The Good Stuff:

MoyaRuiz Cigars is no stranger to our blog. We have reviewed most of their releases and they have crept their way into each of our top 10 lists every year since the company had started. Their newest release, The Rake, is the third full production release we’ve seen from the company, and their first Connecticut Broadleaf blend. The Rake is inspired by backroom poker and the box is even fully-functional featuring  slots for poker chips and cash in the lid. As stated, The Rake carries a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, and undisclosed binder, and four ligero filler leafs, two from the Jalapa, and two from the Esteli regions of Nicaragua. The Rake comes in four sizes: The Cut (5 x 52 box-pressed). The Fix (5 5/8 x 46 box-pressed), The Take (6 x 52), and the Vig (6 x 60). All sizes come packaged in boxes of 20 and run between $9.50 and $11.75 a stick. Shout out to MoyaRuiz for sending these samples our way.

Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero from Jalapa and Esteli
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price:  $10.25
Pairing: Trappistes Rochefort 10 (Belgian Quad 11.3% ABV)

Prelight:

The Rake starts off with a deep, dark brown wrapper coated in darker splotches as well as a few lighter orange-tinted areas. The wrapper is pretty rugged as it carries a very toothy texture with a good amount of oil, and a few medium sized veins. The wrapper feels very dense, and very hard while the cigar itself is very tightly packed with some softer areas around the cap and foot. As I stated before, this format as well as the Fix showcase a very smooth and round soft box press. The Rake is polished off with a round double cap, and a simple grey concrete looking band with the words “The Rake” printed in front in silver metallic ink.

The wrapper on MoyaRuiz’s The Rake gives off a very musky, spice laced aroma while the foot of the cigar isn’t as bold as it carries some sweetness, and lots of pepper. The cap cut like butter using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a whole mess of spice and pepper coating lots of coffee and cocoa.

First Third:

The first few puffs of MoyaRuiz’s The Rake lead with some great black pepper (not nearly as bold as I was expecting), bold spice, dark bittersweet chocolate, and espresso with a dash of sweetness. The draw is flawless pumping out a ton of thick, white smoke with each little puff while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. I should mention that the soft box-press is incredibly comfortable both in my hand and mouth. The burn line is a bit wavy, but not concerning while it leaves behind a compacted trail of white and light gray ash which held on for a inch before giving way.

Second Third:

A really bold, really flavorful, really badass musky/leathery flavor has started rocking the flavor profile into the second third of The Rake. Behind the leather and musk is some strong dark chocolate, espresso, spice, and sweetness with a great prune mixed in there at times. The retrohale coats my nasal passage with way more pepper than I was expecting so I don’t find myself utilizing that very often. The burn line is still a bit wavy, but I haven’t had to touch it up at all so I’m not complaining. I close out the second third with only a very slight nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of The Rake pretty much everything ramped up. The flavors are bold, leading with the musk and leather with some great dark chocolate, coffee, spice, and sweetness  along with some great fruit flavors. The strength has definitely jumped up a notch as well. There was a bit of harshness in the first sample I smoked, but that was more than likely due to how fast I was smoking the cigar. With a Ligero packed cigar such as this one, you have to pace yourself. Ligero burns much hotter and faster than most other tobaccos so it tends to create some harshness if you speed for it. In the case of this review sample, I took my time and ended up with absolutely no harshness or extra heat. While The Rake burned a bit wacky all the way through (again, probably due to the amount of Ligero packed in it), I never once had to reach for my torch to relight or touch up the burn line. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to smoke this bad boy down to the nub and it left me with a nice little nicotine kick.

Overview:

MoyaRuiz has created some of my favorite cigars the past few years and continues on a hot streak with The Rake. The Rake is decently complex, bold, strong, and widely available. I do think it was a bit too bold for my liking, but that doesn’t take much away from the great flavor profile. This is a perfect cigar for novices to test out to see if full strength, premium cigars are their forte while it’s a great cigar for full-strength seasoned cigar smokers. This is something I’d keep around for the late-night, after dinner times when I am craving something big and bold, but I don’t see it earning a spot in my regular rotation.

Pairing:

The Trappistes Rochefort 10 is a 11.3% ABV Quad ale brewed at the Brasserie de Rochefort in Belgium. The Trappistes Rochefort 10 leads with fruit, caramel, malt, and vinegar with a medium mouthfeel before finishing with some strong spice, fruit, and booze with a spicy aftertaste. The spice, malt and fruit paired absolutely wonderful with the present flavors in The Rake while the full-bodied beer kept up with the very bold cigar. This cigar would also paired wonderfully with a tawny port, or just about any bold Belgian quad or dubbel.

The post MoyaRuiz Cigars The Rake appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

At the end of each October cigar enthusiasts rush to their local cigar shops in hopes of getting their hands on the annual Tatuaje Monster release. This year, Pete Johnson has created the Jekyll. A cigar which is based on the fictional Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde bi-polar monster which we all love. While this year’s release is the Jekyll, halfwheel.com reports that next year Pete may actually release the Hyde version of this cigar. As stated, Pete releases these blends every year and I have been fortunate enough to smoke through the entire series: The Frank, The Drac (released alongside the Boris), The Face, The Wolfman, The Mummy, the JV13, and now the Jekyll complete the series. There were also two box releases, the Little Monsters, and the Pudgy Monsters which featured modified vitolas of each of the releases as well as a few small batch monsters:

2008 – The Frank
2009 – The Drac (also released the Boris)
2010 – The Face
2011 – The Wolfman
2012 – The Mummy (also released the Mini Monsters)
2013 – The JV13
2014 – The Jekyll (also released the Pudgy Monsters)

That being said, let’s get back to the Jekyll. The Tatuaje Jekyll features a not-so-familiar Ecuadorian Sancti Spiritus wrapper. Santi Spiritus, meaning “Holy Spirit” is the name of a cigar and province in central Cuba. Coincidentally, this wrapper is used as a binder in Jeff’s last review of the L’Atelier ER13. Both binder and filler in the Jekyll are from Nicaragua. As with most cigars in the monster series, it’s a big one. Measuring 7 x 49 the Jekyll carries an awesome semi-torpedo cap made famous in classic Cuban 109 formats.

As with most of the recent Monster Series releases, the cigars will come packed in two different boxes. The rare Dress Box which features some great artwork and 13 cigars, and the standard Non-Dress Box which carries 10 cigars. Only 666 Dress Boxes were released, and sold out within hours as they were distributed among 13 “Unlucky” retailers which are hand picked by Pete Johnson himself. While not all 666 boxes were send solely to these retailers, more than half were. The rest were sent in very small quantities to other stores throughout the U.S. with Tatuaje accounts, as well as stored for Pete’s own personal stock. In terms of the Non-Dress Boxes there were a total of 4,500 released to various Tatuaje retailers making the total number of Jekylls released 53,658. This may seem like a lot, but again, this is probably the most, of not one of the most sought after annually released cigars in the world. The cigars were released in mid-October and will run $13 a cigar. I got a box of these from our great friends over at Bonita Smoke Shop.

Size: 7 x 49
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sancti Spiritus
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $13
Pairing: Brouwerij Van Steenberge Witches Brew (Belgian Tripel 9.3% ABV)

Prelight:

The wrapper on the Tatuaje Jekyll is absolutely stunning. Starting with the very consistent light, milky brown that’s covered in oils and soft tooth. The wrapper features some orange ares and lots of darker webbing throughout the leaf. The Jekyll sports a few medium sized veins throughout it’s massive body as it leads up to a very snubby, short-torpedo, triple wrapped cap. I actually enjoy the cap as it rests very comfortably in the mouth, and is very easy to clip. The wrapper is very dense, and very hard while the Jekyll is very tightly compacted giving almost nothing as I squeeze it between my fingers. As with all Monster Series cigars, the Jekyll is polished off with the standard Tatuaje simple band featured colors familiar with the Monster’s character. In the case of the Jekyll the band is primarily white with the green Tatuaje logo and banding.

The wrapper on the Tatuaje Jekyll gives off a very strong pepper and spice aroma while the foot of the cigar is a pleasant spice and cedar mixture. The cap cut very clean, and very easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw is packed with strong pepper and spice. Pretty much everything is is muffled.

First Third:

The Tatuaje Jekyll starts out with a whole mess of strong black pepper. While it took a while to fade out, the pepper was still a dominant flavor throughout the entire first third. The other less-powerful flavors I picked up was some great woodsy/cedar, spice, cashew, lots of grassiness and great natural tobacco flavors. The draw is perfect. Each puff kicks out just enough thick, white smoke. It’s a bit windy out today, but if it wasn’t I’m sure the smoke would linger quite a bit. The burn line is a bit thick, but solid as it leaves behind a pretty flaky medium/dark gray ash. The ash doesn’t hold on very long at all, I got about a half inch in before it flew off into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The black pepper is much more dormant in the second third of the Tatuaje Jekyll. The main flavors are the cashew and woodsiness with some pine starting to sneak in and some slight spice and grassiness. It’s a pretty dry combination and I’m glad I have a drink close by. The retrohale reminds me how much pepper was once in this cigar and it’s a bit tough to take down. I don’t find myself retrohaling this cigar very often. The burn line is still rockin’ it as I close out the second third with very little nicotine kick, if any at all.

Final Third:

The flavors in the Tatuaje Jekyll continue to hold up, with little changes between the second and final third. The Jekyll leads with some great cedar/woodsiness, cashew, pine, spice, and grassiness. Some floral flavors began to poke their head through every now and then in the final third, but they don’t last very long. The experience has been very well balanced and extremely creamy. I just with there was a bit more complexity along with a few changeups. I only had to relight the cigar once, and that was probably due to taking my sweet time smoking it. The burn line was completely solid the entire experience and it left me with almost no nicotine kick even though it took me 2 hours to take down to the nub. One thing to keep in mind is how flaky the ash can get on this cigar. This doesn’t bother me at all, but I kept forgetting and the ash dropped in my lap on 3 different occasions.

