The Facts

A Gift From Tony Casas
Vitola: Corona Gorda
Size: 5 ⅝ by 46 (estimate)
Price: Priceless
Wrapper: Unknown
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown

Jeff’s Review

This is a corona gorda sized cigar, 5-5/8 x 46 or so, although it’s difficult to measure precisely due to its unique shape.  The “El Paso Press” shape comes from cramming as many cigars as is humanly possible into a USPS Priority Small Flat Rate box, resulting in a cigar that resembles a European-style dry hunter’s sausage.   The stick is rather rustic looking with a dark brown wrapper with black mottling, with what appears to be a single cap culminating in a neat coiled pigtail.  There is a bit of tooth, some minor veins, and a bit of a raised seam near the band that doesn’t appear very worrisome, and is well packed with just a bit of give when gently squeezed.

The wrapper has a tangy barnyard scent, while the foot gives off a lighter version of the wrapper aroma.  The band, however is just a plain white satin ribbon, belying Tony’s background as a respected designer.  Gotta do something about that in the future, man! The first clip reveals a snug draw, possibly the result of the pressed in portion near the band.  A further snip opens it up just a bit more, allowing a cold draw that shows a sweet cinnamon-like spice and tobacco, but not much more.

First Third

Despite the snug draw, the cigar produces a nice mouthful of smoke, showing earthiness, slight wood somewhere between cedar and oak, and a surprisingly light pepper spice.  The retrohale features the same earth and wood with just a bit of pepper.  The burn line is a little thick, but even.  An inch in, the pepper has picked up a bit, with a slight sweetness on the back end and the wood has shifted more toward cedar.

Second Third

The burn line has thinned considerably and the draw has opened up a bit more, producing a good volume of smoke.  The earth and wood remain in the forefront, but have been joined by more sweet spice and some coffee, and the smoke texture has become smoother.  The body is now at the high end of medium.

The Home(r) Stretch

A savory element has now crept in, with a ramp-up in body and pepper, while the sweetness moves in and out.  The body is now at medium-full with just a slight nicotine hit.  There is not much change throughout the last part of the cigar.

Final Thoughts

Having smoked each of Tony’s previous efforts, this is by far my favorite; they have progressively gotten better as he learns to target flavors and balance them out.  It was a nice day out, and this smoke was a relaxing way to enjoy it.  While it was not a particularly complex cigar, it had a pretty good balance of flavors, although I would have liked a little more sweetness.  The cigar never got hot and I never had to reach for my lighter, other than for a relight when I got distracted and let it sit for too long.  The ash was a little inconsistent, sometimes lasting an inch, and other times falling off after only ½”.  Good job, Tony!  I would definitely smoke one again.  Willy Herrera, watch your back!

Pairing

DogZilla Black IPA by Laughing Dog Brewing in Ponderay, Idaho comes in at a moderate 6.8% ABV.  Featuring dark malt and coffee flavors with a citric backbone and a lightly bitter hops finish, it matched well with the DEBSTCLE 2013.   Plus, it appears that Tony’s buddy Sonny was the model for the label!

Jeremy’s Review

Pre-light

The TC Limited Edition 2013 wears an extremely rough, veiny, toothy wrapper. Other than a Backwoods, this may be the most rugged wrapper I’ve seen on a stick. On top of the veins and bumps, the wrapper is marbleized with different tones of brown, as well as some black spotting.

The wrapper aroma is mainly of cedar, which is probably a result of the cigar resting with no cellophane in my humidor for over year.  However, in the background there seems to be a pungent, vinegar-like aroma and barnyard. The foot of the cigar smells of rich cedar, cinnamon, and faint chocolate. The cigar comes to a close with a spiral pig-tailed cap. Upon clipping the cap, I find an almost perfect draw with notes of rich cedar that leaves my mouth somewhat dry.

First Third

From the first puff, the profile comes across much darker than the cold draw put off. Notes of black, somewhat bitter coffee, earth, and cedar make up the profile. At the one inch mark, the coffee and earth take a step back and the cedar shows itself strong. There is some black pepper that is hardly noticeable on the palate but stands out on the retrohale. While the flavor of the black pepper is there, there is not much accompanying spice warming my mouth. With each small draw, my mouth fills with a copious amount of smoke. A beautiful light, firm ash is being formed as the cigar burns evenly.

Middle Third

The rich cedar is holding its ground as I pull into the second third of this special cigar. The earth and coffee are still there but presenting themselves with much more balance than earlier. There is an underlying charred flavor, as well as a vegetal flavor on the finish of the smoke.  The cigar continues to perform effortlessly as I wrap up the middle third.

Final Third

The cedar which made up the core of the smoke through the first two thirds moved to the back of the profile, while the earth and coffee have taken over as the dominating flavors. The earth flavor is much more pronounces and diesel-like than early on. The pepper spice has increased in intensity warming my palate. As I put a close to the cigar, the flavors are at the high-end of medium and I am not feeling any nicotine.

Wrap-up

The DEBSTCLE 2013 construction and performance were absolutely flawless. Each ash held on past an inch, the burn line was even, and every draw delivered a satisfying amount of smoke. But I can’t give credit to Tony for the construction since the professionals at Drew Estate rolled the cigars. But I can give credit to Tony for the flavors. Unlike Jeff, this is my first experience with a Tony Casas blended cigar. I didn’t know what to expect going in to but I can say I wasn’t disappointed. The first two third were very enjoyable, and even when the diesel-like flavor arrived in the final third I wasn’t put off by the cigar at all. This cigar did not present many new flavors as it progressed, but it did show variations within the main flavor components, which worked well in the Corono Gorda size. Great job, Mr. Casas, great job.

The post Drew Estate Cigar Safari – Tony Casas Limited Edition 2013 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Rosalones is produced at Nicaragua’s oldest factory, Joya De Nicaragua. Currently, it  is available in five vitolas to include the Machito (4 by 46), Consul (4.7 by 48), Gran Consul (4.7 by 60), Robusto (5 by 52), and Toro (6 by 50). According to Joya De Nicaragua’s website:

Rosalones is one of the original brands produced in the beginnings of Joya de Nicaragua. It’s been considered the small brother of Joya de Nicaragua Clásico. Returning to the market at the end of 2010, after two decades of rest, Rosalones is an affordable alternative to Nicaragua’s taste.

While the JDN Clasico is a milder body smoke that wears a Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper, the Rosalones wears a Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper and is said to be a medium body smoke.

The Facts

Price: $64.95/box of 20
Vitola: Consul
Size: 4.7 by 48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Pairing: Iced Coffee
Smoke Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Pre-light

The Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper is dark brown with a deep red, almost burnt orange, hue (too much Texas college football?). Quite a few medium veins are easily noticeable and black marks are scattered down the leaf. By no means is this the prettiest wrapper I have ever seen. The cigar has been packed evenly and firmly. The wrapper aroma is of vinegar and cardboard, while the foot is a completely different story.

