The Good Stuff:

Each year Black Label Trading Co. releases its Bishop’s blend release in limited quantities. The 2024 version features the same blend as the 2022, and Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper over Ecuadorian Habano binder and Connecticut, Pennsylvanian, and Nicaraguan broadleaf fillers. Produced at their Fabrica Oveja Negra factory in Esteli, Nicaragua the blend is featured in three sizes: Robusto ( 5 x 48), Corona Largo (6 1/4 x 46), and the Lancero (7 x 42). Each come packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $12 and $13.50 per cigar. Huge thanks to the Black Label team for sending these our way for review:

• Size: 6 1/4 x 46
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
• Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan, Pennsylvanian, and Nicaraguan Broadleaf
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $13

Prelight:

The wrapper on the Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 2024 is deep, dark brown and incredibly consistent in color. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and extremely oily. The wrapper is laid over itself seamlessly. There are some mild veining leading from the cigar’s covered foot up to the tapered, pointy cap. The cigar is very, very tightly packed especially around the cap where it’s as hard as a rock. The cigar is polished off with the standard red and black Bishops Blend band as well as the secondary foot band with the words “Bishops Blend” printed in the same red ink.

the wrapper on the 2024 Bishops Blend gives of loads of sweet molasses and spice while the foot of the cigar carries a lot of the same sweetness over more natural/tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of raisin, dark chocolate, and lots of spice.

First Third:

The Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 2024 starts out with a very minor black pepper punch which faded was quicker than I expected. Once the pepper faded the cigar releases great notes of raisin/plum over sweet honey, over loads of dark chocolate and espresso. The draw was very tight at first, after a bit of smoking it started to open up to a manageable level. I smoked 2 of these are both seemed to have a little trouble at the start but usually end up great. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a very rightly compacted trail of white ash which held on for over an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 2024 and the pepper and spice have really ramped up, backed by the awesome raisin and honey mixture over gobs of dark chocolate and espresso with some great floral notes poking in and out of the experience. The draw has opened up considerably at this point and is now flowing perfectly. The retorhale brings out a bit more of the spice and pepper than I enjoy so I don’t find myself doing that too often. I close out the second third with a decent little nicotine kick.

Finish:

The pepper and spice have completely dropped out into the final third of the Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 2024. The espresso and dark chocolate have really ramped up and taken control of the flavor profile backed now by only minor honey notes and that great floral mixture. The cigar took an hour and a half to take down to the nub. There was a fair bit of sap built up almost instantly after I lit up the cigar. I tried slowing my smoking speed down and it didn’t help it much. I suspect this is due to how tight the draw was. While it did need to just wipe the back of the cap off a few times during the experience, it wasn’t terrible, just worth mentioning.

Overview:

Every year I look forward to the Bishops Blend release. The blend always offers both unique, and very enjoyable flavors. The great news here is that the brilliant flavors in the cigar overshadow the tight draw ten-fold. Once the draw issues are dealt with you’re left with a very complex, bold, and flavorful cigar that delivers. I am glad I have a few more of these to last me until next year’s release.

The post Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 2024 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

We are very excited to launch the new Camacho Box-Pressed (BXP) extensions. Broadleaf tobacco delivers a great intensity to these blends and we feel very lucky to get our hands on some high quality primings to build into this venture.

The Camacho Connecticut Box-Pressed or BXP features a Connecticut Shade Honduran wrapper over a Honduran Corojo binder and Dominican and Pennsylvanian Broadleaf filler tobaccos. Three sizes are available in the BXP version including Robusto (5 by 50), Toro (6 by 50), and Gordo (6 by 60). Packaged in 20 count boxes, the cigars will run you between $8,00 and $9.25.

THE FACTS

Price: $8.25
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Shade
Binder: Honduran Corojo
Filler: Dominican & Pennsylvanian Broadleaf
Smoke: 1 Hour and 45 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Connecticut Shade wrapper is consistent in its golden tan color, but the color seems to collide with the orange trim and lettering on the band. There are several medium-sized veins that are stitch like in appearance. The wrapper is very soft and smooth to the touch. The cigar feels hefty in the hand and it is evenly and firmly rolled.

I am greeted with a wonderful aroma of baking spices that are common in the fall. The foot shows off a doughy note with pepper spice trailing close behind. With the messy triple cap cut, the draw is a hair firm, and those baking spices are front and center on the cold draw leaving a medium spice heat in the mouth and on the lips. 

FIRST THIRD

The Camacho Connecticut BXP opens with a traditional Connecticut shade flavor that is somewhat bitter and vegetal. A pepper spice and a more savory quality of the smoke immediately follows the shade flavor. The cigar is on the mild side during the first third of the cigar and the finish is nearly undiscernable. The burn line is thick with a small wave to it as the ash holds easily past an inch.

MIDDLE THIRD

A sweet tobacco flavor moves into the profile in the second third of the Camacho Connecticut BXP and the pepper picks up in both flavor and spice. As the profile shifts up from mild to medium, the bitter shade flavor remains at the front and there is an underlying woodsy flavor to the profile. The burn is edgier than earlier but of no issue and the ash is flakier in appearance. 

FINAL THIRD

The black pepper has pushed its way to the front of the profile that is now a steady medium.  While the flavors showoff a decent amount of spice, it is really the retro-hale that highlights it. This 6 by 50 cigar is burning the best it has with its near even burn line.  

WRAP-UP

The Camacho Connecticut BXP was recommended to me at my local shop. I nearly dismissed the recommendation since Connecticut shade cigars usually fall outside my wheelhouse. But I decided to give it a shot and I am glad I did. The Camacho Connecticut BXP falls in the mild to medium range, delivers a spicy backbone, and maintains its shade quality. Other than a minor wavy, edgy burn, I encountered no performance issues. It is a cigar I will be reaching for to pair with coffee earlier in the day or an iced tea during the summer months.

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The Good Stuff: Smoke Inn has teamed up with some of the biggest names in the cigar industry to bring you their exclusive Microblend Series. This time, they paired up with Quesada to bring you the Oktoberfest Dunkel. The other blends in the Microblend include: Tatuaje’s Anarchy, Padron’s Anniversary 1964 SI-15, My Father Cigars’ El Hijo, A. Fuente’s Solaris, Tatuaje’s Apocalypse, and Room 101’s Big Delicious. The Oktoberfest Dunkel is the same basic Dominican binder and Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero fillers from the standard Oktoberfest (you can read my review of that cigar here) with a swap on the wrapper leaf. The Dunkel carries a Broadleaf  Maduro instead of the  Dominican Cibao Valley. As an added bonus the Dunkel has a very small portion of Ecuadorian Connecticut at the foot of the cigar to resemble the head on a freshly poured beer.

Here is the information provided in their press release:

In the spirit of Oktoberfest, the Dunkel uses the same binders and fillers of the regular Oktoberfest release, with the exception of the wrapper. A very select broadleaf maduro wrapper envelops this rich cigar with a slight underlying Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper at the foot, thus giving the appearance of a dark rich Dunkel beer with a savory foamy head.

The unique experience of smoking one wrapper, then 2 wrappers, and then one wrapper again give this Oktoberfest a unique complex flavor while maintaining that core flavor of Oktoberfest that fans across the world have grown to love.

There will only be 750 15-Count boxes released in a single 6×54 format running $8.95 a stick.

Size: 6 x 54
Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro – Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $8.95
Pairing: Paulaner Oktoberfest (German Marzen 5.8% ABV)

Prelight: Like the original Oktoberfest the Dunkel carries a very dark, very consistent  brown wrapper. While the Dunkel’s wrapper lead is very dark brown, I find that some of the original blends that I have actually carry a darker wrapper. The Dunkel’s wrapper is silky smooth with only a few smaller veins. It carries some nice tooth and a bit of oil and I am surprised with how seamless the construction is. The wrapper is capped off with a big, round, triple cap while the foot of the cigar has about a centimeter of a lighter shade wrapper leaf. This is supposed to represent the head of a beer that is created as you pour it into a glass. I love the little added touch. The cigar is very heavy, firm, and bulky while the wrapper leaf feels very tough and solid. There are absolutely no soft spots throughout the entire cigar. The Oktoberfest Dunkel is polished off with the traditional Quesada crest and a German Flag stretching the length of the band behind it, just like the traditional Oktoberfest.

The Oktoberfest Dunkel’s wrapper gives of a slightly sweet aroma covered in a ton of black pepper while the foot of the cigar boats of strong natural tobacco and earthiness. The Dunkel cut clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw kicks out a whole ton of sweet spice over some more natural flavors.