Overview:

The prominent pepper made me think this cigar was a lot more powerful than it actually was. The Tatuaje Jekyll finished in the Medium to barely Medium/Full range but each time I smoked it I could swear it was stronger until I stood up and the effects wore off. It’s interesting how cigars can do that. The Jekyll is a solid cigar sporting some great flavors, creamy balance, and a great experience. It wasn’t one of my favorites in the Monster Series, but I still felt it was worthy of a box purchase even having purchased a handful before pulling the trigger on the box. One thing that did impress me about the Jekyll was the evident departure from the rest of the cigars in the Monster Series line. It’s very different and I totally dig that. I can’t wait to see how these cigars hold up after some time in the humidor. I have a feeling these are going to get better and better with a bit of age on them.

Pairing:

Not only is the name fitting, but this beer’s flavor profile made it an idea match the the Tatuaje Jekyll. Brouwerij Van Steenberge’s Withes’ Brew is a Belgian Tripel from Belgium which registers in at 9.3% ABV. Witches Brew leads with strong sweetness and floral flavors with a very light mouthfeel while it finished with some citrus, sweetness, and a bit of hopiness. The sweetness really helped balance out the pepper-forward cigar flavors in the experience. This cigar will actually pair well with just about anything, especially anything with some added sweetness. My best suggestions will be a Belgian golden or tripel ale, some black coffee, brown soda, or some sweet tea.

The post Tatuaje Jekyll Monster Series #7 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: The Gigantes features a blend very similar to the Rothchildes starting with a Mexican San Andreas Wrapper, Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 Binders, and an all Nicaraguan filler using Aganorsa leaf. While the blend profile remains the same, Dion Giolito who owns Illusione, aimed to bring a much richer and fuller experience with the Gigantes. The cigars are made at TABSA in Esteli which is the same factory where the Rothchildes are manufactured. The Gigantes will only come in one size a 6.5 x 56 which comes packaged in cabinets of 50 and will run you $7.99 a stick. I bought a whole mess of these from Smoke Inn. Last time I checked they still had a few in stock. You may want to hurry, first run of these cigars are very limited but Dion plans the Gigantes to be a regular production line. (Thanks to Halfwheel.com for breaking the news on the release and providing the specifics on this cigar)

Size: 6.5 x 56
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
Binder: Criollo 98 (Esteli), Corojo 99 (Jalapa)
Filler: Nicaraguan Aganorsa
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $7.99
Pairing: Kasteel Cuvee Du Chateau (11% Belgian Quad)

Prelight: Much like the Rothchildes, Illusione’s Gigantes carries a very deep, dark brown wrapper with bits of medium brown and spots of a darker brown around the veins and webbing in the tobacco leaf. The wrapper is incredibly tooth and feels almost like sandpaper with a good amount of oils. The wrapper is solid, thick, and very hard. It feel like I could probably sound down my next woodworking project with this cigar. The wrapper actually has a very rustic, crude look to it as it showcases the natural characteristics of the tobacco leaf. Considering how much Illusione I smoke, holding one with a ring gauge as large as this is a bit of a departure from what I am used to. The cigar is heavy and dense as the body leads up to a perfectly round triple cap. The Gigantes is polished off with a band identical to what we found on the Rothchildes. The only differences being the word “Gigantes” and of course the purple color instead of the red. I absolutely love these bands. The remind me of an older era. Think Henry Clay.

The wrapper on the cigar gives off a sweet aroma of chocolate and tobacco while the foot of the cigar is much more natural leading with lots of earthiness, and spice over natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean, but took a bit of extra pressure from my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces are really nice spice over some pepper, espresso, and natural tobacco.

First Smoke: Illusione’s Gigantes starts out really bold with some strong cashew and raisin over some spice, natural tobacco, and cocoa with a nice tart twang on the aftertaste. I was expecting much more pepper but was pleasantly surprised with the sheer amount of flavor the Gigantes kicked out right off the bat. The draw is remarkable as it takes almost no effort to get a mouthful of very thick, white smoke. The burnline is a bit wavy, but razor sharp leaving behind a trail of very compacted white ash which held on for an inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: One of the more interesting characteristics of the Illusione Gigantes is the aftertaste. There is a very bold woodsy, cedary, fruit, tart flavor that’s left behind for minutes after each puff. It’s incredibly enjoyable and only enhances the already potent flavor profile which is now running with tons of cocoa and spice over fruit and cedar with hints of espresso. The burnline is still a bit wavy but I have yet to have to reach for my lighter so no complaining there. The retrohale is ridiculous coating my nasal passage with so much cedar and spice. While the body of the cigar is just piling up, the strength of the cigar is remaining rather tame as I close out the second third with no nicotine kick at all. Gotta love when cigars do this.

Finish: The final third of this Illusione Gigantes is where the deeper, richer experience really comes into play. That crazy aftertaste I spoke off is now dominating the smoke leading off with really heavy smoked woodsy flavors with strong spice backing it along with some great fruit, cocoa, and tobacco. This is where the cigar really separates itself from the Rothchildes. Along with the ramp up in flavor the strength has began to ramp up as well. It’s not too strong, but I definitely feel the difference. Over the course of the 2 hours it took to take the Gigantes down I never once had to touch up or relight the beast, I experience absolutely no harshness, and only a small about of extended heat into the final inch or so.

Overview: Dion does it again. I can’t say much more about the Gigantes other than how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. The bold and complex flavors are right up my alley and I love that he produced them without having to create a cigar that was all about the strength. I think that far too often cigar manufactures think that you can’t have a bold cigar without having all the strength, and Illusione proves that to be wrong with almost every blend they create. Although the cigar has a rustic look, the burn performance was close to flawless. The price point is absolutely spot on, and actually probably a lot lower than I’d be willing to pay for the Gigantes. I am so glad that I opted to purchase half a cabinet of these and even then I worry that might not be enough. For the price, this is a cabinet purchase for sure and I fear that I may even want to have more than that on hand is this cigar is incredible and is going to make for another strong contender in our top 10 cigars of the year. And to think, we are only half way through.

Pairing: Kasteel’s Cuvee du Chateau is an 11% Belgian Quad brewed at the Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V. in Belgium. This is one of my go to Belgians as it fits all the main categories I look for in a good beer, at a reasonable cost. Cuvee du Chateau runs about $5 a bottle and carries a big, boozy body loaded with strong fruits (fig, apple, pear) flavors over some sweetness and spice finishing with a bit of malt and cinnamon. The fruit and spice is what had drawn me to pair this bad boy with the Gigantes as they married up perfectly. The woodsy flavors form the Gigantes actually added a bit of a smoke profile to the beer resulting is one badass pairing.

The post Illusione *G* Gigantes Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Crowned Heads’ Las Calaveras is the third limited edition release form the company following the Four Kicks Mule Kick and the Headley Grange Drumstick (we don’t have a review for the drumstick up, but I did review a different format out of the line which you can read here. That being said, the drumstick was my favorite in the line for sure). While the Drumstick and Mule Kick were tweaked blends/line extension the Calaveras is a completely limited blend. All the previous Crowned Heads blends were blended by E.P. Carrillo with overview by Jon Huber and Mike Conder with the exception of this blend which is blended by the Garcia Family at My Father Cigars S.A. in Esteli Nicaragua. The Calaveras comes in 3 sizes: Robusto (5 x 54), Toro (6 x 52) and Churchill (7 x 54) with prices ranging from $8.95 to $10.95 a stick. They come packaged in boxes of 24 and with only 1,000 boxes of each sizes being released this will sell out VERY soon. I picked up a handful of these from Cigar Hustler and list time I checked they still had some in stock. Here is a bit more information from the Crowned Heads site on the project and what to expect with the years to come.

Crowned Heads Las Calaveras was inspired by “La Calavera Catrina,” a zinc etching by Mexican printmaker and illustrator, Jose Guadalupe Posada.

The image depicts a female skeleton dressed only in a hat, and has become an icon of the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  The holiday focuses upon gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember those who have died.

Beginning with the Edicion Limitada 2014, Las Calaveras will be an annual release that is a respectful homage to those who have passed away in the year before, and is intended to be a celebration of their lives and remembrances, rather than a mourning or a symbol of sadness and death.  Each year, we all lose a friend or loved one, or know of someone who has endured that same loss. In today’s fast-paced world, it is all too easy to forget the fragile nature that is life.  Often, in the race to gain material success, we lose sight that our true legacy are the lives we touch and the love we leave behind once we pass on.  It is in this spirit that Las Calaveras pays tribute to those who have touched our lives and shared their love.

With each year’s annual limited release, the blend and presentation of Las Calaveras will be altered.  What will remain the same, however, is the spirit behind the cigar.  We hope that with this annual remembrance, we will choose to celebrate–rather than mourn–the lives of those who have so graciously shared their legacies with us.

That being said, I am smoking this particular Calaveras in memory of my Father who passed away a few months ago. He was a hell of a man and I miss him more and more every day. (Funny, not even joking, as I typed that the wind picked up crazy for about 20 seconds. There wasn’t even a slight breeze before that. Coincidence? Maybe. Probably. But yeah…)

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Oscuro (8th priming)
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9.95
Pairing: Unibroue La Terrible (Belgian Strong Dark Ale 10.5% ABV)

Prelight: Las Calaveras starts off with a crazy thick, dark wrapper. The wrapper is a very consistent, very dark brown. It’s pretty much as dark brown as you can get before you venture into black. The wrapper is very toothy, very hard, and very thick with a nice amount of oil. The leaf is laid seamlessly and you can only see some very minor veins running through the length of the body with one larger one running about half the body’s length. The cigar is really heavy and firm in most places but the foot on this particular stick it pretty squishy and you can see a small void in the filler. The Calaveras is polished off with a round triple cap that’s attached so seamless it was difficult for me to tell where the wrapper started and the cap ended. Las Calaveras carries a very elegant, simple, white, black, red and gold band carrying the Las Calaveras crest which really stands out on the dark cigar. The crest carries a gold crown, a few medallion, the words “Las Calaveras” in black and “EL 2014 Esteli Nicaragua” in gold which I assume stands for “Edicion Limitada 2014”.

The wrapper of this cigar gives off more aroma than any cigar I have ever smelled before. I’m picking up some strong sweetness, a ton of spice, and some great cedar. The foot of the cigar carries just as much aroma only it leads off with much more spice and natural scents. The cap cut so clean and so easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw carries on with the bold trend pumping a whole mess of spice, pepper, and sweetness.

