Back in 2011, Emilio Cigars, owned by Gary Griffith, began making a bunch of noise within the cigar blogger community.  Several Emilio cigars received high praises, which was the start of my almost year-long search for his sticks.  While they have yet to arrive at the local retailers, I did stumble across a few of the cigars at Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert, Arizona in mid-2012.  Instantly, I fell in love with the AF1 and AF2 lines.  On my next visit to AZ in October, I made sure to pick up some more Emilio cigars. This time I snagged the Draig K. With almost seven months of rest, it is time to see what this cigar is all about.  The Casas Fumando Team has reviewed the following cigars from Emilio Cigars:

• Emilio Cigar – AF1
• Emilio Cigars – AF2
• Emilio Cigars – Grimalkin

The Draig K is produced at Nestor Plascencia’s El Parasio factory and is available in four vitolas: Corona (5 1/2 by 46), Robusto (5 by 50), and Toro (6 by50). The K began to hit the shelves of retailers in July of 2012. While it is stated to be an “extremely limited” cigar, the Draig K is still available at several online retailers for a price in the $9.00 range.

The Facts

Price: Around $9.00
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Columbian Maduro
Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran
Pairing: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 15 Minutes

Pre-light

The Draig K sports an extremely dark brown wrapper.  The Oscuro looking, Columbian Maduro wrapper has some medium to large veins and a nice amount of oils.  Half of the cigar closest to the foot has some sponginess, while the other half is firmly packed. I hope this doesn’t lead to any performance issues.

The triple cap has been applied very sloppily, with some bunching on one side. A shallow cut of the cap has opened up a beautiful, free draw. I got so excited to light up this bad boy that I forgot to do my usual pre-light ritual of checking out the aromas off the wrapper and foot.

First Third

The burn is off to a crazy start.  I was forewarned by a Casas Fumando reader to dry box the Draig K prior to smoking to help alleviate burn issues.  The Draig K has been resting around 60% humidity, a little dryer than normal for me, but it may not have been enough.  There is a youngness to the smoke, almost grassy,with a touch of sweetness.  Additionally, there are notes of earth, leather, pencil shaving, and pepper, along with a minor spice. The finish of the smoke is of black coffee and a slightly charred flavor.The burn line is all over the place and several touch-ups were required in the first third. The dark grey, flaky ash held to an inch before dropping. The flavors are at the high-end of medium and strength is in the low medium range.

Middle Third

No change in the burn as I make my way into the second third. The pencil-shaving flavor is now at the front of the profile, along with the earthiness. The spice is warming my mouth and leaving a slight irritation at the back of my throat.   The Draig K has a tanginess to it that is unique and something I rarely pick up on.  The retrohale brings out sharp pepper and tons of spice. The finish has become very smokey and reminds me of  the smell of a campfire. Halfway into the second third, the draw has become a little more firm and the burn line seems to be correcting itself. I believe I finally reached the area the cigar felt more firmly packed. As I examined the ash mid-way through the second third, there seems to have been a void in the middle of the cigar.  The flavors are full and the strength is creeping up on me.

Final Third

A smokiness is now dominating the flavor profile.  The smoky flavor is something I have picked up on with pipe tobacco but not too often in cigars. It is similar to a fired cured tobacco flavor. The grassy flavor from early on  is no longer in the flavor make-up and a good amount of earth and pepper remains.  With an inch and a half remaining in the cigar, some chocolate notes pull through and remain on the finish of the smoke.  The burn is performing much better at this point but still wavy.  After an hour and fifteen minutes, it is time to put the Emilio Draig K to rest.

Wrap-up

I really wish the Draig K would have blown me away but I was completely unimpressed. While some enjoyable flavors showed up, the smoky, charred-like flavors stole the show.  The construction and burn also took away from this stick. I probably touched-up the Draig K no less than ten times.  Even if the flavors were more enjoyable, touching-up a cigar so often becomes burdensome.  But with that said, I am still a huge fan of Emilio Cigars and several of the other lines Gary Griffith has out.  This cigar was just not for me.  I will be picking up a couple more if I stumble across them and will provide updates if they provide a different smoking experience.

