The Good Stuff:

The Caldwell Savages essentially a line extension to the existing blend “Long Live the King” that made it’s debut at this years IPCPR show in Las Vegas. The Long Live the King blend featured a Dominican Republic Wrapper and Binder along with filler tobaccos from both the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. While we don’t know the specifics of the Savages blend, we do know that it features a Habano wrapper and is essentially a toned down version of the Long Live the King. The Savages comes in five sizes: Corona Extra (6 x 46), Corona Large (8 x 54), Pramide (6 x 50), Super Rothschild (4.75 x 52), and the Toro (6 x 54). The Savages all come packaged in boxes of 10 and run between $11 and $15 a stick. These cigars are very limited, and hard to find as they were only distributed to existing Caldwell accounts that were set up prior to the trade show, and sold out almost immediately. I was able to score a few of these from Atlantic Cigar Company.

Size: 6 x 50
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: N/A
Filler: N/A
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14
Pairing: Dogfish Head Higher Math (Belgian-style Golden Ale 17% ABV)

Prelight:

The Caldwell Savages starts out with a tattered, rustic looking wrapper that carries a calico mixture of light and dark browns, as well as some yellow and orangish areas scattered throughout the cigar’s wrapper. The wrapper showcases a good amount of natural webbing in the leaf along with a pretty gritty tooth and decent amount of oils. The wrapper feels very thin and delicate while the cigar as a whole is pretty soft and spongy while it carries some rather large veins running up the cigar’s thick body. The Savages is capped off with a long, tapered, pointy torpedo style cap. The cigar carries 2 silver, gold, black and manilla bands. The first showcases a steampunk style character while the second simply states the cigar’s name “Savages”.

The Caldwell Savages wrapper gives off a whole ton of rich spice, oak, and musk while the foot of the cigar has some pretty potent pepper, spice, and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw surprised me a bit by being coated with milk chocolate, soft spice, and musk.

First Third:

I was expecting the Caldwell Savages to start with a big pepper blast, but it did not. I was greeted again with the milk chocolate that caught me a bit off guard along with some great spice, musk, honey, and natural tobacco flavors. The draw was a bit snug at first, but I just clipped a bit more of the cap off and it’s now pumping out tons of crazy thick, white smoke while the Savages gives off a good amount of smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of white ash which held on for about and inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Some really potent, very interesting floral notes have really started to showcase their power in the second third of the Caldwell Savages. Behind the floral flavors are milk chocolate, spice, honey, and oak with a nice musky undertone. The retrohale really brings the musk and spice to the front of the flavor profile. The burnline is still rockin’ even as I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Well, there is the pepper I was looking for at the start of the experience. Interesting enough it really started to pour on here in the final third along with the spice, and cocoa while the honey, floral, and musk all took a backseat in the flavor department. It took me a total of two hours to take the Caldwell Savages down to the nub. This thing burned so slowly, and I’m cool with that as I really enjoyed it. The cigar left me with no harshness, nor any extra heat and only a slight nicotine kick. It definitely wasn’t as strong as I was expecting.

Overview:

I’ve really liked just about everything that Caldwell has released and the Savages only adds to an already long list. In fact, this is probably one of the best blends I have had by the company. It offers a unique flavor profile that delivers in both body and dimension without being too overpowering or strong. Sure, the price is steep but thats expected as Caldwell relies heavily on rare, limited, and vintage tobacco to make each of their blends.

Pairing:

Dogfish Head’s Higher Math is a beast of a beer brewed to celebrate 20 years of Dogfish. Higher Math is a Belgian-style Golden ale brewed with Cherry Juice and Cocoa Nibs which comes in at a whopping 17% ABV. As it states, the beer starts out tart with cherry and pinapple mixed with some great chocolate sweetness and heavy malt with a very thick, heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more tart cherry, tons of cocoa, malt, and spice with a port-wine style aftertaste with a good amount of booze. This is as close as you can get to a port from a beer and the flavors married up wonderfully with the Caldwell Savages while the cherry added some great character to the cigar.