First Smoke: I had a conversation with Jeremy last night about the tiny little wrapper addition to the foot of the cigar. We were debating whether or not it would produce any type of difference in the experience or if it was there basically for aesthetics. Honestly,  I feel there actually was a difference, even though my  first hypothesis was that there would not be. When I first lit up the cigar it started out very creamy and smooth with what I would call some muted flavors. I’ve smoked my share of Oktoberfests so I know what to expect with these cigars and the first couple of puffs didn’t add up to what I was expecting. It wasn’t until I hit the darker shade of wrapper leaf that the experience began to take off.  The Dunkel went from creamy to full force kicking out some awesome sweetness, natural tobacco, cinnamon and spice, as well as some nice musky flavors with hints of black pepper. While it lead off with lots of different flavors they were well balanced and really didn’t overpower me. The draw on the cigar is slightly tight but nothing that I see bothering the experience down the road. The burnline is slightly wavy, and pretty wide leaving behind a beautiful, solid, white ash that held on for about an inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: The flavors in the Oktoberfest Dunkel in the second third are very similar to the flavors in the first third. Lots of sweetness, lots of musk and spice, natural tobacco, earthiness and a really nice cedar has finally began creeping its way into the profile. You can smell the cedar on the stationary smoke, and the retrohale is straight up sweet cedar, but it isn’t quite as powerful in the actual draw.  The burnline is now burning dead even and a lot sharper as I am feeling absolutely no nicotine kick at this time.

Finish: As I enter the final third of the Oktoberfest Dunkel a really nice gingerbread type flavor began to creep in. Maybe I am imagining it, but I swear I am picking it up. Along with the gingerbread the musky flavor has ramped up while the sweetness, cedar, and spice have began to drop back. The body of the cigar has jumped up considerably as well. This cigar burns extremely slow. It took  me a little over two hours to smoke it down to the numb in which I have encountered absolutely no harshness at all and felt nothing more than a slight nicotine kick.

Overview: You can’t just throw Connecticut Broadleaf on any cigar and expect results like this. I remembered smoking my first few Oktoberfests thinking “Man, this cigar would rock with broadleaf”. Smoke Inn and Quesada made my dream come true with the Dunkel. The flavors are similar to the original Oktoberfest. Lots of spice and earthy flavors with a bit of the cedar but everything seemed more creamy in the Dunkel with a hell of a lot more sweetness. I love the sweetness in cigar so naturally I find myself liking the Dunkel just a tad more than the original and that says a lot considering I’ve smoked through literally a few boxes of the original Oktoberfest. They say these blends were made specially to pair with beer but in my opinion, I feel any cigar can pair well with beer if paired properly. This cigar is semi-complex with a ton of great, bold flavors and it kept me entertained all the way though. I think it’s a great cigar for any type of smoker.

To Sum it Up: It’s a great cigar. It’s not too strong and carries lots of flavor so it’s perfect for the seasoned smoker and the novice as it won’t leave you on your ass. The price point is spot on, and the Dunkel is more than box worthy. It’s limited so make sure you head over to Smoke Inn and order yours before they are gone.

Pairing: It’s not Oktoberfest without some Paulaner Oktoberfest. This is a staple in any beer drinkers Marzen arsenal. Brewed at the Paulaner Braueri in Germany this 5.8% Marzen is by far one of the easiest to drink, smoothest session beers on the market. After all, isn’t that was Oktoberfest is all about? This beer leads off with a ton of malt and caramel finishing off with a hint of sweetness and prune. It makes for an excellent pairing beer as the flavors are so consistent and smooth they seldom overpower any smoke while the sweetness and caramel pair in perfectly. This beer is a great transitional beer from the hoppy, dry summer beers to the full-bodied, heavy, stout beers of the Winter.

The post Quesada – Oktoberfest Dunkel – Smoke Inn Exclusive appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today I have a review from a brand we haven’t really seen too much of lately since they release the OSA SOL a while ago (which I reviewed here). The brand is CAO and if you remember they were also purchased by General Cigar. Today’s new addition to the lineup is known as the Concert.

The Concert is intended to be a throwback to the roots of the CAO brand in Nashville, Tennessee. The musical parts of this cigar are pretty darn easy to spot. Not only does the name give musical reference but the band actually looks like a guitar and pick. Also on the side of the guitar is written “Perfect Harmony” in some fancy script.

Rick Rodriguez of CAO is the mastermind behind this blend and the leaves used here seem pretty interesting. I’m a big fan of Rosado cigars when they are done right but to have a Broadleaf binder is very different, I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out in the flavors. The cigars in this line are also all 5.5 inches long and only vary in their ring gauge starting at 46 and going up to 60. In line with the rest of the cigar, all the vitolas have music related names such as Roadie, Amp and Stage. Today up for review is going to be the 50 ring gauge version called the Solo!

Cigar: CAO Concert
Drink: Crown Royal Maple Finish
Vitola: ”Solo” Robusto (5.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Price: About $6
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• A nice looking cinnamon brown wrapper surrounds the cigar
• I found one crack in the wrapper just below the halfway mark of the cigar
• It has a pretty firm consistency from cap to foot
• The single cap is applied very cleanly and looks well done
• The foot is well packed for the most part with just a couple spots that had a bit of a gap

Burn:
• Toasting was even, quick and easy with no problem spots to worry about
• The crack in the wrapper is causing it to unroll a bit as I burn closer to it
• Other than that crack the cigar has been burning razor sharp and even through the first 3rd
• The cigar started to expand a bit causing the crack to get even worse and grow, starting to cause some burn problems now and I needed to give it a quick touchup
• The crack continued to cause problems until I finally passed it in the last third
• I still needed a couple touchups nears the end though

Smoke & Ash:
• Even with a slightly tight draw, I’m getting a ton of smoke each time
• There’s also a good amount of resting smoke coming off the cigar as well
• The ash is coming along really nicely in the early stages, looking strong, tight and clean
• The color on the ash is also quite nice with alternating light grey and white tones
• To prevent the ash from falling onto my laptop I tapped it off around 1 inch but I think it could have easily made it to at least 1.5 inches
• Even with the messy wrapper and re-lights the ash still continued to be strong holding on for 1 inch each time
• Smoke also continued to be full right through to the end

Tasting Notes:
• There wasn’t much aroma coming off the foot here, maybe just a bit of spice and woodsiness
• From the foot, I’m getting a fresh woodsy aroma with the same touch of spice
• Lots more of the fresh wood flavor and even some earth now on the pre-light draw
• The initial few draws had a defined burnt undertone to them but it seem went away
• After the burn notes went away I was left with a bit of a pepper spice flavor profile with some notes of wood mixed in there
• The flavors have stuck in the woodsy and slightly spicy range through the first half with just a bit of leather getting mixed in now and again
• On the retrohale, I’m picking up more of the spice in the bite and a dry spice on the finish as well
• Body has been mostly in the medium range up until now, we’ll see if it changes coming through to the end
• The last half has stuck with the wood and spice main notes, the leather is peeking in more often now and I’m getting a bit of coffee notes here and there
• More leather flavors as I burn down the the end here with just a touch of soft spices hanging around

Final Thoughts:
This turned out to be a pretty nice smoke overall and I enjoyed it for the most part. The cracked wrapper definitely caused some burn issues but they luckily didn’t affect the flavors much and it was probably just a one-time thing since no other Concert sticks I’ve smoked had the same problem. Now there wasn’t anything over the top here but it was a good solid medium smoke with some nice flavors. Not too much change in the profile though so I don’t think I would opt for anything bigger than a robusto. Definitely worth lighting one up though so give it a try, good to see CAO is still turning out some good sticks even after their recent ownership change.

Pairings:
Just in case you missed the name of my pairing before it is Crown Royal Maple Finished. Yes, that’s right, MAPLE! And damn does this bottle pack some serious mapley-goodness! My wife actually said it smelled like pancakes when I opened the bottle. IF you’ve had Crown Royal before you’ll know it’s got a pretty smooth texture to it but a lot of people tend to mix it with coke. The Maple flavor added here makes it perfectly enjoyable just on ice. And it made an excellent pairing for the cigar too, the sweetness can be a little overpowering at first but it settles down after a couple sips. Just don’t try pairing this with any soft or mild sticks cause they might get lost. +1 for Maple!

The post CAO Concert appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today’s cigar review is coming from the factory’s of General Cigar in Honduras. It is from the Punch line up and is called the Cafe Royal Maduro. The Cafe Royal comes packed in a thick and solid glass tube, thicker than most others I’ve come across, and has a gold seal at the bottom. Inside, the cigar is easily visible with it’s single gold and red band.

The Punch Cafe Royal is available in wrappers, either Connecticut or Maduro. There are also some other similar vitolas in the line-up but they have different names and don’t come in glass tubes so this is sort of a special part of the line. I’ve had this one lying around in my humidor still sealed for at least a year, possibly 2. Hopefully it didn’t dry up while sealed… more on that later.

Today I’m taking this cigar outside for a nice after dinner smoke. I don’t think I’ve had a Punch in quite awhile so it will be interesting to revisit this line again. The last review we did on a Punch was actually almost 3 years ago by Tony when he reviewed the Punch Uppercut.