First Smoke: Las Calaveras started out with a nice pepper burst which quickly faded away. In fact, after the first few draws it was completely gone and I was left with a whole ton of sweetness, loads of spice with cinnamon being the dominant flavor, cedar, cherry, and even some light pine notes over some great natural tobacco. The draw on the cigar flows very freely and it takes very minimal effort to get a good amount of thick smoke. The burnline started with some slight waves as it burned through the filler voids I mentioned earlier which only went a few centimeters deep. After that the cigar was burning solid and clean leaving behind a compacted medium grey ash with darker stripes which plopped into my ashtray about an inch in.

Halfway There: The flavor in the Crowned Heads Calaveras just keeps on pumping itself up. The spice is really strong now and it mixes in real well with the strong cedar. I’m still getting a bit of that pine but it’s much more minimal now while the cherry has become deeper and stronger as the sweetness has faded out a bit. The retrohale is really sharp and a very bold as it coats my nasal passage with some really strong spice and cedar. I don’t find myself retrohaling this bad boy too often. The burnline is slightly wavy but not concerning as I have yet had to reach for my torch. I am feeling absolutely no nicotine as I close out the second third.

Finish: Man, as if Crowned Heads’ Las Calaveras couldn’t become more complex some really nice malt and honey notes tossed themselves over the strong spice, cedar, and deep cherry which now has a more chocolaty finish. Is it a spoiler if I say that I am enjoying this cigar a whole hell of a lot? If so, who cares, it’s the truth. The pepper actually made a brief reappearance during the final inch or two of the cigar. The Calaveras took me about an hour and a half to take down and I experience absolutely no harshness or heat even into the final inch. In fact, the final inch or two was really where the cigar shines as the flavors really ramp up and come together to wish you farewell in the boldest way possible. I never once had to take out my torch to relight or touch this cigar up.

Overview: Let’s just get to it. How good was this cigar? Honestly it’s probably the best cigar I’ve had all year. No doubt about it. Crowned Heads continue to push their own personal standard as they really raised the bar with the Calaveras. Can this company make a bad cigar? Who knows. The Calaveras has everything I crave in a cigar. Loads of bold flavors which are not overpowered by strength, perfect burn, great price, and let’s not forget how awesome the box/band design is on these guys. My only gripe is that they are so limited. I know I’ll be chasing a box down this week as the few sticks I purchased didn’t last long at all. This cigar is absolutely perfect for a seasoned smoker looking for a full bodied, complex experience and the price makes it an ideal cigar for the novice smoker who is itching to break into premium, full bodied cigars. The price is in the high range for most people but quite honestly I’d probably pay even more than the cost for this cigar.

Pairing: Unibroue La Terrible is a Belgian style strong dark ale brewed in Canada coming in at 10.5% ABV. Unibroue has to be my favorite Canadian brewery only due to my love for Belgian style ales, but everything that comes out of the brewery is solid. You won’t get a bad beer. La Terrible had a ton of sweetness which kept pushing the sweetness in the cigar to reach it’s full potential especially towards the end of the experience where it could have easily dropped off completely. Along with the sweetness La Terrible carries a ton of deep cherry, apple, and other fruit flavors which tied in especially well with the cherry from the Calaveras not to mention the incredible amount of spices both the beer and the cigar pump out. I thought for a few days of the perfect pairing for this cigar. While many other options came up it was an “AHA!” moment when I remembered I had a bottle of La Terrible just waiting for the right time to pop open. I’m so glad I saved it as I don’t think there is a better beer pairing than this one.

The post The Crowned Heads – Las Calaveras Edicion Limitada 2014 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: This is only the second Velvet Rat that I have had the pleasure of smoking. I wish I had more, but the extremely limited pre-release of the cigar went so quickly that most of us were left in the dark. Even Liga-Whores like myself. The Pre-Release I speak of went down last October over at Tesa Cigar Shop in Chicago. Drew Estate released only 40 bundles containing 10 Velvet Rats into the wild. Since then, they have been in hiding. I picked this one up while I was in Nicaragua last month taking a Cigar Safari trip. I spoke with John Brooke over at Drew Estate and they do still plan on releasing this cigar depending on production availability at the factory. Let’s just hope they manage to free some room, and hands up to create more of these beauties.

The Velvet Rat is basically a bigger, milder version of the Dirty Ray. It was created to mimic the Dirty Rat and No. 9 profile while staying smoother, and milder. When I look at the blend make-up, it seems like a No.9 and Dirty Rat mash up making it a blend in it’s own category. We’ll see how the experience adds up.

Size: 6.25 x 46
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Honduran/Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14
Pairing: N’Ice Chouffe (Belgian Strong Ale 10% ABV)

Prelight: Gotta love the wrapper on the Velvet Rat. It looks almost identical to some of the more recent Liga Privada No. 9’s that I have in stock. VERY dark brown and black in most areas with a orangish tint in the lighter areas. The wrapper is very toothy and showcases only a few, seamless veins. The Velvet Rat, much like most other Liga Privada lines carries an insane amount of oils on the wrapper. The cigar feels very firm, and the wrapper is dense, and hard as a rock. The long body leads up to a round cap with the lovely rat tail we have all grown to love.

The wrapper gives off lots of spice and an insane amount of mocha while the foot of the cigar lets looks tons of spice and cedar. The cap sliced like butter under my double  bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces are very chocolaty, very spicy flavor. There is a lot of spice going on there but I pick up lots of nutmeg and cinnamon.

First Smoke: I’m used to the standard Liga Privada Pepper introduction but was caught off guard with the Velvet Rat as the black pepper greeting was very mild. While the pepper was mild, the body was not starting out with lots of chocolate, espresso, spice, and cedar right off the bat. Each puff is a little flavor bomb. The draw is spot-on as every little puff I take fills my mouth with insane amounts of very thick, white smoke. Much like other cigars in the Liga Privada line the Velvet Rat releases a ton of stationary smoke as the oils burn off the wrapper as the cigar lays in my ashtray. The burnline is dead-even and razor sharp as I close in on the first third of the cigar. The ash left behind is a bright white and tightly compacted holding on for about an inch before falling.

Halfway There: The flavors began to settle down in the second third of the Velvet Rat. The flavor profile is now a rich, dark chocolate, bits of espresso, soft spice, and a very musky flavor. While the flavors took a step back, the experience is still pretty full while the strength department is still rather mild. Gotta love when a cigar is able to produce that much flavor without pouring on the strength. The retrohale does however have a bite to eat coating my nasal passage with a strong spice and light cedar. The burnline is still perfect and burning dead even.

Finish: The flavors in the Velvet Rat have been continuing to smooth out and blend in with one another. The cigar started out packed with flavor, and finished incredibly smooth and creamy. The main flavor now is just tons of chocolate backed by soft spice, and cedar with a bit of sweetness. The cigar only took a little over an hour to take down to the nub which was a bit unexpected. I didn’t encounter any nicotine at all which is another departure from what we expect from cigars in the Liga Privada line and the burnline was dead even and needed absolutely no attention from my lighter the entire experience.

Overview: As I stated before, the Velvet Rat seemed to be a different blend all on it’s own and I stand by that. While the format is similar to a larger Dirty Rat, the experience is far different. The Dirty Rat is very strong, very complex, and very sweet. While the complexity is still there the Velvet Rat is much smoother, creamier, and milder. If anything, the blend reminded me more of the No. 9 than the Dirty Rat. Either way, it’s a winner. I’m not just saying that cause I dig the Liga Privada lines, it’s a great cigar. Would I rate I higher than the No. 9 or Dirty Rat? Not in a long shot. I do however think that cigar smokers who tend to stay away from the Liga Privada lines due to strength finally have a cigar that will fit their needs and fill a void in the Liga Privada portfolio.

To Sum it Up: The Velvet Rat is a great, complex, medium/full strength cigar. I think it appeals strongly to both seasoned, and novice cigar smokers. While the price point is pretty steep, it’s in line with the rest of the Liga Privada line and with that, you get exactly what you pay for. I personally think this is a box worthy purchase (should it get released) and I can say it will definitely find it’s way into my regular rotation.

Pairing: I have had this beer awaiting it’s time in my beer cabinet. Since it’s summer in the desert it’s pretty hard to create a craving for a deep, dark beer. I’ve been waiting for an overcast/stormy day like today to bring this baby out of the shadows. N’Ice Chouffe is Chouffe’s winter seasonal released every year around Christmas time. It’s a Belgian Strong ale brewed at the Brasserie d’Achouffe in Belgium. This Thyme and Curacao Peel infused ale comes in at a whopping 10% ABV and is sure to leave you feeling happy. N’Ice Chouffe starts off smooth with some nice fruity, caramel apple flavors with a nice spice while it finishes complex with a perfect bitterness. The sweetness and fruit made a nice compliment to the chocolate and spice in the Velvet Rat while the bitterness added a bit more complexity to an already complex experience.

The post Drew Estate – Liga Privada Unico Serie Velvet Rat appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: There really isn’t much information about this cigar circulating the web as of yet. Halfwheel was the first report I’ve seen on this particular blend. Basically, what I do know is this: The Unnamed Reserve is an EXTREMELY limited run. In fact, it is possibly more limited than the original release batch of the Forbidden X “13”. Only a handful of shops received a very limited amount of these cigars Most of those retailers only got a box or two.

No idea how many boxes where actually produced, but I would assume it’s very minimal. The blend is said to be a Dominican natural Sun Grown wrapper, with the Don Carlitos blend fillers and binders. Again, take that information for what it is. There isn’t a lot about this cigar out there right now.

Anywho, I picked these up from Bonita Smoke Shop. They come packaged in boxes of 25 and run between $9 – $10 a stick.

Size: 6 x 47
Wrapper: Dominican Sun Grown
Binder: Don Carlos Blend
Filler: Don Carlos Blend
Body: Full
Strength: Medium
Price: ~$9.50
Pairing: Duvel (Belgian Strong Pale Ale – 8.5%ABV)

Prelight: The Unnamed Reserve is a beautiful cigar. It starts out with the extremely dark, consistent, thick, and shiny brown wrapper. Had the box not stated that it was natural, I would have sworn but the looks of it, that it was a maduro wrap. The wrapper gives off this crazy shine, almost as if it was coated with some sort of polishing agent. There are a few webby, dark veins, but none of them really concern me at all. The cigar is very firm, and very tough with no soft spots. An interesting item about this cigar’s format is the foot of the cigar starts off with a nice, squared off box press before seamlessly narrowing up to a beautiful, round, double cap. The box-press transition is in no way as drastic as the shark, and doesn’t change ring gauges from the foot to the cap. The Unnamed Reserve is polished off with the standard red and gold A. Fuente band with the Newer style Black accent we have seen from them on a few newer blends. The Unnamed Reserve also carries an elegant red ribbon around the foot.