The post Caldwell Savages appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Las Mareas is the newest full-production line released by the Crowned Heads this year at the IPCPR show in Las Vegas. While a very, very limited pre-release run trickled into a very few stores last year, it wasn’t until this year that the line was finalized. Once again the Crowned Heads turn to the My Father factory to create this blend for them. The blend utilizes a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan fillers.

The Cigar Federation site includes this description:

The Crowned Heads, Las Mareas, or “The Tides”, is a unique cigar which was inspired by the surf culture that Jon Huber experienced while in Hawaii. It is a regular production cigar, released at IPCPR 2016 and uses a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper.

It is a Nicaraguan puro made at the My Father Cigar factory. While it is nothing new to be made here, it is the first time Crowned Heads has used a wrapper, binder AND filler, all grown by the Garcias.

Las Mareas comes in 4 sizes, the Tuberia (4.5 x 48), the Rebeldes (5 x 52), The Olas (6.125 x 46), and the Ciclopes (6 x 54) which all come packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $8.25 and $10.25 a stick. I purchased a handful of these from the boys over at Cigar Federation.

Size: 4.5 x 48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $8.25
Pairing: Deep Ellum Wealth and Taste (10.5% ABV Belgian Golden Ale)

Prelight:

Las Mareas is a cigar that looks like it has had better days. The wrapper is a medium brown with lots of scattered orange, and darker brown splotches. There are a good amount of medium sized veins and lots of natural webbing in the tobacco lead. All in all, it’s a rustic looking thing. The texture is slightly toothy with a good amount of oil. The wrapper is normal density while the cigar is a bit on the softer side especially around the foot of the area. The Las Mareas slender body leads up to a round, double cap that looks a bit loose on quite a few of the cigars I purchased. The cigar is polished off with a great looking black and white band with the “Las Mareas” crest embossed across the front.

The wrapper of the Las Mareas gives off a bit of a salty, cashew aroma while the foot of the cigar carries a good amount of spice, cedar, and natural tobacco scents. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter despite my hesitation on clipping the cap due to how loose it was applied. No issues there. The cold draw is nice and spicy with some pepper, honey, salt, and natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

Despite the spice and pepper I picked up during the cold draw, the Las Mareas started out with neither. Instead, I was greeted with some great honey, cedar, leather, and floral flavors with a bit of saltiness left on my lips. The body starts out in the medium range. The draw is perfect. Each little puff releases a great amount of thick, gray smoke which hangs around for quite some time while the cigar itself gives off very little stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burning is even for the most part and razor thin leaving behind a trail of medium/light gray ash which held on for an inch before falling in my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Las Mareas and the flavors have started to ramp up a bit, while staying pretty consistent. The cigar still leads with honey and cedar backed by leather and floral flavors while some interesting apple started to sneak it’s way in. The retrohale is about as easy as it gets while it coats my nasal passage with strong cedar, and even some sweetness that I otherwise don’t really pick up in the smoking experience. The burn line is still even and razor thin while I close out the second third with absolutely no signs of nicotine.

Finish:

The flavors have continued to ramp up into the final third of the Las Mareas as the cigar now sits firmly in the medium/full bodied category. The cedar and honey are still leading the charge and I’m very impressed that the honey is still there. Usually cigars that carry a honey flavor begin to dwindle out very quickly. The backing flavors are still a bit of apple, floral, and leather. I smoked this cigar down until it was burning the tips of my fingers. It took me an hour and a half and I experienced absolutely no harshness or extended heat, nor did I once have to reach for my torch for any extra burn attention.

Overview:

Don’t let the looks of the Las Mareas fool you, this cigar preformed like a dream. Considering this was made by the hands of My Father Cigars, I was caught off guard. I was expecting more spicy, bold flavors while I was pleasantly surprised with something the closely resembles what we would expect from a Cuban cigar experience. The subtle nuances in flavors, slight change ups, with a very enjoyable body made for a wonderful smoke and something I could really see myself smoking very often. It’s a great cigar for those who often smoke Cuban cigars, those who are more experienced cigar smokers looking for a great milder cigar with a great body, or even the novice cigar smoker looking to getting into something premium that one, won’t break the bank and two, won’t kick their ass with strength and body. I’m really glad this is going into the Crowned Head’s full production portfolio as it’s a cigar that I plan on picking up quite often.

