The Good Stuff:

The Winston Churchill line has been a staple in the Davidoff portfolio since 2007. The brand changed names to “Davidoff Winston Churchill” in 2014 and the first Limited Edition Davidoff Winston Churchill was released in 2016 and quickly became one of the most sought after super-premium releases each year it was released (2016, 2019 and 2021). This brings us to the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021. The cigar comes in a single 6 x 52 Toro format featuring an Ecuadorian wrapper over Dominican Hybrid 275 binder and Piloto Ligero, Hybrid 20-20 Seco, San Vicente Mejorado Ligero, San Vicente Viso filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic in addition to Esteli Viso fillers from Nicaragua. The Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 comes packaged in boxes of 10 running $32 per stick with only 4,500 boxes produced. I purchased mine over from our great friends at Cigars International.

• Size: 6 x 52
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian
• Binder: Dominican Hybrid 275
• Filler: Dominican (Piloto Ligero, Hybrid 20-20 Seco, San Vicente Mejorado Ligero, San Vicente Viso) & Nicaragua (Estelí Viso)
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $32
• Pairing: Bruery Mai Zombie (Olde Ale 16.7% ABV)

Prelight:

The Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 starts off with an incredibly consistent, milky brown wrapper. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and gritty with a good amount of oils as it’s laid seamlessly over itself. Its crazy how, just, flawless this cigar looks. The wrapper itself is very dense and hard while the cigar as a whole is very tightly packed and heavy as hell. The cigar showcases some light veining as the beautiful body leads up to the cigar’s round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with the elegant white and gold Winston Churchill band we all love as well as an additional gray and gold secondary band with the words “Limited Edition 2021” embossed across the front.

The wrapper on the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 gives off a whole mess of almond and mossy aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a ton of mossy, oaky notes over some very sharp spice and natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 starts out with a whole mess of deep oak, moss, almond, and spice over a great earthiness, light citrus and vanilla. The draw is impeccable as each, tiny, little puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, white smoke which might as well live here as they take so long to dissipate while the cigar itself releases only slight amounts of stationary smoke. The burnline is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted dark gray ash which held on for an inch before falling into my lap. Thanks wind!

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 and the flavors are mostly the same, and I hope that is the trend. The full-bodied profile leads with a whole mess of moss, oak, almond and spice still over more vanilla, almond and citrus while a light floral mixture has began to show face. The retrohale is VERY sharp and really brings the spice to the forefront of the profile. The cigar is still burning like a dream and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 and the flavors, while still in the full-bodied arena, have started to balance and out a bit. The profile is now composed of a creamy mixture of oak, almond, and vanilla over lighter notes of spice, citrus, and earthiness. It took almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub, and I didn’t baby it. It just burned very slow no matter how often I hit it. I close out the cigar with a decent nicotine kick and already craving another.

Overview:

When Davidoff hits it out of the park, its all the way out of the park and the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 landed in a different time zone. The big, bold and unique flavors kept me on my toes from start to finish. The construction is flawless, and this cigar is astonishingly still available. The price tag probably has a lot to do with it, and is my only gripe here. But you get what you pay for and in this case, you get a hell of an experience.

Pairing:

Bruery’s Mai Zombie is a big ass Rum Barrel Aged Ale with lime, grapefruit, orange flower water and spices. Coming in at 16.7% ABV this beer leads with a really juice forward mixture of cherry, grapefruit, caramel, and a dash of lime with a whole mess of almond on the aftertaste. This is a beautiful summer beer that packs a hell of a punch, pun intended. The beer really meshed well with some of the light citrus, vanilla, and almond flavors in the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021.

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The Good Stuff:

Last week I took a look at the Robaina Eagle, the first of two Fox Cigar bar exclusive blends made in collaboration with Robaina. This week I dive into the Alejo. I’ll let the Fox Cigar website do the talking:

Allow us to introduce you to one of the FOX x ROBAINA cigars: The Alejo. It’s created with an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper and utilizes a binder and fillers that we can’t disclose. This limited cigar was rolled in a 5 1/2 x 58 Double Robusto format and is medium – full body. The Alejo cigar project was born when Hirochi Robaina wanted to commemorate his families 170th anniversary of growing tobacco in Cuba. This specific blend / cigar was then aged for 5 years in his Nicaraguan resting room. Robaina himself has now declared that they are ready for the public and has released them exclusively with Fox!