The wrapper on the Unnamed reserve screams sweet cedar while the foot of the cigar releases a potent blend of spice and tobacco. The cap cut clean using my Palio double bladed cutter. Right off the bat I can pick up some really sweet, really malty musky notes from the cold draw of this Unnamed Reserve. The dry draw is really tight. I hope this opens up a bit once the foot is nice and lit.

First Smoke: Despite picking up so much sweetness on the cold draw, there wasn’t much present when I lit up the 2012 Unnamed Reserve. Instead, I picked up a lot of rich, dark chocolate, Musk, Cedar, and this really strange meat taste. No joke, it’s like a tiny little steak being grilled in my cigar. Whatever. Also, I am pleased to announce that the draw is spot-on. Even though the cigar feels tightly packed it only takes a puff or two to get a really nice, thick, mouthful of smoke. The burnline is a bit thick, with some very minor waves but the ash makes up for it with a brilliant zebra-striped pattern of compact, white, and dark gray ash. The ash held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: That strange meat flavor has dropped out in the second third and was quickly replaced with a subtle vanilla and a slight metallic flavor that I seem to pick up in most of Fuente’s cigars. The musk, cedar, and chocolate are all still present. The retrohale on this cigar is beautiful, coating my nasal passage with a really rich, dark chocolate and musk. I could retrohale this thing all day. The burnline is still a bit wonky, but I haven’t had to touch it up or relight so I am fine with that. So far, this cigar is pretty mild. I’m not feeling anything at all in the nicotine department.

Finish: One thing to note. Jeremy and I were talking a bit ago about something that Skip from RoMa Craft mentioned. In the winter, it’s best to smoke cigars that produce more saliva in your mouth. Smoking numerous cigars will show anyone that some cigars will dry you out more than others. The A. Fuente Unnamed Reserve produced massive amounts of saliva in my mouth making it much easier to smoke in the 40 degree weather. This cigar smokes serious slow, taking 2 hours to smoke so the added wetness was appreciated. The flavors in the final third married up almost identical with the second third with the only differences being a ramp up in cedar and the introduction of a very faint pine flavor. Again, the burnline isn’t the prettiest but I never had to break out the torch which get’s top marks in my book. This cigar finished creamy and mild and I left feeling absolutely not nicotine kick at all.

Overview: This is another A. Fuente cigar. When I say that, I mean that in the best sense I can. Fuente has a certain style and it’s what made them one of the benchmark cigar manufacturers of our day. Among those expectations are solid construction, and a pleasurable smoking experience. The Unnamed Reserve 2012 falls in line with both while adding a pleasurable flavor profile. It’s not a terribly complex cigar, but it didn’t need to be. The subtle pine, vanilla and even the meat paired up perfectly with the strong musk, chocolate and cedar making for a great combination. This is a perfect cigar to relax and enjoy without having to worry about being knocked on your ass. The price is right where you would expect it to be, but the limitation of the release is a bit crazy in my opinion. Maybe it’s due to the availability of the tobacco, or maybe Fuente wanted to do something a bit special. Either way, if you find these you really should pull the trigger. They won’t be around long at all. I am extremely interested to see how these cigars do with a bit of age on them.

Pairing: Here is a beer I haven’t paired with for a while. Not due to availability or dislike, in fact I love this brew. Just with so many great winter seasonals out there it kept getting pushed aside until I found the perfect cigar for it. Duvel is one of the great Belgian classics that you can find on the shelf of just about any liquor store. Brewed at the infamous Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat this 8.5% ABV Belgian Pale Ale is the epitome of a great Belgian Pale ale. I’ve actually seen a huge influx of domestic microbrews taking on the brew style as of late but one thing is always missing. The Alcohol content. Duvel shows exactly how to pack punch into a beer without sacrificing flavor. This Pale Ale showcases a great matchup of citrus, fruit, bitter sweetness and light malt. Say that again and think about the flavors in this cigar. The addition of the citrus really bumped up the dimension in the experience while the malt and bitterness paired perfectly with what the Unnamed Reserve was trying to accomplish. Another great pairing would be a spicy port, a malty porter, or even some nice hot cocoa.

The post Arturo Fuente – 2012 Unnamed Reserve Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: The Daruma is another brain child from Mr. Matt Booth over at Room 101 cigars. Matt teamed up with Camacho cigars a few years back and has taken the cigar industry by storm with his amazing blends, and crazy design and marketing ideas. Gotta love the artwork and attention to detail this man puts towards everything that he does. The Daruma starts out with a crazy dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, bound by Cuban seed Brazilian leaf, and filled with a mixture of Honduran and Dominican tobaccos. The Daruma comes in 5 different sizes: Monstro – 5 x 60, Roxxo 4 x 48, Papi Chulo 4 x 42, Mutante 7 x 38, and the Sucio 7 x 48. This is a limited edition run and only 20,000 cigars in each format will be released ranging in price from $6.25 – $10.25 a stick. I picked up a few of these cigars at Tobacco Tin a while back. Great Selection they got going on there.

Here is the story of the Daruma taken from the Camacho site:

“The single eye I have penciled in on my Daruma doll is my silent reminder that I have set a goal that is pending completion. My Daruma will become a bi-oculared character once my task is complete. I have one year in which to complete my task – and if one of my attempts should fall short of victory I will not quit, but rather try again. Because, I know that if I do not give up and my will does not falter it is never a question of “if,” but only a question of “when.” We have named our latest series after the Daruma as he symbolizes resilience – a key ingredient to our success. Use your Daruma to set a goal of your own.

Fill his left eye when you have decided what you will be committing yourself to, his right when your task is complete. As the tradition is to burn the Daruma at the end of the year, take a brief moment to ignite a fine cigar in celebration of your accomplishment.”

Size: Sucio 7 x 48
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Cuban Seed Brazilian
Filler: Honduran / Dominican
Body: Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $9.25
Pairing: Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple (Belgian Strong Ale 10.7% ABV)

Prelight: The Room 101 Daruma is a very mean, very dark, very meaty cigar. The  Daruma starts off with a crazy dark, very consistent dark brown wrapper. It’s really hard to find anything more than a few tiny, webby veins with a bit of darker color to the wrapper surrounding them. The Daruma is very heavy, very big, and very firm. The only soft spots seem to be around the food of the cigar. The cigar is then polished off with a round double cap, and an absolutely beautiful grey and silver band similar to what we saw on the OSOK except it reads “daruma” in a crazy typeface similar to the Namakubi’s. I LOVE these bands. The wrapper on the Daruma gives off a nice, very potent spice and cedar aroma while the foot releases a crazy sweet berry and tobacco mixture. The cap cut very easily and clean using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces a really nice cedar, spice, berry and tobacco flavor. Almost identical to a mashup of what aromas the cigar kicked out before it was cut.

First Smoke: It took a whole lot of convincing from my single flame torch to get this Daruma lit, but once I did it was off to the races. This cigar lets loose serious amounts of thick smoke with every tiny puff. Perfect draw. The Daruma starts out with some incredibly sweet tobacco, deep cedar, cherry, and lots and lots of spice. I’m impressed with the amount of flavor already present in this cigar.  The burnline is incredibly sharp and dead even leaving behind a trail of flaky, medium gray ash that only held on for an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: It’s strange that I didn’t pick up any pepper in the first third, but as this cigar progresses I taste more and more of it on the tip of my tongue. The cedar is in full control now mixing up beautifully with the sweet tobacco, spice, cherry, and now some interesting chocolate notes. The retrohale is crazy strong coating my nasal passage with straight up pepper and spice. I don’t find myself doing it too often. It kind of burns. Despite the cigar being crazy full body up to this point, I am feeling nothing in the nicotine department. We’ll see how that changes as I approach the final third.

Finish: A lot of the flavor has dropped out of this Daruma into the final third. That’s not a bad thing though. With so much cigar it’s not that it is finishing so smooth and creamy. Leading the pack is the cedar backed but spice, soft chocolate and tobacco. The pepper has completely faded. Along with the body dropping, the small amount of strength has dropped out a bit too making for an incredibly smooth finish. This is how all cigar should end. This cigar took a little under 2 hours to finish and left me feeling absolutely no nicotine kick at all.

Overview: Matt Booth does it again. I am a fan of Room 101, but even then I go into his cigars always a bit skeptical due to marketing. The last few times he has exceeded my expectations and the Daruma is another notch in his belt. This cigar starts out bold and complex, with nice switchups during the experience and a smooth finish with a perfect burn the entire time. What more can you ask for? Despite the higher price tag I would still coin this blend as boxworthy especially since they are limited edition. Get them while you can!

Pairing: MMmm match made in heaven. I paired this Room 101 Daruma with a beautiful Belgian beer, Gulden Draak’s 9000 Quadruaple ale. This 10.7% percent power house strong ale is brewed at the Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V. in Belgium. Starting off with a beautiful orange/red amber color this beer has me written all over it. The beer starts off very smooth and sweet with notes of apricot, banana malt, and caramel. The flavors are so fruity and smooth they completely mask the alcohol content in this beast. Now imagine those same flavors with some cedar and spice with hints of cherry that the Daruma added. Heaven I tell ya. This was a perfect pairing. Another beer style that would go great with this cigar is a heavy abbey or even a mellow barely-wine.

The post Room 101 Daruma Sucio appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: La Palina is the epitome of boutique cigars. Led by Bill Paley, the reformation of the blend surfaced in 2010 and has been a force ever since. Teaming up with some of the cream of the crop in terms of manufacturers,  one of this year’s releases the “Goldie” is being produced by none other than El Titan de Bronze. You may be familiar with El Titan de Bronze as they have been responsible for bringing you lines such as the 13^th floor, Bonita Smoke Shop 18th anniversary and Time Warp, Nestor Miranda – Casa Miranda, and many, many more. There was one very talented woman in charge of hand rolling each and every cigar in this line. Her name is Maria Sierra. Maria is a master roller and one of the first women ever trained to rolled cigars in Cuba. She actually started her career rolling cigars for “El Laguito” where Cohibas were rolled some time ago. Maria was trained under the watchful eyes of Avalino Lara who actually created the Cuban Cohiba blend, as well as Eduardo Rivera Irazarri who was Fidel Castro’s personal cigar roller.

