the follow up release to the 2014 release of the Eastern Standard. The Midnight Express is ultimately a tweaked Maduro version of the Eastern Standard which features the same Ecuadorian Aracon Maduro wrapper as the previous released Last Tsar, only a lower priming. The rest of the cigar is made up from a Dominican Habano binder, along with Dominican corojo and criollo fillers. The Eastern Standard Midnight Express is created at the Tabacalera William Ventura factory in the Dominican Republic and is offered in 4 sizes: Per Se Corona (5.75 x 46), Jockey Club Robusto (5 x 50), Palais Royale Toro (6 x 52), and the Outernationalist Pyramide (6 x 50). They all come packaged in 20 count boxes ranging between $10 and $13.80 a stick and is slotted to be a full-production line. I picked a handful of these up at 2 Guys Smoke Shop.

Size: 5.75 x 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Aracon Maduro
Binder: Dominican Habano
Filler: Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $10
Pairing: Real Ale Black Quad (Quad 10.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express starts out with a very deep, dark brown, rustic looking wrapper. The color is consistently dark, reddish brown for the most part but does have a few darker splotches around the head of the cigar. The texture is very, very oily and smooth. I can literally see the oil residue left on my fingers as I hold the cigar. The wrapper feels decently dense and semi-hard while the entire cigar is packed pretty lightly making it easy to squeeze between my fingers. There are a few small veins, and lots of natural webbing in the wrapper leaf running through the body of the cigar up to the small, round, pigtail style cap. The Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express features the same band design as the Eastern Standard, only in Black and Gold vs the White. The Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express does feature a manilla foot band that simply states “Midnight Express” on it.

The wrapper on the Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express gives off a very oaky, musky aroma while the foot of the cigar is much more natural with lots of earthiness, tobacco, and spice. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some really oaky, musky flavors as well with some nice spice, and subtle sweetness.

First Third:

The Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express starts off with only a minor black pepper punch which quickly faded after the first few puffs. What was left behind was a ton of deep oak and musk, lots of spice, some soft sweetness and wonderful cherry/berry flavors with just a bit of pepper on the aftertaste. The draw is perfect. It takes very minimal effort to get a great deal of thick smoke in my mouth while the cigar gives off almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is pretty thick, and slightly wavy while leaving behind a very beautiful, tightly compacted staggered black and medium gray ash which held on for about and inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express and the cherry flavors have really began to show through the bold flavor palate. The cigar is also still pumping out the strong oak and musk as well as great spice, and soft sweetness. The flavor profile hasn’t changed up too much, but it’s very enjoyable so I am ok with that. The retrohale really piles on the oak as it and musk. The burnline is still a bit wavy, but not concerning as I close out the second third with a decent nicotine kick already.

Finish:

I had a few issues with the Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express wanting to go out here in the final third. I remember having similar issues with the Last Tsar so it may just be characteristics of the Ecuadorian Aracon wrapper. Either way, it only happened a few times and speeding up my smoking speed corrected the issue so no problem there. The flavors are still bold in the musk, oak, and spice departments backed by cherry and sweetness. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub, and I loved it. No extra harshness, no extra heat, and very little burn issues outside of the cigar trying to put itself out towards the end.

Overview:

I’ve been a big fan of most Caldwell releases to date, and the Eastern Standard Midnight Express is no exception. While The Eastern Standard is a tame, milder cigar, the Midnight Express version showcases just how potent that blend really is. It’s probably not something I’d recommend for for the Novice cigar smoker as it’s pretty powerful, and the price point may turn a few people off, but this cigar is great for the seasoned cigar smoker looking for an excellent ,premium, bold, cigar to add to their arsenal.

Pairing:

Real Ale’s Black Quad is a 10.5% ABV Black Quadruple ale produced in Blanco, Texas annually. While the recipe has been tweaked a bit in the last few years the beer’s character remains the same. The beer leads with some strong, sweetness and spice backed by tons of berry and plum with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing even spicier with more plum and berry, malt, and some very tame clove and black licorice. The flavors in the beer married up wonderfully with the existing flavors in the Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express while adding a bit more flavor to an already bold cigar. I loved it, I could also see this paired with a sweet belgian dubbel, a real spicy tawny port, or a sweet bourbon.

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The Good Stuff: Over the past few years Joya de Nicaragua, a company who has always prided itself on it’s history, has undergone some incredible changes. While I was in Nicaragua visiting the factory a few years back I was able to see the transformation from the ground level. The factory itself has undergone plastic surgery with a refreshed look, new branding, and even a change of hands. Here is what the press release has to say about the new blend:

Meet JOYA RED, a new and exciting side of JDN. Some might even call it unexpected. Developed for the modern smoker by the youngest executive team in the industry, together with the most senior Master Blenders of Nicaragua.

Juan Ignacio Martínez (31), President of JDN since 2013, led a team of contemporary executives and experienced Master Blenders such as Leonel Raudez (62), JDN’s Factory Manager since 1992, to create this beautiful new blend.

The result? A vibrant smoke you will enjoy anytime, anywhere; classy, as always, but also a lot more fun.

If you want to get technical, we created this blend with tobaccos from our beloved home of Nicaragua. This time, we moved away from our abundant use of ligeros and thick wrappers to a blend with more visos and lower priming Habano wrappers. The binder and filler leafs were also grown in the rich and fertile lands of Estelí, Jalapa and Condega.

This combination of premium tobaccos resulted in a balanced cigar with medium strength and captivating flavors, all of which allow for an extremely pleasant smoking experience.

The Joya red will be offered in 4 sizes: the Short Churchill: (4.75 x 48), the Robusto (5.25 x 50), the Toro (6 x 52), and the Canonazo (5.5 x 54). The Joya Red will come in boxes of 20, running between $5.75 and $8 a stick.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (Jalapa, Condega, Esteli)
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $7.05
Pairing: Elevation Beer Company Apis IV (Belgian Quad 10.7% ABV)

Prelight: The Joya Red starts out with an absolutely beautiful wrapper. The leaf is a beautiful, blotchy medium brown with darker areas scattered throughout and lighter beige areas around the smaller veins in the leaf. The wrapper carries a good amount of tooth and a whole ton of oils which reflect every ounce of light it comes in contact with. The wrapper is laid seamlessly throughout the body of the cigar up to the round triple cap. As for just about any cigar that comes out of the Joya de Nicaragua factory, the construction is flawless. The Joya Red is tightly compacted, firm, and shows little signs of sponginess as I squeeze it between my fingers. The cigar is polished off with an absolutely beautiful, elegant, red gold and white embossed band with the words “Joya Red” spread across the font just above the gold Joya de Nicaragua emblem. The Band also states “Fabrica de Joya De Nicaragua S.A.” which of course is the factory in which these were made, “Hecho a Mano en Esteli” meaning “Made by hand in Esteli”, and “EST. 1968” which is the year the company was Established. When we were at the Joya De Nicaragua factory in Nicaragua 2 years ago they revealed to us the new marketing, design, color schemes, and direction that the company is headed in. I’m very pleased to see it all come together with this release.

Back to the cigar, the Joya Red’s wrapper smells of very strong honey, spice, and tobacco. So much so that I can actually smell this cigar from a few feet away as it rests on the table. The foot of the cigar has a more dormant spice along with more natural aromas. The cap cut very clean, and very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was much of the same, lots of honey and sweetness with some scattered spice, and natural tobacco.

First Smoke: The Joya Red starts out with a nice blast of black pepper and spice. A few puffs in the pepper began to let up and some strong sweet honey, cedar, cinnamon, and natural tobacco flavors took center stage. The draw on the Red is absolutely perfect. Each little puff kicks out a mean cloud of thick, white smoke. The burnline is solid and razor sharp leaving behind a trail of solid white ash which held on for well over an inch before giving way. I have to admit, it was probably one of the most perfect samples of ash I have ever seen.

Halfway There: The pepper has finally dropped out of the flavor profile in this Joya Red while the cinnamon, honey, cedar, spice, and natural tobacco live on. Into the second third a really faint mint began to creep its way in along with some nice cocoa flavors. Both are pretty mild, but I pick them up from time to time. While the other flavors are pretty bold, I can’t get over how well they mash in together creating a incredibly creamy experience. The retrohale reveals a lot more spice than I was expecting along with a bold cedar coating. As I close out the second third the burnline is still dead even, and I don’t feel anything in terms of nicotine.