The post Emilio Cigars – Draig K 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.

So at the end of my last post we had just finished up at first island on our cruise which was the beautiful island of St. Thomas.

Our next day was spent at sea so I went to check out the “cigar bar” that this ship apparently had. It was a small room that the bartender sold cigars from under the counter. They were all the mass production blends such as the Dominican Romeo y Julieta’s and Cohiba Red Dots, none of which appealed to me so I passed on that and enjoyed another Padron 2000 I picked up the day before.

Our third day brought us to the island of St. Lucia where we took a Pirate ship to a beach, no shopping here so I can’t report on any cigar selection or prices. But the weather was awesome, the water was blue and the rum punch was flowing!

The next island stop was Barbados. We went into the main town but it wasn’t much to see or do, we were gone pretty quickly and I didn’t see any shops that looked to be selling cigars in our short time there. We spent some more time at the beach then walked around the duty free shops in the cruise port. There was one shop that had a decent selection here including their locally made Royal Barbados brand which is a decent mild stick and a variety of Avo’s, Joya de Nicaraguan, Davidoffs and a few La Aurora brands. Prices were still a bit over US Retail here but were actually pretty good. I managed to grab myself a sampler of La Aurora sticks and some Royal Barbados while at this shop. That night I sat outside and enjoyed one of the La Aurora Cameroon’s I picked out.

The island of St. Kitts was up next, we did a scenic tour on train which took us the entire way around the island. The island has an amazing mountain right in the middle that touches the clouds, was very impressive. Then we walked around the shops at the cruiseport again but I didn’t see much in the way of cigars. This port was full of souvenir shop after souvenir shop. Not all that interesting but I did get to see an awesome sunset. Here’s a shot of it from my iPhone, I’ll have more on Flickr soon if anyone is interested in seeing some trip photos.

Our final island, and one of my favorites was St. Maarten (or St. Martin). This is a beautiful clean island with lots of nice shops and long beaches by the blue water. Another place I’d really like to come back and stay for a week or so. Here I found some of the best prices on Cuban cigars but the next day we’d be flying into Florida so I didn’t want to bring them into the US. If you do happen to stop here I do have to caution you that there were a lot of fakes so be careful what you buy! I did grab myself an RyJ Corona to enjoy while we walked around and also managed to buy myself a nice watch! While watching the ship leave port I also enjoyed a Don Lino backed by some awesome scenery.

The next day brought us back to San Juan where we made another dash to the airport and off to Florida. No time to shop around in San Juan unfortunately. While in Florida I got to enjoy a few more sticks and even remembered to take pictures of some. Here I am enjoying a Leon Jimenez Red Label with some more Rum & Coke.

While we were in Florida I made a trip down to visit our friend Jackie over at Bonita Smoke Shop. It’s about 2.5 hours away from where we were so I didn’t get a chance to stay too long. I dropped off my wife to do some shopping and headed over there. Now I have to say Jackie and the crew are a bunch of super awesomely nice people and I will DEFINITELY be going to visit them again next time I’m in Florida. She sat me in her office and we just chatted for a bit then she took me for a grand tour. This place is like cigar lovers heaven. It was room after room of nothing but good cigars. Was great to meet her and to see the shop. If you live or will be anywhere near Bonita Smoke Shop, make sure to pay them a visit! This pic is just a tiny corner of the store, there’s tons more in there.

I managed to grab myself a whole variety of sticks but here’s some of the main ones. I got a few of each of these but to make the picture easier I just lined up one of each.

When I got home that night I lit up one of Jackie’s special house blends called the Time Warp and paired it with 2 interesting brews, the Vieille Provision Saison Dupont and some Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale. The cigar was fantastic with tons of flavors and the beers were very tasty too. Thanks for the awesome cigar Jackie, you rock!

Another place I hit up while down there is a restaurant chain called Columbia. This chain started out in the cigar town of Ybor City which is just outside of Tampa. They make some great food and offer up a killer Sangria. They also have some house blend cigars out of their own little factory. I blindly picked up a couple of sticks, more out of curiosity and a bit of a souvenier. Turns out I should have bought more, this was a damn tasty cigar and next time I’m down there I will definitely be grabbing more! I also paired it with some Stone Imperial Russian Stout which was damn good as well!