Now as a side note, we also have a special contest running right now from our friends over at General Cigar as well. Make sure to read about it at the bottom of the review!

Cigar: Punch Cafe Royal
Drink: Innis & Gunn Canada Day 2012
Vitola: Parejo (5.625 x 44)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Price: A little under $5
Burn Time: Just over an hour

Construction:
• For the most part it seems the glass tube protected this cigar from any damage as the wrapper is almost flawless
• However, the foot of all tube cigars seem to come with some damage but nothing to worry about there
• The color on this cigar is a deep chocolate brown with some oily gold accents
• There are almost no veins to be seen here
• From the foot, you can tell this cigar is well packed and the soft but springy feel when squeezed backs up that prediction
• The double cap is fairly cleanly applied, a little bumpy but it seems to have done the job

Burn:
• The toasting was perfectly even and didn’t take too long to get the foot glowing nicely
• The burn line through the first bit has been most clean and neat with just a small slant in it, nothing to cause worries though
• The burn is holding up and although still slightly slanted it’s staying consistent with a nice thin burn line
• It seems to be burning a little faster than I’d like it to through the first half so lets hope it slows down a bit
• The burn never really slowed down so I felt this cigar was a much quicker smoke than it could have been

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the start, the Punch Cafe Royal produces a nice comfortable amount of smoke off each draw
• The resting smoke is considerably less visible but still gives off a mildly sweet and cedar type of aroma
• The ash seems to be coming along nicely, very clean and neat with a mostly light grey color
• Even though the ash is looking strong, it feels like it will fall off due to the smaller ring gauge so I tapped it off just past a half inch or so
• I kept up the half inch ash pace for the most part to avoid making a mess of ash everywhere but the ask kept clean and even throughout
• Near the end, the smoke volume seemed to be diminishing a bit

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper has a sweet barnyard type of scent to it
• Most sweetness and barnyard aromas on the foot, with a touch of cedar added in there
• The pre-light draw is pretty bland at first but the finish is an interesting sort of fresh cedar and nutmeg
• The initial draws smack you with some pepper and a sweet but potent tobacco flavor
• Soon after, the pepper settles but it’s still there to linger on your tongue along with more of the nutmeg and cedar flavors
• I’m also starting to pick up some coffee notes here and there and the cigar burns on
• The retrohale has a small bite to it with a smooth coffee finish and the body has been on the higher end of mild so far
• The spices settled down a bit more as I got to the end of the first third and the coffee is now being joined by some soft cocoa flavors
• Some of the flavors seem to be fading just past the halfway mark and leaving a little blandness behind, hoping they pick up again soon
• The body has stayed the same for the most part but the bite and finish on the retrohale are pretty much gone
• A little bit of harshness started to sneak in near the end, that’s unfortunate
• The harshness ended up taking away all the other flavors I was getting near the end here

Final Thoughts:
When I decided to do this review I was a little worried about the whole sealed glass tube thing so I opened it a few days early to let it acclimate. But to my surprise, it was very well preserved and still seemed fresh so however they packaged these it seems to have weathered the age a lot better than some other sealed tube cigars I’ve had in the past. At first, the flavors here were enjoyable and sometimes kept me on my toes all while burning nice and cleanly. Near the end the flavors got a little bland and even a bit harsh near the end which was disappointing. I’m typically not a fan of the Punch line up but this one seemed to have a bit of potential, I just wish the good flavors would have kept up to the end. The Punch Cafe Royal is a decent traditional maduro in a nice package that also comes in at a pretty fair price. If nothing else, it’s something you can hand out to others that looks really fancy too! haha

Pairings:
There’s not much I can say here that I haven’t said before. If you look through past reviews you will see that I am a huge fan of all the Innis & Gunn brews and this years Canada Day 2012 special edition is no slouch. For those of you who know, Canada Day was actually back on July 1st but I was a little busy getting married and all so this brew sat in my fridge for a little longer. It is a limited production brew restricted to batch of only 180 Oak Barrels and bottled in individual boxes. It spent 49 days inside that barrel and it came out tasting fantastic. Toffee, coffee, a touch of sweetness and some vanilla backed by a malty finish. Damn tasty! A good pairing for any medium bodied cigar!

Now for the Contest!

So, do you like Golf? Like Macanudo? Know someone that does? We’ll be giving away 2 sets of these Callaway hats and 1 of these Callaway golf towels away to our readers!
This is in support of Macanudo’s “TAKE A SWING AT THE MACANUDO ULTIMATE ROUND CONTEST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP TO AUGUSTA”. For more information on this contest click the link here for the press release: http://casasfumando.com/Macanudo-Augusta.doc

Now how do you win, you ask? It’s simple! All you gotta do is add a comment here or on our Facebook page and answer the following question: Name something you would love to take a swing at while sporting this awesome hat and towel???

Also, make sure to “Like” our Facebook page to win! Link Here! It’s that easy.

We’ll pick 2 random winners (who has liked and made a comment) on Friday! That being said, make sure you’re 21 years or older and live in the U.S. (Sorry to my fellow Canucks )

The post Punch Cafe Royal Maduro (+ Contest!) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The brand I’m referring to is of course Carlos Torano. In fact, there’s only one other review up on our site from a Torano line and it’s the Carlos Torano Casa Torano that I reviewed back in March 2011, almost a whole year ago. Today’s line I’ll be reviewing is the Carlos Torano Signature Collection in the Toro vitola.

This particular blend seems to be hailed by a few retailer websites as the best blend in their inventory, so it will have some big shoes to fill in this review. The interesting mix of fillers and binder leaves is a curious one, and on paper it sounds very tasty. The blend seems to have been first released back in 2000 and according to the official website, Torano.com, it comes in 5 vitolas ranging from a Perfecto up to a Churchill.

It’s interesting to see that for a cigar that’s been available for 12 years there isn’t much history or interesting news on it. The basic word is that it sells well and is a top performer in the Torano brand. The factory that makes this particular cigar is located in Honduras and is rolled completely by hand. I haven’t had one in awhile but we’ll see how close my older notes hold up to today’s experience…

Cigar: Carlos Torano Signature Collection
Drink: Lake of Bays Brewing Company Mocha Porter
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican Cubano Ligero & Nicaraguan Habano Ligero
Price: About $7.50
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar looks like it got beat with a meat tenderizer, it’s got bumps and dents and even looks a bit crooked
• The wrapper looks to be a very dark and consistent chocolate color, almost too dark and consistent, perhaps a bit of dye was used here?
• Despite the rugged nature and shape of the wrapper, there are very few large veins here but the wrapper definitely has a sandpaper type of feel to it
• The single cap has a slightly rough application to it which fits in with the rest of the cigar
• The foot looks very well packed and the entire length of the cigar has a fair bit of firmness to it

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and slow and resulted in a evenly glowing foot after about 30 seconds
• We’re off to a good start with some razor sharp burn through the first inch or so
• No problems as I pass the halfway mark, the burn is moving along at a very nice pace
• When I don’t have much to say in this section it’s a good thing, damn near perfect burn right to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is giving me a good amount of smoke with very little effort
• Even though it’s pumping out lots of smoke on the draw, the resting smoke is actually fairly moderate and not overpowering at all
• Ash looks to have a nice pattern of medium gray and some dark, almost black striping
• The ash is lasting just over an inch before it shows some signs of weakness and I tap it off
• No flaking on this ash, it’s clean and tight

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper doesn’t have too much aroma but I do get a faint hint of sweet tobacco
• The foot tells a very different story giving off tons of barnyard aromas
• The pre-light draw reveals lots of woodsy and earthy notes with a touch of the barnyard flavors thrown in there
• Initial flavors are some mild woodsiness with a touch of sweetness and a slightly creamy, yet dry, finish
• Within the first inch, I get a nice introduction of some subtle cooking spices, somewhere in the white pepper range
• The body has started off fairly mild so far with a small bite on the retrohale and a barely detectable woodsy finish
• The flavors are continuing to develop nicely as we hit the halfway mark, some more woodsiness, a bit of leather, earthiness and still a touch of those spices is lingering
• As I move into the last third the body as barely reached medium and I’m starting to get some sweetness added to the mix, maybe like a coffee with sugar type of flavor
• A lot of the flavors seemed to fade into a woodsy and leather mix near the last 1.5 inches, not bad but not as interesting as they were

Final Thoughts:
If you’ve been following some of my posts here or even on Facebook (Like us Please! ) and Twitter, I think you’ll find I’ve historically not been a huge fan of the Carlos Torano lines. I’ve never found any of them to be bad but just not exactly the profile I would gravitate towards. I think we found a slight exception to that rule today. Although this cigar didn’t knock me off my socks, I did find it to be a nice relaxing and enjoyable cigar. The burn was nice, the flavors were varied and enjoyable and it never tried to go out on me. I was a bit surprised that the body was a lot weaker than expected, the ligero didn’t pack the punch I was preparing for but I’m fine with that. The last bit of the cigar did go a little bland but it wasn’t off putting or bitter, just bland. My only real gripe is the price. I know, I sound like a broken record here but if I’m forking out almost $8 for a cigar it should be a very good cigar, not just a “good” cigar. Having said that, I did see them on sale for some more attractive prices so if you can find them on sale I’d say they are worth a try.

