The Good Stuff:

The Killer Bee line has evolved quite a bit over time. At this year’s PCA show James Brown, owner of Black Label Trading Co./Black Works Studio released the Shaolin, an extensively modified version of the Killer Bee. Created at the Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli, Nicaragua the blend features all Nicaraguan fillers, Honduran Habano binder and a mixture of Mexican San Andrés Maduro and Connecticut Shade wrappers with Candela accents. The cigar comes in a single 5 1/2 x 46 belicoso format. The Killer Bee Shaolin comes packaged in boxes of 24 and runs $13.50 a stick with only 950 boxes released. I purchased a few over from Atlantic Cigar and my body JG hooked it up with the one I am reviewing today.

• Size: 5 1/2 x 46
• Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés, Connecticut Shade, and Candela
• Binder: Honduran Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $13.50
• Pairing: The Bruery Sundae Sunday (Imperial Stout – 17.8% ABV)

Prelight:

The Black Works Studio Killer Beer Shaolin starts out with the crazy looking wrappers we’ve come to expect from the brand. In the case of the Shaolin the tapered belicoso cap stars with a very deep, dark brown tightly spiraled around a lighter consistent orangish-brown leaf which widens out once you past the cap. The barber-pole style spiral continues through the cigar’s body down to the sealed, green, candela wrapper foot. Even with the complexities of the wrapper, it’s constructed perfectly as each leaf is seamless laid over another. There are almost no veins in any of the wrapper leaf. The texture is pretty toothy and gritty in the darker brown areas and silky smooth where the Connecticut shade is laid. The cigar is packed very tightly and is pretty damn heavy. The cigar is polished off with a black and gold band with the Killer Bee crest and artwork.

The wrapper on the Killer Bee Shaolin gives off a lot of sweet honey over some lighter spice notes while the foot of the cigar is mostly the same with a bit of earthiness from the candela. covering. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of honey, earthy grain, and soft spice.

First Third:

The Black Works Studio Killer Beer Shaolin leads with some soft black pepper over rich dark chocolate, honey, and musk with light notes of caramel, black cherry and a nice tartness left on my lips. The draw is absolutely perfect. Each puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke which hangs out for a while even in the breeze before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin and mostly even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white ash which held on for about 3/4 of an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Black Works Studio Killer Beer Shaolin and the chocolate is just pouring on. Underneath are great tart cherry notes, musk, and honey with lighter notes of caramel, vanilla, spice and earthiness. The retrohale really piles on the spice and considering how sweet the flavors are in the standard smoking experience I don’t find find myself doing it too often. I close out the second third with a minor nicotine kick, but it’s noticeable.

Note: Into the second third a pretty big tunnel opened up. Luckily, this didn’t impact the experience too much and I was able to smoke through it pretty easily. I smoked 3 of these cigars total and it only happened to one. I add this as a note that these things happen since these are handmade items and even then, sometimes you’re able to smoke right through them.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Shaolin and the flavors are mostly the same, and there are no complaints here. The cigar carries bold notes of dark chocolate, black cherry, and honey over lighter notes of musk, caramel, vanilla and spice. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke the Shaolin down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. I had to relight the cigar once, which is no big deal, and despite the tunnel it burned great from start to finish.

Overview:

The Black Works Studio Killer Bee Shaolin is easily one of the better cigars I smoked all year. The flavor profile is absolutely beautiful, and matches exactly what I look for in a cigar. The complexity was great. The burn was flawless from start to finish even considering the tunnel that popped up about halfway through. It always surprised me how complex the manufacturing of a lot of Black Label cigars are, and how well put together the final product is. My only gripe, as you can guess, is that these are pretty much sold out absolutely everywhere. Happy Hunting.