I smoked a few more cigars that week but doesn’t seem I grabbed many pictures. Some were while we were walking and shopping and sometimes at the beach when I didn’t have my phone. I did manage to snap a pic of this pairing which was another Jaime Garcia Reseva Especial and a tasty brew called the Weyerbacher Blasphemy Ale. Both were darn good!

I think that’s all I got for our good readers. Hope I didn’t ramble too much and it was an interesting read. I had an awesome time and if anyone has questions about any of the places I visited I can go into more detail for you on what/where things were or whatever else. Things are still crazy at home since I’m still moving boxes and clothes while also working but look for me to finally buckle down and squeeze out a full review for everyone next week (I hope!) lol

Will have more pics of the trip up on Flickr soon, if you want that link just let me know!

The post Why I was MIA – Part 2 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I have to admit I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to the Zino Platinum cigars, the Z Class is the only cigar in their line-up that I’ve had. Now I have had myself a few Davidoff cigars and they are the creators of the Zino Platinum lineup. Davidoff is well known for producing high quality cigars so does the Zino Platinum Z Class live up to that name?

The Z Class is one of the newer lines in the Zino Platinum inventory and are claimed to be a smooth and spicy medium-full bodied cigar. One thing about the Z Class I really love is their packaging. The box is actually a sleek Gun Metal colored tin packed with 20 cigars each. It also rounds out the line-up with the fuller bodied profile and comes in 4 standard sizes, Toro, Robusto, Pyramide and Corona.

The name and the sleek box remind me of a Mercedes-esque imagery for this line-up of cigars. The whole package is fairly attractive and now it’s time to see if it lives up to the reputation of it’s parent company and the look and feel of the brand as a whole.

Cigar: Zino Platinum Z Class 643C
Drink: Southern Tier Brewing Company Imperial Choklat Stout
Vitola: Corona 643C (6 x 43)
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Peruvian Pelo de Oro
Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran Ligeros
Price: MSRP $8.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Z Class presents with a dark cinnamon brown wrapper that is rugged and rough
• There are a fair bit of visible veins but none seem to be too large or concerning
• The weight of this cigar is fairly heavy compared to others in the same vitola
• The top of this cigar is finished with a clean double cap while the foot looks to be moderately packed, there are a couple of small visible caps
• From cap to foot, the whole cigar is fairly firm when squeezed
• The cap was very tough and took quite a bit of effort to clip off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw seems pretty tight as well, lets hope that opens up

Burn:
• Toasting took a good amount of time and left me with a fairly evenly glowing foot, just a couple dark spots that refused to catch until my first draw
• We’re off to a bit of a wavy start here, hope that doesn’t keep up for too long…
• The slight wave at the start never did correct itself so I needed to give it a small little touch up around the 1/3rd mark
• After that touch-up the Z Class is smoking much better with a fairly clean burn, there is a slight wave but nothing out of control as I pass the half-way point
• I also have to note that this cigar is burning very slowly, definitely giving you time to enjoy without having to draw too often

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite a pretty tight draw, I’m still getting a ton of smoke from this cigar
• Even while resting, the Z Class is pumping out a fair bit of smoke and giving off a burnt wood type of aroma
• The ash comes off with a nice light grey tone but it is flaking quite a bit
• Due to it’s visible weakness, I’m ashing this cigar at about a half-inch right now
• Ash seems to get pretty weak consistently around the half inch mark, so I’ve been ashing it to avoid any disasters