Pairings:
I don’t find too many bottles from the Lake of Bays Brewing Company at my local store but when I saw this one recently I decided to give it a try. The brewery is located about 2.5hours north of the city of Toronto in a place called Muskoka. You might have heard of Mukoka before, it’s a pretty popular escape to a cabin or cottage on some beautiful lakes and forested areas where a lot of celebrities actually own cottages. Todays offering is their Mocha Porter. I was expecting a bit more chocolate in this brew but for the most part it’s more like a coffee porter. Lots of smooth and tasty coffee flavors without any bitterness and very little malt. There is a touch of chocolate in there but not much. It actually paired very nicely with the Carlos Torano Signature Collection since the brew wasn’t too bold and complimented the flavors nicely.

The post Carlos Torano Signature Collection appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today’s review comes courtesy of Lou B. who you can find in the comments section every now and then. I met Lou at a herf a little while back and he’s been holding some awesome Cigar-B-Cue’s where we eat, smoke, drink and talk. At the last little gathering, Lou handed me a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and said that I had to try it and squeeze in a review if possible. We chatted a little about how my history with most Rocky Patel sticks is a little shaky but I would give it a shot.

So here I am today about to light up this cigar. I have had a few Vintage 1990’s a while ago but it’s been a rather long time so other than a few notes I made for myself I don’t have much to go on. I actually decided to ignore my old notes and go at this one blindly!

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 is the oldest cigar in his vintage line. This particular blend is made with Maduro Broadleaf wrapper dating back to 1990. So the wrapper on these cigars is near 12 Years old and apparently the filler is at least 5 years old before being rolled. That makes for a very well aged cigar right out of the box so let’s hope it has the smoothness you would expect on such a well aged smoke.

It seems that the Vintage 1990 line is also available in a wide variety of vitolas that come boxed in quantities of 20. I even stumbled upon some being sold as bundles so you can save a few dollars there too. The vitola Lou gifted me with happens to be their Churchill which also has a box-pressed look to it. The cigar also seems a lot smaller than the claimed 48 ring gauge, possibly due to the pressing. I’d say this cigar is almost around 42 or 44 ring gauge from a quick glance.

Now this cigar also has quite the reputation which can sometimes hinder a cigar. It’s been given a 92 rating by Cigar Aficionado and even been named to the Top 25 Cigars of the year twice. So this sets the bar fairly high when you read something like that before lighting up. But regardless of that, I’m going into this review with a clear mind and hoping for a good smoke. This one’s for you Lou!

Cigar: Rocky Patel Vintage 1990
Drink: Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2011
Vitola: Churchill (7 x 48)
Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Price: About $8.00
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is velvety smooth and has the color of milk chocolate bar, it’s actually quite appealing to look at
• There are some veins and seams running along it’s length but none of them look large enough to pose any problems
• The vitola on this cigar is pretty interesting, but despite that the single cap looks to be expertly applied and clean
• The foot follows in the same ‘footsteps’ (cheesy pun, I know…lol) and is very well packed
• That also links into the fairly firm feel of the whole cigar, there is a tiny give when squeezed but not much, I think I’ll blame that on the box pressing process
• The cap clipped off nice and easy but left me with a bit of a tight draw, hoping that doesn’t continue and it opens up soon
• Glad to report that the draw opened up nicely within the first inch

Burn:
• The toasting was easy and fairly even, getting me off to a good start easily
• I usually get some funky burn lines on box pressed cigars but through the first couple inches this one is flawless
• Not much to report here, as I get to the halfway mark I’m still moving along flawlessly
• Still more nothing to report, lol. No wavy lines, no canoes, no tunnels, just the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of resting smoke coming off this cigar, could be a little too much if I were in an enclosed room
• Even with a tight draw, I’m still picking up a fairly good amount of smoke from each puff
• The ash on this cigar is a nice even tone of light gray and is keeping itself fairly clean and tight
• Got to just about an inch before the ash fell off
• Next ash got to about an inch again before I tapped it off cause it was looking ready to fall
• Seemed to get a pretty consistent 1 inch ash on these that stayed clean

Tasting Notes:
• Running the cigar under my nose gives an easily noticeable aroma of coffee, but mostly of cedar. It’s light and pleasant, not overpowering
• The foot does away with the coffee but does carry the aroma of cedar and maybe a little bit of greenery
• I get the same greenery and cedar flavor as I take a pre-light draw after clipping the cap. Also an odd liquor type of flavor, almost like infused but you can tell it isn’t, interesting to see if that will carry into the smoking experience
• Initial flavors are mostly woodsy and earthy notes, maybe with a hint of coffee in there
• The coffee flavors are developing a bit as the cigar burns, still very mellow but they are there, maybe with a bit of cocoa too
• The start of this cigar as been fairly mild for the most part, maybe just approaching medium and the retrohale has almost no bite but gives a smooth cedar and coffee finish
• The liquor flavor I was getting is making slight appearances here and there, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but it’s keeping the experience interesting. It’s sort of sweet and mixed with the coffee flavors I guess my closest comparison would be Kahlua or something similar
• The whole cigar seems to be quite well balanced to me, I’m getting a good variety of flavors that keep changing up on me and keeping me interested, none of them are overpowering the others
• The array of flavors has stayed the same through to the last third but the fact that they keep taking turns being the dominant one has kept me interested and enjoying the whole cigar so far
• Flavors got a little more intense near the nub, but no harshness or bitterness so I got to enjoy it to the very end

Final Thoughts:
So I have to admit I came into this cigar with some hesitation due to my past experiences with Rocky Patel sticks. I’ve had a few good ones, but most were not in my flavor profile. Even with Lou’s claims of how much he enjoyed this I was a little worried. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed this cigar! I wouldn’t put it into my top 10 but I would keep it on regular rotation as a reliable mild/medium bodied stick if I can find it on sale or maybe in the bundles. It had an interesting set of flavors that were very well balanced and it burned superbly. I don’t really have anything negative to say. If there was one critique I could make it’s that the flavors were not very pronounced. They were there, but you really had to sit and concentrate to pick up on them. Maybe this is due to their extended aging? I’m not too sure… You could easily enjoy it’s smoothness without paying attention, but if the flavor were a little more intense, this might have been a top 10 contender for me.

Pairings:
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the Innis & Gunn Brewery and everything I’ve tried from them to date. Their Oak Aged Beers are simply the best I’ve been able to find so far with a sweet caramely smoothness. Every year they also come out with a Winter Seasonal, and as I mentioned in my last review, I’m a bit of a sucker for Winter Seasonals. So I had to get this, their Winter Beer 2011! The crappy part is that it’s only available in a Sampler pack here. Although I really enjoy their other beers in the sampler, it comes with a glass. I think I’m up to 5 or 6 Innis & Gunn glasses now because I keep buying the sampler packs they have for their seasonal beers… lol. But enough about my ranting, this beer keeps to my expectations for this brewery and brings a TON of flavor to the table. Along with the classic Oaky notes, you can pick up some citrus, vanilla, toffee and the signature caramel smoothness. All of their beers seem to pair best with a good mild or medium bodied cigar, so it fit very well in with the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. Other good pairing would be a similar beer like a blonde or amber, and possibly a nice cup of coffee.

The post Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy of www.CigarsInternational.com

With Tony away this week I wanted to fill the week with at least two reviews. Seems that time was not on my side though as a co-worker has also been off all week and his workload got dumped on me. Yeay! But have no fear, I did some digging and found this blind review that I never had the chance to post. I think you all know how much I enjoy doing these blind reviews so I’m not sure how this one slipped through the cracks.

As a caution, this was done many moons ago so the pictures admittedly suck and I’m glad to see how much I’ve improved over time! lol. (I can’t believe I used to use the flash, I’m sorry about that! haha) So bear with me on that, I promise some better pictures next week! I’m not sure on the exact date that I wrote this but I believe it was at least a year and a half ago, somewhere in early 2010 or possibly even late 2009. I happened to find it on one of my hard-drives from a crashed laptop. Glad I’m a pack-rat when it comes to electronic junk!

The cigar ended up being a La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte which is one of the growing number of exclusive cigars from Cigars International. It is also another blend from the great AJ Fernandez who has turned out some excellent cigars lately such as the recently reviewed San Lotano Oval and the Man O’ War Armada. Both of which received excellent reviews from us. The cigar being reviewed today is a much older blend and packed with some Ligero long-filler. It’s currently offered in 4 vitolas at very fair prices. Let’s see how it faired in my blind impressions.