Finish: The Joya Red is still continuing very bold into the final third. The spice has nearly dropped out while the cocoa has ramped up along with the cedar and a great cashew flavor. The honey and cinnamon are still evident while that mint flavor hasn’t returned. The flavors are still creamy for the most part, but with the cocoa and cashew leading the way they have become a bit chalky at the end. Especially into the final inch. There was no harshness however and the cigar left me with absolutely no nicotine kick. The burnline got pretty wavy into the final third, but I never once had to break out my torch to touch it up, or relight. So win in that category.

Overview: Joya de Nicaragua’s blends are the epitome of a solid cigar. Each and every blend they produce is high quality and the Red is just another example of this. The cigar carries a flawless construction, great flavor profile, excellent experience, all at an affordable cost. The flavors in the Red are bold, complex, and enjoyable while not being overly powerful, nor so complex that they leave you dizzy. This cigar is perfect for the seasoned smoker who really wants a solid experience without the higher price tag, and I really thing the Joya Red is a cigar that most novice cigar smokers should really seek out as it’s the perfect example of a great, premium cigar that won’t break the bank. This cigar, as with most Joya de Nicaragua releases, is box-worthy and will always have a spot in my regular rotation.

Pairing: Having smoked the Joya Red, I knew the amount of honey, cocoa, and nutty flavors it carried along with it. With that in mind, I paired it with a beer that would not only compliment these flavors, but fill in a bit of the gaps as well. Elevation Beer Company’s Apis IV is a Belgian style Quadruple ale brewed with honey and spice. Coming in at 10.7% ABV this strong ale leads off with a ton of fruit and sweetness with a malty middle, and a great sweet honey aftertaste. The fruit really helped add a bit of complexity to an already box experience while the honey married in wonderfully with the already existing flavors of the Joya Red. The Joya Red is a pretty versatile cigar when it comes to pairing. Ideally, this would go great with tea, port, Marzen, a smoked porter, or any Belgian quad or dubbel.

The post Joya de Nicaragua – Joya Red Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: As most of you know by now Camacho Cigars decided to completely revamp their portfolio last years consolidating their portfolio, reblending their core lines, and completely revamping their marketing and design. The Ecuador is the seventh release in their core line and probably the most talked about out of the bunch. The Camacho Ecuador gets its name from the obvious, the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper the cigar is embraced in and fits perfectly within their new campaign which simply entails “The Bold Standard”. The Camacho Ecuador comes packaged in 20 count boxes and in 5 different sizes: the Robusto (5 x 50), the Toro (6 x 50), Gordo (6 x 60), Churchill (7 x 48), and Figurado (6 1/8 x 54 x 42). I picked up a handful of these from Cigarhuslter.com. Thanks goes out to them for the top-notch service.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Corojo, Criollo Ligero, Pelo de Oro from Honduran and Dominican Republic
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $6.80
Pairing: 21^st Amendment Lower DeBoom (11.5% Barleywine)

Prelight: The Camacho Ecuador sports a crazy shiny, oily wrapper. Seriously it looks like someone waxed this thing. I can practically see my reflection off the tobacco leaf. Along with the gleam the wrapper is a medium to dark brown with lots of darker areas around the medium sized veins and the natural webbing in the tobacco. The wrapper feels really fragile and thin as it leads up to a round triple cap. This may actually be a double cap as one of the cigars I have on hand looks to carry a double cap while this one has a triple. Not too sure, but either way the caps are flawless. The Camacho Ecuador is packed incredibly tight with tobacco making it as hard as a rock all over. This is fine with me as long as it doesn’t plug up the draw. The Ecuador is polished off with the new Camacho band design which I absolutely love. Each blend has a different color, the Ecuador’s is a bright, turquoise. The band has the Camacho brand printed largely across it with the statement “Infamous since 1962” and “Ecuador” with the brands scorpion mascot as well.

The wrapper on the cigar gives off a really musky, leathery aroma while the foot of the cigar carries nothing more than natural tobacco with a bit of dirty earthiness. The cap was surprisingly easy to clip using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produced a lot of the musk I was picking up along with a really grainy, natural, doughy mix of flavors.

First Smoke: Right off the bat I was greeting with a big pepper rush that I wasn’t expecting at all which quickly faded away after the first few draws. The Camacho Ecuador then presented me with some bold musk, leather, spice, raisin and hints of clove and sweetness. The body is full right away and it will be interesting to see how it keeps up later in the experience. The draw on this beast is perfect kicking out a whole mess of thick smoke with every little puff. The burnline is razor thin and dead solid leaving behind a tightly compacted medium and light gray ash which held on for and inch before tumbling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Into the second third of the Camacho Ecuador the flavors began to subside a bit as they all started to mix in with one another. It makes for a creamy experience but the body became just a bit muted here for a while. But as I continued into the second third the flavors began to ramp right back up leading off with lots of musk and tons of woodsy flavors backed by the raisin and leather with bits of espresso and spice. The retrohale showcases large amounts of wood flavors with some nice, subtle spice. I found it incredibly easy to retrohale this cigar .The draw is still perfect, some very sight waves have formed in the burnline (which don’t bother me one bit), and I am actually feeling some slight nicotine as I close out the second third.

Finish: The Final third of this Camacho Ecuador is finishing just as bold as it started although the flavors have switched up quite a bit. Now the cigar is leading with some REALLY strong spice, lots of clove with musk and espresso backing along with some slight fruit and sweetness. I love the changeups, the boldness, and the complexity this cigar offers. It’s taken me about an hour and a half to take it down to the nub and never once had to reach for my torch as it’s burned solid the entire time. I do feel a bit of a nicotine kick, but it’s not real bad. The last inch carried no harshness, a bit of heat, and a whole lot of spice with little hints of the pepper I picked up in the first third.

Overview: What can I say about this cigar other than it rocked. First of all, I am a huge fan of what Camacho has done with their branding. The old branding was just a bit too flashy in my opinion and now they are letting the cigars speak for themselves. The Ecuador is complex, bold, smooth, and incredibly affordable. What else can you ask for? A box maybe? That’s where I’m going. This cigar fits perfectly in anyone’s rotation whether you are a seasoned smoker who enjoys complexity or a novice looking to break into premium cigars without breaking the bank. This is by far a box worthy cigar and knowing Camacho, they will be pretty easy to come by. On a side note, I have smoked a few of the other Camacho reblends and have enjoyed them a lot. That being said, the Ecuador has to be my favorite core line Camacho cigar that I have smoked in a really long time. Don’t be surprised if it’s a contender in this year’s top 10 list not only on our site, but many others.

Pairing: A cigar with as much flavor and body as the Camacho Ecuador needs a beer that can hold it’s own and 21^st Amendment’s Lower DeBoom handled itself quite nicely. Lower DeBoom is a flavor powerhouse of a Barleywine Brewed in California coming in at a whopping 11.5% ABV. I can’t get this brew in Texas but was able to score it in a beer trade with my buddy Patrick. Big thanks goes out to him for the hookup. Lower DeBoom starts out with some really strong citrus and spice which transforms into a bold fruitiness before finishing off with some lingering spice and malt. The spice, fruit, and malt paired up perfectly with the spice, fruits, and natural flavors in the Camacho Ecuador. A word to the wise though as Lower DeBoom, and most other barleywines for that matter are almost always too strong in body and will easily overpower almost any cigar unless they are maxed-out in the body category like this Camacho Ecuador was.

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Now, unless you’ve been under a rock lately, you have probably heard of the Avo line of Limited Edition cigars that are released each year to commemorate Avo Uvezian’s birthday. We’ve covered a bunch of these starting with the 80th from 2006, the LE09 Companero (83rd), the LE10 (84th) and LE12 La Trompeta (86th). Click on any of those to see their reviews.

Now thanks to our good friend Martin I get to bring you our review of the AVO LE11, 85th Annirversary! Martin was kind enough to send this all the way up north through Tony and I finally had some time to sit down, enjoy and take notes for everyone.I’ve had a couple of these before but never jotted down a full review so I figured it was time to do that.

As you might guess, the AVO 85th is to celebrate Avo’s 85th birthday and like most of the limited editions, it was restricted to only 10,000 total cigars world-wide. If you managed to be lucky enough to get a box of these, you would have a beautiful lacquered box with a giant gold “85th” printed on the front, very classy!

The Avo Limiteds have always been excellent so that leaves a lot of expectations for this cigar to live up to. I’m sitting outside today to enjoy this cigar and am really looking forward to it, so lets jump on in and see what it has to offer.