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Zino Platinum Z Class is fairly woodsy and musty, a pretty bold aroma
• The foot adds more of the mustiness and with that comes a touch of spice and sweetness
• First thing I noticed on the pre-light draw was a spicy tingle on my lips and tongue, beyond that I was met with a very pleasant sweet cedar flavor
• Initial draws are filled with the musty woodsiness I was picking up on the aroma, so far the spice and sweet cedar are no where to be found
• Within a few draws, the mustiness seems to have disappeared and I’m left with the woodsy flavors and a variety of spices, mostly like a mild or white pepper
• The spice has started to settle down as I reach the end of the first third, now I’m balancing out nicely with some woodsy and earthy flavors
• So far the body has been in the low end of medium and the small bite on the retrohale is combined with a somewhat dry spice finish
• The sweet cedar seems to be trying to make an appearance but the earthy and woodsy flavors are drowning it out, hopefully they will balance out a bit more although I am enjoying it as is so far
• The sweet cedar is putting up a good fight and starting to be more dominant, I’m really enjoying the balance here now
• The bite on the retrohale remains fairly tame but the dry finish has changed to a more smooth creamy finish, adding the the enjoyment factor on this cigar
• The last third is turning out to be a creamy and enjoyable finish, the balance is just right with the cedar, sweetness, earthy and spicy flavors
• The nub of the cigar was easy smoking with lots of flavor and no harshness, a good finish to a tasty cigar

Final Thoughts:
This was my first venture into Zino Platinum territory so I went in with an open mind and no biases for or against the brand. I didn’t really know much about the brand at all before I did research for this review. Turns out that the Z Class is a pretty tasty cigar. It had an interesting flavor profile and burned fairly well. There was nothing that really stood out too much but the whole experience was enjoyable and I don’t really have any complaints. The price was a tad bit higher than I would have liked for a corona sized cigar but the flavors were very enjoyable so I’m a bit torn here. Drop these to $6 for the corona and I’d be more interested. But having said that, if I saw them at a B&M I’d be curious to try some of the larger vitolas as there definitely is some potential here, I may enjoy those a lot more. I think some people would really enjoy these so I’d have to suggest giving a 5-pack a try, there is definitely a market for this profile. I think this cigar has definitely sparked in interest in trying more Zinos, they are very tough to find for me but maybe my next trip south or the border, these will be on my radar.

Pairings:
I believe this is the final brew I have remaining from the haul I brought back from Florida earlier in the summer. It is the Imperial Choklat Stout from Southern Tier Brewing Company. This brew pours super black but with surprisingly little foam in the glass. The flavors are pretty unique here and I wouldn’t compare this to a typical stout. It’s definitely got a lot of hoppy bitterness but it doesn’t have much of the creaminess I tend to find in a lot of stouts. It’s almost closer to a porter in my humble opinion, but I am no beer guru. But despite that, the beer has some very good flavors going on here. There is a ton of dark chocolate flavors in this brew and they pair amazingly well with the hoppy bitterness I mentioned. There’s also a hefty serving of malt making this taste almost like a non-creamy alcoholic milkshake? lol. I’m surprised to see it also clocks in at 11% Alc./vol., I can’t even tell it’s that strong since it’s so smooth. So did it pair well with the cigar? Indeed it did! The smooth and bold flavors on the Choklat Stout mixed nicely with the flavors of the Zino Platinum. Similar stouts and porters would do well here, and of course a nice Port would have been even better! haha

The post Zino Platinum Z Class appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Le Hoyo part of this cigars name is actually a series created by Hoyo de Monterray which also includes the Le Hoyo Du Roi, Du Depute, Du Gourmet, Du Maire and Du Prince. Each name also represents a slightly different vitola but something unique to this series is that no cigar is larger than a 42 ring gauge which is fairly odd to see in todays cigar world where everyone seems to be making a 6×60 or something similar. In fact, the whole Hoyo de Monterray line up does not even pass the 50 ring gauge mark.

The Le Hoyo des Dieux is actually one of the larger vitolas measuing 5.5 inches and a 42 ring gauge. Only the Du Gourmet is comparable at 6.8×33. I picked this box as my purchase for 2 reasons. Firstly, it came with great recomendations from a few BOTL’s and my secondly, my research showed it was claimed as the best option from the Le Hoyo series.

I won’t get into too many details of the brand history but it is an interesting read, as is most Cuban brands. Basically, a Spanish immigrant to Cuba started his career working the fields and eventually began his own cigar line which gained a loyal following. We’ve also touched upon a few other Hoyo De Monterray reviews including the Regalos Edicion Limitada 2007 and the Epicure Especial. Be sure to check out those 2 reviews for more info on the brand.