Cigar: La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: MSRP $4.20
Burn Time: A little under 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The cigar is wrapped in a very dark chocolate brown wrapper
• Lots of veins but none of them very large and don’t look to pose any potential problems
• Foot is soft and springy but head is fairly firm when squeezed lightly
• No oiliness on this wrapper, it actually appears a bit dry
• Clean triple cap to finish off the top of the cigar
• Foot looks graciously packed and full
• Cutting the cigar with my double bladed guillotine was a little messy, but nothing major
• Draw is good right off the start, I like that!

Burn:
• Toasting was mostly even although there was one dark spot in the center that just wouldn’t catch
• As we progress, the burn has been dead on and razor sharp through the first-half
• Just past half-way got a slight wave in the burn that ended up correcting itself
• Had another peninsula form past the halfway mark that seems to be correcting itself slowly
• The last half of the cigar needed a few more draws to keep lit although the first half was burning nicely
• Burn took a turn for the worst near the last 3rd, hard to keep lit and very wavy

Smoke & Ash:
• Giving off a big mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Resting smoke is almost non-existent and a very light burning tobacco aroma
• Ash is light grey in color with the occasional darker streaks
• The ash is tightly packed and appears strong so far
• Each ash lasted a little short of 1 inch and made an explosion when they hit the ashtray, not sure why but it was definitely messy

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has aromas of cocoa and a barnyard/hay type of scent
• Foot aroma is of cocoa and a touch of spice on the nose, almost a mild pepper
• Pre-light draw is mostly the barnyard/hay type of flavor and a bit of the spice
• Initial draws are nutty, earthy and a touch of spice, it’s also very dry on the back of my throat
• Getting a toasted wood flavor about an inch in
• Retrohale is medium bodied with a barnyard flavor and a very mild kick
• The body has been medium right from the start
• Flavors haven’t changed much up to the half-way mark and its still very dry
• Passing the halfway mark, the only flavor left is burning wood and getting a bitterness here too
• The bland flavor and bitterness stuck through to the end, disappointing considering the first half was very good
• The bitterness got too powerful in the last 1.5 inches, had to put it down…
• I’m pretty sure the poor burn factored into the harsh flavors here since the good burning start had much more enjoyable flavors

Final Thoughts:
I think you can tell from my notes that I wasn’t too impressed by this cigar. It started off pretty decent but unfortunately the flavors didn’t change much and only dwindled away as the cigar progressed. The extreme bitterness at the end was also a big disappointment. I’m not sure if it was just a bad stick from the batch since I haven’t had this cigar before. That’s probably one of the main downsides of a blind review, a single bad stick could ruin your impressions on that cigar for the future. Even with it’s incredibly cheap price I think I’ll be avoiding this cigar in the future unless I get some glowing recommendations from a lot of people.

Pairings:
The brew I chose to pair today is from the local Toronto based brewery called Mill Street. This is their Coffee Porter which as the name implies, is a Coffee flavored Porter (Complicated, right? ;)). I’m a big fan of this brew to pair with cigars, it’s got a full feel to it and the coffee notes pair excellently with cigars. I wrote up a full review on the brew if you are interested, you can find it here. It’s also made locally and I love supporting local business whenever possible. This was probably the highlight of the review for me and I really enjoyed the brew. As I mentioned, it pairs excellently with a variety of cigars including full and mild. It paired well with the La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte and complimented the initial good notes I got from the cigar. I would definitely suggest a strong pairing with this cigar to combat the harshness I got on the end, something like a Porto, Stout of strong coffee would go well.

The post La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte (Blind Review) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today’s cigar is his latest edition to the regular production cigars that was unveiled officially at IPCPR 2011. It is the EP Carrillo Core Line Maduro. It will join the other regular line cigars which now include the EP Carrillo Core Line Natural and the New Wave Connecticut. If you read my above linked revore of the Natural Core Line, you’ll notice I wasn’t a huge fan. Having said that, I really enjoyed the New Wave Connecticut and so did Tony in his review of it. So is this another winner in the line-up?

The Core Line Maduro has the same band as the other regular production blends with the only difference being a black backdrop in the bottom section of the band. The similarities don’t jsut end there… The binder used on the Core Line Maduro is the same as the wrapper used on the regular Core Line Natural. Filler content is also the same but the percentage of Dominican vs Nicaraguan leaveswas adjusted slightly to set it apart and balance nicely with the new wrapper.

According to Ernesto, the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper used here is actually one of the same ones he originally used back in the 70’s when he was blending for La Gloria Cubana. That’s not to say the wrapper is 40+ years old… just a similar crop/region which should give a similar profile.

A Brazilian wrapper was also in the running for this cigar but Ernesto decided to go with the Connecticut Broadleaf instead. That’s a tough call, I enjoy both of those leaves as wrappers. Maybe we’ll see something in the future with that leaf if he’s already testing it out in some sample blends? We can hope and wait! But for now let’s see how the EP Carrillo Core Line Maduro stacks up!

Cigar: E.P. Carrillo Core Line Maduro
Drink: Cigar City Brewing Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale
Vitola: Club 52 (5.875 by 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Price: $7.20 MSRP
Burn Time: Just short of 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This is a fairly dark chocolate colored cigar with some occasional brownish areas
• The blemishes actually make it seem as if this cigar may be dyed a little bit
• For the most part it has a little bit of give and spring in it when squeezed and it’s consistent from one end to the other
• The top of the cigar is finished off with what looks to be a slightly scrunched triple cap, and it possibly has some extra dye on it cause it’s very dark
• The foot appears only moderately packed, hoping it doesn’t give me any tunneling problems
• The cap clipped off super cleanly and fell in one neat package to my ashtray
• The draw is a little bit open but it’s not overly airy so it should hold out well

Burn:
• The toasting was a bit difficult and uneven, most likely cause the foot had some holes in it
• Within the first inch I had a major canoeing problem that needed adjustment with my single torch lighter
• Ran into a pretty slight tunnel just past the halfway mark. Likely it was only the wrapper that wasn’t burning and it didn’t tunnel too far, a quick touch up fixed it
• A few more tunneling problems as I get to the end of the cigar

Smoke & Ash:
• The is a lot of smoke coming off this cigar right from the first draw
• The resting smoke is also fairly abundant and consistent
• The ash is pretty dark grey, almost black through the first couple inches but I’m blaming that on my relight at this point
• The ash seems a bit flaky but still holding on past the one inch mark, I will tap it off now before I make a mess
• The second ash had a little bit of a lighter grey tone to it but it flaked out like a blooming flower

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives an almost sweet barnyard type of aroma, sounds weird to explain but that’s what I’m getting
• The foot has a bit of the barnyard and sweet aromas but it packs a fresh cedar aroma in there along with a touch of coffee
• Pre-light draw is giving me some sweet coffee notes and a very bitter chocolate mixed with that fresh cedar
• Initial draws have a nice mix of bitter and sweet chocolate and coffee. They take turns fighting for dominance
• The body has been mostly mild to start and the cedar is making an appearance now and then
• The slight bitterness I’m getting on the chocolate and coffee is very interesting, it’s not bad in any way. It’s almost like a very dark chocolate or a strong espresso without sugar, I’m enjoying it
• As I head into the halfway mark, there haven’t been too many change-ups. I think the bitterness has subsided and it’s getting a little sweeter, dominant flavors are still coffee, chocolate and some cedar
• Body remains mostly mild, and retrohale has been giving me a very soft bite with a smooth coffee flavored finish
• Luckily, the touch-ups for the non-burning wrapper tunnels haven’t affected the flavors all that much
• As I get to the last 3rd, the slight bitterness is back as well as some nutty flavors in there
• The cigar finished nicely with no harshness

Final Thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed this cigar. It was plagued with some burn issues but it doesn’t seem the flavors were affected by my touch ups. The flavors themselves were fairly straightforward but enjoyable if it’s the type of cigar you are looking for. This is a traditional maduro cigar so don’t expect a big kick of nicotine or a full bodied flavor here. I think it helps fill a niche that a lot of manufacturers are overlooking lately and helps balance out the EP Carrillo brand for more consumers. I found this to be an enjoyable and relaxing cigar that can be shared with new cigar smokers as well. I would recommend trying a couple of these if you can track them down. If you are someone who only smokes full bodied powerful smokes, then this probably isn’t the cigar for you.

Pairings:
As some of you may know, I recently took a little trip down south to Florida. While there, every place I went to was pushing a new brewery located in Tampa, not far from the historical cigar location of Ybor City. The brewery is called Cigar City Brewing and as you can guess, they have many cigar related, or cigar complimenting brews in their inventory. They seem to be making a huge splash in the area. Today’s brew in called Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale. The name pretty much explains what to expect when you drink this, it’s not a nice dark and slightly thick pour with a complimentary espresso flavor to it. It also mixes in some tasty malty flavors and drinks very smoothly. As for this pairing, I think it was perfect! Coffee flavors played a big part in both the EP Carrillo Maduro and in the chosen brew, which made them compliment each other perfectly. The cigar isn’t overly powerful so stick to a pairing that allows you to enjoy the flavors it has. Some good picks would include coffee, another similarly flavored brown ale, or perhaps even a dark soda.