Pairing:

The Bruery’s Sundae Sunday features Black Tuesday as a base, aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans and boysenberries. The 17.7% ABV beer leads with loads of tartness, black cherry/berry, dark chocolate, caramel, malt, and a heavy and very noticeable dose of vanilla with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more tart berry, dark chocolate, and vanilla. This is a big beer, that’s scarily easy to drink. The dark chocolate, caramel, and berry married up perfectly with the flavors found in the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Shaolin while the cigar added a nice bit of earthiness to the overall experience.

The post Black Works Studio Killer Bee Shaolin appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

By now you should all be familiar with the Cromagnon line from RoMa Craft Tobac as it was the debut blend that launched the company into what it has become today. Back in 2013 the line was expanded with the addition of a Candela version of the cigar and this year it was expanded once again with an extremely limited production blend of a Candela/Broadleaf wrapped cigar called the “Black Irish”. The Black Irish is offered in a single 5 x 56 format and starts out with a Connecticut Broadleaf / Candela barber pole style wrapper over a Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The blend is very difficult to find and I was lucky enough to nab mine from a buddy who I’m pretty sure had a hard time parting with them (Thanks Jason!). 

Size: 5 x 56
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf / Candela
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan (Esteli. Condega, and Ligero from a small farm in Esteli on the Honduran border)
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Mefium/Full
Price: $10.99
Pairing: Belching Beaver Good Morning Beautiful (Brown Ale 5.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The obvious stand-out characteristic of the Black Irish is the beautiful barber-pole style wrapper on the cigar where the Connecticut Broadleaf and Candela wrappers overlap each other giving a candy-cane style effect. The Broadleaf is a beautiful dark, consistent brown and the small amount of Candela is an olive green. The construction on the cigar is flawless as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself. The wrapper’s texture is pretty toothy with a good amount of oil while the candela portion is a bit smoother than the broadleaf. The wrappers feel very dense and hard while the cigar as a while is firm to the touch with no soft spots leading up to the cigar’s rounded double-cap. The cigar is then polished off with the standard, elegant, black white Cromagnon band which I absolutely love. The band features an embossed “Cromagnon” logo in the front and a small, white Roma Craft Tobac logo in the back. Band design doesn’t get much cleaner than this. 

The wrapper on the Black Irish gives off some great spice aromas, sweetness, and coconut while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice, pepper, musk, and natural tobacco scents. The cap cut clean and easily using my double bladed Xikar XO cutter. The cold draw produces some great musk, pepper, spice, and oaty flavors. 

First Third:

The Roma Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish starts out with a subtle little black pepper zing, just enough to tease my tongue before transitioning into a melody of sweet chocolate and coffee notes back by some herbal tea type flavors, coconut, spice and musk. The draw on this bad boy is phenomenal. Each tiny little puff kicks out a whole mess of thick white smoke which hangs around for a considerable amount of time before dissipating. The cigar also releases a pretty fair amount of stationary smoke as the oils burn from the wrapper while the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line is very even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of compacted medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray. 

Second Third:

As I continue into the second third of the Roma Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish the chocolate and coconut really begin to take center stage backed by sweet brown sugar, musk, black tea, and spice. The flavor profile is phenomenal. I find retrohaling the cigar really brings out the musk and spice while not being too harsh on the nasal passage. The cigar is still burning perfectly without any help from my torch as I close out the second third with nothing in terms of nicotine. 

Finish:

Into the final third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Black Irish and the flavors continue to pour out pure awesomeness. The chocolate and coconut still lead the charge, the tea has became much more prominent while the backing flavors are a subtle mixture of musk, spice, and a bit of floral pings here and there. The cigar took me almost two hours to take down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness, nor extended heat while it burned flawlessly from start to finish and I never once had to reach for my torch to touch-up or relight my cigar. 

Overview:

I have been a long-time fan of RoMa Craft Tobac’s releases and I have to be honest hear, the Black Irish is probably one of the best cigars I have smoked from the team. The flavor profile is unique, and incredible while the cigar sports perfect construction, and the price point is about where you would expect it to be. I bet you can guess that my only gripe is that these are pretty near impossible to find. So if anyone has been hoarding onto these… let me know.. now please.  