Pairing:

Brewed at the Deep Ellum Brewery in Dallas, Texas the Wealth and Taste is a 10.5% Belgian style golden ale aged in American oak barrels, then matures more in French Chardonnay oak barrels, before finishing it’s fermentation with Texas-friendly viognier white wine grapes. That’s a hell of a journey. The beer starts out with a great splash of sweetness, white grape and apple and floral flavors with a soft hop and a light mouthfeel before finishing crisp with more apple and sweetness, floral flavors, slight malt, and a little bit of bitterness. The flavors in the Wealth and Taste married up perfectly with the Las Mareas while adding a bit of sweetness that was absent in the smoke. This pairing was wonderful, and I knew it was going down almost instantly when I smoked my first Las Mareas.

The post The Crowned Heads Las Mareas appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Singulare series is a “one and done” annual run created by Illusione. It’s one that I look out for every year (you can read a past review of the first Singulare the “Phantom” from 2010 here). Dion Giolito’s newest addition tot he Singulare line is the Miserere. The Singulare Miserere is a Nicaraguan puro composed entirely of Aganorsa tobacco. The blend includes a Nicaragua corojo wrapper similar to what you find on the Epernay, Nicaraguan binder, and criollo 98 and corojo 99 fillers from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. The cigar is produced at Tabacos Valle Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Esteli, Nicaragua. The Singulare Miserere comes in a single 6.75 x 48 format packaged in boxes of 15, running $13 a stick, with only 900 boxes produced. I picked these up over at Smoke Inn and last time I checked they still have them in stock.

Size: 6.75 x 48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo 98 / Corojo 99
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13
Pairing: The Bruery Mischief (Belgian Strong Ale 8.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Singulare Miserere starts out with a beautiful, consistent, medium brown wrapper that carries an interesting orange tint, and a whole ton of oil. The wrapper’s texture is very smooth and very oily with one some slight grit while the wrapper is very firm, yet thin. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself exposing some very mild veins running through the cigar’s slender body leading up to a perfectly round triple cap. The cigar feels very heavy, and is packed very tightly which I hope doesn’t present draw issues down the road. The cigar is polished off with the standard silver and while band we’ve grown to expect from this line, with the standard “Singulare” crest embossed on the front and “EL” for Edition Limitada on the back.

The wrapper on the Illusione Singulare Miserere gives off some honey, cedar, and natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice, grain, and earthiness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw leads with a ton of honey and cedar backed by some oat and grain, spice, and natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Illusione Singulare Miserere starts out with a good amount of black pepper which quickly fades out after the first few puffs revealing great honey, cedar, citrus, a ton of spice and sweetness of some great natural earthy tobacco flavors. This cigar does remind me a the Epernay with a nice little twang to it. The draw is perfect despite being packed so tightly. Each little puff kicks out a great deal of thick, white smoke which hangs around for quite some time before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of thick white ash which held on for a bit over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

As I venture into the second third of the Illusione Singulare Miserere the cigar really starts to showcase how complex it is. The dominant flavors are cedar, honey, and spice backed by some fruit, molasses, oak, and lots of natural tobacco. I’m really big on both the dimension and the body of this cigar while the strength is still in the medium category. The retrohale really brings out the spice and cedar. The burn line is still absolutely perfect as I close out the second third with really nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

As if the Illusione Singulare Miserere wasn’t already firing on all cylinders, the cigar really ramps up in both body and strength in the final third. The flavors are still leading with honey and cedar, lots of spice and fruit backed by oak and sweetness while the strength has now entered the medium/full category. It took me 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. The cigar produced no harshness, and no extra heat while requiring absolutely no extra love from my torch the entire time. The Miserere left me with only a very small nicotine kick.