The cigar is offered in a single 5 1/2 x 58 format and comes in awesome designed boxes of 10 running $13.99 a stick. This is a limited run and Fox Cigar bar has them in stock now with free shipping, no minimum.

• Size: 5 1/2 x 58
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano 2000
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $13.99
• Pairing: Bruery Icky Thump (Imperial Stout 11% ABV)

Prelight:

The Robaina Alejo starts out with a gorgeous, consistent, choclately brown wrapper. The wrapper itself is very firm and dense while the texture offers some slight tooth, loads of oil, medium veins, and lots of natural webbing in the leaf. The cigar as a whole is incredible heavy and hard, it almost feels like a mini baseball bat. The wrapper is folded over itself seamlessly leading from the unfinished foot where the wrapper is folded over the foot of the cigar to the cigar’s triple-wrapped, stubby pigtail cap. The cigar is polished off with the standard maroon and gold Robaina family crest along with the addition of a gold, maroon, and yellow secondary band featuring our beloved Fox Cigar bar mascot.

The wrapper on the Robaina Alejo gives off only soft sweet floral aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more natural tobacco and cedar scents. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces great cedar, gingerbread, and musk flavors.

First Third:

The Robaina Alejo starts out with a nice little burst of cayenne pepper which left my tongue and lips tingling for quite some time. Once the pepper began to fade the Alejo greeted me with loads of sweetness, cinnamon, coffee, cedar, and floral flavors over musk undertones. The draw is awesome. Each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, which smoke which really hang around for a while before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of medium gray ash which held on for a little under an inch before falling into my ashtray (not my lap).

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Robaina Alejo and the flavor profile in this cigar is to die for. The cigar leads with musk, coffee, dark chocolate and cedar over soft floral, Carmel, sweetness and cinnamon. I am really getting into it. The retrohale brings out some sharp spice and a lot more of the cedar so I find myself doing it quite often. The cigar is still burning dead even without any help from my torch as I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Rounding out the last third of the Robaina Alejo and this cigar is just, awesome. No two ways about it. The flavor profile is still pumping out heaping gobs of cedar, musk, and coffee over notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a great floral flavor that has surprisingly been around for the long haul. The cigar took me 2 hours to take down to the nub and I loved every second of it. The burn line has been flawless, I never once had to reach for my torch to touchup or relight the cigar while I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. I closed out the cigar with a decent little nicotine kick, but nothing overwhelming.

Overview:

Man, this cigar is just, phenomenal. I really enjoyed the Eagle, but to be honest, the Alejo blows it out of the water. A lot of that has to do with the flavor profile which is extremely subjective but is exactly what I look for in terms of flavors in a cigar. The profile is complex enough to keep me entertained while not overly-complex causing me to have to really think about the cigar. The experience in all was perfect. The price point is up there, but I would pay that in a heartbeat for the experience this cigar delivered.

Pairing:

Icky Thump is an imperial coffee stout brewed by the Bruery in California. Coming in at 11% ABV this beer is as close to iced coffee as you can get in a beer. Leading with heavy coffee notes, soft sweetness, and dark chocolate with a very light mouthfeel the beer finished clean with more coffee, chocolate, and sweetness. Its a simple, yet incredible beer and the alcohol is dangerously hidden. The coffee, chocolate, and sweetness paired perfectly with the same flavors in the Alejo resulting in a perfect pairing.

Giveaway:

It’s been a while since we have done a giveaway and as we near the end of the year expect quite a few more popping up. Thanks to Fox Cigar Bar we are pleased to giveaway a five pack of these Robaina Alejo! And we’ll even make it simple. Simple sign-up for our newsletter on the right column or below and you’re automatically entered! Just make sure you are over 21. One random subscriber will be selected and contacted Monday, December 9th. That means if you are already subscribed, you are already entered!