Pairing:

Belching Beaver’s Good Morning Beautiful is one of a series of releases the brewery has created to celebrate the Deftones. This 5.5% ABV brown ale is brewed along with coffee, coconut, and maple syrup. The beer leads with a very light body with hints of coconut, malt, chocolate and really light coffee with an incredibly thin mouthfeel before finishing clean with more malt and coffee. The beer itself is a bit lacking and I really expected more flavor for it. If it I had to pair this cigar again I’d toss in a heavy imperial stout, sweet bourbon, or even some sweet iced black tea.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Asylum 13 is another offering created by the masterful hands of Christian Eiroa. While that name is usually related to Honduran tobacco, the Asylum 13 blends are actually Nicaraguan based. While the filler and the binder tobaccos are a close-kept secret, we do know that they are of Nicaraguan origin, and the barber-poled wrapper carries a brilliant green Candela alongside a deep, dark Habano Maduro with a Habano Maduro cap, and a strip of Candela lining the foot. The Ogre comes in 4 different sizes, the 550 Robusto (5 x 50), the 660 Gordo (6 x 60), the 680 Gordo (6 x 80), and the 770 Gordo (7 x 70). The Ogre 550 and 660 come packaged in cabinets of 50, while the 680 and 770 come in boxes of 30. The Asylum 13 Ogre will run you $6.30 to $10.20 a sick. I purchased a handful of these over at Cigars International and they still have quite a few left in stock. You can also check out a recent review that Jeremy posted of the Asylum 13 99 Problems Lancero here.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Candela/Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Full
Price: $6.30
Pairing: Odell Brewing Company Jaunt (American Pale Ale 7.60% ABV)

Prelight:

The obvious stand-out characteristic in the Asylum 13 Ogre is the wrapper. This is a barber pole style cigar meaning two wrappers of different shades/tobaccos are laid over each other seamlessly rotating to create a barber pole style effect. While this is pretty, it can also add some interesting flavor combinations to the experience. The green Candela wrapper used in the Ogre is very smooth, very silky, and very oily. It feels a bit delicate and is very thin to the tough. On the opposite end of the spectrum the Habano Maduro wrapper is incredibly dark brown, very toothy, very rough, and very dense. These are polar opposites in terms of wrapper leaf. The Ogre is finishing off with a round double cap using the Habano Maduro wrapper, along with a thin strip of Candela which is wrapped around the foot of the cigar. The Ogre carries the standard Asylum 13 band with a black, white, and red decoration covered in skulls.

The wrapper on the Asylum 13 Ogre gives off a whole ton of spice and pepper aromas while the foot of the cigar showcases some more natural tobacco and sweetness. The cap cut very clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces a whole mess of black pepper, so much that it started making my lips tingle and I haven’t even lit the cigar up yet. Underneath the pepper is a bit of chocolate and lots of spice.

First Smoke:

Wow, this baby starts off with so much pepper. I seriously wouldn’t expect that much of a greeting from a cigar with Candela wrapped around it. The Asylum 13 Ogre is off to the races. It took a while, but the pepper finally began to fade about halfway through the first third. The backing flavors in the Ogre are that of dark chocolate, grassiness, tobacco, spice, and a bit of a citrus zest. The draw started it bit loose, but tightened up once it got going and now it’s perfect. Each little puff produced a massive cloud of thick, white smoke. The Burnline is razor sharp, but a bit wavy in some areas. The ash left behind is very nicely compact and white with light grey in color. The ash held on for about an inch before giving way. Even as I barely close out the first third of this cigar I can feel the nicotine starting to creep in.

Halfway There:

Into the second third of the Asylum 13 Ogre the flavors have become much deeper. The pepper is all but gone, and there is some great oakiness leading the flavor charge now. The backing flavors are some soft sweetness, spice, grassiness, and that interesting citrus zest. The spice and the pepper are still very evident in the retrohale making it tough to do very often. The burnline has corrected itself on and off but the cigar still burns a bit wildly at times. As long as it doesn’t require a whole lot of attention from my lighter we’ll be alright. I am feeling more and more nicotine as I continue smoking through this beast.