Cigar: AVO 85th Anniversary
Drink: Sleeman Honey Brown Lager
Vitola: Diademas (6.625 x 50)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Dominican
Binder: Peruvian
Filler: San Vicente and Piloto
Price: Gifted by Martin (About $18)
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The two ends of the AVO 85th are tapered to almost the exact same ring gauge and the center of the cigar is perfectly even from end to end
• The cap is completed cleanly with one leaf and it blends seamlessly into the rest of the cigar
• You can’t see much of the foot due to it’s tapered nature but it looks to be very tightly packed from what I can see
• There is a soft springiness through the whole cigar
• I’m finding a few medium sized veins but nothing that looks to be a problem on this velvety smooth wrapper
• The draw is very nice even with the packed tapered foot which surprised me

Burn:
• The tiny foot on this AVO 85th lit up with ease and was evenly toasted in only a few seconds
• I usually run into a bunch of burn problems with a tapered foot like this but it seems to have burned through that section with no problems and stayed even
• I’ve had two minor touch ups as I hit the halfway point but otherwise the cigar has been burning at a nice pace and fairly straight
• A couple more minor touchups as the cigar continues to burn but nothing major to report otherwise

Smoke & Ash:
• Even with the two tapered ends I’m still getting a nice volume of smoke from each draw without needing to draw multiple times
• The ash was looking nice and clean but the tapered piece must have been a bit weaker, it fell off at about a half inch
• The next ash made it up to an inch before I tapped it off, it did look pretty fragile and flaky though
• Color of the ash is mostly light grey although there is a brownish/yellowish type of color in there too
• The ash continued to look a bit weak throughout so I kept tapping it off pretty early to avoid any messes

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper is giving off a soft subtle sweetness in it’s aroma
• The foot is the same subtle sweetness with an added touch of cedar
• Pre-light draw on this Avo 85th brought a bunch more cedar and a bit more sweetness, add to that some light baking spices now
• Initial draws are fairly mild and starting off with some light spice and cedar flavors
• The spices are developing nicely, like nutmeg and cinnamon, nothing too strong
• Retrohale has a tiny tiny bite to it a smooth cedar finish
• The flavor is still smooth and I’m getting some creaminess sneaking in there around the halfway mark
• Starting to get a bit of a leathery taste now and the cedar is fading out a bit, spices are also shifting over to some peppery notes
• Body has picked up a bit but we’re still in the medium range here
• The The spice really picked up near the last third now, lots more pepper sneaking in
• The Avo 85th finished smooth and tastefully with a slight spice kick and cedar

Final Thoughts:
Well I have to say once again that the Avo Limited Edition did not disappoint. The 85th turned out to be another tasty experience that I would go back to try again anytime and recommend it to all. The Avo’s have a way of bringing in lots of complex flavors into a well balanced experience and it never turns out to be muddled. Just smooth creamy flavors. I would have been slightly happier with no touch-ups but they were pretty minor so I can’t knock back too many points for that. The price here will tend to scare away a few customers but that’s the case for pretty much all LE’s. If you feel like spoiling yourself and see an Avo 85th on the shelf at your local shop, just pick it up and enjoy!

Pairings:
Today I went with a simple pairing, mainly because I ran out of other stuff and it was too early in the day to jump into some Port. It is a Sleeman Honey Brown Lager. I won’t dive too far into this beer, but it does have a darn interesting history dating back to 1834 including some bootlegging and smuggling across the border. It was shut down for a long time but eventually restarted using original recipes in 1988. Sapporo Brewery of Japan bought them in 2006. The Honey Brown lagers are simple and classic with clean and crisp flavors including touches of citrus. It’s not a craft brew by any means but it’s good to have a couple in the fridge, I think I like the history of the company more though ;). As for the pairing, the beer was a little overpowered by the flavors in the Avo 85th and I think a tasty Port would have made for the perfect pairing. Coffee would have worked nicely too but it was too damn hot out here!

The post Avo LE11 85th Anniversary appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The full name of this cigar is the Montecristo Epic Premium Selection ’07 and it was released about announced about a year ago in June 2012. Tony also did a full review on it not too long ago, read his thoughts over here. I’ve had the chance to light up a few of these so I thought I’d take the time to jot down some of my own notes on it as well and share it with our fine readers.

Now I’ve been a long-time critic of Altadis’ cigars in general but the last few newer releases have started to sway my opinion to the better side. The dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper on this cigar does help it’s case, it is super oily and toothy and looks awesome. The aroma of the Montecristo Epic gives a nice cedar note on the nose and just a touch of spice in there. It’s topped off with a super clean cap and a well packed foot.

Lighting the cigar was a breeze and I had a nice glowing foot in no time at all. Smoke production on this bad-boy was also pretty hefty, pumping out some pretty big plumes through a nice and even draw. The flavors started out pretty exciting and interesting with lots of cedar backed by some peppery spices and a sort of dark fruity note. As the smoking continued, the fruity and spicy notes seemed to fade away and I was left with the cedar and some new instances of leathery notes.

I had a few burn issues I needed to tackle but none were major and didn’t ruin the experience much. Body stayed at around medium and the retrohale started off with a nice bite to it but ended up being mostly bland near the end with a bit of a cedar finish. As I stroll into the last 3rd I’m getting some espresso notes sneaking in here and the body is definitely jumping into the full range. I was able to get the Montecristo Epic down to a good sized nub before I put it down.

I’d have to say that the Montecristo Epic started out with a lot of promise and excitement but it slowly faded away into a decent, but not overly-impressive finish. I didn’t get the extreme tartness that Tony mentioned in his review and I wonder if the extra age had something to do with that. I ended up pairing it with a Mill Street Brewery Tankhouse Ale which is a tasty and malty American Pale Ale. I think I should have gone with something a little more bold to pair with this cigar though, perhaps some port or nice scotch. While the Montecristo Epic is one of the better cigars in Altadis Montecristo line-up, it wasn’t quite up my alley. But I do think there is a large group of people this will appeal to so give it a try and let us know what you think!

The post Quick Draw Episode 16 – Montecristo Epic Premium Selection ’07 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I’m sure most of our readers have heard of this name before, if not in the Cuban variety than you may know of the Dominican variety. It’s made by General Cigar but they only seem to have 1 blend under that name, definitely not as popular as many others. The Cuban brand has been around for a long date dating it’s founding back to 1901!

One interesting thing about the early days of Bolivar was that they actually produced the smallest cigar in the world, measuring in at only 1.875 x 20. Now that’s a real quick smoke, even smaller than today’s cigarettes! Another interesting thing I discovered in my research is that this cigar, the Royal Corona, was actually called a “Charles” until it’s name was changed in 1973.

The Royal Corona vitola by Bolivar is hardly a corona at all. It’s pretty much a robusto but I assume the different name it because it’s actually 4.875 inches long instead of the standard 5 inches. The ring gauge holds up at 50. So let’s jump right in and see what the Bolivar Royal Corona has in store for us today!

Cigar: Bolivar Royal Corona
Drink: Hockley Valley Amber
Vitola: Robusto (4.875 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: Just under $8
Burn Time: Just under 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Bolivar Royal Corona has a slightly box-pressed look to it
• The wrapper is very smooth but not oily, and has a deep reddish and golden brown color to it
• The whole cigar has a very firm feel to it, from top to bottom
• From the top, you can see this is an expertly applied double cap that blends in very well
• The foot is very well packed and very cleanly cut, easy to tell why the cigar is so firm
• There are 2 medium sized veins I noticed but I don’t think their big enough to cause any problems, we’ll soon see
• A quick clip of the cap gave me a nice consistent draw on this cigar that stayed throughout the entire time

Burn:
• Toasting took a lot longer than I expected, even with my big culinary torch
• The foot had problems getting aglow and the wrapper around the edge got charred a bit but I did manage to get it going nicely
• Through the first third I’m having no trouble at all, the Bolivar Royal Corona is burning like a dream with razor sharp edges
• Got a bit of a peninsula around the halfway point but it slowly corrected itself without my intervention
• After i tapped off the second ash, the wrapper stopped burning and I started to get a tunnel, might have taken too long taking some pictures. A quick touch-up and I’m off to the races again
• This happened again shortly after and needed to touch up the edges once more, hopefully it stops now
• No more issues to the end, finishing off nice and clean with no over heating

Smoke & Ash:
• Right off the bat there is a ton of smoke coming off this cigar, one quick draw gives a very full billowy smoke
• Even the resting smoke is abundant here, and it smells awesome too, a nice campfire aroma
• The ash is pretty clean with only a couple small flakes falling off now and then
• light grey with some black striping is the color I’m getting on the ash
• After about an inch, I tapped off the ash so it wouldn’t fall on my laptop and it was starting to look a bit weaker too
• Second ash topped the one inch mark again before being tapped off
• Third ash landed on my shoe… was too slow to snap pictures, lol