Sweet notes of chocolate, espresso, and faint pepper jump off of the foot and some spice can be felt in my nasal passage.  The Rosalones sports a large double cap and, once cut, a decent draw is revealed. There is a little bit more resistance than I would prefer. The cold draw brings out rich cinnamon , chocolate and a mild spice.

First Third

A decent amount of smoke is being produced by this JDN Rosalones. The smoke is light on the palate but the flavors are much darker than expected. Notes of black coffee, earth, cocoa, dry cedar (pencil-shavings), and pepper are making up the profile. The coffee lingers on the finish of the smoke for a good amount of time. My palate is left dry after each puff requiring a sip of water to refresh my palate. The retrohale brings out the familiar Nicaraguan pepper and spice I have come to love. A beautiful light grey ash is being formed.  Flavors are coming across medium and I am feeling a little kick of nicotine.

Middle Third

Along with the peppery spice, cinnamon is now in the mix that is warming my palate and a tingle is felt at the back of my throat. A thick, rich, syrupy sweetness is meshing with the coffee, cedar, and cocoa. The smoke, which was light on the palate in the first third, has become more chewy and is no longer leaving my palate dry. So far so good with the ash and burn that are still performing above par.

Final Third

Removing the band, I am into the final third. Side note: Joya De Nicaragua could lighten up on the amount of glue applied to the band. The flavors have remained consistent with the previous third but the richness has picked up. Cocoa has evolved more to a sweet milk chocolate. The flavors are the most rounded and balanced they have been throughout the entire smoke. As I put the cigar to a close, the ash is a bit flaky but the burn remained right on till the very end.

Wrap-up

I have heard it said that cigars taste completely different in Nicaragua. Whether it is the environment, the people, or the combination of both, smoking in one of the cigar capitols of the world can sway your opinion and provide a completely different experience with a cigar. Since I jumped on a box of the Rosalones without ever smoking one, I sure hoped that this wasn’t the case with Tony and the Rosalones. After smoking a handful of these sticks, I am very pleased to report that it wasn’t the case at all. The Joya De Nicaragua Rosalones is a solid smoke that delivers rich flavors of earth, cocoa, cedar, and pepper. The construction and performance of the Rosalones are rock solid. The stick is said to be a medium body smoke, but seems to sit right at the borderline of medium and full to me. At $3.25 per stick, this cigar is seriously a no-brainer. Already, the JDN Rosalones is in my weekly rotation and I expect it to remain there until I can no longer find them.

The post Joya De Nicaragua – Rosalones appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Without further adieu, let’s get right into it shall we?

Day 3

After a very restful evening (the staff gave us all extra pillows cause we are special) and a wonderful breakfast (seriously, you will gain about 20 lbs. on this trip) we were back at it. This time, we were spending the day with the Drew Estate team touring their facilities and learning their processes.

We started out by visiting one of Drew Estate’s tobacco bodegas. One of many. In fact, Saka actually told us they have about 7 spread out through Esteli. He also went on to explain that land in Esteli is getting more expensive and harder to come by. They would love to consolidate and expand, but it’s tough due to cost and location. Drew Estate is about to take their bodegas from 7 down to about 2. I’ll touch more on that later though.

The bodega was a simple, crude building filled with millions of dollars in tobacco. Not joking, millions. As I talked about in the previous post, tobacco is stored here in pilons for a number of years while the tobacco ferments. As the tobacco generates heat it is then broken down and rotated. This process happens over and over and over until the tobacco reaches a storing point where it is no longer fermenting and can go on to be used in cigars or stored for future use. Here is an example of the detail in the process. The following picture illustrates a number of pilons, their daily temperature reads, and when the pilon had been rotated.

We headed to a facility next door where there was a number of women sorting tobacco leaves which was ready to go on to other processes. One note is that you see mostly women doing the sorting as well as the rolling while men handle the bunching. This is due to the idea that women tend to have a gentler, more matriculate composure making it easier for them to be more accurate. Again, tobacco here was sorted by type, weight, size and texture.

After that we were brought to the newest addition to the Drew Estate family. Basically it’s a massive, MASSIVE, project under development. Once done (later this year) the facility located directly across from the Drew Estate factory will house 6 out of 7 of the previous tobacco bodegas. Big right? My first thought was “Yay more room! That means, more production!”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Saka went on to explain that even with the addition of this facility, since they would be combining bodegas, it really wasn’t going to be adding more room or space for production. In fact, Saka went on to tell us that they are pretty much maxed out as far as production and storage goes at the moment. That’s great for the company. Basically every single brand that they have right now is growing in profit each year. Even brands as small as Ambrosia are turning profit. Keep it up guys.

After a quick stop at the new facility we headed to the Drew Estate factory. This factory too has changed quite a bit since the last time we visited. An outdoor cafeteria area that I remember walking through last year now houses a rolling room where eager rollers master their craft before hitting the production floor. The cafeteria has since been moved to the new facility across the street.

We didn’t spend too much time at the factory as the guys knew we had all already seen it so we took a quick tour and went straight into blending. We hit the factory floor to observe bunching and rolling, then took a stroll through their tobacco storage and sorting operations. It’s worth mentioning that even now Drew Estate houses the largest production floor that I have ever been on. Not only that, but the employees are encouraged to enjoy a smoke, rock out to music, laugh and talk. You don’t see that too often.

Before stopping at the blending room we took a quick stop at the new rolling room and tried our hands at the process. Needless to say, mine were terrible. These chubby, stubby fingers just do not understand how to roll a cigar. It was fun though and I think the rollers had a good time laughing at our expense. We also got a quick lesson on the difference between standard bunching/rolling and the entubado technique (rolling each leaf into small tubes while bunching) which Willy is famous for.

The blending session was great. Drew Estate hooked it up with new, awesomely designed tobacco menus which give detailed descriptions of each of the tobaccos we could use. The room also contains huge bins with each different leaf sorted so that you can smell, burn, and some each different leaf before you make your decisions.

From there, it was a quick stop over to see Jessie Flores the Heart and soul of Subculture Studios and pretty much all of Drew Estate’s look and feel. This man and his team are responsible for the marketing, merchandise, and design that you see coming out of the factory. Jessie showed us boxes they were screen printing (that’s right! They screen print some of their own boxes), shirts they were pressing, stickers and magnets they were creating. It’s basically and artist’s dream workshop. A lot of the Subculture Studio was actually blocked off as they were working on this year’s booth set up for IPCPR and if you have ever seen one of their booth’s you will know just how crazy those get.

 That evening we spent some time together in the lounge with Steve Saka, Jonathan Drew, and Jose Blanco. It’s always a bit sad to know that you are going home the next day and that it will be a long while before you see everyone again. We shared stories and heard many more before receiving out personal blends and saying our goodbyes. We headed out early the next morning.

If you have not ever been on a Cigar Safari tour I cannot stress how amazing it is. The culture, the land, the views, and the knowledge you take in is incredible. Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua are generous hosts and my deepest thanks goes out to them and their crew for inviting us to come along on yet another adventure.