Finish:

A bit of the pepper has began to creep back into the Asylum 13 Ogre. Along with the pepper the spice has also really ramped up and it’s not backed by the once dominant cedar, sweetness, chocolate, and citrus. I’m impressed that the citrus is still hanging in there. Along with the ramp up in certain flavors, the strength has really taken off in the final third raising this cigar to the full-strength category. The nicotine is really starting to hit. I remember smoking the 770 and having the nicotine hit hard in the second third. While I like full-strength cigars, I’m happy with what the smaller ring gauge has to offer. The burnline was still a bit wavy, but the Ogre worked through it and I never once had to reach for my lighter. The Ogre took me about an hour and a half to take down. I experience no harshness, but the final strength was enough to leave me a little woozy.

Overview:

As with most Asylum cigars I have smoke, the Ogre is a solid stick. That being said, there wasn’t anything outside of the strength which really stood out to me. I did like the flavors, and the changeups, but I would probably reach for the standard Asylum 13 over the Ogre. This is a great cigar to have around in terms of presentation, and body/strength and the price point makes if very easy to keep a few of these on hand.

Pairing:

Jaunt is an interesting beer. I know you’ve seen a lot of Odell coming through on these reviews lately, but I’ve been on a Odell Brewing kick. Especially now that they are available in Texas. I used to have to drive across town to New Mexico to find them. Anywho, Jaunt is an American Pale Ale Brewed at the Odell Brewery in Colorado. The Beer is brewed with Riesling grape juice and aged on Oak Staves adding some interesting characteristics to the ale. First, the grape juice is very evident as it’s the first thing you taste when you lips meet the glass. Its sweet, yet tart and transitions great into some grapefruit, sweetness, and a bit of hoppiness. The mouthfeel is very light as Jaunt finishes with some sweet oakiness, and a lot of citrus. This is a great, light, summer/fall beer. It’s refreshing and the citrus and oak paired up so well with the flavors in the Ogre. The Ogre was a bit much for this beer, but it held its own. I’d probably recommend going with a spiced stout, bourbon, or even a badass hot chocolate.

The post Asylum 13 Ogre Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Making it’s debut during St. Patrick’s day 2013, Alec Bradley’s Filthy hooligan is the follow up to the well-received Black Market blend. Keeping with the St. Patrick’s day theme Alec Bradley decided to wrap the Filthy Hooligan with a Nicaraguan Candela wrapper giving it a bright green allure. These limited edition cigars are the exact same blend as last year’s only with one extra year of age on them. The Filthy Hooligan comes packed with Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Panamanian tobaccos and Nicaraguan and Honduran binders. The Filthy Hooligan only comes in one size, a 6 x 50 toro and is priced around $8.00 a stick. I picked these up at my local El Paso cigar lounge, La Casa Del Puro.  He’s been rotating his stock a lot lately so check in which him if you haven’t lately.

Size: 6 x 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Candela
Binder: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Panamanian
Strength: Mild
Body: Mild
Price: $8.00
Pairing: Magner’s Irish Cider (Hard Cider 4.5% ABV)

Prelight: The Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan starts off with the obvious, a candela wrapper. Instead of the standard shades of brown we are all used to the Filthy Hooligan carries a very light, almost pastel/mint green wrapper. The wrapped if very webby and sports some darker green areas especially around the cap as well some brown areas scattered throughout the leaf. The wrapper is very smooth and oily. Light just shines off this thing. There are a few larger veins, but nothing too concerning. The cigar is polished of with a very round, double cap. This cigar feels incredibly dense and it’s heavy as hell. It almost feels as if it was filled with hard rubber. Like all the Black Market series the Filthy Hooligan has a brown, recycled cardboard band that runs from the center of the cigar down to the foot. It has the standard Black Market logo as well as the Alec Bradley crest with the addition of a green clover and the Filthy Hooligan banners. When you slide that huge band off there is a smaller one underneath with similar markings.

