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.

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Dona Flor Selecao

Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Brazillian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazillian Mata Norte
Filler: Brazillian Mata Fina
Price: ~$7
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Pairing: Water

Prelight: This cigar is extremely rustic looking. The wrapper is a very consistent, very dark brown. The dark, meaty wrapper almost looks damp. The wrapper is extremely toothy and carries some decent oils. While the cigar may look like it has had better days, some of the craziest looking cigars produce some of the most pleasurable experiences. The cigar is pretty soft to the touch and doesn’t feel very packed. The wrapper has one or two larger veins running up to its double cap. The wrapper of the cigar gives off a very mild cedar aroma while the foot just boasts of natural tobacco.

Flavors: Right off the bat this cigar greets you with very sweet chocolate, leather, lots of cedar, and even a bit of cherry. As the smoke progresses the cedar becomes more dominant while the chocolate begins to damper off. The cigar finishes very sweet and very smooth. The Brazillian tobacco really is a step away from the usual experience. I found the flavors stayed more on the natural side with lots of sweetness and fruit in the background.

Burn/Draw: The burn was razor sharp the entire time. Outside of some large waves I encountered about halfway in the cigar burned relatively clean. It did require a few touchups during that troubled time, but nothing out of the ordinary. The ash produced was very thick and tightly compacted holding on for about an inch before giving way. Despite the pre-light experience with a loose feel, this cigar drew like a dream. Perfect and plentiful every time.

Thoughts: While this cigar didn’t give off a ton of flavor I found what it did create was a very balanced, smooth, and enjoyable experience. This is a perfect cigar for someone taking a stroll, enjoying a morning coffee, someone looking for a unique experience, or even a novice smoker looking for something that carries a bit more flavor than the average mild cigar.

Alonso Menendez Mata Fina

Size: 6 x 42
Wrapper: Brazillian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazillian Mata Fina
Filler: Brazillian Mata Fina
Price: ~$6
Strength: Medium
Body: Full
Pairing: Water

Prelight: I love this format. I am sucker for smaller ring gauges. This wrapper looks very different than the Selecao. Starting with a lighter shade of consistent brown, this wrapper carries quite a toothy texture. The cigar is seamless, with only a few very small veins running through the slender body. The wrapper of the cigar gives off a subtle cedar and sweet honey aroma while the foot of this one lets loots a very chocolaty, sweet, tobacco aroma.

Flavors: The cigar started out with just a slight spice, lots of cedar, heavy creamed coffee, and lots of sweetness. The sweet tobacco and honey really took over the deeper I got into the cigar while the spice faded in and out. The cedar remained the entire time before ramping up into the final third. There wasn’t much of a changeup in flavors, but I really enjoyed what this cigar had to offer.

Burn/Draw: The burn on this cigar was all sorts of crazy at the start. I touched up a few times and then it burned clean and clear the rest of the way. This tells me it had to do something with the way I toasted the foot. The draw was a bit tight on this cigar, but I was able to get a good amount of thick, white smoke after giving it a good puff or two.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this cigar. I have always liked Brazillian tobacco and this cigar really showcases what the Mata Fina has to offer. Lots of up front flavor, mild and creamy composure with just a tad of spice. This cigar is great for the novice smoker and it makes for a pleasurable experience for the more seasoned cigar smoker looking for something mild and smooth without skipping out in the flavor department.

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The Dona Flor line comes in a variety of Vitolas and 2 types of blends.  The standard line is just called Dona Flor and their specialty line is called the “Dona Flor Reserva Especial”.  The especial line uses Cuban-seed corojo while the standard line uses Connecticut and Mata Fina Maduro wrappers.  The vitolas range from a Petite Corona all the way up to a Double Corona making up a total of 9 Vitolas in the standard line and 3 in the Reserva Especial line.

The vitola up for review today is the standard line Dona Flor Selecao Robusto with a Connecticut wrapper. Read on to see my thoughts on this Brazilian puro cigar and see if the Brazillian Connecticut is as good as their popular Maduro wrapped cigar found on many different brands. You can also read more about the company and the cigars at their website: www.donaflorcigar.com

Cigar: Dona Flor Selecao
Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Vitola: Selecao Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Brazillian Connecticut

Binder: Brazillian

Filler: Brazillian
Price: Gifted from @BelicosoBrother (MSRP $6.50)
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Wrapper has some bumps and one large vein
• 3 bands on this cigar, one looks like it got way too much glue
• Foot looks tightly packed
• Seems a lot smaller than the claimed 5×52 and it’s not box pressed?
• Even and firm throughout with a small spring
• Clean triple cap
• Medium dark brown wrapper
• Cut made a mess but left a clean cap
• One crack formed just past the halfway mark, no major problem yet though

Burn:
• Toasting was very uneven and messy
• Burn after first few draws is very wavy
• Burn evened out within a half inch and has burned fairly straight to the half-way mark
• Some small waviness after the half way mark
• No major corrections needed and no extra attention needed to keep lit.

Smoke & Ash:
• Medium mouth of smoke
• Lots of resting smoke, giving a burning wood aroma
• Ash is light grey
• Appears to be weak and is flaking a bit
• Ash held on to near 2 inches, pretty good for the smaller vitola

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is very woodsy and earthy, not a cedar smell, more like chopped firewood
• Foot has the same woodsy aroma and a mild spice, similar to nutmeg. Also a hint of honey-like sweetness
• Pre-light draw has similar flavors to the aroma
• Initial draws are of roasted wood and the nutmeg flavored spice
• Retrohale is very mild with a woodsy and slightly sweet finish
• About an inch in Im picking up some leather flavors
• The woodsy flavors became very prominent at the halfway mark, spice is no where to be found any longer
• Body has been fairly mild-medium throughout
• Leather flavor has taken over the dominant role, not my favorite flavor
• Some bitterness crept in near the last inch but nothing overpowering

Final Thoughts:
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much out of this cigar.  I had never really heard about it until I got it in this package.  It wasn’t a top ranking cigar but it was still a good smoke.  Lots of wood and leather flavors with good construction, smoke and ash.  The MSRP on these cigars is at a fair price but they seem fairly hard to find.  I would like to try these again and maybe try the Maduro wrapper as well.  If you stumble across them during your B&M shopping, pick one up.

Pairings:
I went with a simple Diet Dr. Pepper here because it was an early day smoke.  It actually paired fairly well with the slight sweet and spiciness I got in the first half and counteracted the stronger leathery flavors near the end.  This would make a perfect match with a good coffee or amber/dark beer.

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