The Goldie is the second cigar in the “La Palina Collection”, after the 1896 Robusto. I only smoked one of the 1896 a year or so ago and loved it, but haven’t seen them since. The cigar only comes in one size, the “Laguito no. 2” or petit lancero as we know it in the States. The Goldie is also unique as it contains Medio Tiempo leaf, found only on 10% of tobacco plant. Not many cigars contain this leaf, but one that most people would recognize is the infamous Cohiba Behike.  The Goldie comes in Cuban-style packaged boxes of 10. Only 1,000 boxes were released at $150 each ($15 per cigar), each with an imprinted number on the box as well as an inked signed certificate containing the cigar’s details, box number, and Maria’s signature. Mine was box 739/1000.  I got this box over at Bonita Smoke Shop. If you are looking for the Goldie, she may still have a few, if not she always has a good amount of La Palina on hand, not to mention she has some of the best customer services out there.

Size: 6 x38
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $15
Pairing: St. Bernardus Tripel (Belgium) 8.0% ABV

Prelight: The La Palina Goldie Laguito is a damn pretty cigar. In fact, everything that comes out of the El Titan de Bronze factory is spot-on in terms of construction. Needless to say, the Goldie has that extra special touch. The wrapper starts out with a very webby composure of small veins lying in it’s incredibly consistent light, yellowish brown wrapper. The wrapper seems a bit fragile but the Goldie gives very little as I compress it in my hands. There are no soft spot throughout the entire body of the cigar all the way up to it’s pretty little triple cap with an added little tail to finish it off. The construction on these cigars are just perfect. The Goldie is polished off with the beautiful, standard gold, white, and black embossed La Palina logo.

The wrapper of the cigar gives off a nice sweetness mixed with caramel and cinnamon. The foot of the cigar only gives off a small amount of cedar and vanilla scented tobacco aroma. The cap on the La Palina Goldie cut off very clean and easy using my Palio double bladed cutter. I was greeted with a very strong, milky, vanilla, sweet tobacco, and cinnamon cold draw. It reminds me of some sort of ice cream, or horchata. Either way, it’s tasty.

First Smoke: La Palina’s Goldie Laguito welcomed me with some nice, strong, unexpected black pepper. After the first few puffs the pepper began to fade and what I was left with was a crazy mixture of creamy milk, sweet tobacco, cinnamon, honey, and caramel. Yes, it tasted like a cigar made from a candy bar. The draw on this cigar was just fantastic. Really, this was one of the best constructed cigars I have ever smoked. Each tiny little draw pumped out a massive, massive cloud of thick white smoke. It was pretty windy outside when I was doing this review and even then the cloud hung around for quite some time before dissipating. Although the La Palina Goldie Laguito pumped out smoke in each draw, the cigar gave off almost no stationary smoke what so ever. The burnline is just perfectly even leaving behind a very thick, tightly compacted white ash that held on for almost an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Halfway through the La Palina Goldie Laguito and the flavors are still rocking. The cedar I picked up during the prelight has finally found it’s way through the honey, caramel, sweet, creamy flavors. I am also getting a really neat vanilla taste now too. These aren’t flavors I pick up too often but them blend in so well with this experience. The retrohale is just awesome as well leaving behind a soft cedar, honey, and almost banana flavor in my nasal passage. I am not feeling any nicotine at all as this cigar is still burning perfectly.

Finish: Again, the flavors in the La Palina Goldie Laguito just don’t give up. The overall flavor profile is very creamy, but abundant. The vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and sweetness is still there but the cedar and sweet tobacco flavors have really started to ramp up. It took me just a little over an hour to take down this petit lancer and I encountered absolutely no harshness, or heat build up the entire time. I smoked this cigar down until my chubby little fingers could hold on no longer.

Overview: Needless to say, I loved this cigar. Let me just start off by applauding the work of El Titan de Bronze as they created probably one of the best constructed cigars I have ever had. That being said, take away the flavors and this one was of the best cigar experiences I have ever had. Now, when you add the flavors back in the mix it takes the Goldie to a whole new level. This thing is a flavor bomb with some very unique sweet, and strong flavors without ever getting too bold. The flavors just mixed with each other so well resulted in a perfect balance and complexity. This cigar is box worthy for sure, even with the higher price tag. I only have 2 gripes about this cigar. Number one, the availability. But that’s more selfishness on my part than anything. I just hope I don’t burn through these too quickly. And two, the smoking time. I tore through this cigar in about an hour, that’s taking my time too. Now I know what you’re thinking, “A $15 cigar that only lasts an hour?” even with that thought I can gladly say that it’s still worth the coin. I’ve liked so many of La Palina’s products and can honestly say, hands down, this is in my opinion the best cigar they have produced to date.

Pairing: As warmer weather is making it’s way to the southeast, I couldn’t let the summer pass me by without pairing another cigar with St. Bernardus’ Tripel. Again, this is the ultimate summer beer. Brewed at Brouwerij St. Bernardus in Belgium, this ale comes in at a whopping 8% ABV. Despite the higher ABV, you really don’t taste much of that alcohol in the beer itself. Instead, you are greeted to a nice banana, malt, sweet wheat, and sugar profile that fits right in with the hot weather. This beer may actually be the reason I picked up that banana flavor on my retrohale. The banana, sugar, and wheat meshed so well with the caramel, honey, and sweetness from the La Palina Goldie Laguito. It’s a match made in heaven.

The post La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No. 2 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: First and foremost, I couldn’t find these locally so a huge thank you to Skip (a.k.a. ChiefHava) for hooking a brothah up. As most of you know the Avo Annual limited edition release was created to celebrate the famous jazz compose/aficionado Avo Uvezian birthday. The LE12 La Trompeta was created this year to celebrate the man’s 86^th birthday. I can only hope to look as good as Avo when I get that age. Anyways, this edition in particular holds a special meaning to it as the cigar is designed to actually replicate a “trumpet” style smoking experience with an elongated, tapered cap and three small circular wrapper cutouts that represent keys on a trumpet. Interesting design to say the least. The blend starts with Dominican Ligero and Peruvian seco filler, bound by a Dominican Piloto binder, then wrapped in a very dark Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper. Much like the previous LE releases La Trompeta is only available in one size (6.5 x 54 pyramide). There were only 100,000 cigars released (10,000 boxes of 10) with a retail price of $15.50 a stick. Every year I look forward to these Limited Edition releases, especially since the LE10 which is still my favorite Avo blend to date.

Size: 6.5 x 54  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown  –  Binder: Dominican Piloto  –  Filler: Dominican Ligero/Peruvian Seco  –  Body: Full  –  Strength: Medium/Full

Prelight: The obvious story here is Avo’s interesting design on the Trompeta, attempting to make the cigar actually look and feel like a Trumpet. Even though I would call it more of a flute approach, I commend the company for doing something fun and out of the ordinary. As is the story with most Avo Cigars, the construction is top notch on the Trompeta. The cigar starts off with a beautiful dark chocolate looking wrapper that is just covered in thick oils. I actually had a hard time getting the texture of the leaf to show through as the oils on the cigar would just soak up all the light. Anyhow, Avo’s trompeta is a huge cigar. The meeting stick starts off with a very thick wrapper, and a very heavy, tobacco-filled body. There are a few mid-sized veins running the length of the body up to the crazy long, tapered, belicoso style cap. I swear almost a third of this cigar is cap. I guess that plays off the whole “Trumpet” style design on this stick.

The wrapper of the Trompeta gives off a very musky, dirty, earthy aroma. It almost smells like wet mud with some spice. The foot of the cigar is very earthy as well with the core of the aromas surround a wet, oaky, woodsy aroma. Avo’s in my opinion, always give off very unique aromas. The cap on the Trompeta cut very clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. I clipped it about halfway through the taper. The cold draw matched my prelight aromas almost identical, pushing out some very wet, mossy, oaky, earth and tobacco flavors.

First Smoke: The Avo La Trompeta starts out with only a slight pepper to it. The pepper only lasted a few draws before it completely faded away and what I was left with was some very mossy, spicy, chocolate earthy tobacco flavors. When I mention spice, I talk about flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon, basil, and so fourth. Basically it’s a mixture of those that I can’t quite nail. Avo cigars are one of the very few cigars that I actually pick up the mossy style flavors in. The draw on this cigar is spectacular pumping out lots and lots of thick, white smoke with every little puff. The burnline was razor sharp but had a ton of smaller waves that I can only hope don’t turn into big, annoying ones. The ash left behind was a solid, dark great and seemed to flake off a lot more than most Avos.

Halfway There: The second third of this Avo La Trompeta is much of the same. The experience is still overtaken by lots of the mossy, earthy flavors but a bit of creamy sweetness has moved in. It’s almost like the difference between cream and sugar in coffee. It’s really starting to mellow the full-bodied cigar out a bit. The retro hale is very nice and surprisingly mild coating my nasal passage with nothing more than oaky tobacco. The burnline has completely corrected itself and is burning dead even and still razor sharp. I have to add, it’s a bit windy today and I’m glad to see even with that, this cigar is burning like a champ. I am feeling only a little bit in the nicotine department. I really like that Avo has taken a step to finally producing cigars with a bit of strength over the last few years.

Finish: There was a significant ramp up in both body, and strength coming into the final third of this Avo Trompeta. The mossy, earthy tobacco flavors are still very strong, taking center stage to some bittersweet chocolate, leather, and again this overall creamy composure. Despite having a bit of strength, the Trompeta is incredibly easy to smoke. The cigar burned perfectly after correcting it’s own waves in the first third and required absolutely no touch ups or relights for the entire two hours it took to smoke this beast. Although the cigar did have a bit of a punch, I didn’t at any time feel overwhelmed by the amount of nicotine in it.