The post EP Carrillo Core Line Maduro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The wrapper on this cigar seems is very pretty, it’s got a very fresh and organic feel to it. At the same time it’s also pretty cryptic. On the front form top to bottom, you see “CAO”, “OSA” and “SOL” while on each side there are the words “San Agustin” and “Olancho”. Also in the white section it appears to be a map type of image with some names and rivers or roads on it. To help break the encryption for everyone, the “OSA” is simply the first initials of the regions where the tobaccos for this cigar were harvested. In this case it’s from ‘O’lancho, and ‘S’an ‘A’gustin.

I’m not sure exactly what the map is supposed to mean, possibly just tying into how the name is connected to it’s area of origin. The “Sol” in the name simply translates to “Sun” from Spanish. Likely signifying the Sungrown wrapper that surrounds the cigar. It’s also interesting to see that General Cigar kept the trend of naming the cigar after the location of it’s wrapper like CAO did. Although CAO usually named it after the wrappers after their country rather than region, such as the “Italia” or “Brazilia”

The blender for this new cigar is Rick Rodriguez of General Cigar. According to General/CAO, the leaves were chosen from the above mentioned regions in Honduras because of their unique weather conditions that result in some extra natural oils. I can’t say I noticed any excess of oils but it had a nice sheen to it. I will also say that General has some big shoes to fill after the massive success of CAO’s La Traviata and La Traviata Maduro.

I have to admit I’m coming into this cigar review with mixed feelings. I’ve enjoyed many of CAO’s offerings but now that they’ve been acquired by General Cigar I have some concerns since I’ve not had a good track record with General’s offerings. Maybe I just haven’t found the line they make that appeals to me. So here I guess we will find if the acquisition worked out in favor of the CAO line or not…

A quick disclaimer, this cigar was sent as a sample from General Cigar but I can assure you my review and opinions are my own and are completely honest. Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the “Good Stuff” as Tony would say!

Cigar: CAO OSA SOL
Drink: Innia & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: ”Lot 50” Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: About $5.50 – $6
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The CAO OSA has a very velvety smooth wrapper that has a warm cinnamon color to it
• There are some visible veins along the wrapper but they are not bumpy at all
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean double cap
• The foot of the cigar seems a bit messy, it looks well packed but some of the leaves seem sort of folded in and not really cleanly cut
• From the cap to the foot, the entire cigar is very firm with very little give when squeezed, let’s hope that doesn’t translate to a tight draw…
• The cut was very easy and clean and left me with a slightly tight draw. It’s not overly difficult to draw so I’ll stick with it for now

Burn:
• Toasting was a little bit tedious and there were some dark spots near the center that would just not glow properly, but after a few puffs I think I’m well on my way
• The cigar has a slight wave to it within the first inch, we’ll see if the burn corrects itself or gets worse…
• The wave is slowly getting worse as the cigar progresses, I’ve made it to the half way mark without correction but it may need a touch up soon
• As predicted, I needed a hefty touch up shortly after the halfway point and it continue to go downhill after that…

Smoke & Ash:
• The first few draws were a little weak in the smoke department but it got going to a moderate amount per draw shortly after
• There is initially a lot of resting smoke after putting the cigar down but within a couple seconds it’s pretty much no resting smoke at all
• The ash on this cigar is looking to be very clean and strong with a medium gray and black color to it
• Ash held on nicely for about an inch before falling into the ashtray, still remaining tightly bound

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper of the CAO OSA has an interesting tart sweetness to it and a bit of a mild tobacco touch
• The foot keeps the slight tartness to it and adds a bit of spice and a dry foliage type of aroma
• The tartness makes another appearance in the pre-light draw, along with more of the dry foliage earthiness
• Within the first few puffs I get a very interesting spicy bite, it’s not quite pepper, maybe something like a chili flake. Mix that in with the sweetness that’s still around and this is making for a very tasty start!
• Sweet Chili Doritos come to mind as I continue smoking this… wow! Maybe even with a little dirt thrown in the bag for the earthy flavors! lol
• The chili flavors have settled down a bit and translated to a mild white pepper, the earthiness has taken it’s place mixed with some cedar. Seems the sweetness is mostly gone now
• The retrohale up to now has been pretty uneventful with almost no bite and a bland finish
• Body for the most part has been in the low end of medium for the first half
• The flavors have settled into a mostly plain cedar and earthy mix and the finish has gotten slightly dry, a HUGE change from my initial impression
• Sadly, the blandness continues as I smoke the cigar, the flavors are turning into an almost charred wood type of flavor
• After my touch up past the halfway point the flavors took another downward turn and really turned more into the charred zone. I’m hoping it picks up…
• After another touch-up I couldn’t smoke this one anymore. I was trying to take one for the team here and hoping for the best but it’s just not happening, setting it down early…

Final Thoughts:
I REALLY had some hope for this cigar after seeing it’s construction, aroma and interesting initial flavors. That wicked sweet chili start really got my attention but it sadly tapered off quickly after that. The sweetness and chili got replaced by some plain cedar and earthy flavors that did not compare at all, it was if I started smoking a whole different cigar. I have to say I can’t remember the last time I had such a huge difference of opinion from start to finish on the same cigar. If the initial flavors on this cigar continued, I would have given this a glowing review for it’s uniqueness and delicious profile, but sadly that didn’t happen. The price point on these is accessible but it doesn’t come close to comparing to CAO’s old flagship La Traviata which was at the same price or even cheaper.

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn, what can I say? It’s still one of my favorite breweries. I enjoy everything I’ve had from them and I continue to seek them out every time I go to the store. Today’s choice was their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer which is a fantastic brew. It’s got some very tasty fruity sweetness and malty flavors mixed in with their trademark wonderful oaky notes. You can even catch some spicy flavors in there if you really pay attention. It’s got a fairly dark and full body on it so it can stand up to many fuller cigars including the CAO OSA. It made for a good pairing and added some interesting flavors to what ended up being a straightforward cigar. Other good pairings with this cigar would probably be some flavorful or full bodied beers or wines to keep your palate interested. Possiby a nice stout, Port or a strong cup of coffee to overpower the cigar… lol

The post CAO OSA Sol appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: La Casita Criolla or “The Creole Cottage” is the first, or one of the very few cigars that are actually constructed from 100% Connecticut Broadleaf. Pete Johnson goes into a bit more detail on the tobacco used for this cigar:

“Okay guys. To clear this up. Not all broadleaf is dark. The wrapper will be but the binders and fillers are made up of broadleaf tobacco also. When Jaime (Garcia) buys broadleaf, he buys in hopes to get good dark juicy wrapper, some medium color wrapper like La Riqueza and good binder but the other leaf that doesn’t make those grades is sorted by size and texture for filler. Again not every leaf will look like the wrapper. It’s all 100% USA Conn. Broadleaf. Jaime also buys all primings of broadleaf. Seco, Viso and Ligero. This is also how we are able to sort the filler to do the blend on the cigar.”

So yes, that’s right. 100% Broadleaf. I know that Broadleaf is expensive, and isn’t the easiest to come by so if anyone was able to create a cigar comprised of nothing but this leaf, it had to come from the My Father factory. The Garcias use more broadleaf than any other cigar manufacturer. And anyone that reads this blog knows that I am sucker for Broadleaf. Let’s hope this cigar doesn’t disappoint. The La Casita Criolla line will come in three different sizes, HCB – 5 1/8 x 42, HCBC – 5 5/8 x 46, and the HCBF – 6 1/2 x 48 and will be sold in the $7 range. That’s right, I was expecting a much higher price tag.

Size: HCBC 5 5/8” x 46  –  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  –  Binder/Filler: Broadleaf  –  Body: Medium

Prelight: What a vintage looking cigar, from the band down to the wrapper’s appearance. Although quite consistent in color the Casita Criolla sports a very rustic, almost beaten looking appearance. The construction is spot-on and the wrapper is a nice dark brown with lots of smaller darker spots around the ripples in the leaf. There are lots of very small veins throughout the slender body leading up to a nice round triple cap. The cigar is actually very first and puts up a ton of resistance when compressed with no soft spots at all.  The band is interesting and a departure form what we normally expect Pete to come up with. It’s very vintage looking with an almost old days, sewn on looking placement of the “La Casita Criolla” logo. As you rotate the cigar around you can see Pete’s embroidered logo as well as “Tatuaje Cigars Estelí” just before coming to a small sketch of a nice little cottage. Right away I get this crazy pungent smell from the Broadleaf wrapper.  It’s very barnyardesque with some nice chocolate and spice notes. The foot is almost just as stinky as the wrapper of the cigar bearing almost identical aromas.  The cap was easily clipped using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was a lot smoother than I had originally expected pumping out some inviting spice and coffee notes with just a hint of pepper.