Tasting Notes:
• From the wrapper, I’m mostly picking up cedar and just a light hint of spice aromas
• The foot brings out a bit more light baking spices but also an interesting sort of sweet licorice, very nice
• The pre-light draw brings a fresh cut cedar taste with a bit of grass and earth
• First few draws are filled with cedery goodness, there is still a touch of spice and maybe even some pepper now, but the fresh cedar is still the most prominent
• The body has started off at just about medium, maybe on the edge of mild
• Retrohale has a nice soft spicy bite to it and a very smooth cedar finish
• In the first third, I also started picking up some coffee notes as the cedar nestled in nicely with the original baking spices, wonderful combination and balance so far
• Around the halfway mark that initial licorice flavor is making an appearance and the coffee is developing nicely, sorta like licorice flavored coffee!
• The body only slightly ramped up towards the end, still in the medium range though and the retrohale continued to have a small bite and a smooth and creamy cedar finish
• The licorice and coffee flavors stuck through to the end and left me with a tasty and smooth finish, no harshness here

Final Thoughts:
Not too much negative I can say after burning through this stick. I know it had a couple years of age on it but I don’t remember what the box date was. All I can say is I wish this wasn’t my last one. The price is a little high for a robusto size even by Cuban standards but it’s still not as high as a Cohiba or Trinidad. The flavors definitely stand out as being different from some typical Cubans with the balanced mix of cedar, coffee, spices and earth. The creaminess and balance on the Bolivar Royal Corona is what really sold it for me. If you are looking for a smooth and creamy Cuban this is definitely a winner and worth seeking out.

Pairings:
Today’s brew is an Amber from a brewery located about an hour or so away. The area is actually known for it’s ski resort which has a bunch of tiny, kid friendly runs. They also make a decent brunch there… but how do they do with beer? Pretty good as a matter of fact! I go through a lot of their Dark Ale but this was the first Amber I have found. It was smooth, clean and fairly light with some nice malty notes and a touch of bitterness. It went quite nicely with the medium notes of the Bolivar, a coffee would have actually gone very well here too!

The post Bolivar Royal Corona (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

While in Florida this summer, I stopped by Jackie’s awesome shop to buy a few cigars and she generously gifted me a couple as well. This particular one stood out to me for two reasons. Firstly, it came in an awesome cedar chest that looked amazing. And secondly, she bragged to me about how good it was and also that it was getting harder to find them. So I had to give it a try and decided to review it as well to see what all the hype was about!

Now, I did absolutely no research on this cigar before smoking it so my review is prety much as unbiased as it comes. And I’m glad I chose to do this because after reading about it I realized it’s an Altadis brand. In the past, I haven’t been too fond of most Altadis brands. I also learned that Jose Seijas is the man behind the Tabacalera de Garcia in Dominican Republic, where this cigar is made. He also had influence in the blends of brands such as the non-Cuban Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad and H.Upmann.

A little more reading showed me that in January of this year, Jose Seijas left Altadis after more than 30 years running the factory, which is also one of the largest cigar production factories in the world. This probably explains why the brand is getting harder to find and it will probably disappear of Altadis’ inventory eventually or at least change names. So without further delay, let’s see how this blend performs tonight!

Cigar: Jose Seijas Signature Series
Drink: Ferreira Tawny Porto (Bottled in 2003)
Vitola: Churchill (7 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadoria Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian
Price: Gifted by Jackie @BonitaSmokeShop
Burn Time: about 2 hours

Construction:
• A very nice cinnamon brown wrapper with some orange highlights keeps this cigar together
• There are a few bumps and veins here and there but none are major or look problematic
• There is quite a bit of spring along the whole length of this cigar when squeezed
• The foot looks very clean and well packed while the triple cap is clean along the edges but a little rough on top
• There is an interesting texture on this cigar, it’s a almost like velvet sandpaper of that makes any sense, smooth in some parts but still a bit rough in others
• After a small trim I’m getting a perfect draw on this Jose Seijas

Burn:
• The toasting here was a bit challenging, it did not want to light up evenly so lets hope that doesn’t affect the future burn here too much
• Gave a small correction about half an inch in to help correct the burn line here
• After that little correction we are burning pretty even through the first third and moving at a nice slow pace too
• A couple minor corrections through the rest of the cigar but nothing major or problematic
• The cigar also burned at a good pace, allowing me to enjoy it slowly without needing to take extra draws or relight

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite a bit of an uneven toasting, I still managed to get a ton of smoke out of the first few draws
• There isn’t much resting smoke to mention, just a thin faint line giving off a nice mild burning wood aroma
• The initial ash here is a bit of a mess probably because of my bad toasting skills and a couple small corrections
• That first ash got a little flaky so I tapped it off just short of an inch
• Around the end of the first third the resting smoke really ramped up for some reason
• Second ash easily passed the one inch mark before being tapped off, it was much cleaner and stronger now that I haven’t had to do any more corrections
• All the rest of the ash lasted past the one inch mark and stayed clean, a good sign of consistent construction here

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a light cedar aroma mixed with a touch of tobacco
• The foot has an interesting tarty fruit note to it, along with some cloves and more cedar
• The pre-light draw brings more of the tarty and clove notes to my palate
• Initial draws on the Jose Seijas bring a punch of cedar and cloves, there is a slight sweetness here but not the same fruity tart notes I was getting before
• The ceda quickly calmed down to a more mild flavor and I’m starting to pick up some interesting earthy and green pepper notes
• There are some coffee notes sneaking in here and there as well as a bit of licorice, lots of interesting flavors here
• The body here has been pretty mild for the most part but I feel it creeping into the medium section as I approach the halfway mark
• I have to mention how awesome the retrohale here is, it’s got a sort of sweet licorice finish to it along with a small bite, very nice
• The coffee flavors are definitely developing nicely along with the sweet licorice flavors that I’m really enjoying
• The flavors themselves have started to really pick up now, mostly being the coffee, licorice and cedar notes
• The sweetness seems to be tapering off in the last third and the pepper and clove notes are coming back for a stronger finale
• Body is almost into the full range now but the nice licorice finish on the retrohale is still there
• The licorice flavor is sort of changing to a deep black cherry sort of note now, very interesting, and the smoke is getting a lot more creamy near the end
• A very good finish with no harshness or bitterness, just a burst of flavors (including a pretty large blast of pepper near the end)

Final Thoughts:
I honestly did not know what to expect coming into this review. I’ll admit that I only had one sample and I have to say I regret not buying more. I typically like to have a few more to put together a review but Jackie bragged so much about it that I decided to jot down my thoughts as I smoked it and snap some pictures. And I’m glad I did. This stick had a ton of flavors going on! They weren’t in your face but they weren’t overly mild either, it was a very nice and delicate balance. And minus the toasting, the burn did very well. If you happen to stumble across these somewhere, make sure to pick one up and give it a try, definitely a worthwhile smoke! I will be seeking out a few more just in case they disappear as well.

Pairings:
Found this bottle of port in the basement and I can’t actually remember where it came from. If I’m correct, I believe someone brought it over a while back when we enjoyed a cigar. So I decided to give it a go tonight with my cigar pairing and see how it went. The Ferreira Tawny Porto is a late bottled vintage variety and although the bottle doesn’t state the year, you can always find it on the white label that covers the cork. This 2003 was pretty light in color but offered a pretty rich blend of boldness and dark berry sweetness along with a very noticeable oak flavor. It made for a very nice pairing with this medium bodied cigar. I also think a good dark beer, triple or even a strong cup of coffee would have gone well here tonight.

The post Jose Seijas Signature Series appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I have to admit I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to the Zino Platinum cigars, the Z Class is the only cigar in their line-up that I’ve had. Now I have had myself a few Davidoff cigars and they are the creators of the Zino Platinum lineup. Davidoff is well known for producing high quality cigars so does the Zino Platinum Z Class live up to that name?

The Z Class is one of the newer lines in the Zino Platinum inventory and are claimed to be a smooth and spicy medium-full bodied cigar. One thing about the Z Class I really love is their packaging. The box is actually a sleek Gun Metal colored tin packed with 20 cigars each. It also rounds out the line-up with the fuller bodied profile and comes in 4 standard sizes, Toro, Robusto, Pyramide and Corona.

The name and the sleek box remind me of a Mercedes-esque imagery for this line-up of cigars. The whole package is fairly attractive and now it’s time to see if it lives up to the reputation of it’s parent company and the look and feel of the brand as a whole.