The post Robaina and Fox Cigar – Alejo + Giveaway appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

For as long as I have been smoking cigars My Father cigars by the Pepin family have always been the basis of comparison to every Nicaraguan cigar I have smoked. They have continuously produces some of the best, highest quality cigars out. I am particularly a big fan of the standard My Father releases so when word spread of the La Promesa hitting shelves this year, I jumped right on it.

The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and both Nicaraguan binder and fillers grown soles on the Garcia’s own farms in Nicaragua. The My Father Cigars La Promesa is offered in five sizes: Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 48), Lancero (7 1/2 x 38), Petite (4 1/2 x 50), Robusto Grande (5 1/2 x 54), and the Toro (6 x 52). Each format comes packaged in boxes of 20 and run between $7.80 and $10 a stick. I got mine over from our awesome friends at Fox Cigar Bar who have them in stock now and always offer free shipping on all orders, no minimum.

• Size: 6 x 52
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $9.20
• Pairing: The Bruery Icky Thump (Imperial Stout 11% ABV)

Prelight:

The My Fathers Cigar La Promesa starts off with a beautiful medium brown wrapper with a hint of orange. The color is semi-consistent with lots of darker areas splotched along the cigar’s body. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and coated with a thick layer of oil. The wrapper feels very thick, and dense while the cigar is packed tightly as a whole resulting in a very hard, heavy cigar. The wrapper features some very small veins as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the cigar’s round double cap. The cigar is polished off with the crazy intricate My Father band design we have all come to love with the addition of a similarly designed secondary band with the “La Promesa” crest in teal, as well as an orange foot ribbon.

The wrapper on the La Promesa gives off great spice, cedar, and natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar is a bit more tame with only a bit of dirt and musk. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces an incredible mixture of musk and cedar with a bit of spice at the end of the taste.

First Third:

The My Father Cigars La Promesa leads with a decent amount of cayenne pepper which left my mouth tinging for sometime before fading back allowing the cigar to release heavy cedar and musk flavors backed by pecan, spice, espresso, and malt. As I continue on an awesome floral flavor has been added to a mixture resulting in an incredible flavor profile. The draw is flawless and each little puff kicks out a good amount of thick white smoke while the cigar releases a good amount of stationary smoke while the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of white smoke which held on for a little less than an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the My Father La Promesa and the flavors are just pouring on. The musk and cedar still lead the charge backed by cocoa, espresso, and that great floral flavor is still hanging in there. The retrohale brings out a lot of the spice and pepper I experienced at the start of the experience so I don’t find myself doing it too often. The cigar is still burning brilliantly and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

The floral and musk have really taken over the flavor profile into the final third of the My Father Cigars La Promesa. I really enjoy this flavor profile as the floral and musk are backed by pecan, cedar, coffee and cocoa. The cigar started off full-bodied and finished full bodied all while barely creeping into the medium-full strength category leaving me with only a mild nicotine kick and that’s hard to do. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness, no extended heat, and I never had to reach for my torch to touch-up or relight the cigar.

Overview:

This is just another reason why My Father cigars and the Pepin family are held to such a high standard. La Promesa delivered. We’ll start with the flavor profile which, while very subjective, was one of the best profiles I have had in a cigar experience in some time. The burn and construction was flawless, the cigar wasn’t overpowered by strength, and it all came in a nice, affordable package. I don’t think you can want more in a cigar and I look forward to keeping many La Promesa on hand for my regular rotation.

Pairing:

For this weeks pairing I turn to the Bruery who did a collaboration with Mikerphone brewing to bring us Icky Thump. Icky Thump is an 11% Imperial stout brewed with copious amounts of Tugboat coffee. The beer leads with loads of cold-brew coffee, soft chocolate, soft cream, and light vanilla with a very heavy, sticky mouthfeel before finishing with even more coffee and cocoa. This beer is as close as you can get to cold-brew coffee. As I am a huge fan of black iced coffee this really hit the spot and it paired perfectly with the cocoa and heavy coffee flavors found in the La Promesa.