Overview:

I’m all about bold, full-bodied cigars that don’t need to compensate in strength and this cigar delivered. The Illusione Singulare Miserere is easily my favorite Singulare blend to date. The fact that it resembles the Epernay probably has a lot to do that as thats probably one of my favorite cigars of all time. The flavors are great, and the cigar is pretty complex while the price point is a bit high, it’s well worth it. I picked up a 5 pack of these and will definitely be picking up a box while they are still available.

Pairing:

Yes, another Bruery beer. I can’t get enough of them. Just wish I could get them locally. One day.. Anyhow, this Sunday’s selection is their Mischief. Mischief is a 8.5% ABV Belgian Golden Ale brewed at the Bruery’s facility in Placentia, California. Mischief leads with a bit of apple, a splash of citrus, a ton of spice and a bit of grain with a nice soft hop and a very light mouthfeel before finishing crips with more citrus, a bit of honey, spice, sweetness, and oak. Most of these flavors are present in the Illusione Singulare Miserere so the pairing was an easy choice. The citrus and apple also really helped pick up some of the same flavors in the cigar that I otherwise would have missed. This cigar would pair great with any Belgian Golden or Strong ale, a hefty Tripel, or even a nice sour.

Screw pop Ashtray:

Most of you should be familiar with Screwpop by now. The company makes lots of neat little tools for tons of different situations including cigars, and beer drinking which makes them a perfect pairing with Casas Fumando. Their latest product, the ashtray is probably my favorite item they’ve made yet. Here is what the company has to say about it:

Introducing the world’s first “cigar centric” ashtray!

Screwpop Ashtray keeps your cigar in the spotlight and your stogie in the sweet-spot for a most unique and pleasant cigar smoking experience!

By simply orienting the cigar perpendicular to the smoker (longways facing), the Screwpop Ashtray showcases the stogie in “presentational form”. You can now admire, enjoy and monitor your stogie between puffs: tobacco leaf, label design, burn, ash and rising smoke.

Geared for a single smoker (but don’t be fooled), its compactness allows for several Screwpop Ashtrays to fit comfortably on a table. Ideal for casual group smoking, parties and business meetings… it’s sure to impress!

The Screwpop Ashtray includes an ingenious “ash knocker” (for clearing the cigar-foot before relight). It also offers a well-placed tapered slot (shown front) for cigarillo enthusiasts alike.  Even use the Cigar Rest as a place to put cutters, punches or lighters after smoking a gar.

Made from ultra durable matte-finished (solid) melamine, the Screwpop Ashtray is sure to be your new favorite cigar smoking accessory!

That pretty much sums it up. Honestly, I love how compact, yet sturdy this thing is. You can basically carry it around in your pocket if needed, yet it’s not something you’d lose, or something that the wind would simply kick over. The canal that holds your cigar is very long for once, so I don’t have to worry about about my cigar tipping into the ash, or falling out of the ash tray. Once ash does fall of the cigar the little ramp carries it away from my cigar. I also dig the smaller channel for my cigarillos. I probably won’t use the ash knocker too much, but it’s convenient. All in all this is a solid product. If you want to pick one up for yourself follow this link. They normally run $19.95 a pop but as of today, they are on sale for $14.95.

The post Illusione Singulare Miserere + Screwpop Ashtray Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Every year the Crowned Heads releases a TAA exclusive released called the Angel’s Anvil. I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on all three, you can review the 2014 here, and the 2015 here. TAA stands for the Tobacconists’ Association of America which is composed of about 80 retailers across the U.S. who gather each year to discuss issues facing the cigar industry. Halfwheel had some great information on where Jon Huber got the Angel’s Anvil name from during his time with CAO and Crowned Heads:

Legend has it that there was one fallen angel, in particular, who fell to Earth from the heavens, finding himself alone and lost. Unlike other fallen angels who were content to wander the earth in a soulless state of purgatory, this angel became bound and determined to find his way back to Heaven.