The wrapper of the Black Market Filthy Hooligan gives off a very slight aroma of tobacco and moss while the foot of the cigar carries much stronger notes of tobacco mixed with some soft spice. The cold draw produces some mild woodsy/earthy notes along with a lot of natural tobacco. I also got a lot of saltiness from the wrapper on my lips.

First Smoke: Alec Bradley’s Black Market Filthy Hooligan started out rather on the mild side with lots of natural tobacco and grassy notes backed my a bit of moss and cedar with just a splash of sweetness. I was surprised that there wasn’t any pepper or spice off the initial light up. I did however, continue to pull some saltiness from the wrapper onto my lips. The draw was a bit snug, but nothing too annoying. The burnline was all sorts of crazy with two really large waves forming right off the bat. I thought they may had been due to poor lighting techniques, but they continued to burn at a much faster rate than the rest of the burnline. The ash was pretty flaky mixed with both medium and dark gray which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Not quite keeping with the theme a very nice floral flavor has began to introduce itself into the flavor experience of the Filthy Hooligan. The rest of the flavors remained pretty consistent with the soft cedar and moss, natural tobacco, and grassiness. The sweetness has completely dropped out. On the plus side, not only has the draw really opened up in the second third but after my first ash dropped the burnline has somehow corrected itself. It’s still not perfect, but I didn’t think anything short of my lighter would be able to fix that thing. The retrohale is really mild and coats my nasal passage with cedar and earthiness. It actually adds quite a bit to the flavor profile making it a bit bolder. I am feeling zero in the nicotine department as I close out the second third.

Finish: The finish of the Filthy Hooligan was identical to the second third. Lots of mild cedar and moss, earthiness and natural tobacco with some floral sprinkled over it. The flavor profile really didn’t change up much at all. The draw has been perfect and was great all the way through the cigar minus the tightness at the beginning. The burnline was solid after that point as well and astonishingly enough never required any extra attention from my lighter. The Filthy Hooligan burns at an incredibly slow rate. It took me over 2 hours to take this entire toro down. There was only a tiny bit of harshness in the final inch or so of the cigar.

Overview: I wasn’t really impressed with the Filthy Hooligan, but that’s not to say that it was a bad cigar. I think the main reason I didn’t enjoy this cigar more was the lack of flavors. It’s a pretty damn mild cigar and I knew that going into the experience being that it carried a candela wrapper. Outside of the first inch or so the burn actually preformed really well and the draw really opened up after the first half. The floral flavor really helped bring the body up a bit while the rest of the flavors remained mild and consistent. Now, in comparison to a lot of other candela wrapper cigars I have smoked in my short time on this planet, and the Filthy Hooligan is actually ranked pretty far up there. It was a lot more finished than other candela wrappers I have had and was actually a decent experience. If you are looking for something different or if you enjoy mild cigars and shy away from more complex experiences I think the Filthy Hooligan is perfect for you. If you are like me and like a little more body, or some body at all in your experience then this probably won’t do much for you. Stick with the standard Black Market.

Pairing: So yeah, I wanted to do something a bit different here. I decided to stick with the Irish theme and pair this Filthy Hooligan with a 4.5% ABV hard cider straight out of Ireland. Magner’s is different than most ciders I have had. First of all, it’s not very sweet. It taste’s much closer to natural apple juice than most ciders. Secondly, it’s pretty bitter. Most ciders are smooth and lead with sugar while this one has a strong apple front and a rather salty, bitter finish. This may sound bad, but when you string it all together it actually makes for a pretty smooth drink. Now, normally I would have went straight for a good Irish beer. I’m not a cider guy. I’ll try them, but not more than once usually. But being as it’s St. Patrick’s day I wanted to make sure this pairing was a bit different. I’ve only had Magner’s a handful of times and it’s pretty hard to find in these parts. But Shamrock’s Irish pub in El Paso on Ft. Bliss carries it in bottles and on tap. In fact, they even have a pear version (which I have yet to try) and are the only bar in El Paso at this point that carries either of them. If you’re in the area, hit them up. They are in a badass little area called “Freedom Crossing”, have an awesome patio, and some really kick ass bratwursts along with some Irish eats.