Overview:  We will start off with my thoughts on the cigar. Despite hearing that this cigar didn’t deliver, I thought it was a pretty good cigar. Actually, a damn good cigar. Each of the last handful of annual limited editions Avo has released haven’t disappointed. This cigar started with flawless construction, great flavors, and a terrific burn. Did it live up to the Avo LE10 that I hold so close to my heart? Not at all. In fact, I would rank this cigar right up there with the Heritage.  That being said, the Heritage can be found for less that $10 a stick, and in some cases, much less. If this cigar is being compared to the Heritage then it’s safe to say that the value just wasn’t worth it. It’s an eye catching solid cigar, but at the price point I’d much rather grab a few Heritage or even a Padron. What I will say is that it’s very much worth trying yourself. It’s a talking piece to smoke around your friends because of the unique design, and it’s a traditional annual limited edition release. Pick one or two up, but I wouldn’t go spending the coin on a box.

Pairing: Again, I’m a sucker for Belgian beer. Anyone who reads this blog knows this. What you may not know is that I really enjoy Lambics, no matter how sweet or girly they are. Lindeman’s has to be one of the easier Belgian Lambic beers to find around these parts. That being said, I am usually limited to whatever is in season. To my surprise I recently stumbled across a brew by them that I hadn’t seen before, Lindeman’s Faro. Basically, Faro is similar to their Gueze in that the beer doesn’t sport any fruit flavors. Instead, it’s a lambic that boasts of it’s more natural ingredients. While the Gueze is wheat-based (any my personal favorite) the Faro is a barely based lambic. Brewed at the infamous Brouwerij Lindemans, this 4.2% ABV sweet beer really hit the spot. The Gueze plays off it’s tart, bitter flavors while the barley in the Faro open you up to a much sweeter, milder experience. With honey, brown sugar, malt, and just a touch of sourness the Faro really is a hell of an experience. This beer went absolutely wonderful with the bittersweet, earthy flavors of the Avo La Trompeta, and I am pleased to announce that it has also taken over the number one spot as my favorite brew that Lindemans produced. Seriously, pick one up if you can find them. This smaller bottle ran me $5.99 which is pretty reasonable considering it’s a Belgian Lambic.

The post AVO – LE12 La Trompeta appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now the label on the Onyx Reserve has no information on it other than its name and the word “handmade”. I actually did no research on this cigar prior to smoking it and I’d never really read much about it before so that allowed me to give a more unbiased review. A little research after smoking it and making notes revealed to me that this cigar is made by Altadis. Historically I haven’t really hit alignment with the flavor profiles of most Altadis sticks, so will smoking it without knowing that ahead of time affect my opinion???

A little more research showed me that this cigar has an interesting mix of three different fillers and if you check out me pre-light inspection notes below you’ll see I actually picked out three distinct coloured filler in the foot. I thought that was interesting that they are so easily discernible. It’s also wrapped with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which Tony and I are both big fans of.

There isn’t too much other info on the cigar out there but I can tell you that it is made in the Dominican Republic. It also seems to have some pretty good ratings from a variety of sources, mostly outside of the blogging world though. I especially liked the vitola here today, it’s a box-pressed Mini Belicoso and you don’t see many of those around. Reminded me of the Oliva Serie G Belicoso. So let’s jump right in and see what I though of the Onyx Reserve by Altadis Cigars.

Cigar: Onyx Reserve
Drink: Chimay Yellow Trappist Ale
Vitola: Mini Belisoco (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Peruvian and Nicaraguan
Price: A little over $4 (Gifted by Lou B!)
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• A nice darkly colored cigar with fairly consistent dark chocolate tone
• There is a nice bit of oiliness on the wrapper as well as very few veins to be worried about
• The tapered cap is finished cleanly with a single leaf that blends in almost seamlessly
• The foot is well packed and I find it interesting because I can pick out 3 distinctly different colors of filler, possibly the different types of leaves from the blend or just a coincidence?
• The cigar is quite firm from cap to foot with almost no spring to it, hoping that doesn’t cause a tight draw
• The cut was pretty easy and even, also kept itself in a neat and clean pile
• Draw ended up being a little tight, maybe it’s cause I didn’t cut much but a couple pokes with my toothpick opened it up nicely

Burn:
• Toasting was almost too easy, the whole foot lit up evenly without much effort or time
• The first bit of the cigar was smoking dead even with a single wave to be seen
• Through the whole first half this cigar burned razor sharp without a hint of problems at all
• It also stayed lit without the need for extra attention, this is how all cigars should burn! Let’s hope it keeps up
• I spoke a little too soon… right after ashing in the middle area the burn started going a little lopsided so I gave it a little correction
• No more corrections required right to the end, great overall burn on this Onyx Reserve cigar

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw is a little light on this Onyx Reserve, even with a few extra draws it just doesn’t seem to produce a very thick smoke
• The resting smoke is very very light, after just a couple seconds you actually can’t even see smoke anymore
• The ash is looking awesome, very white with only a few darker accents
• The cleanliness of the ash is also looking great with no flaking or signs of weakness
• Ash is holding on nicely just past an inch, gonna tap it off now to prevent any messes tonight
• Subsequent ashes kept holding on past the 1 inch mark with ease, very nice construction here

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has very little aroma on this Onyx Reserve, maybe just a touch of sweet tobacco and thats about it
• The foot is pretty light on aroma too but there is a bit more sweet floral scent there
• The pre-light draw is pretty light on flavors as well, just a bit of the sweet tobacco again
• Initial draws are pretty flat, no interesting flavors here to start but nothing harsh either, just a sort of mild sweet tobacco taste
• For the most part, the cigar is in the mild range and the retrohale has a bit of woodiness to it and a smooth tasteless finish
• There is a bit of woodsy flavors making an appearance with the sweet tobacco notes, maybe a little leather in there too
• It seems the body creeped into the medium area somewhere in the middle but the flavors are still very washed out
• There isn’t much to report here, the profile hasn’t really changed as I approach the final third
• I’m still getting some light wood and leather flavors backed by the stronger tobacco notes

Final Thoughts:
The Onyx Reserve didn’t quite do it for me tonight. It had some good elements to it and definitely had some quality construction but the flavors were just a little too weak for my liking. For the price, it could be a decent cigar to hand out but I think there are better options out there for the so-called “yard-gar” ideal. I’m hard-pressed to see why this got such high ratings in other places. Perhaps there is a market for the more bland tobacco flavored cigars? Maybe they appeal to past cigarette smokers a little more? I’m not quite sure but for me it just wasn’t the profile I enjoy. It might be worth trying if you are looking for something different to add to a regular rotation but I’d suggest opting for a sampler before you venture into a whole box here. One thing I can take away from this cigar is that it is another stick that confirms Altadis and me just don’t agree on flavor profile. I’m sure there are people that disagree with me but this is just one little fishes opinion in the big pond.

Pairings:
Another Belgian Trappist ale on Casas Fumando? Yup, you got it! But this time it’s not from Tony! Chimay is one of the few Belgian brands I can actually find regularly here in Ontario. Mostly it’s the Yellow label or the Red label and today we have the Yellow. Now I should note this particular brew is also sometimes known as the “White’ and it is actually a Tripel although it doesn’t really say that anywhere on the front label. This bottle clocks in at a full 8% alc./vol. and is definitely a lot less fruity than a lot of other Tripel’s. It’s super carbonated and has a bit of citrus backed by a heavy malt and slight bitter flavor. I think I missed the pairing here though, a darker more robust beer would have gone better. Perhaps a dark ale or stout, even a coffee, would have matched up better.

The post Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: If you aren’t familiar with VegaFina, don’t feel bad. The line comes from Altadis, which owns brands such as Montecristo, Romero y Julieta, and H. Upman which can easily overshadow the smaller names such as the VegaFina. The Sumum, is a vintage blend created at Tabacalera de Garcia “with the best premium tobaccos, hand-selected for their unique characteristics and aged with care, for a one-of-a-kind smoke with distinct body, toasty aroma, and rich flavors” as stated by Altadis. This blend was released into the US last month, but, like the Quesada Sleccion Espana, was actually released in Europe quite a while back. I really like that manufacturers are starting to bring certain blends out of certain markets like that.

The blend starts with a two year old Ecuadorian wrapper (one of the darkest I personally, have seen), bound by a three year old Dominican binder, stuffed with a three year old filler composed of Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Peruvian tobacco. You can only find this blend in one size, the 5×54 which retails for $6.75. These samples were sent directly from the manufacturer to me. Thanks to www.stogieguys.com for all this info. If you haven’t checked out their site, I urge you to do so. Some of the most comprehensive and informative reviews out there.

Size: 5×54  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian  –  Binder: Dominican  –  Filler:  Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Peruvian.

Prelight: The VegaFina Sumum is very pleasing to the eye. The cigar starts out with a medium/orangish brown wrapper which is pretty consistent for the most part, only bearing a few splotchy areas. The cigar isn’t very oily, but the toothyness on the wrapper, and all around density of the tobacco they used to wrap it compensate for the lack of oils. There are only one or two smaller veins running through the body of the cigar. The VegaFina Sumum carries a very simple, stylish, and elegant silver, grey, and black double band. The larger of two, carrying the “VF” logo as well as the titles “VegaFina” and “Sumum” while the smaller band boasts “Edicion Especial 2010”. The cigar is then polished off with a beautiful, round, triple cap.

As I stated before, the wrapper is very thick and durable, while the cigar in general is really heavy, and really tough. I really hope it isn’t packed so tightly that it becomes hard to smoke. The wrapper of the cigar gives off little more than a slight cedar aroma while the foot lets out a very modest spice, and citrus aroma.

The VegaFina Sumum cut very, very easily with my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw put me as ease, as it was not too loose, nor to tight producing a very natural, grainy, oaty flavor with just a touch of spice.

First Smoke: The VegaFina Sumum started off with a whole lot more pepper than I thought it would. It wasn’t overpowering by far, I just wasn’t expecting it from the cold draw. The main flavor was this really interesting plum, along with some citrus, cedar, earthy natural flavors, and a really sharp spice. The draw on this cigar is perfect, kicking out a whole mess of thick, white smoke with every little puff. The burnline started out very, very messy, but has began to straighten out as I near the end of the first third. The ash is tightly compacted with a bit of flaking, and a bright white. The ash held on well over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Now the VegaFina Sumum Edition Especial 2010’s true colors are starting to show. The cigar is really starting to push out this deep, mossy, cedar flavor which pairs perfectly with the spice and citrus, while the plum is still evident, but takes a back burner to the more prominent flavors. The retrohale on this cigar is great, coating my nasal passage with a very deep, smooth cedar. I could retrohale this cigar all day. The burnline is now burning dead even, and I am feeling only a very slight bit of nicotine.