Cigar: Zino Platinum Z Class 643C
Drink: Southern Tier Brewing Company Imperial Choklat Stout
Vitola: Corona 643C (6 x 43)
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Peruvian Pelo de Oro
Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran Ligeros
Price: MSRP $8.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Z Class presents with a dark cinnamon brown wrapper that is rugged and rough
• There are a fair bit of visible veins but none seem to be too large or concerning
• The weight of this cigar is fairly heavy compared to others in the same vitola
• The top of this cigar is finished with a clean double cap while the foot looks to be moderately packed, there are a couple of small visible caps
• From cap to foot, the whole cigar is fairly firm when squeezed
• The cap was very tough and took quite a bit of effort to clip off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw seems pretty tight as well, lets hope that opens up

Burn:
• Toasting took a good amount of time and left me with a fairly evenly glowing foot, just a couple dark spots that refused to catch until my first draw
• We’re off to a bit of a wavy start here, hope that doesn’t keep up for too long…
• The slight wave at the start never did correct itself so I needed to give it a small little touch up around the 1/3rd mark
• After that touch-up the Z Class is smoking much better with a fairly clean burn, there is a slight wave but nothing out of control as I pass the half-way point
• I also have to note that this cigar is burning very slowly, definitely giving you time to enjoy without having to draw too often

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite a pretty tight draw, I’m still getting a ton of smoke from this cigar
• Even while resting, the Z Class is pumping out a fair bit of smoke and giving off a burnt wood type of aroma
• The ash comes off with a nice light grey tone but it is flaking quite a bit
• Due to it’s visible weakness, I’m ashing this cigar at about a half-inch right now
• Ash seems to get pretty weak consistently around the half inch mark, so I’ve been ashing it to avoid any disasters

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Zino Platinum Z Class is fairly woodsy and musty, a pretty bold aroma
• The foot adds more of the mustiness and with that comes a touch of spice and sweetness
• First thing I noticed on the pre-light draw was a spicy tingle on my lips and tongue, beyond that I was met with a very pleasant sweet cedar flavor
• Initial draws are filled with the musty woodsiness I was picking up on the aroma, so far the spice and sweet cedar are no where to be found
• Within a few draws, the mustiness seems to have disappeared and I’m left with the woodsy flavors and a variety of spices, mostly like a mild or white pepper
• The spice has started to settle down as I reach the end of the first third, now I’m balancing out nicely with some woodsy and earthy flavors
• So far the body has been in the low end of medium and the small bite on the retrohale is combined with a somewhat dry spice finish
• The sweet cedar seems to be trying to make an appearance but the earthy and woodsy flavors are drowning it out, hopefully they will balance out a bit more although I am enjoying it as is so far
• The sweet cedar is putting up a good fight and starting to be more dominant, I’m really enjoying the balance here now
• The bite on the retrohale remains fairly tame but the dry finish has changed to a more smooth creamy finish, adding the the enjoyment factor on this cigar
• The last third is turning out to be a creamy and enjoyable finish, the balance is just right with the cedar, sweetness, earthy and spicy flavors
• The nub of the cigar was easy smoking with lots of flavor and no harshness, a good finish to a tasty cigar

Final Thoughts:
This was my first venture into Zino Platinum territory so I went in with an open mind and no biases for or against the brand. I didn’t really know much about the brand at all before I did research for this review. Turns out that the Z Class is a pretty tasty cigar. It had an interesting flavor profile and burned fairly well. There was nothing that really stood out too much but the whole experience was enjoyable and I don’t really have any complaints. The price was a tad bit higher than I would have liked for a corona sized cigar but the flavors were very enjoyable so I’m a bit torn here. Drop these to $6 for the corona and I’d be more interested. But having said that, if I saw them at a B&M I’d be curious to try some of the larger vitolas as there definitely is some potential here, I may enjoy those a lot more. I think some people would really enjoy these so I’d have to suggest giving a 5-pack a try, there is definitely a market for this profile. I think this cigar has definitely sparked in interest in trying more Zinos, they are very tough to find for me but maybe my next trip south or the border, these will be on my radar.

Pairings:
I believe this is the final brew I have remaining from the haul I brought back from Florida earlier in the summer. It is the Imperial Choklat Stout from Southern Tier Brewing Company. This brew pours super black but with surprisingly little foam in the glass. The flavors are pretty unique here and I wouldn’t compare this to a typical stout. It’s definitely got a lot of hoppy bitterness but it doesn’t have much of the creaminess I tend to find in a lot of stouts. It’s almost closer to a porter in my humble opinion, but I am no beer guru. But despite that, the beer has some very good flavors going on here. There is a ton of dark chocolate flavors in this brew and they pair amazingly well with the hoppy bitterness I mentioned. There’s also a hefty serving of malt making this taste almost like a non-creamy alcoholic milkshake? lol. I’m surprised to see it also clocks in at 11% Alc./vol., I can’t even tell it’s that strong since it’s so smooth. So did it pair well with the cigar? Indeed it did! The smooth and bold flavors on the Choklat Stout mixed nicely with the flavors of the Zino Platinum. Similar stouts and porters would do well here, and of course a nice Port would have been even better! haha

The post Zino Platinum Z Class appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now there isn’t a whole lot of info out there about the ELO #3 so I’ll do my best here. If anyone has any more accurate or additional info, feel free to add it in the comments and I’ll be glad to append it to the review! From what I found while researching, this cigar comes exclusively from New Havana Cigars and is an “encore” release of a popular cigar they had previously sold in 2008.

It seems the cigars were sold at record speeds as do many of the limited releases from Tatuaje and especially from New Havana Cigars. As with many cigars from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje, this is a Nicaraguan puro and is rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. At the moment only New Havana Cigars is selling the ELO series from what I understand but it is possible that the retailers could expand, depending on demand and supply of course.

Now this next part is pure speculation but there may be some truth here. Apparently, the ELO series, which runs with numbers 1 thru 5, are overruns of some other popular Tatuaje cigars. And just to clarify, an overrun is not a 2nd, it’s basically just extra stock without any imperfections. From some reading, it seems this ELO #3 is the counterpart to the Tatuaje Verocu #2. Reading that and looking at some pictures of the Verocu 2 seems to be pretty accurate, but who knows.

So remember, a lot of this info is just stuff I found randomly and not from any official sources, so I’m not sure how accurate it is. Feel free to share any more info on his cigar if you have it, I’d love to learn more about it! Now I won’t do any more speculation or yapping, let’s just get straight to the review!

Cigar: Tatuaje ELO #3 2011
Drink: Muskoka Brewery Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has a pretty rough and beefy wrapper on it
• Despite having quite a few decent sized veins the oily sheen of this cigar definitely makes it attractive to look at
• The triple cap topping off this cigar is very smooth and well applied, so I can’t complain there
• Now the foot of the cigar looks like it has it’s fair share of filler leaves in there, very packed
• Surprisingly though, there is a nice give and spring to this cigar when squeezed
• The more I look at these veins the more they worry me, I’m hoping they don’t cause any burn issues here…
• The cut with my double bladed guillotine cutter made a huge mess and little pieces of tobacco leaves went everywhere
• The pre-light draw seems a bit tight but we’ll see how it goes
• The draw actually turned out to be ok, it is a bit tight but it’s not affecting the experience so far

Burn:
• The toasting was slow and steady and although there were some problematic spots it all lit up fairly evenly in the end
• The burn through the first inch of so has been razor sharp and super slow, so far so good!
• The burn continues to be stellar and slow through the whole first half, I’m actually very surprised because I saw a few good sized veins
• I had one little peninsula form in the last third of the cigar but it actually corrected itself, all in all this was a superbly burning cigar!