The post Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

But I’m always up to try some new cigars so here we go digging into some information behind The Edge. It’s been a really since I had one of Rocky’s The Edge cigars and I used to actually really enjoy the original blend of the Sumatra wrapper. The new blend isn’t the same and although it wasn’t bad, I haven’t really stocked up on them. But today’s review isn’t on the Sumatra wrapper, we’re focusing on the Corojo for now.

As with the whole Edge lineup, the long fillers used to stuff this cigar are aged for a full five years before they get to the rolling tables. Something else interesting about this line is that the filler on their website simply says that it is “Secret”. There are some speculations around the actual makeup of the filler but I’m not one to speculate, so we’ll just leave it at that.

As with many of Rocky’s cigars, he has teamed up with the tobacco growing powerhouse that is Nestor Plasencia. Aside from the Corojo, you can also find the limited runs of Sumatra wrappers as well as a Maduro wrapped blend. There’s also a similar line called the “Edge Lite” that comes with a connecticut wrapper and even a limited run Candela that Tony reviewed here. So let’s dive on in and see how the Corojo wrapped Edge by Rocky Patel stands up.

Cigar: Rocky Patel The Edge
Drink: Pocas Special Reserve Tawny Porto
Vitola: Torpedo (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Secret?
Price: $6.00
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• This Rocky Patel has a seriously deep dark brown and oily wrapper
• There are very few veins on this wrapper and whatever I do see is very small
• The cap is finished very cleanly with the single lead blending seamlessly into the rest of the wrapper
• The foot is super packed from what I can see, lots of filler inside this cigar
• There is a bit of a soft spring near the foot when squeezed but the top of the cigar near the cap is very firm
• The cap took a little effort to clip, probably due to the huge amount of filler inside it
• Draw is just about perfect, it has just enough resistance
• Noticed a few wrapper cracks as I burned through the cigar but none caused any major issues to be worried about

Burn:
• Toasting was very easy and The Edge had a glowing foot with very little effort
• We’re off to a good start with a nice clean burn line in the first bit here, let’s hope that continues
• Saw one little peninsula forming but The Edge made a come back and corrected itself without my help
• A couple more small peninsulas as we roll along here but they keep correcting themselves which is a welcome treat
• One of the peninsulas finally needed my help to correct in the last half but nothing major
• Smooth sailing to the end with a good burn pace and no more issues to correct

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the start, there is a ton of smoke coming off this Rocky Patel cigar with only a small draw required to get it
• The ash is coming along with a very light grey, almost white color to it and some darker black accents here and there
• Super strong and clean ash here, no flaking at all
• Tapped off the first ash at about 1 inch just to prevent it from falling on my laptop, but it probably could have gone longer
• There is a fair bit of resting smoke off this cigar as well and I have to say, it smells a little like roasted marshmallows which is awesome
• All the ashes kept nice and clean and easily made the 1 inch mark before ending up in the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Rocky Patel The Edge has a sweet sort of candy/ cocoa aroma, reminds me of what Smarties smell like
• The foot brings more of that sweet cocoa aroma and adds to it a bit of baking spices like cloves and nutmeg
• The pre-light draw brought a little bit of the sweet cocoa but now it’s more wood and spices
• From the initial draws, The Edge was giving me lots of woodsy notes with some back splashes of cloves and nutmeg and maybe a bit of a leathery flavor
• The body starts off right around the low end of medium, a nice comfortable strength for now
• As for the retrohale, The Edge does have a bit of bite to it along with a smooth cedar finish
• The wood and spice notes are still holding strong, but I’m getting a bit of a black licorice taste in here now which is making it interesting
• A little ramp up in the body around the halfway mark as the licorice really starts to be prominent along with the spices making for a very interesting and balanced profile
• The coffee and spice took the main stage for the last half with some licorice peeking in once in awhile
• There was no harshness towards the end and The Edge finished smooth and with a bit of strength