First Smoke: Wow, the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla starts off as what I would call the epitome of smooth. Right away I am greeting with some very nice woodsy, cocoa, espresso notes that tend to transition into a bit of spice after a while. No pepper at all, but a whole ton of sweetness. The draw on this Casita Criolla is super effortless pumping out huge clouds of thick smoke with every little draw. The cigar doesn’t give off much stationary smoke, but the smell is pungent! Be prepared, this probably isn’t something you’d want to smoke around people who aren’t really into cigar smoke (or could work in your favor by keeping them away). The burnline is pretty thick but produces a very nicely compacted, light grey ash. The ash held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The dark chocolate and sharp espresso flavors are really taking over this cigar, along with a nice creamy fruit hint here and there mixed in with some subtle spice. The Casita Criolla started out really smooth and has managed to become even more-so into the second third. Even the retrohale on this cigar is creamy and smooth coating with a nice creamed coffee style flavor. I’m really not feeling any nicotine, but this cigar is burning a little quicker than I expected. The burnline is still dead even.

Finish: Into the final third of the Casita Criolla and the spice that has been nothing but an aftertaste has really start to shine through. The cocoa and espresso are still the there in force, with a more creamier, milky flavor starting to creep in with still a dash of sweetness. This cigar took only a little over an hour to finish, requiring no touch-ups or relights. I started to feel a little nicotine at the tail end of the experience, but not really enough to call this cigar anything stronger than medium.

Overview: It may be a little early to call it, but I think Tatuaje’s La Casita Criolla has a VERY good chance in making it’s way towards the top of our “Top 10 Cigars of 2011” list. The flavors are smooth and powerful with only slight changeups where needed to keep me on my toes, the construction on these cigars are perfect, and the price point is actually cheaper then I expected knowing that these are composed 100% of Connecticut Broadleaf.

Pairing: Despite what most people think, Fat Tire was actually New Belgium’s second beer. The first being their award winning Abbey. Since then New Belgium has actually created a stronger, more premium Abbey with limited releases through their “Lips of Faith” collection. They call this their “Grand Cru Abbey Ale” and it’s exactly what I decided to pair this Tatuaje La Casita Criolla with. Abbey is a traditional strong, dark ale perfected by Belgium Trappist Monks, and in my opinion, one of the best brew styles available. With a malty flavor with nice Banana, Caramel, and Lemon hints its hard to believe that he beer boasts a 9.5% ABV. The sweet, creamy style of the beer blended perfectly with the smoothness of this cigar. It really made for a perfect pairing, even if it does leave you a bit loopy afterwards. I think this cigar would go well with any stout, porter, or brown ale as well as Dr. Pepper or sweet tea.

The post Tatuaje – La Casita Criolla appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The first thing that struck me about this cigar was it’s odd name. After reading some marketing material you can discover that the name is inspired by a diamond found by the companies president, David Rafaeli, which contained a unique symbol. In the middle of the diamond you can see a replica of the cross logo used by the Templar Knights during the First Crusade in 1099. A pretty interesting story for the name of this company.

The cigars themselves are aimed to be value priced but quality smokes. At this time only 3 vitolas are offered, a Robusto, Toro and Churchill ranging in price from $1.90 to $2.30 MSRP. These are pretty aggressive prices for cigars in this struggling economy. If they hold up as good smokes the price could definitely attract customers. They are available in boxes of 50 and wrapped in either Indonesian Sumatra Natural or Broadleaf Maduro. Today’s review will focus on the Churchill sized Broadleaf Maduro cigar.

At the time of writing this it seems the cigars are currently only available from 2 indirect sources, the Four Season’s hotel and Palm’s Casino in Las Vegas. They have a website available reserved but so far it only has some contact information, it is located at here. The weather here has warmed up again and I’m hovering at a balmy 32F tonight so I get to enjoy my cigar without even needing a pair of gloves! Let’s see how this stick stacks up!

Cigar: Miraculous Templar Cigars Maduro
Drink: Quinta Do Todo Fine Tawny Port
Vitola: Churchill (6.75 x 50)
Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican?
Filler: Domican Cuban-seed long filler
Price: MSRP $2.30 ($115 for a box of $50)
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• A rough and uneven wrapper surrounds this cigar with spots of brown and some darker chocolate colors
• There are quite a few medium sized veins to be seen, I’m hoping none cause burn issues
• The not so evenly finished double cap tops off the cigar
• I’m not sure if this was just in our samples or all the cigars, but the cap comes with a punch cut already made, I found this rather odd??
• There is a soft springiness throughout the cigar with some lumpy hard spots here and there
• The filler at the foot extends slightly passed the wrapper and looks to be fairly loosely packed
• The draw started out just perfect but as I hit the 1/3rd mark it tightened up quite a bit
• The cigar began to tar up quite a bit at this point as it often does to me with punch cuts, I went ahead and used my double bladed guillotine to make a straight cut
• The draw improved now and I’m back on track
• The band slid off fairly easily but it’s very apparent that the printing is blurry and undefined

Burn:
• Toasting was very quick but evenly glowed without effort
• The first bit of burnline was fairly wavy but it didn’t stray too far off course and kept burning along well
• Coming up to the halfway mark the burn is still wavy but stays on course fairly well, no touch-ups needed thus far
• Still no burn issues as I pass through the last third, quite impressive for a budget cigar
• No issues right to the end, well done!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the start the pre-cut punch gave me a big mouthful of smoke
• The ash has a consistent light grey color, it has quite a few holes in it but is holding strong
• The strong ash held on for about 1.5 inches before gently falling into the ashtray
• The second ash fell off at about one inch as I re-cut the cap of the cigar
• There’s only a bit of resting smoke after taking a draw but then it’s almost non existent, mostly woodsy aromas here

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a sort of musty barnyard and tobacco aroma
• The foot brings more of the barnyard aroma and some earthy notes, a tiny bit of tartness is there too
• The pre-light draw brings almost no flavors at all on this pre-cut cigar
• Initial draws were fairly earthy but the barnyard flavor has thankfully disappeared
• There is a slight tingling on the back of my throat from each draw, not a dryness but a sort of spicy tingle
• Body is starting in the lower medium range with a decent bite on the retrohale and a woodsy finish
• As I get past the first third I’m picking up some light coffee and woodsy notes but it’s still mostly earthy and tobacco flavored
• Near the halfway mark I’m beginning to pick up some slight pepper spice, the coffee and woodsy notes haven’t developed much as of yet
• The bite and woodsy finish on the retrohale remains about the same at this point
• Body ramped up a bit as I got into the last 1.5inches to the low end of full
• The coffee and woodsy notes kept making minor appearances but the peppery spice really developed into the last bit of the cigar
• Cigar got a tad bitter with about an inch left so I put it down, but the flavors in the last bit were definitely more interesting then the rest of the cigar

Final Thoughts:
Before lighting this cigar up, I had quite a few doubts. It’s rough construction, oddly pre-cut cap (and a punch cut to boot!) and some dis-interesting aromas. I was happy to see that this cigar burned exceptionally well and produced thick clouds of smoke. I would definitely advise cutting these more though as the punch got really tarred up and tightened the draw. Although the flavors were nothing spectacular they were fairly decent when you bring the incredibly low price into account and produced a comfortable medium body. A shorter vitola may be the sweet spot here to avoid getting bored of the flavors which are mostly one dimensional but never off putting. These are worth trying, especially if you are on a budget or want some inexpensive everyday smokes that don’t require constant relights or produce other issues. I can see these being a smart purchase if I was at the Casino or hotel and wanted a quick cigar that doesn’t break the bank. (Gotta save the money for the Craps table afterall!!)

Pairings:
I recently paired this Port with my last review of the Monte Pascoal Corona, check out that review to see my full thoughts on this tawny port. Since this cigar was more in the medium range I found that the fruity notes of the port complimented the cigar well. It brought some more flavors to the straightforward profile of the cigar and made the whole experience much more enjoyable. I think a good pairing will be an exception key to whether you enjoy this cigar or not. Other good pairings for this cigar would include a strong coffee, scotch, or a dark stout/porter.

The post Miraculous Templar Cigars Maduro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: The newest, un-released blend is called the Liga Privada JD#4. The Liga Privada line was originally created for the sole purpose of Steve Saka’s (Drew Estate’s President) personal enjoyment. After massive amounts of pressure from Drew Estate’s sale staff, Saka was forced to release his personal blend, the Liga Privada No.9 to the public. The Connecticut Broadleaf used on the Liga Privada No.9 is so limited, and the No.9 was in such high demand that Drew Estate was forced to come out with yet another Liga Privada blend that they could produce year round. Hence where the Stalk Cut Habano wrapped Liga Privada T52 comes into play.