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke coming from this cigar is plentiful but it seems a little thin, not a bad thing just something to note
• The resting smoke is fairly minimal but it does give off a nice woodsy aroma
• The ash on this ELO #3 2011 is a very nice whitish color with accents of black striping here and there
• The ash lasted easily past an inch with a strong and clean looking structure before I tapped it off into the ashtray
• Loving the strong and clean ash on this cigar, another easy passing of the 1 inch mark on the second ash

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of this cigar has surprisingly little aroma, maybe just a touch of woodsiness to it
• The foot is similarly lacking in aroma but I did detect a touch of floral notes in there, kind of surprised cause I’m used to getting a lot of spice from Tatuaje cigars
• The woodsy and floral flavors are still there on the pre-light draw but now I’m definitely picking up the trademark Tatuaje peppery spice that I’m used to, tingling my lips and tongue
• The first few draws had a very charred taste, might have been due to the extended toasting but I’m glad they went away fairly quickly
• The next array of flavors seems to be a musty woodsy type of flavor with a side order of mild spices and just a dash of leather
• The retrohale on the Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has just a small bite and a smooth creamy cedar finish
• The body is resting at a comfortable mild-medium right now
• Now I’m not sure if it’s partly the beer here but I’m getting a nice thick rich flavor on this cigar, like a dark chocolate or roasted espresso, really enjoying it
• The flavors continue to get richer as the cigar burns, the spice has mostly disappeared and I’m left with a nice woodsiness backed by those delicious espresso and dark chocolate
• The body started to kick up into the full category in the last third but it still maintained a smooth creamy finish and lots of rich flavors
• The strength of this cigar seemed to sneak up a bit on me at the end, I got a little bit of a nicotine kick but not much. Might be due to smoking this earlier in the day and having only a small lunch
• The flavors diminished a bit as I hit the nub but they didn’t get harsh, just sort of washed out, still enjoyed it up until my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a darn tasty smoke. I’ve had a bit of an up and down experience with Tatuaje lately but I always come back because when Pete Johnson does it right, he does it really right! The perfect burn, the awesome ash and the great array of rich flavors made for a superb smoking experience. The slow burn also gave me plenty of time to enjoy the cigar without the need to babysit it. I have to say that this blend definitely carried some similarities to the Verocu line, especially the Verocu Tubo since I smoked it not too long ago. So maybe there is some truth to that info… If you can track down a few of these I would definitely recommend you give them a try.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is definitely an interesting one. It comes from a brewery about an hour North of me in what we call “Cottage Country”. It’s from Muskoka brewery and it is called their Winter Beard which is a Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout. Now I took a bit of a risk here since I actually haven’t even tried this brew before today and I’m glad to say it worked out rather well. I was a bit scared that the cranberry flavor would be overpowering but it’s actually barely discernible at all. You can get a touch of sweetness but it’s not a super fruity flavor at all. Even the double chocolate is fairly balanced. Once thing to note is that this is probably one of the thickest beers I’ve ever drank. It poured out like well aged port but it surprisingly had very little head (foam) to it. I found the richness of the beer to be a perfect match for the richness of the cigar, they both played to each others strengths and made for a great overall experience.

The post Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Ramon Allones brand isn’t too popular, but the Specially Selected seems to have garnered a fairly faithful offering. The brand actually began way back in 1837 by it’s two founders, Ramón and Antonio Allones. After a variety of ownership changes the company was eventually purchased by the Cifuentes company who also owns the Partagas brand. Manufacturing for all Ramon Allones cigars also comes from the same Partagas factory in Cuba.

The brand used to have a much larger vitola selection but since 2001, when Altadis bought a heft portion of the company, a lot of the sizes have been discontinued. The Ramon Allones brand is also heralded as one of the first Cuban cigar manufacturers to use full colored emblems on their boxes and possibly one of the first to produce the infamous 8-9-8 style of packaging.

As of current research, Ramon Allones is currently selling cigars in 4 vitolas along with an occasional Regional Release or Special Edition to round out the line. The particular cigar I will be smoking today comes from a box with a fairly recent date of May 2011. It will be interesting so see how this cigar performs early in the aging process since the recomended age time for this cigar is roughly 3 years.

Cigar: Ramon Allones Specially Selected
Drink: Innis & Gunn Spiced Rum Finish Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (4.8 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $7.00 in Cuba
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Each of the cigars in this box had a consistent soft box pressed shape to them
• The Ramon Allones Specially Selected also has very few larger veins
• The triple cap atop this cigar looks clean and well applied
• Although fairly firm, the cigar has a nice little spring to it when squeezed
• The foot looks to be very well packed
• The cap cut off cleanly leaving just a little mess in the ashtray
• The band unfortunately had a little too much glue on it and took some of the wrapper with it when removed
• The draw was good but I somehow got a huge tar buildup on the cap so I had to clip it a little further at around the half way point of the cigar

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven and long but it evened out with a little extra effort
• At first the Specially Selected was burning nice and even but then one side started burning much faster than the other so I was left with a huge wave that needed correction
• I actually find this to be a pretty common problem on a lot of my Cubans for some reason
• After that one minor burn issue the cigar has been progressing well without any need for corrections
• I like how the RASS is staying lit easily without the need for constant babysitting

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings a little less smoke than I’d like
• Surprisingly though, the resting smoke is off the charts at times
• The ash is a disappointing looking dark grey and black, not very attractive at all
• It does have some strength to it though, the ash is clean and lasts about an inch or so before I tap it off
• The second ash lasted another inch with the same consistency, the colors weren’t so dark this time possibly because I didn’t need to touch it up at all

Tasting Notes:
• Pre-light draw was all about the cedar, lots of fresh cedar aroma coming off this cigar
• Initial draws brought more of the fresh cedar flavors and a bit of earthiness
• There also a touch of the signature saltiness on my tongue
• The body overall has started fairly mild and there is no bite on the retrohale at all
• The whole experience has a nice cedar finish to it, even on the retrohale
• As the cigar progresses I’m getting a creaminess being added to the mix that is balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• One unique note I’m picking up here and there is a licorice type of flavor, very interesting and it would be nice to see it develop a bit more
• The licorice is dancing around with the cedar and I’m getting some mild spices peeking in here and there
• Just past the halfway mark I noticed a decent tar buildup on the cap, lucky for me I caught it before I touched it with my tongue, so a quick clip and I was good to go.
• The rest of the cigar proceeded tastefully but I really wish that licorice flavor would have jumped out a bit more

Final Thoughts:
The Ramon Allones Specially Selected turned out to be a nice mild to medium classic Cuban cigar. I don’t think it does anything new or special but it’s one of the more affordable Cubans you can find and they seem to be constructed consistently well from the ones I’ve had a chance to enjoy. The cedar and earthy flavors are enjoyable and the hint of licorice and spice brought an interesting layer to the mix that kept my attention. I did get some tar on some of the ones I smoked but it wasn’t anything terrible, one quick clip kept it at bay. I can see myself possibly getting some more of these in the future but I’d be curious to see how they age first, maybe I’ll revisit them in a year or so and see how things have changed. Good to know they are tasty and not overpowering while fairly fresh, so grab a few to try if you can.

Pairings:
Another Innis & Gunn you say? Of course! These guys make some awesome beers and I keep finding more new ones to try. Today’s choice is called the “Spiced Rum Finish” and came as part of the Winter Sampler pack. I’ve never had this particular brew before so I was curious to see how it turned out given my awesome track record with this brewery. Well, what an interesting beer this turned out to be. At it’s core, you can tell the classic Original Oak Aged style is there but it has an extra punch. Each sip gives just a tiny little spicy kick of raw cinnamon or cloves, maybe even a touch of pepper. Very unique that’s for sure and damn tasty if I say so myself. Very disappointed to see that it’s only available in the holiday pack cause I would easily vouch for a case if it were available to me. This paired perfectly with the mild to medium bodied Ramon Allones Specially Selected and would pair very well with other medium bodied cigars. Other suggested pairings for this cigar would be coffee or other lighter amber brews, maybe even a Tripel.

The post Ramon Allones Specially Selected (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today we have a fairly limited cigar up for review that I actually don’t think got all that much Press. It comes from the B&M Exclusive line by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje. If you haven’t stumbled across any of these before, you can find one of the previous ones reviewed here on Casas Fumando, it was the Tatuaje Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary. Pete Johnson continues this line with the Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011.

The TAA in the name actually stands for the “Tobacconists Association of America” and unlike his previous B&M Exclusive releases, you will actually be able to find these in more than just 1 store. The total distribution went out to 40+ TAA retailers across the United States of America. There was also a larger production turned around for this cigar with numbers totaling up at 30,000 cigars. This worked out to 1,500 boxes of 20 cigars per box, and if you had a retailer in your area, they would have sold between $10 and $11 per cigar.

As with most exclusives from Tatuaje and Pete Johnson, they don’t last too long on shelves and are already fairly scarce in most areas. One thing that made them a bit of a draw to Tatuaje fans is that Pete hinted the blend was similar to that of the Pork Tenderloin and the Brex. Both of those were limited releases from Tatuaje that were difficult to track down. Pete also decided to change up the shape of this cigar a little bit. You can find that it is a slightly rectangular box-pressed shape and the 5.675 x 54 vitola is also non-standard. I actually found the vitola here to be a good balance between a Toro and Robusto.