Finish: The VegaFina Sumum Edicion Especial 2010 has stepped it up once again in the final third. The pepper has made a subtle re-appearance, the cedar has stepped it’s game up, the spice is still there and the citrus is rocking solid all while the body has started to ramp up. I have to say, the beginning of this cigar was a big “so-so” but what becomes of the stick in the second and final third are well worth it. I am feeling a little nicotine kick, and have experienced absolutely no harshness at all, even into the final inch. The cigar finished off smooth, and complex.

Overview: The VegaFina Sumum Edicion Especial 2010 caught me by surprise. In my opinion, Altadis cigars don’t really do much for me. It’s not that they create bad cigars by any means. They usually just don’t create very complex blends, and tend to appeal to mass market. Which is totally fine, and I hold nothing against them for that. It’s just not often that I enjoy an Altadis cigar as much as I enjoyed this one. The cigar switched up quite a bit, which kept me on my toes, while the flavors were very good, and complex enough to keep me thinking. If it wasn’t for the drop off at the start this would have been a stellar review. At the price point this cigar is definitely worth picking up a few, or even a box. It’s a great cigar to have in your regular rotation and I can only hope that Altadis produces more cigars like this one.

Pairing: Yes, another great Belgian pairing. This beer, and brewery is no stranger to this blog. In fact, St. Bernardus has appeared on more of my review than most other Belgian brews. Matching the amazing summer-esque weather, I decided to pair this VegaFina with St. Bernardus’ Tripel. This 8% ABV powerhouse is brewed at the infamous Brouwerij St. Bernardus in Belgium. The active-yeast beer pours heavy, and light yellowish orange and commands attention as it pumps out sip after sip of heavy citrus, fruit, spice, and malty flavors. I swear I can taste celery in there. Tripel’s have been a long time love of mine, and St. Bernardus is the epitome of a good tripel. The spices match perfectly with that of the VegaFina and the citrus and strong composure really helped bring the cigar to the next level.

The post VegaFina Sumum Edicion Especial 2010 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Good Stuff: I reviewed the broadleaf less-exclusive version of the cigar here and we actually named it as our cigar of the year for 2011.  This is the more exclusive version of the already incredibly exclusive cigar. Each of the 3,700 boxes came with 16 cigars, one of those 16 cigars is this shade wrapped blend. It’s basically the exact same blend only with a tweaked Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011 is very similar in blend to the standard Reserva Especial only with a higher priming. After the wrapper Jaime decided to showcase some of his choice Pelo De Oro leaf as well as two different types of Cuban Seed. These cigars were showcased at this year’s IPCPR convention, and started to hit shops in August. These cigars are probably sold out by now, but if you are lucky enough to stumble across them they will run you about $16 a cigar. Check out this review of the broadleaf version so that you can see just how absolutely beautiful the box these cigars come in are. I won’t go into details.

Size: 6.5 x 52  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade  –  Binder: Nicaraguan Pele de Oro  –  Filler: 2 Cuban Seed Nicaraguan  –  Price: ~$16

Prelight: The first thing I noticed about the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition Shade was that this cigar weighed a ton. The Standard Limited Edition was heavy as well, but in comparison to those that I have and this shade one, the shade was so much heavier. I’m sure this wasn’t done on purpose as this is supposed to be the same blend, only with a different wrapper. Anyways. The Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper on this bad boy is a beautiful one. The wrapper is a very light, yellowish brown and like most shade wrappers, is incredibly consistent in color, smooth, and vein free. The body of the cigar is silky smooth, heavy, and firm while the delicate wrapper leads up to the round triple cap. The double band on this cigar matches the LTD Reserva Especial with the broadleaf wrapper identically.

Unlike the broadleaf, this wrapper is a lot more modest with its aroma only teasing with a subtle cedar and spice. The foot however expels a ton of spice, pepper, and tobacco. The sharp pepper actually irritated my nose a bit as I went in for a huge whiff. The cap was REALLY tough and took a little convincing from my double bladed Palio cutter. Once cut, the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition Shade let loose this crazy lacquer, paint flavor. I picked it up in the Broadleaf version too, but not as strong as I could in this one. It has to be from the filler tobacco. Anyways, outside of that I got a little salt off the wrapper, and some spicy earth and cedar tones from the filler.

First Smoke: Right away I am greeting with a ton of pepper on my lips and tongue followed by some really strong spice and cinnamon, some soft tobacco and cedar, and a little underlying sweetness and honey. Just like the broadleaf version, that paint I picked up in the cold draw wasn’t in the actual experience at all. The draw on this thing is crazy. I find myself only puffing the cigar once and getting plenty of thick white smoke. The burnline is pretty even with only some very subtle waves, and razor sharp. This cigar kicks out tons of smoke on the draw but almost nothing at all as it sits in my ashtray. The ash is a really nice white and light grey which held on for a little over an inch before giving way into my lap, again. So this picture is of the second ash. I really need to stop being lazy and get up more often to take these pictures before the ash falls.

Halfway There: Holy Cedar Explosion Batman! Seriously. The Broadleaf version was sweet while the Shade version of this Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial explodes in the second third with some crazy thick cedar and honey flavors. It tastes like I am smoking a graham cracker. There is still a ton of spice and a little pepper, but the cedar, cinnamon and honey have completely taken over. The retrohale is just awesome coating with this strong cedar with a hell of a lot of spice. I usually don’t feel much of a nicotine kick from shade wrapped cigars due to their mildness, but I swear I’m already feeling a little something from this one. The burnline is still a bit wavy but I haven’t had to touch it up or relight so I’m ok with that. Another note is that the ash fell into my lap yet again. This ash my look strong, but be careful, It’s not! Now let’s see if I can manage to get any ash in my ashtray at all.

Finish: It’s always nice when band on cigars come off with ease, and in the case of both massive bands on this Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition Shade that was the case. This cigar has started out flavor packed and although the body has really ramped up into the final third of the cigar (plus I have a nice buzz from this beer), the cigar has remained true producing a very smooth experience. The main flavor is still that cedar but the honey and spice has really toned down leading the way for the earth and tobacco flavors to really shine though. I am feeling a mean nicotine kick at this point. All in all it took slightly less then two hours to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness into the final inch. The cigar required no touch ups to relights at all.

Overview: Although the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011 Shade is a good cigar, in my opinion it doesn’t hold a candle to the broadleaf counterpart. You need to keep in mind that this cigar was originally blended for the broadleaf wrapper, not the shade and because of that, it isn’t nearly as balanced. The body is way to high for the wrapper and at times the filler and binder overpowered the hell out of the wrapper. It’s a good cigar and a nice departure and a nice touch for an already limited edition blend, but I am glad the box only came with one of these. If you are a fan of the Reserva Especial blend then by all means, check this cigar out, it’s fun. It’s neat to see just how much of each cigar smoking experience weighs in the wrapper. But if you are looking for a nice, full flavored Connecticut I think you are way better off saving your money and looking at something like Oliva’s Connecticut reserve or EP Carrillo’s New wave Connecticut.

Pairing: Pairing with another wonderful Belgian winter seasonal, this Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition Shade went down with some Scaldis Noel Premium (Also known as Bush de Noel). The only difference between the Scaldis Noel and the Premium is the ABV as the Premium sits at 13% while the standard Scaldis Noel sits comfortably at 12.5%. Both pack a hell of a punch. The extra .5% actually comes about as the beer is literally refermented in the bottle it comes in. This brilliant red Belgian strong ale is brewed at Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl in Belgium. The beer has a very fruity and sweet complex as it masks the strong alcohol complex. Smooth and rich this beer paired perfectly with the strength and body of the Jaime Garcia Limited Edition Shade without overpowering it. They actually went along perfectly hand in hand taking turns complimenting each other. This beer probably wouldn’t go well with any other shade cigar, but would pair perfectly with a nice Habano.

The post Jaime Garcia – Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011 Shade appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Unlike the original Cu-Avana Intenso which was originally created by the master blender Manuel Quesada, The Punisher is actually re-blended, and hyped up by another familiar face, Nestor Plasencia. It wasn’t that Quesada did a bad job, in fact the blend was widely popular. Some people were just craving a stronger, more robust cigar hence the re-blend.  These cigars come only in torpedo-tubo format. You can buy them in boxes of 13 for about $100 or about $14 a single.

Size: 6-52  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero

Prelight: The Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher is a deadly looking cigar, from the branding down to the actually cigar itself. The cigar looks as if it has had better days. The wrapper is this crazy looking, extremely dark, baker’s chocolate brown color with a few lighter areas that seem to line the 2 or 3 larger veins the run the length of the cigar. The wrapper itself is tough as hell adding the cigars weight and firmness. This thing feels like it’s made from cement. The cap of the cigar is this strange torpedo cap. I call it strange cause it is actually tilted a bit on top (probably not on purpose) which makes it look kid of like the top of a garden gnome’s hat. The Punisher comes loaded in an all black metal tubo with simply the word “PVNISHER” painted on it. The first band on this cigar bears the same branding only with an extra “-MMXI-” added to it. The secondary foot band is identical to the gold, black, white and red foot band that you find on the standard Cu-Avana Intensos.

The wrapper gives off an almost motor oil aroma mixed in with some crazy harsh tobacco. I can already tell that I’m in for a doozy. The foot of the cigar is insanely peppery and because of that it’s pretty hard to pick anything else out of there. The cap cut clean using my double bladed Palio cutter. Before even trying to pull a cold draw off this cigar, I put it to my lips and tongue to moisten the cap. Holy hell!!! It was like sucking on a habanero. Seriously. It made my tongue burn for about 2 minutes and even made me second guess my beer selection swapping it with milk instead. Braving the pepper I went in for the cold draw. It was nearly as peppery and spicy as I was expecting, instead I was greeting with a nice, even draw filled with nice cedar, tobacco, and only a hint of spice.

First Smoke: The foot band on this Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher slid off with ease. Lighting up the cigar was a cake walk as well. As soon as the cigar hit my lips again they almost burned off from the immense amount of  pepper this thing packs. One interesting note is, the pepper isn’t necessarily coming form the filler or binder, its transferring from the wrapped cap straight to my lips. It’s like they coat the cap with jalapeno or something. Not very nice. Outside of the pepper I am picking up some nice spice, dark chocolate, earthy flavors and even some cinnamon. I just really wish the pepper wasn’t overpowering the hell out of the rest of the flavors as they are actually pretty enjoyable. The draw on this pepper machine is awesome kicking out huge clouds of thick white smoke with every puff. The Punisher also gives off a good amount of tobacco/cedar scented stationary smoke. The burnline is razor sharp and dead even leaving behind a beautifully compacted trail of white and light grey ash.