I can only assume that the success of each of these blends had caused Drew Estate’s Production Director and Saka’s partner in crime Jonathan Drew to create a Liga Privada blend of his very own. Alas, the Liga Privada JD#4 was born. I’m not entirely sure where the “#4” comes from, but I can only assume it was similar to the “No.9” and is the actually blend number assigned during tasting.

The specifics of this blend are still extremely fuzzy. The only details I have is that the blend has been around for about 2 years, and Jonathan Drew has been smoking them religiously and the release date, if it ever does get released won’t but until at least sometime next year. The blend carries the same Havana Seed Connecticut grown stalk-cut wrapper as the T52 but has a completely different core with an even more ramped up body. The samples sent to me are toros, and look to be 6 x 52/54 The ring gauge seems bigger than 52 but not quite 54.

Prelight: The Liga Privada JD#4 is hefty, toro sized cigar. The wrapper is very toothy, with a consistent dark chocolaty brown mixed with a few lighter orange shades. The JD#4 is pretty much identical in it’s physical appearance as the Liga Privada T52, with what I can assume is the same stalk-cut Habano wrapper that the T52 carries.  Topped off with a nicely round double cap, the JD#4 has only one noticeable vein that I don’t foresee pestering the experience.  The wrapper feels much like a softer sand-paper with no soft spots at all or any signs of mis-construction.  The wrapper of the JD#4 gives off a massive cedar scent with hints of cinnamon, cocoa, and a very, very interesting almost cologne scent that I have never picked up from a Liga Privada cigar before. Whatever it is, it smells damn good. The foot gives off a totally different scent, one more composed of natural tobacco, and earth tones. In this case, the wrapper is the more dominant player. The cap clipped off with ease using my double bladed Liga Privada cutter. The cold draw producing a surprising organic, earthy, and musky flavor. Totally different than the cedar-heavy Liga Privada blends I am used to.

First Smoke: The Liga Privada JD#4 started out with the same power punch of pepper as I have grown to expect from the Liga Privada lines. Caught off guard yet again is the fact that the most prominent flavor is actually the cedar that I didn’t think came through much in the cold draw. Other strong notes are organic tobacco and cocoa mixed in with hints of spice, cinnamon,  and even a tiny bit of citrus off the aftertaste. The JD#4 is really starting off with a bang, if the body stays as strong as it is right now this cigar just might knock me on my ass. The draw is effortless and pumps out a massive amount of extremely thick, dark brown, cedar scented smoke as well as a crap load of stationary smoke. You can actually see the oils burning off the wrapper. I really don’t think the scent of the smoke will bother anyone that doesn’t smoke cigars, but the amount of smoke just might. The burnline is perfect, sharp, and even and the ash left behind is a medium grey, and tightly packed with only slight flakes. The ash held on for a little over an inch before tumbling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Wow, the strength of this cigar is already starting to hit me. The best part about it though, is its very balance with the flavor, smoothness, and creamy experience of this cigar. I think there are a lot of blends out right now that are just boasting power but lack in the flavor department, luckily up till now the JD#4 isn’t a casualty of this trend. The dominant flavor is still cedar but I am starting to get a sharp raisin, cocoa and coffee mixture in there as well as strong tobacco. The retrohale primed my nasal passage with a very enjoyable bold cedar. The burnline is still rockin’ sharp and perfectly even.

Finish: Well into the final third of this Liga Privada JD#4 and the flavors had an interesting switch up. The cedar began to fade just slightly enough to product a very creamy mocha flavor backed up by raisin, leather, tobacco, and even a slight return of spice. Then, within the last inch the cedar ramped the hell up and came on full force. Usually I’m not one for the final inch of a cigar. But the JD#4 kicked ass with a completely smooth experience with no harsh build up. Well into the last inch and my fingers didn’t even get warm which I didn’t expect with a cigar with such a huge draw. The strength? Dead on. I would compare it to something like the Oliva Serie V just without all the harsh Ligero. I’m sure there is some in here, but it takes the backburner to the flavor.  After all was said and done, the JD#4 took about 2 hours to smoke.

Overview: The Liga Privada JD#4 is something quite different than the T52 and the No. 9 but still holds true to the rest of the Liga Privada line. As if the other twp blends didn’t already have enough strength the JD#4 comes in with a perfectly balanced powerhoused flavor bomb. This isn’t a beginner’s cigar. The body is too ramped up for a novice, or even an experienced medium bodied smoker. But I think it goes without saying that Drew Estate has another winner on it’s hands. I still think the No.9 trumps both the JD#4 and the T52, but the JD#4 is right up there with the T52. From what I have seen the reviews are torn between which one is favorited, and I am sure that the JD#4 will be adding another strong contender to the competition.

Pairing: I decided to pair this cigar with a cup of sweet tea. See the picture? That’s cause I didn’t post one. We all know what tea looks like. Not to mention I really don’t want to do the dishes so I drank out of a plastic cup that wasn’t very photogenic. Sweet tea is probably one of my absolute favorite pairings for a cigar. The brisk tea notes really help pick apart the tobacco while the sugar helps calm the nicotine kick produced by stronger cigars. The Liga Privada JD#4 would pair perfect with any strong whiskey or scotch, port, stout, porter, or coffee.

The post Drew Estate Liga Privada JD#4 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

These cigars were a special gift to me, and came in plenty. So Expect quite a few reviews popping up pretty fast.

Drew Estate - Liga Privada No. 9 Belicoso Oscuro

The Good Stuff: Drew Estate’s Liga Privada No. 9 or “Private League” is one of Drew Estate’s rarest cigars, if not the rarest. La Liga Privada was created for the sole purpose of Drew Estate’s President’s personal smoking pleasure. Basically the creation of these cigars stemmed from 10 starting blends. From those 10 blends 4 unique blends were expanded for a total of 40 blends. Each blend was sampled but none were approved until the 9th starting blend (32 cigars later) resulting in the “No. 9” in “Liga Privada No. 9”.  Liga Privada No. 9 consists of 7 different cuban-seed aged tobaccos from 7 different farms from 7 different regions including The Jamastran Valley in Honduras, and Esteli Nicaragua. The wrapper is a dark, Connecticut Broadleaf with a Brazilian Mata Fina binder. As all of Drew Estate’s cigars, these are handmade. It is said that only the best “cigar roller” in the factory rolls these special cigars.

Size: 6 x 52 Belicoso  –  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  –  Filler: Hoduran and Dominican

Prelight: Liga Privada No. 9 sports a very, very dark, oily wrapper. Another flawless constructed cigar (would you expect any less?). There are absolutely no visible soft spots and only small veins. The cap is very “torpedoesque” but a lot stubbier. The cigar itself is very tightly packed which made me question it’s draw potential. The cigar is very earthly/cedar scented. The banding has to be my favorite I have seen come out of Drew Estate. A silver lion embossed on a simple white matte band with light silver Drew Estate branding hidden behind the words “Liga Privada No. 9” – handwritten.

First Smoke: As always, I will be using my Cuban Crafters “Perfecto” dual blade cutter, and a standard single flame colibri butane torch. The first few smokes were very light, and flavorful. The taste was that of cedar, strong/complex tobacco, and sweet spices (nutmeg?),  with an almost maple aftertaste. The flavors are very consistent, and just right. After a few puffs the cigar became increasingly strong. One of the first things I noticed was there were no bad tobacco aftertaste present after each draw. The draw itself wasn’t too big, but quite thick. Due to the strength of this cigar a bigger draw would have been a bit over-powering. I got a good inch and a half of ash before the first break.

Halfway there: One amazing thing about this cigar was the consistency. Halfway through the cigar and the taste and draws are as if I had just began smoking it. The main difference is the strength. The further down you smoke, the stronger this cigar becomes. The burn is perfect as well as the wrapper at this point. The draw is still really tight, maybe a bit tighter than I’d like. By this point I am already feeling a big light headed. Its been a long while since a single cigar hit me this hard. Maybe this is why the cigar was wrapped so tight?!

Finish: Again, I took this cigar all the way down to the nub. I would have gone further but it had to hit this cigar exceptionally hard due to the tight wrapping and it began taking its toll through heat on my lips. The finish was as expected; incredibly strong. This is one of the stronger cigars I have smoked. I actually threw in the towel earlier than I wanted to due to the heat and strength. By the time the cigar finished the wrapper was still in mint condition, as well as the almost perfect burn.

Overview: I feel incredibly lucky to get my hands on one of these bad boys. Again, I am an aromatic smoker, but this is one hell of a cigar. It’s key points have to be the incredibly smooth smoke, great aftertaste, and perfect sweetness. Will I have it again? I really hope so! Would I recommend it? You’d be stupid not to pay top dollar if you can find one of these on the shelf.

The post Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9 Belicoso Oscuro Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.