The cigar itself comes wrapped in an interesting Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Now the wrapper alone doesn’t make the cigar, but both Tony and I both seem to have a great appreciation for a lot of Broadleaf cigars so I’m hoping this continues the trend. It’s terribly cold out here today but I’ve got my propane heater to keep me warm from the outside and a nice tall bottle of beer to keep me warm on the inside. So let’s see what the Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011 has in store for me!

Cigar: Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011
Drink: Wychwood Brewery Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer
Vitola: Box-Pressed Toro/Robusto hybrid (5.625 x 54)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $10
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje TAA is actually a tad rough looking on first glance with a few medium to large sized veins and some uneven areas in the diameter
• The wrapper looks like a tasty chocolate bar with a bit of toothiness and I’m actually getting some sort of glitter type effect on it, could just be my lighting (I later realized the glitter was likely caused by the temperature being so cold that the humidity droplets were icing over…)
• The cigar sports a closed foot and a box pressed shape, the triple cap ties up the presentation nicely
• There is a bit of inconsistency with regards to firmness on the cigar too with some areas being soft and springy while others are very firm
• The cap clipped away fairly cleanly with my double-bladed guillotine cutter, I’m met with a bit of an open draw here that concerns me
• The draw remains very open which is disappointing

Burn:
• I actually peeled away the closed foot pieces to reveal a nice clean foot for my toasting since I’ve had terrible luck in the past with closed feet
• This resulted in a nice and evenly toasted foot and kicked me off to a great start
• A bit of a wave started after the toasting, we’ll see how it progresses
• The wave is progressing to be worse and will definitely require some touch-up soon
• The cigar almost went out and needed a fairly hefty touch-up, but we’re chugging along again now
• The draw seemed to get a bit tighter after my relight/touch-up and the burn has been a little more consistent, although still a tad wavy

Smoke & Ash:
• There is an absolute insane amount of smoke coming from each draw of this cigar, I could make smoke signals rivalling campfires with this cigar!
• Surprisingly, there isn’t much resting smoke coming off the cigar, just a moderate amount giving off a burning wood aroma
• The ash appears nice and clean so far with a light grey color tone
• First ash lasted just about an inch before falling off into the ashtray
• Second ash seemed to keep with the 1 inch mark as it’s standard

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has very little aroma, maybe just a bit of sweet tobacco
• Since the foot is closed, there isn’t much variance on the aroma but I do get a little bit of spice there
• The pre-light draw brings more sweet tobacco and spices, both in greater intensities now
• The initial draws offer an interesting mix of spices dominated by a white pepper type of flavor, mixed in there is also some cedar woodsiness that balances it all out
• The array of spices keeps changing as I smoke the Tatuaje TAA, there’s a variety of cloves, nutmeg and raw cinnamon along with the white pepper
• The initial sweetness I detected is pretty much gone but the cedar flavors seem to be balancing out the profile for now
• There is a very small bite on the retrohale and the finish is a nice smooth cedar flavor
• The body seems a little hard ot place right now, but I’ll say we’re near medium so far, I suspect that will increase soon though
• As I approach the half way mark I can’t say I’m getting much else in the flavor department, still spices and cedar
• It’s not a bad profile but I’m hoping it changes up a bit soon to keep me interested
• The balance of the cedar seems to be fading away and I’m getting more into a bland tobacco flavor paired with some mixed spices
• The Tatuaje TAA never really passed the medium threshold, stayed in the range until the end with only a slight buildup
• I really wish that initial sweetness made a presentation here, it would really bring a nice dimension to this cigar…
• Flavors going into the last 1.5 inches are really fading away, mostly getting a burnt woodsiness and some leathery flavors
• Had to put the cigar down a bit early as the flavors started getting harsh

Final Thoughts:
The Tatuaje showed some promise initially and I was enjoying the flavor profile from the start. Unfortunately, that profile didn’t change much as the cigar progressed and actually got a little bland shortly after the halfway mark. I also had a few issues with the burn and an extremely open draw. I think the cigar had some potential and maybe needed a little more rest time in the humidor, I’m not too sure. I’ve come to expect a higher calibre of cigars from Pete Johnson’s B&M exclusive lines and I don’t think this one lived up to the expectations I had. I’d definitely want to try another couple after they’ve had time to rest though and see how age treats them.

Pairings:
As we all know, Christmas is just around the corner and that means by favorite time of year in the brewery world! Christmas and Winter ales are probably my favorite seasonal brews and there’s always cool gift packs available too. You may recognize the Wychwood Brewery name from their famous Hobgoblin ruby ale which I’ve enjoyed in my review of Illusione 888 Slam and it’s own review here. This offering is called “Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer” and is one of theie seasonal ales. I actually found the flavors to be very similar to the Hobgoblin and not as “heavy” as you might expect. It’s basically got that smooth ruby ale character with an added touch of spices common in winter seasonal ales, such as cinnamon. I found it to be a very tasty pairing to the Tatuaje TAA since it offered a change of pace from the cigars profile and kept the whole experience a little more interesting.

The post Tatuaje TAA Exclusive 2011 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Nestor Miranda is the founder of the Miami Cigars and Company and has recently started producing his own blends that come attached to his name. These include the Nestor Miranda Collection 1989, the newer Nestor Miranda Special Selection and the recent Casa Miranda. The Art Deco cigar also carries the Nestor Miranda blend and is currently sold in 3 vitolas, all of which are over 50 ring gauge.

The Art Deco is a joint effort effort between Nestor Miranda & José Pepin Garcia. I think we all know that Don Garcia is no stranger to success in the cigar industry and if he has a hand in the blending, you can usually be guaranteed it will be a quality cigar. The blend consists of 60% Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and 40% Dominican San Vicente, plus Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano 2000 binders rolled and triple-capped in dark, shimmering Nicaraguan Corojo ’06.

I actually picked up this cigar as part of a box set which included 4 Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky’s (2 Oscuro and 2 Rosado) along with an Art Deco. I’ve also enjoyed a few singles of the Robusto Grande vitola bought separately. I want to mention how awesome I think this band is. It’s so retro and different and the colors really pop. The cigars are also packaged in retro tins with the same neat design. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover! So I think that’s enough chatter, let’s get onto the review

Cigar: Nestor Miranda Art Deco
Drink: Unibroue Don De Dieu
Vitola: Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’06
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano ’00
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 & Dominican San Vincente
Price: $8.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This looks to be a wonderfully constructed cigar, very even in diameter with a dark golden brown wrapper
• The whole cigar is very firm when squeezed and has almost no bumps on the wrapper
• The head of the cigar is finished off with an extremely clean triple cap, it’s easy to see some extra care went into making this cigar
• The foot looks to be mostly well packed with a one gap that looks a bit under-filled
• The cut was fairly easy despite the firmness of the cigar
• The draw seems to be a bit more open than I’d typically like but it’s not terrible
• Seems that the draw tightened up a bit near the halfway mark making for a perfect draw each time

Burn:
• The cigar toasting was very easy with a short time frame to get the foot evenly glowing
• The initial burn was a bit wavy but it quickly corrected itself and started burning razor sharp after that
• Through the first half I have no complaints about the burn here, it’s still razor sharp and requires zero attention from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw is fairly full but it’s actually not that thick in density
• The resting smoke here is almost non existent at times, it’s a very friendly cigar to have while non-smokers may be nearby
• The ash is starting off with a nice light gray color and looks to be tight and clean
• I’m getting some awesome striping on the ash and its staying clean and strong
• It lasted nearly 2 inches before making an awesome nosedive into the ashtray. A perfect 10 anyone???
• The next ash only lasted about an inch but it stayed clean and crisp and fell off easily into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives a strong earthy and barnyard aroma with a touch of cedar
• The aroma on the foot carries through with the earthy and cedar notes but adds in a slightly sweet spice, maybe of raw cinnamon
• The pre-light daw brings an interesting mix of sweet notes on top of the cedar, possibly some dried cherries
• Initial flavors are stong in the cedar department with that slightly dried cherry taste in there, very interesting!
• The cedar has stuck around through the first inch but the initial sweetness has tapered off a bit
• For the most part, the cigar has started off in the low end of the medium range with a small bite on the retrohale
• As I continue along, I’m getting a bit of leather and the initial earthy aromas are making an appearance in the flavor department now
• As I pass the halfway mark, the mix of cedar, leather and earth has me seeking a little something more. It’s not bad or harsh but I feel like there’s something missing since the sweetness disappeared…
• As the cigar continued I started getting a bit of the sweetness returning here and there along with some slight nuttiness
• The body is building ever so slowly in the last third, heading into the high medium range
• Some toasted nutty/almond flavors are making this last third a lot more interesting along with the dried cherry sweetness that keeps rearing it’s head here and there
• The nice final mixture of flavors stuck through to the nub with almost no harshness, a very nice finish

Final Thoughts:
As with all of the Miami Cigar offerings I seem to come into them with high hopes. They’ve had such a great track record recently that I only expect the best. The Nestor Miranda Art Deco is a well balanced cigar with a variety of flavors. The first and last 3rds of the cigar were interesting and kept me on my toes but the middle portion seemed to lack something. The burn was excellent the whole way through and overall construction was top notch. The price is also very reasonable so it’s something I would probably buy again, perhaps in the Coffee Break vitola (4.5 x 50). I think that size may be the sweet spot and keep the interesting flavors going from start to finish. If you like a good medium smoke with an interesting profile these are worth checking out.