Final Thoughts:
So Lou seems to be becoming the Rocky Patel advocate for me and I have to say he’s doing a pretty good job of turning me on to some of their better sticks. This is another Rocky Patel I can add to my list as one that I really enjoyed. It had lots of good flavors, some interesting change ups, and solid construction from start to finish. It seems that if you can find the sticks in the Rocky inventory that appeal to your taste profile, there are definitely quite a few that are worth trying. I will definitely keep my eyes open for more of these in the future and if you aren’t a huge Rocky fan, this may be a good one for you to try. Can’t complain about the price either, right in the sweet spot of most people.

Pairings:
I think it’s been awhile since I actually paired with a port, not sure why but here’s a new one for you. Today’s choice is a new one for me too from Pocas which is a family owned winery from Portugal. This particular blend is called the Special Reserve Tawny Porto. It pours very very light and has some very fruity notes on your nose. The flavors follow those same lines with a very light flavor, fairly fruity, lots of oak flavors and not bold at all. This would make an excellent into to Port if you haven’t dabbled in it before. It paired nicely with the Rocky Patel The Edge but I wouldn’t choose it for something super strong as the light flavors would get overwhelmed.

The post Rocky Patel The Edge (Corojo) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now let’s make sure we don’t confuse this with the new release of Maduro cigars that Illusione has put out recently. The new ones are easily noticable by their red and gold band, which signifies the maduro line. A couple years ago in 2010, Dion Giolito, the mastermind behind Illusione cigars, released a limited run of the ~hl~ lancero cigar in a maduro wrapper. There had the same band as normal, but with the obvious difference of the maduro leaf.

You may have also stumbled upon a limited release of the ~hl~ in a Candela wrapper at the time as well. I wasn’t able to get my hands on any of those, but the maduro version caught my attention a lot more anyway. From what I understand, the filler and binder remain the same in this limited release which includes some Corojo ‘99 and Criollo ‘98 lead. Only the wrapper was swapped for a San Andreas maduro leaf from Mexico.

If you’ve checked out some of other Illusoine cigar reviews, such as the ‘888’, Singulaire, ~mk~, ~88~, or the Epernay, you will know that each cryptic name has a special meaning behind it. I won’t reinvent the wheel here, this is Dion’s explanation of the ~hl~ name directly from the Illusione Cigars.com website:
My Lancero , the lance. Get it? Constantine was the first Christian Emperor to lead Rome. It was fabled that he had possession of the very spear that punctured the side of Jesus while on the cross. He was said to carry this relic into battle and, it was said that it helped him win his many battles. It is an artisan blend and, the mildest of all my cigars.

Cigar: Illusione ~hl~ Maduro
Drink: Ayinger Celebrator
Vitola: Lancero (7.5 x 40)
Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $9.75
Burn Time: About 1 hour

Construction:
• The Illusione ~hl~ Maduro is wrapped up by a very tasty look dark chocolate leaf that is extremely toothy
• The texture of the wrapper is like sandpaper and it’s a bit bumpy in some areas but the veins few and the ones you can see are all fairly small
• The entire cigar has some firmness to it when squeezed, it has almost no give from end to end
• The cap is finished off with a sort of pigtail, I’m not sure if all mine were damaged but it seemed like a bit of the pigtail is always broken off
• It’s easy to see that the foot is very well packed and neatly finished
• Even though it seemed a little tight on the pre-light, the draw is actually very good