Halfway There: Halfway through this Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher and my lips are screaming for mercy. The pepper in this beast just will not give in. I live literally a stone throw from Mexico and this cigar beats the hell out of some of the spiciest of foods I’ve tasted. No joke. The main flavor is of course that pepper, although the underlying flavors are finally starting to show their colors with a very nice cedar, spice, cinnamon and chocolate. The retrohale on this cigar is awesome too boasting almost pure bittersweet chocolate which proves once again that the cap on this cigar is the pepper culprit. In the nicotine category, surprisingly, I’m not feeling anything at all at this point. I may just still be in shock by all the pepper setting my lips on fire to notice though.

Finish: At this point I am very pleased to say that the pepper has really subdued and I am left with the original flavor profile intended for this cigar. First of all, there is a TON of sweetness in this cigar that I wasn’t able to pick up until now. Sucks too cause it is very tasty! Matched with that is a whole ton of cedar, some strong tobacco, cinnamon, and even some clove. Needless to say what lies under the pepper is actually an amazing flavor combination. I am only feeling a slight nicotine kick, if any at all. I can’t tell if it was the beer or the cigar, but I really anticipated having trouble standing once this experience was done. That just wasn’t the case. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this bad boy down to the nub with no harshness, and actually a very smooth experience within the final inch.

Overview: I really can’t wait till the next time I eat some spicy chili and get to say “I’ve smoked cigars spicier than this!”. Maybe they named it the “Punisher” cause you give it to your friends to punish them for being jerks (Thanks, Lupe). But in all seriousness, the Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher is no freaken joke, and not for the faint of heart. I really, truly think all the pepper ruined the experience for me. I like bolder cigars, but when you just tack on a bunch of crap to make you cigar feel bold it’s a total turn off. Especially considering just how wonderful the flavors hidden underneath all the pepper are. If you are considering buying one of these cigars, I would urge you to pass and consider the standard Cu-Avana Intenso while saving yourself some coin, unless you are looking for a crazy pepper and overall unique experience. I strongly urge any novice smoker to stay as far away from this cigar as you can. Unless you eat jalapenos on a regular basis.

One interesting note is on Cigar.com they actually state the following:  “Don’t expect sweetness from this powerhouse and we highly recommend you enjoy this one on a full stomach.” Although I agree with the full stomach portion, I highly disagree with the lack of sweetness. In the final third the cigar was full of sweet tobacco, and it wasn’t just a hint, there was a ton. Just something I found interesting.

 Interesting tidbit #2: It looks like my detective skills were spot-on when I stated that the pepper might actually be a pepper or chili coating. Our friends over at Cigar Inspector actually confirmed it.

Pairing: No surprise here pairing yet another cigar with a fine Belgian brew. Delirium Noel, part of the Delirium series (Delirium Tremmens and Delirium Nocturne) from the Brouwerij Huyghe in Belgium, is a 10% ABV winter seasonal Belgian dark strong ale and one of my favorite holiday treats. I will stalk my local spirit stores until I find these on the shelves every year as they fly right off the shelves. The beer pour a nice amber and copper red with some thick head. The taste profile pumps out some very nice citrus, zest, and almost vegetable flavors before finishing off with a smooth malty aftertaste. This beer REALLY helped tone down the Punisher. I wouldn’t recommend anything too strong with this cigar as the cigar is already strong enough, but something with some really nice balancing flavors. A Trippel, while very light, would pair great with this cigar. Hell even some heavily creamed coffee and dare I say milk?!

The post Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher – PVNISHER appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: I was one of the very many people intrigued as rumors began to fly about a possible Liga Privada in “A” format. Not that I am an “A” kinda guy, but that’s a huge departure from anything currently in the Liga Privada line. Not to mention that I am an open Liga Privada Fan Boy. That won’t make this review biased though, trust me. After about a years worth of rumors Jonathan Drew confirmed that they would in fact be making an “A” sized Liga Privada, and began to hype it up with some Jonathan Drew style tweets and Facebook posts.

I just had to put the "A" next to a Dirty Rat for size comparison. And for laughs.

As time went on, we discovered this wasn’t a real release, but instead a special type of product. What I mean by that is, Drew Estate actually created the Liga Privada “A” as a special promotional product.  The “A” is actually a tweaked T-52 blend. More than likely they needed to refine the blend and mellow it out a bit to fit the format. I’m glad too, I don’t think I could handle a straight up 9 inch T-52. These cigars will not be available to purchase, instead, they will be given out at certain Liga Privada events due in part to the limited amount of T52 leaf as well as Drew Estate wanting something special as a thanks to it’s customers. Plus, in my opinion, I don’t think the format is easy to sell. I was actually on Smoke Inn’s radio show “Kiss my Ash Radio” this passed weekend with Erik Espinosa from EO Brands and he made mention that he was actually present some time ago when he and Jonathan Drew opened the first box of Liga Privada Unicos “A”. That being said, I think it’s safe to say these will be readily available at Liga Privada Events.

I don’t smoke “A” sized cigars often at all. But there is a reason for it. “A” sized cigars were created to honor celebrations. This is a special treat sort of size, to be smoked to celebrate special occasions. With good reason too, they are normally 9” long and usually take around 3 hours to smoke.  That being said, lets get started!

Size: 9 ¼” x 47  –  Wrapper:  Connecticut Stalk Cut Habano  –  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  –  Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican – keep in mind this is just an assumption, knowing that it’s a tweaked T-52 blend.

Prelight: This is a GIGANTIC cigar. It almost feels too heavy to hold and wants to fall from my hand when I hold it near the head of the cigar. That goes with all “A” sized cigars I guess. They aren’t the most practical cigar, but they aren’t trying to be. Once you get passed the size of this cigar you are greeted with the beautiful T52 style wrapper that we have all grown to love. The wrapper is incredibly oily with medium to dark browns and oranges mixed in. The construction is perfect with only a very few larger veins. Usually veins of that size would run the entire body of a robusto sized cigar. I just though it was funny that the Liga Privada Unicos “A” had 2 longer veins stacked one after another, and they still only ran about half the body of the cigar.  Anyways, the wrapper and the entire cigar in general is very solid and durable. There aren’t any soft spots on the entire cigar. The cap is very similar to the pig tailed, rounded cap that the Dirty Rat carries, only twice the size. And the band is identical to the  Unicos Series bands that all the Liga Privada carries, blue and gold with a gigantic “A” on them.

The body of the cigar gives off a nice, strong cedar and sweet tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar gives off nothing more than a very subtle spice. The cap clipped extremely easy and clean using my Liga Privada Double Bladed cutter. The cold draw was interesting, instead of greeting me with a nice pepper I was expecting, The “A” let loose this crazy strong cedar and sweetness which got me interested in just how “tweaked” this blend really is.

First Smoke: Right away the Liga Privada Unicos “A” kicked out the flavors I expect from the T-52. Cedar, spice, sweet tobacco, and cocoa. One thing was still missing, the pepper. In all honesty I’m glad too, a 9 inch pepper-bomb just doesn’t seem like it would sit too well with me. Despite the distance in which the smoke must travel, the draw was perfect and plentiful. It only took me my normal 2 puffs to get a mouthful of thick, white smoke. The burnline is a bit wavy and thick, but nothing too concerning, white the stationary smoke, as with most Liga Privada blends, is crazy. This cigar is spewing out tons and tons of thick, cedar scented smoke as it sits in my ashtray. The ash left behind is somewhat flaky, and really dark grey with spots of lighter grey. It only held on for about two thirds of an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The sweetness has really started to pick up into the second third of this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. By this point, I’d be finishing a robusto format cigar, but this cigar is still keeping my attention by adding a ton of spice and the sweetness I mentioned to the already sweet mashup of cocoa, and cedar. The burnline has completely corrected itself and is burning dead even now. The retrohale is BADASS coating with an absolute blast of cedar each time I do it. I am feeling a very slight nicotine kick after the second third, but no where near what I was expecting form a Liga Privada blend.

Finish: Switching it up again, I started to get this nice, subtle floral flavor during the last third of Drew Estate’s Liga Privada Unicos “A”.  The sweetness has mellowed out quite a bit, and I am left with a really smooth cedar, cocoa, coffee and floral mixture. Surprisingly for the size I’m really not picking up much more than a really slight nicotine kick. The burnline has been perfect since the second third, and I haven’t had to relight, or even touch up this cigar once. All in all it took a few minutes shy of 3 hours to take down this beast of a cigar. It’s crazy how the final picture looks similar to the length of a “First Smoke” robusto picture. This thing is huge.

Overview: I have a short attention span. Very. I blame the internet and technology for that. That being said, I never really got bored while smoking this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. It had just enough change ups to keep my attention, but at the same time was smooth and seamless enough not to overpower me with each jump. I think finding balance in a cigar as big as this, and keeping the cigar’s complexity has the be an incredibly difficult task for the blender, and Drew Estate did a hell of a job with it. The cigar wasn’t as powerful as the other blends in the Liga Privada Line, with good reason. I don’t think I could handle a 3 hour T-52 It would leave my crying on the floor. Although this isn’t a cigar I’d smoke often, I really enjoyed it a lot. And in terms of the format, it’s not made to be consumed often. As stated, it’s a celebratory cigar. And I really think it’s a great addition to my humidor when I want something special and have a few hours to burn, pun intended.

Pairing: I said it many times, and will say it again, Winter is the season for beer. With all the awesome porters, stouts, and Christmas ales it’s a wonder why I’m not trashed from morning to dawn. St. Bernardus isn’t a stranger to this blog. In fact, it’s one of my favorite breweries out there. This Christmas season Abbey Ale hits the mark on all accounts. It’s strong (10% ABV), sweet, flavorful, and well balanced with fruity, malty flavors and just a hit of spice. Needless to say it went perfectly with the Liga Privada Unicos “A”. At about $13 a bottle, it’s not something you can drink everyday, but when you find it, pick it up. It pairs great with any full bodied, full flavored cigar.

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