Dates for the 2014 Cigar Safari Tours will be released soon. You can keep up with the tour as well as book your own here: www.cigarsafari.com

Again, the following gallery may be a bit cumbersome. You can view the entire photo set over at our facebook by clicking this link (no need for an account).

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The post Drew Estate Cigar Safari 2013 – Day 3 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I am going to do something slightly different this time around. Instead of splitting it up between 3 separate posts I am going to try to generalize the trip and pack it all into two different posts, combining a few of the days. I hope you guys are ready to read!

This trip included:

Me
Dan Reeve from Cigar Press
Jay L. from Cigar Photo
Ben Lee from Stogie Review
Brian Hewitt from Stogie Review
Stace Berkland from Leaf and Grape
William Cooper from Cigar Coop
Craig Vanderslice from Cigar Craig
Stephen Ross from Tobacconist Magazine
And Johnny Brooke’s little brother, the Vet.

Day 1:

The first day was travel day. Since I was flying in a bit further than the other guys I had stayed in Houston the night prior. I met up with Ben Lee at the airport. We shared a romantic breakfast before our 4 hour flight to Managua. We were scheduled to get in before the rest of the guys flying in from Miami, but we were delayed and they were all already there along with Pedro, our Drew Estate tour guide, waiting. Within minutes from landing in Nicaragua we were packed into the bus, handed Liga Privadas and on our way!

We had lunch at this incredible outdoor restaurant. Steak, potatoes, plantains, veggies, salad, and lots of Tona (Nicaraguan beer). We were met there by Jose Blanco of Joya de Nicaragua, Dr. Alejando Cuenca from Joya de Nicaragua, Steve Saka from Drew Estate, Willy Herrera from Drew Estate, Johnny Brooke from Drew Estate, and Jessie Flores from Subculture studios. The food was excellent and the conversation and company were even better. After a long lunch we were off to Esteli.

Esteli is about 2 – 2.5 hours north of Managua. The bus ride is interesting as it gives you plenty of time to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of Nicaragua. Rain season is just around the corner so many of the roads had small fires going just off to the side of them. Most of these fires were created to burn trash and debris before the moisture moved in. The Nicaraguan roads were also covered in kids playing soccer, locals selling fruits, and tons of stray cattle and dogs.

Upon our arrival to the Drew Estate factory we were sent off to settle into our rooms ( I shared mine with Jay ) before eating a nice, hearty dinner and a relaxing evening at the Drew Estate poolside lounge. Steve Saka, Jose Blanco, and Pedro joined us. We also had the pleasure of participating in a rum tasting showcasing each different blend of the Nicaragua created “Flor de Cana” rum. I’m not much of a rum guy but I really enjoyed getting to try each blend. The 12 year had to be my favorite. After a nice relaxing evening we all went to bed early as we knew how big of a day we had a head of us tomorrow.

The following photo gallery may be a bit cumbersome. You can view the entire set over on our facebook (I don’t think you need an account to see them). 

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Day 2:

Anyone who has been on this trips knows how important it is to get a good night rest, which I still feel bad for. Seems like I kept Jay up with my snoring the night prior, but we all woke early and after having a nice breakfast, headed out to Oliva Tobacco Company’s farm, “Finca la Joya” or The Jewel Farm. Last year we didn’t get to see much of the farms so we were all pretty excited. Oliva Tobacco Company is not to be confused with Oliva Family Cigars. Oliva Tobacco Company is actually one of the largest tobacco growers in the world alongside ASP and the Plasencia Family.

We spent the first leg of the tour checking out their curing barns. Basically when tobacco is pulled from the plant it gets transported to these huge barns where they are then sorted by texture and size before being hung in twos across large rods. Workers then take these rods and hang them from the ceiling down to about 3 – 4 feet from the ground (Note: They will never touch the ground during this process). The tobacco stays in these barns for a number days while the tobacco begins to cure and dry out. We actually got to see a barn that contained tobacco that was above the humidity desired for the curing process. In this barn there was small pits dug into the floor which contained large amounts of burning charcoal which is used to draw the humidity out of the leaves.

After the curing process the tobacco is packed up and sold off to various companies or stored to carry forth through other various processes. One interesting fact I picked up while we were at the field was that during the tobacco off-season the farm actually plants red beans in place of the tobacco. These plants release nutrients into the soil which then carry over to the next batch of tobacco the following season.

From the farm we headed to Oliva Tobacco Company’s sorting and fermenting facility. This place is HUGE. After months (and sometimes years) of storage, tobacco is taken here where it is fermented, sorted, and then sold off or stored.

Once the tobacco comes in the door it is sorted yet again by size, type, and texture. They are then bunched into “hands” of tobacco (containing around 10 leaves) and then stacked into massive stacks called “pilons”. Pilons are about 3 feet wide and about 4 feet tall weighing around 5000 lbs. each. Inside the pilons the tobacco with start to generate heat causing the tobacco to ferment. The fermentation process is a tedious one. The pilons are monitored for temperature daily and once the tobacco reaches a certain temperature (different depending on tobacco type and desired outcome) the pilon is then broken down and resorted, and rebuilt disbursing the heat to other leaves in the stack. This process happens many, many times.  It’s insane how hot the tobacco gets while it’s fermenting. In some cases well over 100 degrees. This process is actually known to spontaneously combust creating large fires if it isn’t handled properly.

Once the tobacco is ready it’s then sorted yet again, packaged up, and ready to sell or store before being rolled into the cigars that we all love. After a break for lunch we headed back out on the town. This time, visiting our friend over at the Joya de Nicaragua factory. You may remember this visit from last trip, but the factory was so different this time around. Joya de Nicaragua is in the midst of a huge change and it was insane seeing just how much they had changes over the last year.

First of all, if you look at the photos from last year you can see that the front of the factory was a bright yellow. This year we were greeted with a beautiful red brick. During a presentation at the factory we learned that the yellow paint was actually carefully chiseled off to showcase the original brick underneath. Not only was it pretty, but it held significance as well. Once you get closer to the brick you can actually see that much of it showcases burn marks and bullet holes. During Nicaraguan revolution Joya de Nicaragua was actually burned down as it was in the center of all the commotion. Since then the factory was completely rebuilt from the inside out.

Letting the true colors show is only one step to the regeneration process. The company recently picked up the master blender Jose Blanco and Joya de Nicaragua has also changed hands and is now in the hands of Dr. Cuenca’s son, Juan Martinez. Juan’s professionalism and young blood is being strung through the factory, the marketing, and pretty much every factor of the company. We got to spend some time with Juan and his marketing team and I can personally say that I love the direction this company is heading. Keep your eye on them.