Added note: I asked Tony his thoughts here and he’s only smoked the Coffee Break vitola and loved it. I’ve only had the Robusto Grande, so I think my guess that a smaller vitola would make this cigar great is probably a good guess!

Pairings:
So this beer comes with a funny sort of story.  I’ve done a few other reviews with Unibroue brews and always loved them, not to mention they are also Canadian which is a plus in my eyes!  Unfortunately, most of their brews are actually not even available for me to purchase cause of the ridiculous taxes and restrictions in my province. The brewery is only about a 5 hour drive away, but it’s in another province… So, I actually picked this bottle up in Florida. Yes, that’s right. I drove 1600 miles away from the brewery to actually buy it! I guess that speaks to the silliness of our taxes here! lol
Enough of my complaining, let’s move onto the actual beer. I had no idea what to expect from this as I’ve never had it before and the bottle doesn’t really explain what type of beer it is. The name of this beer, “Don De Dieu” literally translates to “Gift from God” so I figured it can’t be that bad!
After doing a bit of research, I found out this is a triple fermented wheat beer that is also unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance in the glass. The flavors in this brew are excellent, mixing a little bit of fruit, maybe some vanilla and very smooth malty finish. This is not your average wheat beer though, it packs in 9% ABV and the triple fermentation without filtration makes it feel a lot fuller bodied than you might expect. I found it to be an excellent pairing with the Nestor Miranda Art Deco as it offered up lots of interesting flavors. I think a fine tawny port would also be an excellent pairing here or perhaps keep it simple with a dark soda.

The post Nestor Miranda Art Deco Robusto Grande appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Smoke Inn’s Microblend Series is aimed at reproducing the effects that Microbreweries have had in the beer industry. As many of you know, microbreweries have made a big impact in their industry and really opened up the market to new types of beers that a lot of larger breweries don’t seem to try. Stepping out of the comfort zone as some would say. Smoke Inn has done the same thing and is making use of smaller yield tobaccos to produce new blends that would previously not have been created. They have also utilized a variety of different manufacturers to achieve very different flavor profiles.

I’m not gonna lie here, Padron is a brand that I typically enjoy everything that they do. They clearly have a name in the industry that speaks to their high quality and excellent blending. Their 1964 Anniversary Series is part of their more premium line of cigars and with that they always carry a larger price tag. In my experience, the higher price tags on this line are usually justified by smooth, tasty cigars and perfectly burning tobacco leaves.

Converse to what you might expect from Padron, the SI-15 blend made form Smoke Inn is a huge vitola (6 x 60 to be exact). The Padron lines are usually available in a variety of smaller vitolas with the occasional larger ones and I found it odd to see a single blend made only in this larger vitola. I should make note that I’m not a huge fan of these large ring gauge cigars. It seems that I always run into burn issues, or draw issues or just a plain bland profile from too much filler. From what I could gather, the blend doesn’t really differ from other vitolas in the 1964 line but since there is so much more filler, the cigar has it’s own unique profile. Let see if that holds true and read on through my review! (Cheesy, I know… lol)

Cigar: Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural – Smoke Inn Exclusive
Drink: Sierra Nevada Stout
Vitola: SI-15 (6 x 60)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted by Smoke Inn ($18.50 MSRP)
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• This is a hefty looking cigar with a significant ring gauge and a slightly box pressed look
• There are quite a few visible veins along the length of the wrapper but none seem to e large enough to cause any burn issues
• The color of the wrapper is a very soft medium brown and gives off a slight shimmer in the light, showing some of it’s nice oily qualities
• Surprisingly, the top of this massive cigar is covered by only a single cap, and it does a good clean job of it too!
• The whole cigar is consistently firm when squeezed with very little give
• From the foot, you can see some gaps in the filler, hopefully this won’t lead to any tunnel issues which I seem to run into often with larger ring gauge cigars
• My double bladed guillotine cutter was barely able to fit on this huge ring gauge, but it managed to get a nice clean cut
• The draw is very open even with my small cut

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven as can be expected with larger ring gauge cigars
• Burn is going very well through the first inch, it was a messy start but I’m happy to see a good auto-correction!
• The cigar is also allowing me to smoke it slowly without any problems or worries about it going out
• Through to the half way marked I’m impressed by a razor sharp burn
• I started to get some wavy burn in the last couple of inches which needed a couple small corrections

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m getting surprisingly less smoke than I was expecting, perhaps a downside of the very open draw
• In hindsight, I think I should have gone with a V-Cut or Punch with this cigar
• The resting smoke on this Smoke Inn Padron 1964 SI-15 is fairly minimal and gives off a pleasant woodsy aroma
• The ash has a very nice white color to it with only a few spots of black here and there
• It’s also holding on strongly with no flaking or curving
• First ash lasted nearly two inches before gently being tapped off into the ashtray
• The smoke picked up thickness around the halfway mark and now I’m getting a big mouthful from each draw
• Second ash also held nice and clean for nearly two inches, great construction as I would expect from Padron

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a typical Padron aroma, giving off slight hints of coffee and some tobacco sweetness
• The foot seems to tell a bit of a different story, it had a lot more sweetness to it, mixed with some cocoa and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw tastes mostly of tobacco and a bit of earthy notes, nothing exciting about this part of the cigar
• Right off the initial draw I get a very interesting baked bread type of flavor
• I have to note that this cigar is extremely awkward for me to hold and smoke, it’s just too large of a ring gauge than what I’m used to
• Along with the baked bread flavors, the Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15 has some mildly bitter coffee flavors and slight hint of sweetness once in a while
• The body of this cigar is starting off in the higher end of mild, it’s not quite medium. From the retrohale I get a small bite a smooth cedar finish
• The bitter coffee flavors continue to develop nicely and I’m really enjoying them. There is also some cedar and spice sneaking in as the sweetness disappears
• The body is slowly creeping into the medium category as the coffee flavors turn into the wonderful bittersweet espresso flavors I’ve come to love from most Padrons
• The bitter espresso notes have really taken control with about 2 inches left to go
• I’m also getting hints of a strong bitter chocolate here and there along with some cedar, a very tasty profile I must say!
• The bitterness turned a tad harsh in the last inch, but nothing terrible

Final Thoughts:
I’m pleasantly surprised to say I really enjoyed this cigar. I came into this with some serious skepticism about the vitola as my experiences with 6 x 60’s has been fairly poor. This cigar did not suffer from those same problems! The flavors were not muted by all the filler and the burn was spot-on even after a poor toasting (for the most part). Despite the larger ring gauge, the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 kept the signature flavors I’ve come to enjoy in all the Padrons I’ve smoked. I think Smoke Inn has a definite winner of an exclusive on their hands here. Be sure to check out their website and order some to try if you can. They are a bit on the high scale in terms of pricing but if you compare to other Padron 1964’s it’s on par, and so is the flavor! If you are a fan of 6×60’s this is definitely something to add to your wishlist! You can buy there here from the Smoke Inn eShop.

Pairings:
Sierra Nevada is a brand that I can’t get locally, it seems they have absolutely no distribution in Ontario that I know of. So I picked this up along with the rest of my beer haul from Florida. I’m a big fan of stouts and porters and in general, they are hard for me to find locally. As you might guess from it’s name, the Sierra Nevada brewery is located in California and today Im enjoying their Stout with my Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15. The Sierra Nevada Stout is surprisingly smooth with a slightly bitter and full flavored maltiness. I was actually expecting this brew to be a bit thicker but it’s not as thick as other stouts while still maintaining a nice full flavor. It has a very long finish on the palate and leaves some bitter chocolate and coffee notes. This was an excellent pairing for the Padron 1964 SI-15 and complimented the flavors so well since they actually had similar flavor profiles. I would also recommend a strong coffee or port with this cigar, I think both would match nicely!

The post Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural (Smoke Inn Exclusive) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.