The angel soon realized that his only way back would be for him to forge a new set of wings by which he could ascend back to the heavenly skies. He walked the countryside for days and days, until he came upon a blacksmith. The blacksmith gave the angel a hammer and an anvil, and said to him, “With these tools you will forge your new wings. With these wings, you will announce the words, ‘Ascend Word He,‘ and you will find your way home.”

This year’s version comes in a single box-pressed robusto format measuring 5 1/2 x 54. The blend carries a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder, and Nicaraguan filler and like the past two releases is produced by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. at his Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in Dominican Republic. Only 1,000 boxes of 20 are being produced of this highly limited cigar and they will run $10.50 per cigar. I purchased a few of these over form our friends at Two Guys Smoke Shop.

Size: 5.5 x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $10.50
Pairing: The Bruery White Oak (Wheatwine 12.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Crowned Head’s Angel’s Anvil 2016 is an absolutely gorgeous cigar. We’ll start with the wrapper which carries an incredible deep, dark brown color which is almost flawless in consistency. The wrapper leaf is laid seamlessly over the box-pressed cigar with only extremely minor veins to be seen. The wrapper’s texture is incredibly toothy and rough with some slight oils while the wrapper is very hard, and dense to the touch. The entire cigar is hard, and has very little give when I squeeze it between my fingers. The cigar is polished off with a round triple cap, and a red, white, and gold version of the the Angel’s Anvil band we’ve grown to expect from these TAA releases.

The wrapper gives off a nice tart, cocoa, and oak aroma while the foot of the cigar is much more spicier with some pepper, natural tobacco, and sweetness. The cap cut very clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw is really interesting, it leads with a ton of milk chocolate and oak with some subtle spice and citrus. I’m really hoping this translates over the the smoking experience.

First Third:

The Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil 2016 starts out with a great little black pepper bang which quickly fades and showcases some deep oak, cocoa, vanilla and tartness. The draw is absolutely perfect. Each little puff kicks out a whole mess of thick, white smoke which tends to stick around a while before dissipating. The box-pressed format makes for an extremely comfortable smoke. the burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of medium and dark gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil 2016 and the vanilla has really taken center stage. The backing flavors are a strong oak and cocoa backed by spice, tartness, and sweetness. It’s a great mixture, and much different than the previous two blends. The retrohale showcases a lot more spice than I pick up during the standard smoking experience while the burn line continues onward flawlessly. I close out the second third with almost nothing in the nicotine department.

Finish:

Into the final third of this Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil 2016 and some nice honey has started to creep into the complex flavor profile which still leads with the oak and vanilla backed by spice, cocoa, and tartness. The body of this cigar is full for sure, while the strength has hovered right between medium and full with a big ramp up in the final third. It took me 2 hours to smoke this cigar down to the very nub and I enjoyed every single second of it. I experienced no hashness, and it burned like a dream the entire time. I never once had to reach for my torch for any touchups or relights. I close it out with only a medium sized nicotine kick.

Overview:

I have grown to expect cigars a bit more on the lighter side from the Carrillo compound, but the Angel’s Anvil 2016 really showcases what depth they have over there. It has a classic maduro approach yet rises into the full body, and almost full strength category without overpowering in either direction. The flavor profile was very unexpected and I absolutely loved it. It was relentless, complex, and extremely enjoyable. This cigar is well worth the coin, and the journey to find them. Snatch them up while you can cause they absolutely will be gone before you know it. I know I’m going to be searching some more out for sure.

Pairing:

White Oak is 50% Wheatwine aged in bourbon barrels and 50% Mischief which is a Belgian style Golden Ale brewed at the Bruery’s campus in Placentia, California. The resulting mixture creates a great flavor profile which leads with caramel, oak, bourbon, apple, and vanilla with a decently heavy mouthfeel before finishing off with some slight honey, more bourbon caramel and vanilla with just a touch of spice. This is a damn good beer and it really packs a punch. The pairing was wonderful as the vanilla, caramel, spice, and oak matched up perfectly with the flavors in the Angel’s Anvil. This cigar would also pair great with a hefty bourbon barrel stout, or quad.

The post Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil 2016 TAA Exclusive appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.