The Joya de Nicaragua factory tour was conducted once again by Jose Bland and Mario Perez, the head of production at the factory. As stated earlier, the tour started out with a presentation by the staff that demonstrated Joya de Nicaragua’s roots and where the company is headed. We also got to take a sneak peek at a room we didn’t see on our last tour. This room was filled with every blend, exclusive, and historical release that Joya de Nicaragua has gotten then hands on including a box of Joya de Nicaragua from 1970.

We then took a look at the production floor. Why the floor looked similar to the way it did last trip, with the exception of new paint and touch-ups as well as a raised roof with lots of new natural light being brought into the building. After the production floor we quickly toured the sorting facility which is combined with their packaging department.

After the tour we were brought to an outside facility for one of Jose Blanco’s world famous blending seminars. Jose had us smoke multiple “puro” cigars (cigars made with only 1 tobacco type) while sharing out thoughts on the blend, burn, body, strength, and even guessing the ago, tobacco type, and country of origin. Needless to say, I bombed that. No matter how much we think we know about cigars, it’s always humbling to be part of these seminars. We finished the Joya de Nicaragua factory tour off with a “Nicaraguan shot” which was basically a shot of Nicaraguan rum chased with mango dipped into spicy chili and salt. The rum was good, but I went a bit crazy with the salt. It’s all I could taste for a few hours.

We headed back for dinner at the Drew Estate Factory and was greeted by the presence of Jonathan Drew. We were also surprised with a full pork roast (apple in the mouth and everything) and live Mariachi’s. We had a few drinks by the pool before calling it a night. We had another early morning ahead of us.

The following photo gallery may be a bit cumbersome. You can view the entire set over on our facebook (I don’t think you need an account to see them). 

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The post Drew Estate Cigar Safari 2013 – Days 1 – 2 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

This week, I bring to you the La Jugada Prieto, the first offering from Moya Ruiz Cigars, Inc. The La Jugada Prieto is currently available in five vitolas – Robusto (5 by 50), Toro (6 by 52 ), Belicoso ( 6 ⅛  by 52), Double Corona (7 ½ by 49), and Ancho (6 by 60) . Danny Moya, co-owner of Moya Ruiz Cigars, provided me this information on the cigar and company:

Moya Ruiz Cigars is owned by Danny Moya & Nelson Ruiz. We are the second private label to come out of Erik Espinosa’s new factory “La Zona” in Esteli, Nicaragua. La Jugada means “The Play” or  “Move” in spanish. Our ode to dominoes & poker! Prieto means dark in spanish because our first release is a maduro.

The Casas Fumando Team has reviewed a handful of sticks that have come out of Erik Espinosa’s factory, La Zona. You can find the reviews below:

• Arandoza Cigars – Blue Label
• Espinosa Cigars – Espinosa Habano
• Espinosa Cigars – La Zona Connecticut
• Espinosa Cigars – La Zona Habano

The Facts

Samples Provided by Moya Ruiz Cigars
Price: $8.00
Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5 by 50
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Pairing: Black Tea
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 30 Minutes

Pre-light

The La Jugada Prieto wears an oily Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper that is dark brown with a deep red hue. The color is consistent from head to foot.  I love how the bands look against the dark wrapper.  If I saw this stick at a tobacconist, I would be drawn to it by the presentation. A fine tooth covers the wrapper and feels like fine sandpaper when touched.  Mainly small veins are located on the cigar.

The aroma off the wrapper is of manure, cocoa, and rich tobacco. A good amount of spice hits my nose off the foot of the cigar. With a quick clip, a free draw is revealed presenting notes of cinnamon, clove, and more rich tobacco.  A spice lingers in my mouth after the cold draw, which makes me wonder if this is going to be a spice bomb.

First Third

With the foot band removed, I begin my lighting ritual by toasting the foot of the cigar with my Zippo Z-Plus!. Right off the bat, I am presented with a rich profile of wood, cooking spices, and pepper.  The woodsy notes are not the usual cedar but I am unable to identify it at this point. Due to the boldness of the flavors, I am a little hesitant to retrohale this La Jugada Prieto. The pepper and spice are in full force on the retrohale.  I hope this clears out the little congestion I have left. About an inch in, the flavors have settled and balanced out.  A chocolate finish is extremely enjoyable.  Additionally, some sweetness has entered the mix. The burn line is thin with a slight wave but nothing of concern and the white, toothy ash held just short of an inch.  The flavors are are full, while the strength is in the medium range and already moving up.

Middle Third

A copious amount of flavorful smoke is pouring out of the La Jugada Prieto.  The chocolate notes, that were on the finish earlier, have entered the profile, along with some cinnamon and dark coffee.  There is also a tanginess to the smoke that is intriguing.   The ash is a little flaky but holding to about an inch.  No change in the burn line so far.  I am already approaching the large main band in the second third. With no issues, the band comes unglued.  Flavors are still full and the strength is now equal to the flavors.

Final Third

As I enter into the last third, the flavors have become a bit toasty but remain rich.  The smoke continues to deliver cinnamon, wood, and rich tobacco flavors.  One side of the cigar is having trouble burning, which I quickly fix with a small touch-up. Whoa! I am starting to feel a good amount of nicotine. The final puffs remain satisfying with some sweet woodsy notes and chocolate.  After an hour and half of smoke time, it is time for the La Jugada Prieto to be laid to rest.

Wrap-up

I need to congratulate Danny Moya and Nelson Ruiz for coming out with a solid smoke!  The La Jugada Prieto is everything that I enjoy in a cigar.  The flavors were full and complex, the construction excellent (only one small touch-up), and the ash was to par.  The Robusto can be picked up at Smokeinn.com for $40.00 for a five pack.  With price in consideration, the La Jugada is in the sweet spot and this cigars brings additional competition to the market.  I absolutely love seeing small companies releasing exceptional cigars. Also, Mr. Moya was kind enough to let me know that a Habano blend will be out for the IPCPR 81st Annual Convention and International Trade Show.

The post Moya Ruiz Cigars – La Jugada Prieto appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Well I still happened to have one of the blends he put together for that trip while at the Joya de Nicaragua factory and I’m putting on the chopping block for today’s review! Tony has another Drew Estate trip coming up tomorrow so I figured that would be an excellent segway. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a full report once he gets back.

There’s not much else to report here, Tony’s posts above give a great explanation of the factory and the process they followed to put these blends together. The wrapper on this guy is the same as the Joya De Nicaragua Dark Corojo (Of course Tony would go for the most powerful wrapper in the house! lol). As for the rest of the leaves, I don’t have the details but we know the cigar is a 100% Nicaraguan Puro, Tony may add some more details about this later on.