The post My Father Cigars My Promesa appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Pete Johnson of Tatuaje cigars unveiled a number of new cigars at this year’s IPCPR show in Las Vegas. Two of those cigars were the Mexican Experiment Limited and the ME II. Today, we’ll be focusing on the Mexican Experiment Limited which is a re-release of the same cigar that hit the market in 2011. Both cigars are offered in four different sizes (Robusto: 5 x 54, Toro 5 3/4 x 50, Churchill 6 1/2 v 48, and Belicoso 5 x 52). While the ME II comes in boxes and is a regular production line, the Mexican Experiment Limited comes in bundles of 15, with only 1,000 bundles of each format produced running around $10 a stick. These are both due to be released later this month. I got mine over from the fantastic team at Fox Cigar Bar in Arizona. The Mexican Experiment Limited starts out with Nicaraguan fillers, surrounded by a Nicaraguan binder, wrapped in a Mexican San Andres wrapper. The Mexican Experiment Limited shares the same blend as the ME II and I had a hard time uncovering what the differences actually are. Possible different vintage tobaccos? Different Primings? Tweaked Blends? In the end, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is how the cigar preforms and we’re about to find out.

• Size: 6 1/2 x 48
• Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $10
• Pairing: The Bruery White Chocolate Mocha (Wheatwine 14.4% ABV)

Prelight:

The Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited starts off with a gorgeous deep, dark brown wrapper which is pretty consistent in color for the most part with the exception of a few lighter areas around the cigar’s cap. The cigar’s texture is very toothy and gritty with a good amount of oils while the cigar as a whole features only a few minor veins running through the cigar’s long, soft-box-pressed body leading up to the round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a white, red, and green band showcasing the Tatuaje crest in the front as well as the word “Limited” on the side.

The wrapper on the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited gives off some rich musk and oak aromas while the foot of the cigar is more earthy with hints of spice and pepper. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The Tatuaje Mexican Experiment produces a ton of rich flavors on the cold draw. Black cherry, chocolate, oak, and a subtle musk are the notable flavors.

First Third:

The Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited starts out with a very light bit of pepper which faded after the first draw or two revealing huge amounts of dark chocolate, black cherry, musk, oak, pecan, and natural tobacco. The draw is absolutely flawless as each tiny puff kicks out a whole mess of thick, white smoke which hangs around for a considerable amount of time before dissipating while the cigar gives off very little stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white, and light gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited and the cigar is still pouring on the flavors. The dominant ones at this point are the dark chocolate and oak backed by black cherry, brown sugar, musk and pecan. The retrohale really brings out the oak and a nice spice that I don’t get in the standard draw. The cigar is still burning perfectly and I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited and I have to say, I am in love with the flavor profile of this cigar. Oak, pecan, black cherry, coffee, chocolate, and light notes of brown sugar and musk. It seems like this cigar was created with with me in mind. The burn has been flawless from start to finish. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat as I close out the cigar with no signs of nicotine whatsoever.

Overview:

I smoked the original Mexican Experiment ages ago but that cigar is so far out of my mind that I couldn’t even begin to compare the two. But wha tI can tell you is how utterly enjoyable this Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited was. The flavors are a thing of beauty. Complex, yet balanced as they all support one another. The cigar performed flawlessly from start to finish. And one thing that really stood out was just how much the cigar had to offer in terms of body, without increasing the strength of the cigar past the medium arena. Lookout for a review of the ME II coming up soon.

Pairing:

Bruery’s White Chocolate Mocha is a variant of their famous White Chocolate beer which is a Wheatwine, aged in bourbon barrels with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and coffee added. Coming in at 14.4% this beer isn’t for the faint of heart. The beer leads with a ton of sweetness, white chocolate flavors. roasted malt, butter, cocoa, and a soft hop bite with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing even more sweet with notes of brown sugar, butter, creamed coffee and pecan. As the beer warms more of the light coffee flavors come forward. It’s easy to see why I paired this beer with the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment Limited, the sweetness, brown sugar, chocolate, and pecan flavors paired of perfectly while the beer was subtle enough not to overpower the cigar.

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