Burn:
• The toasting was fairly quick and easy given that the ring gauge is pretty small on this cigar
• Burn has been spot on through the first couple of inches, no complaints to be had here so far
• I’m very happy with the burn on this cigar for the most part, I tend to have bad luck with lanceros
• I did need to make one correction just past the half way mark as the cigar started burning unevenly
• I needed a couple more small corrections as the cigar continued, I think the cold is factor here today too, hovering at 34F right now…

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m having no problems getting a big mouthful of smoke from each draw, it’s not too thick though
• The ash is quite nice for this lancero vitola, staying clean and strong and holding out for just over half an inch
• The color on the ash is interesting as well with some white and nearly black zebra striping happening
• The resting smoke is moderate and fairly consistent, it pushes out a nice line of slightly sweet smelling smoke
• Subsequent ashes held on to about a half inch each time and stayed clean without any flaking

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a nice sweet chocolaty aroma to it
• The foot has an even more interesting aroma, more sweet chocolate with an addition of cinnamon and nutmeg
• The pre-light draw on this Illusione ~hl~ Maduro brings more of the sweet chocolate but this time with a more peppery spice instead of the lighter cinnamon and nutmeg I got on the foot aroma
• The initial draws brought out a strong coffee flavor to mix with the stronger spices, definitely a burst of flavor at the start here but it might be a little bit charred
• After only half an inch, the flavors seemed to balance out a bit more and the charred flavor disappeared. I’m left with a smooth cocoa and coffee profile with hints of spice peeking in here and there
• The coffee flavors definitely seem ot be developing nicely as the spice slowly drops off
• The retrohale at this point still has a bit of bite to it but the finish is smooth and sweet, very tasty and mostly in the mild-medium range
• The nutmeg and cinnamon flavors started making a comeback in the middle of the cigar, adding another nice dimension to the experience
• All of the flavors continue to be awesomely balanced and taking turns being the prominent ones, there’s also some woodsiness in there too now
• The creamy finish really is the icing on the cake here, makes each draw very enjoyable
• In the last third of the Illusione ~hl~ Maduro the body started picking up into the higher medium range and all the favors started getting more intense
• The intense sweet coffee, cocoa and spices are really making for an enjoyable last third here, they balance together so nicely

Final Thoughts:
Well it’s no surprise to me here but this is another rock solid stick from Dion Giolito of Illusione cigars. It’s no secret that Tony and I are fans of his cigars and from my experience with the ones I’ve smoked he has an excellently high ratio of great sticks. The Illusione ~hl~ Maduro lives up to my past experiences and offered me an interesting and multi-dimensional flavor profile that I think could be enjoyed by a very wide range of cigar smokers. It feels like one of those sticks you could hand to a new smoker or an experienced smoker and get a positive experience either way. Remember that this one has been aging for nearly 2 years so if you tried it earlier I’ve heard they used to pack a bigger punch. The price I paid for mine seems to be around the average price and this is one of those times when I can say the nearly $10 price tag is almost worth it. If i did have one complaint it would be that the cigar didn’t last long enough, I wanted it to keep going, lol!

Pairings:
Tony pointed me in the direction of this brew awhile back. At that time I was only able to track it down while I was vacationing in Florida. But recently I stumbled across it at my local store and immediately stock up on a few of their 4-packs. The maker is the very popular German brwery called Ayinger and today’s offering is the Celebrator. It’s a very interesting dark ale that comes pretty close to almost being a stout. It’s official style is called a “Doppelbock”. Basically, a Doppelbock is a stronger, maltier and comewhat creamier version of Germany’s traditional strong ale, the “Bock”. The flavors in this bottle are overflowing! there’s definitely a ton of maltiness which I really enjoy, theres a helping hand of coffee, some dark chocolate sweetness and a very smooth creamy finish. What a great brew! Did it go well with the Illusione ~hl~ Maduro? Of course it did, and it would go well with a huge variety of other cigars as well. they complimented each other very well with similar flavors. A nice cup of coffee or a stout would have also made a great pairing here today.

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