So without further adieu, let’s dive in to see what this special and SUPER rare limited edition cigar has in store for me…

Cigar: Joya de Nicaragua Anthony Casas LE 2012
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Corona Gordo (5.75 x 46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nigaraguan
Price: Priceless!
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The top of the cigar is finish with a nice and clean double cap
• At the bottom, we have a well packed foot with just a small hole near the middle
• The wrapper is seriously toothy and has some decent medium sized veins
• Cut was easy and I made it very small but still ended up with a perfectly drawing cigar
• From cap to foot, the whole cigar was quite firm with just a bit of give when I squeezed it

Burn:
• Toasting was even, easy and pretty fast leaving me with a nicely glowing foot
• It seemed that right off the bat the wrapper stopped burning and the cigar started tunneling a bit, I decided to give it a quick touch-up to help it along for now
• After my little correction we look to be off to a good start as the cigar starts to burn razor sharp
• A few more touchups were needed near the halfway mark as the burn started to go a little slanted
• Touchups continue through the rest of the cigar, and they are really affecting the flavors
• For a corona vitola, this cigar is burning super slow

Smoke & Ash:
• A good amount of smoke is coming from each easy draw, it’s not super dense but I’d say just about right
• So far the ash is looking to be a nice light grey color with some darker accents
• The resting smoke is pretty prominent and steady, pumping out a nice campfire aroma
• First ash tapped off around 3/4 of an inch, it was starting to look wobbly but still seemed clean and even
• The next couple of ashes were about the same length but they seem to be getting a little more flaky, possibly because of the touch-ups I’ve needed to do
• The cigar continues to pump out a ton of smoke right down to the end

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is giving off a sort of sweet cedar aroma to it
• From the foot , I’m getting more of that nice sweet cedar with a touch of cocoa
• Pre-light draw gave me an interesting burst of cinnamon flavors that was very tasty and unexpected
• Initial draws bring more of that sweet cedar and a touch of the cinnamon notes, very nice
• Before evening burning through the first inch I’m getting a bunch of spice starting to kick in, lots of pepper here now
• A bit of dryness on the back of my throat as I pass the first 3rd here
• The burn started to get a little wild around the half-way mark so the cigar has needed a few touchups here and there which has affected the flavor quite a bit
• Retrohale definitely has some bite to it and a dry finish
• Body has been mostly in the medium range but it’s definitely picking up a bit in the last half
• In the last half, i’m left with mostly a dry spice type of flavor and some burnt notes due to the touchups i’ve been doing
• Not much change up in flavors to the end but the burnt notes have continued due to the touch ups

Final Thoughts:
The pre-light aromas and the first half of this cigar were really quite tasty and exciting. Unfortunately they didn’t last the whole way through but overall it was quite a nice experience, especially with that cinnamon burst at the beginning. Tony is definitely well on his way to becoming a world class torecdor! Will be exciting to see what he comes up with on his next venture.

Pairings:
Just plain coffee today, I lit this one up a bit earlier in the day so the Scotch and Port bottles just were not appealing quite yet. I know it’s 5 o’clock somewhere but I’ll wait till my own timezone hits 5 today! The coffee did make for an excellent pairing though, especially with the cinnamon notes at the beginning. With the build up in spices and body, I would have really liked to have a sweeter pairing at that point. But coffee really is an awesome all-around pairing to have with a nice cigar.

The post Joya De Nicaragua Anthony Casas 2012 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

As for me, life has been pretty busy and it will surely continue to be that way until the big wedding day coming up in September. I did manage to sneak away last week and put together a review of the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared. Try saying that 10 times fast! haha.

Now Viaje is a brand I don’t really get to see a lot of North of the border in Canada. Due to their mostly limited production they also have a fairly limited distribution and they also seem to be well sought after, making them even harder to come by. The few I have gotten come from trades or bombs, just like this one did. Today’s Viaje is part of their Oro line up and is the limited edition version, so it’s even more limited production so I’m happy to have a chance to review this one for everybody.

There isn’t a ton of info on the Viaje brand or this particular cigar but I’ll do my best to give a little bit of background. The brand owner is Andre Farkas and he naturally portrays the brand as a boutique cigar company which specializes in small batch cigars. The actual name Viaje is a Spanish word that translates to ‘Journey’ and Andre currently has 7 lines under the Viaje flag. The Oro lines is produced at the Raices Cubanas factory and comes wrapped with a Corojo99 leaf and a double binder.

Now if you can get your hands on a few of these, they’ve all been pretty darn tasty from the small samplings I’ve had so far. They are all Nicaraguan puros, so if you are a Nicaraguan fan, you will be at home here. So let’s jump on in and see if the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared lives up to the reputation that I’ve come to expect from the brand so far.

Cigar: Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared
Drink: Unibroue Raftman
Vitola: Double Torpedo (5.25 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $9
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada is an interesting looking figurado shaped cigar with a very dark brown wrapper that has a few golden highlights
• The wrapper definitely has some toothiness to it and isn’t afraid to show off a little bit of oilyness
• The cap of the cigar is finished cleanly with a single leaf that blends away into the wrapper
• There is definitely a soft springiness to this cigar, more so near the foot, I’m hoping it doesn’t translate into an open draw
• The foot itself is almost closed, with maybe just a quarter inch visible so I can’t really tell if it’s well packed or not
• A couple medium sized veins show through on the wrapper but they are fairly short and don’t look like they will be a problem
• The stick I have has a small crack in the wrapper near the band, probably from shipment, hopefully it doesn’t cause any problems

Burn:
• The foot is so small on this cigar so toasting was obviously super easy, now let’s see if it works out to be a nice burn too
• I always tend to have a lot of burn issues at the start of tapered cigars like this but this one seems to be starting off pretty well
• Through the first inch the burn is a bit wavy but it seems to be staying within a decent range and not requiring touchups
• The waves got the better of the burn and I needed to give it a quick touch up near the halfway mark

Smoke & Ash:
• Even from the tiny tapered foot at the start this cigar started producing massive amounts of smoke from each and every draw
• The resting smoke was consistent but not overpowering, just a nice light line steadily emerging from the foot
• The initial ash is nothing pretty, it seems pretty uneven and dark grey or black in most spots
• I tapped it off after about an inch since it looked like it was gonna fall anyway
• The ash also has no smooth burn lines to it, weird to see that it’s all just chunks here and there
• The next ash lasted a bit longer than an inch but it was still fairly weak and pretty much exploded when hitting the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is fairly light with only a little bit of woodsy aromas shining through
• The foot is very small so the aromas were pretty much the same as the wrapper here
• The pre-light draw carries more of the woodiness through but this time it’s much more noticeable and comes with a bit of clove and fresh vegetal notes as well
• The initial flavors are very similar to the pre-light with a lot of woodiness and vegetal flavors, plus a bit more of the clove spices
• The spices started to pick up as I head past the 1 inch mark, lots of interesting peppers, nutmeg and a bit of saltiness I usually only find in cubans
• As with a lot of sharply tapered cigars, I tend to get a bit of the oils coming out of the cap that make it a little bitter. Cutting it a bit more usually resolves this problem
• I’m getting a bit of leather in the mix now and the wood flavors have become more toasted now
• For the most part, the whole cigar has been in the medium bodied range and it’s had a nice bite on the retrohale with a smooth woodsy and clove finish
• Just past the half-way mark I’m getting a nice espresso flavor mixing in with the spices and woodsiness, this is getting better and better!
• All the flavors really started to gain some intensity near the end and balance out amazingly
• A nice tasty and flavorful finish without any harshness to worry about, bravo!

Final Thoughts:
I haven’t had too many Viaje’s in my days, mostly because they don’t reach Canada in distribution and of course they are fairly limited. But all-in-all I quite enjoyed this one! The ash may not have been pretty but we’re not here for good looks, we’re here for flavors and the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared did not miss the mark there at all. Tons of interesting flavors that kept changing made me wonder what the next draw was going to bring me, I love having that in any cigar. There were a couple issues on the burn but nothing major that I would knock this cigar for. The price is a bit up there at the $9 mark but even at that price I’d say it’s worth trying a few of these. That is, if you can find them cause they are pretty much all gone from what I can tell.

Pairings:
I’m not gonna re-invent the wheel here, I already did a good write up on the Unibroue Raftman when I paired it with the La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra. Here’s the rundown from my last post:

Next to the Scottish brewery of Innis & Gunn that I paired last week, another of my favorite breweries is none other than Canada’s own Unibroue. This place is based out of Quebec and has a HUGE inventory of brews with a ton of different and unique beers that are a rare find. Today’s brew is called Raftman and I only found a case of these while actually in Quebec, I’ve never seen it in any other stores so far. Now this brew was very interesting as the label says it is brewed with Whisky Malts so I just had to pick it up and give it a try. Well I’m glad I did cause this is one tasty brew and yet again another winner from Unibroue. It’s a fairly light amber beer but it packs in a ton of flavor. The whisky malts are very obvious as they give a classic touch of whisky, as if you just put a little whisky inside a good beer. Along with that it also has a delicious malty finish and some notes of sweetness as well.

As for the pairing, I found it made an awesome compliment for the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared. The unique and interesting flavors on the cigar made for an awesome experience to go with the beer. Other good selections could have been a nice Porto, or a flavored coffee seems like an interesting idea here.

The post Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

We were greeted by Jose Blanco and Mario as soon as we arrived. The first thing you notice about the JDN factory was how old, yet well taken care of the factory is. There is a lot of history there and it shows. After a brief introduction Jose and Mario took us inside. Right away I was surprised by just how small and quaint the factory is. It seems as if this is the little factory that could. Once we got out to the production floor I couldn’t help but get a sense of pride from all the workers. It was a totally different feel than any other factory I had toured in the past. The factory is set up very different too. There are two main floors, production goes down on the top floor while storage and packaging take place on the bottom floor. Once you climb the stairs you are thrown right into the rolling floor. Surrounding the rolling area are the sorting, tobacco storage, and quality assurance areas. One neat conversation I had with Jose Blanco was concerning the quality assurance process of the Cabinetta serie cigars. I was watching a lady roll only the maduro portion onto the cigar. You see, the cabinettas are rolled with the natural wrapper just like any other cigar, then a separate roller adds the maduro section. Jose was telling me that they limit their rollers productivity. They get paid per piece, but most are limited to about 325 cigars a day. There reason they do this is so that the roller doesn’t try to speed through their cigars to make more money which could possibly produce bad quality cigars. The idea is to pace yourself and do every cigar right. I then asked if that goes the same for that one roller who only had to place the maduro cap section on the Cabinetta, and surprisingly it did. They train that roller to be extra precise with that one portion. We even timed her with the roller rolling full sized cigars next to her and sure enough, they were working at the same piece. What this means is, each Cabinetta made actually costs Joya De Nicaragua almost twice as much in man-power cost, yet they commit to keeping the cost of that cigar low. Nicely done JDN.

Anyways. After touring the entire production floor we headed downstairs to take a look at warehousing and packaging. Again, this factory in all aspects is a well oiled machine. They have about half the people pumping out just as much product. The employees there really seem to know what they are doing. One thing I didn’t ask was what the average length of employment was for each of the workers there. I would imagine with the history of the company it would be pretty lengthy.

After the tour Jose and Mario brought us out back to an open, covered patio for some coffee and our Joya De Nicaragua blending session. The blending session here was really straight forward. We were schooled on the types and differences of the tobacco that they carry at Joya De Nicaragua. We were given tips on how to mix them, and what to pay attention to as we felt the texture of the tobacco, smelt the aromas, and even rolled a few leaves up and smoked them. Thor obviously new how to roll his own, but Mario Takeyama had some problems. I don’t have a picture of it, but I know some of the other guys there snapped a few. Basically, he made what he called the “Mawio Cigaw Buwwito”. It was almost the size of my arm. Man I love that guy.

After the blending sessions we headed back to Drew Estate to enjoy a relaxing lunch before checking out Jessie Flores’ subculture studios. Bascially, Subculture studios is the place where all the artwork for all the crazy Drew Estate projects gets thrown down. The company started with Jessie doing all the work. He actually explained that he hooked up with Jonthan Drew as a mere graffiti artist who ran into him at a gas station. The two hit it off and became good friends. As time went on, Jessie realized that Jonathan spoke very poor Spanish, and his translator sucked so Jessie went on to assume that role. The two became very close and as time went on Jessie soon became the artist behind all things Drew Estate.

Jessie now employs a handful of people under him who ensure that all things Drew Estate are hip, artistic, and plentiful. Serious this kid has so much raw talent it’s scary. You should really check out the pictures at the end of the post to see more of his artwork.

We headed back out on the road, this time on our way to visit the My Father factory. It was interesting to see how close the Nicaraguan factories are both in terms of distance, and relationships. Joya, Drew Estate, Oliva, Perdomo, and My father were all within a few minutes of each other

The rain had been hitting hard all day. We were actually there during the rainy season which means it was incredibly sunny one minute, pouring rain the next, the back to sunny, back to rain, and the cycle continued. Kind of like that clip in Forrest Gump. Anyways. What the rain did was it actually caused part of the My Father factory to lose power. Pete Johnson from Tatuaje greeted us at the door and took us on our tour. The first leg was the 4 buildings that were sans-power; the tobacco receiving, storage and sorting areas. It was different than most factories as each of these areas were housed within their own buildings. I wish I could have gotten more pictures there, but most of them didn’t come out due to the fact that it was pitch black.

After we toured the smaller buildings we headed inside while making a quick stop at the box storage area. My Father actually has a full box manufacturing facility on site, but it was closed and locked when we too the tour so sadly, we didn’t get to see that. Either way I was very impressed with the massive amounts of ready made boxes they had on hand. We proceeded through the tobacco bodega, then onto the rolling floor. Much like Drew Estate, My Father is a huge factory with a ton of rollers. Every at that, I don’t think that they had more than Drew Estate did. One awesome addition was a double table roller set put up in front of the rest of the rollers. You can see in the picture below who these two seats belong to.

After the production tour we hit the packaging department. Again, this area was huge. There was a ton of neat little projects going on. We actually got to take a first, hands on look to the much anticipated “Little Monsters” series by Tatuaje.

We ended the tour with a few minutes with the man, Jaime Garcia. The air in any room feels different when you have Steve Saka, Jaime Garcia, Pete Johnson, Jose Blanco, and Willie Herrera in it. It was a shocker and I think we were all impressed at the amount of talent and knowledge in that room.

After the My Father factory the Cigar Safari team lead us to a quick tour of the Oliva factory. After being in so many factories we were brisked through this one. The first thing I noticed about the factory was it was rather primitive. They weren’t using some of the same technologies or procedures some of the larger factories did. Again, this factory was just more of a hands on machine. This isn’t to say the company doesn’t produce top-quality smokes, we all know they do. It was just interesting how they seemed to put less money in the factory which ultimately shaves off the cost of their product. Oliva has always produced quality, cost effective cigars.

The most impressive part of the Oliva tour was the massive amounts of tobacco they have stored. Seriously, there were tons. Another great experience at the factory was we got to meet the legend himself, Gilberto Oliva, a.k.a. “the chick magnet”. Ok, they don’t call him that, but they did go on to tell us on how much a of a flirt he was. Look at the dude, he’s got charm written all over him!

The last leg of this expedition was a tour through the Drew Estate tobacco bodega. This was basically a crash course led by Steve Saka on how they store, ferment, and ready their tobacco for processing. I’ve never actually been involved as much with the hands on fermentation of tobacco so I soaked up a ton of knowledge from this experience. For those of you who don’t know, tobacco is fermented by being stacked in huge “pilons” about 4 feet tall. I have no idea how to spell that word, but you get the idea. Anyways, the stacking of the tobacco causes a reaction within the leaves that heats up the tobacco to temperatures as high as 160 degrees. No one knows for sure if it’s a chemical reaction or biological, but Steve Saka and Jose Blanco seem to think it’s more chemical. As the tobacco heats it releases the natural aroma into the air. They track the tobacco on a daily basis and rotation the fermentation as needed. We got to actually stick our hands inside a pilon to see just how hot it gets, ant it’s hot! Saka said that if you leave it unattended long enough it could actually combust and catch fire. Luckily, fire is the only disaster Drew Estate has yet to face (knock on wood).

From the tobacco bodega we headed back to Drew Estate for a much needed rest, and dinner. Burrito dinner to be exact with some of the best BBQ I have had. After dinner we hung out on the patio for some time before Jose Blanco started his blending session. This session was much more intensive. We started out by smoking a cigar that had 4 different wrappers. We had to guess which tobacco was used. I actually went 3-4 on that. He also went into everything from taste, texture, body, strength, and construction. One huge subject that came up was flavor in which Saka and Jose agreed with us bloggers that taste is related to memories of items that we have actually enjoyed. For instance, when we say chocolate and coffee, this is just our taste buds picking up flavors that remind us of coffee and chocolate which enables us to describe these flavors to you all. This is a subject that comes up often and I am glad that someone was finally on our side.

And that was that, the end of the trip. A few of us spent that night smoking and drinking late into the evening. Steve Saka eventually joined us and told us all sorts of stories from his past, his family, when he was a blogger, and the start of his career. It was really nice to hear from him on such a personal level. I swear, that guy needs to write a damn book on his experiences. One thing that I loved about the trip was Jonathan, Saka, and Jose’s love for not only what they do, but for us. Not many companies see new media as a valid form of media. Although more and more are coming around, these guys really see the power in what we do, the passion behind it, and the work we put in and respect it and us. We felt loved. At least I did.

In closing, I just want to thank everyone involved in this trip. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I urge any cigar enthusiast to enjoy a Cigar Safari trip. You get to meet amazing people, experience a wonderful country, and get schooled on the cigar manufacturing process. Again, Thank you Steve Saka, Jonathan Drew, Pedro, Allejandro, Pedro, Jessi, Jose Blanco, Gary, Pete Johnson, Dave Lafferty, John Brooke, Willie, and everyone else that joined us, and welcomed us.

Check out more pictures from the day: (click each image, once you are done hit “back” on your browser to return to this page. Annoying, I know, but the only other quick option was stupid flash.)

Click Here if you rather see the image via my personal Flickr slideshow.

Link: Drew Estate – Cigar Safari – Blogger Trip Day 1

Link: Drew Estate – Cigar Safari – Blogger Trip Day 2

The post Drew Estate – Cigar Safari 2012 – Blogger Trip Day 3 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

With the exception of Ben Lee from Nice Tight Ash who traveled through Houston, we all met up in Miami before the flight. The personalities on this trip were: Jerry Cruz and Brian Hewitt from Stogie Review, Thor from Cigar Press Magazine, Brooks and Charlie from Halfwheel, Ben from Nice Tight Ash, Dan Reeve and Mario Takeyama from Cigar Explorer, Jason and Anthony from Cigar Brief, and Jay from Cigar Photo. Although I have met a few of these guys before, it was a pleasure to finally meet up with some of the other guys for the first time.

Fast Forward 3 hours or so and we land in Managua, Nicaragua. The airport was crazy. It was jam packed. After you get through the baggage there was hardly enough room to walk. Luckily the Drew Estate crew quickly scooped us up, and threw us on the bus. Within seconds of boarding the bus I had a can of Tonu (Nicaraguan Beer) in one hand and a Liga Privada 9 in the other, Which is a good thing considering how crazy hot and humid the country was. Pedro, our tour guide and one of the front-runners for all the Cigar Safari trips, went over tons of information about the country as we headed for our first destination.

I can’t say exactly how long the bus ride was to the restaurant as I was too busy taking in the sights, but I would estimate it was about 45 minutes until we reached “Bucaneros”. A nice dining restaurant overlooking a large lake.

As we got off the bus Jonathan Drew, Johnny Brooke, and Dave Lafferty were all there to greet us. We enjoyed some badass meals and drinks as we were briefed on the trip’s agenda, what we should and shouldn’t eat, and just how awesome the trip was going to be. We spent about an hour and a half there before moving on to the next destination.

From the restaurant we were bussed about and hour and a half away to the city of Granada. Granada was once famous for the war that took place there, and parts of the city are still a wreck. Now, Granada is a beautifully rebuilt, humble city and overall tourist destination. We drove through the cobblestone streets until we arrived at a huge, open lake. It was hear that Jonathan Drew loaded us onto boats and we embarked out a very relaxing, and beautiful boat ride around some of the small islands on the lake. Each island looked as if it was own by a single party who build some of the highest-end luxury houses, as well as some tiny, cozy, living quarters. There was a even a tiny island about the size of your average house that housed a half dozen monkeys. We took plenty of food to toss to them as Pedro explained that they have always lived there and all the passing boats drop food for them. They were once allowed to hang out with the tourists on the boats until one jumped on and caused a lady to go crazy.

After the boat ride we headed out of Granada and headed for our hotel back in Managua. The bus ride was another hour and a half or so, so we were able to see even more of the country. We even passed an active volcano that was only a few miles from the highway. Once we reached our hotel, we dumped our bags, freshened up, and headed poolside for a drink and smoke before departing one more time for the evening.

The next item on our itinerary was dinner. Drew Estate decided to take us to one of the best, if not the highest rated restaurant in the city. Senses de something. Yes I know, boring, I forgot the name, but I didn’t forget the food, nor could I forget the live Jaguar and Puma they had in cages as you approach the establishment. As far as the food goes, They had to have had the best steak I have ever had, hands down. Not to mention the best avocado. The thing was as big as my head. Jose Blanco and his fiancé met up with us for dinner as well as Jonathan Drew’s banker. Jonathan and his banker went on to tell us about how he started the company financially, as a kid with only a few hundred dollars, literally begging someone to open a bank account for him. Needless to say, He has come a long way. After dinner we packed up, and headed back to the hotel room for the evening. No one stayed up that night, I think all of us were pretty tuckered out.

Check out more pictures from the day: (click each image, once you are done hit “back” on your browser to return to this page. Annoying, I know, but the only other quick option was stupid flash.)

Click Here if you rather see the image via my personal Flickr slideshow.

Link: Drew Estate – Cigar Safari – Blogger Trip Day 2

Link: Drew Estate – Cigar Safari – Blogger Trip Day 3

The post Drew Estate – Cigar Safari 2012 – Blogger Trip Day 1 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Drew Estate’s Double Signature Reserve has an interesting little story. As most of you know, Drew Estate sponsors what they call “The Cigar Safari”. The Cigar Safari is basically a 5 day long tour of Nicaragua, and many of the high end cigar factories hosted by Drew Estate. One of the interesting activities on the tour is one where you actually get to blend your own cigar, rolled in the Drew Estate factory. I’ll be the first to admin I’d totally bomb this, and probably make the crappiest cigar ever. But some people have made cigars using tobacco they absolutely love, and become very partial to the blends they put their names on. One of these lucky Safariers (I’m sure that’s not even a word) is Tobacco World owner Robert Wachtel. He created a blend that he fell so in love with, that he actually commissioned Drew Estate to create a mass of these sticks (100 boxes of 24 to be exact) that would be sold only at Tobacco World. These babies went FAST! So as I continue this review, bear in mind that Drew Estate did not blend these cigars, it was created by the mind of Robert Wachtel from Tobacco World in Atlanta, Georgia.

Prelight: Let me just start out by saying, this is a crazy looking cigar. The Double Signature Reserve has such a crazy, toothy wrapper. I even wrote the words “Stupidly Toothy” in my review notes. It feels almost like sandpaper. And to go with it, the wrapper is VERY hard, and gives off such a shine that it actually looks like it could be made form plastic. Outside of the crazy wrapper characteristics, the cigar carries the same orange, and dark chocolate colors as the Liga Privada T-52, in fact it’s the same wrapper as the T-52. The Double Signature Reserve itself is a very beefy, heavy stick. The thick body leads up to a nice, huge double cap before banded off with a dark brown, orange, and gold embossed band. The Front of the band shows the Double Signature Reserve name, by Drew Estate. While the only other markings are the “Dual Signatures” of the cigar blends creators, both Jonathan Drew and Robert Wachtel.

There are no soft spots or any misconstruction on this cigar what so ever. If anything, this cigar is so hard, heavy, and tightly bound that I could probably use it to break into a car of some sort. It seriously has no give to it, no matter how hard I squeeze it, within reason of course. The wrapper had a very nice floral, and cedar scent. The foot however had mainly a  strong barnyard and cedar scent.

Probably due to the tightly packed tobacco, the thickness, and the strength of the cigar’s wrapper, The Double Signature Reserve was really tough to clip using my Palio double bladed cutter. Once it pierced the wrapper though, the cut was perfect and clean. The cold draw kicked out some really interesting strong floral, and cinnamon flavors.

Size: 6 x 54 (estimated) –  Wrapper: Stalk Cut Connecticut Habano  –  Binder: San Andreas Mexican  –  Filler: Dominican Pilito Seco, Brazilian Mata Fina Viso, and 2 different Jalapa-grown (Nicaraguan) Criollo Habana Leaves –  Body: Full

First Smoke: As expected, the Double Signature Reserve starts off with a butt-load of pepper, and surprisingly a lot of rich, dark chocolate flavors. I didn’t get the floral taste I was expecting, in fact, the cigar starts out a little flat in the flavor profile, but after a while a bit of grape decided to slip in, brightening up the flavors a bit. Despite the tightness of the tobacco, the draw was extremely loose, but it kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke, as well as a heck of a lot of cedar scented stationary smoke. You would think, due to the cedar aroma the smoke gives off that the cigar would carry more of a cedar flavor. The burn-line has been dead even right off the bat, and produced this awesome tight, white, consistent ash that held on for almost two inches before giving way.

Halfway There: And there it is! The cedar that I have grown to love from the Liga Privada T-52 has finally shown it’s happy face in the Double Signature Reserve. Along with the cedar, there is still quite a bit of pepper, as well as some more dark chocolate, and even a bit of orange peel coming it. I know that sounds like some sort of dessert, but I swear those were the flavors I started pulling out of this. Outside of the flavor change-up I really started to feel the body from the cigar as well. The retrohale was a little too harsh for me, so I didn’t find myself doing it too often. The burnline was still absolutely perfect well into the second third.

Finish: After all was said and done, the Double Signature Reserve took me about an hour and a half to take down. Keep in mind, I am a faster smoker. The final third actually started getting a bit bitter, sadly. But on the plus side, some of that floral taste I picked up from the cold draw started to sneak into the mix, masking a lot of the harshness. The cedar was still in full effect, with the dark chocolate backing it. I got a nice little nicotine kick from this cigar.

Overview: All in all, this was a pretty good cigar. Would I consider it over a Liga Privada? Not in a million years. But when you take in consideration that Robert isn’t someone that comes up with new cigar blends for a living, he did a hell of a job. This cigar was good, but the flavors seemed to fall flat at times. The harsh build up early into the final third was a big turn off for me as well. I really wonder what this cigar would be like in a corona. I think it would be damn good actually. Would I buy it again? Maybe, but not by the box, if they weren’t already sold out, which they are. Would I recommend it? Honestly, not to everyone. Maybe people who love the Liga Privada lines and are interested in a departure from the norm.

Pairing: I paired this cigar with some Obsidian Stout from the Descutes brewery in Oregon. What a wonderful, full bodied stout this is. It’s seriously like drinking cold coffee in beer form. The chocolate, coffee, and malt notes really gave another dimension to a cigar that otherwise wouldn’t have held my attention as much as it did. This cigar would pear perfect with any stout, porter, port wine, black coffee, tea, or something flavorful that would really help bring that little something extra to the cigar.

The post Double Signature Reserve by Drew Estate appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.