We’ve had some pretty crazy weather up here, going from somewhat warm to incredibly cold. In fact, we already hit -13F just this week… that was a bitterly cold day! But between the bad days there’s been some good smoking days I’ve been taking advantage of. So let’s see how the Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux stands up in todays review!

Cigar: Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux
Drink: Quinta Da Romaneira 2004 Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port
Vitola: Grand Corona (5.5 x 42)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $7.00
Burn Time: Just over an hour

Construction:
• The Hoyo de Monterray is a surprisingly consistent looking cigar, all the sticks in the box I purchased were remarkably similar. I point this out because I find some Cuban cigar boxes to have a wide variety of oddly constructed cigars sometimes
• The wrapper on this cigar screams cedar just by looking at it, it has a light brown almost woodsy looking appearance to it
• The are some medium sized veins here and there but for the most part these cigars are smooth and well constructed
• Each cigar had a nice firmness to them with just a little bit of give when squeezed
• The triple cap atop each of the Le Hoyo des Dieux is finished cleanly and appears very well applied
• Filler in the foot looks very bountiful as well, cleanly cut and evenly colored
• The draw on the Des Dieux is just about perfect, getting a nice stream of smoke from it with little effort

Burn:
• Toasting was very even and easy, the whole foot was glowing with very little effort
• The draw is going nice and sharp with only a slight wave to it
• Some times it seems as though the cigar has gone out but two quick draws seems to bring it back to life easily
• The wave got a little out of control and needed a small correction, after ashing it looks like the cause was a small hole in the filler. Not a big tunnel or anything but a big of a gap between the leaves
• The next ash revealed another small hole that was affecting the burn, this one looks more like a tunnel so I’m hoping it doesn’t extend too far…

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is bring a perfect mouthful of smoke with very little effort
• The resting smoke it fairly heavy right after a draw but quickly dies down to a very light line of smoke that gives off a sweet cedar aroma
• The ash is starting off with a nice light grey color to it and is looking clean and strong
• I was surprised to see the ash on this thinner cigar easily pass 1 inch and made it to about 1.5 inches before I tapped it off, very clean, strong and even
• I find myself taking a few extra draws as I get to the halfway mark to get more smoke and the resting smoke has died down too

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux gives off a nice cedar aroma with a small spice kick
• The foot also gives off a nice sweet cedary spice aroma with a sort of creamy touch
• Pre-light draw brings lots of cedary and woodsy goodness with a light spice undertone to it
• Initial few draws bring more of that cedary smoothness and an undertone of light gingerbread spices, very nice start
• The body right from the start is undeniably mild but very flavorful
• The retrohale on the other hand has no bite and only a faint cedar finish, but at least it’s smooth
• There is quite a bit of earthiness sneaking into the flavor profile within the first inch or so
• The body of the cigar seems to have picked up somewhat at only 2 inches, it easily jumped into a more medium range and the flavors are a lot more intense and enjoyable
• The gingerbread-type of spices are creating a neat little kick on the retrohale and the creamy cedar finish has stepped up a notch too, very nice
• Cedar, spice and earthiness still dominate the flavor profile but it’s picked up a bit in intensity
• I’m also picking up a slightly bready type of flavor which is going very nicely with the spices
• The cigar continued on with the flavors balancing nicely and taking turns being the prominent one
• There was almost no strength or harsh buildup to the end, it stayed a smooth and flavorful medium right to the nub

Final Thoughts:
Despite a couple draw and burn issues, I actually enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. The flavors were spot-on and not diverse, they kept my interest the whole way through. I think the vitola was a perfect fit since I may have gotten a bit bored if this were a larger torpedo or churchill. At a price that isn’t too scary these are also fairly high on the cost-to-flavor ratio. The finish on this cigar was also very flavorful and it burned right to the end with no negative side effects at all. I’m curious to see what some aging will do to this cigar but they are already very tasty as is. I will definitely be looking to keep some of these in my humidor. Not only were they tasty but I actually liked this vitola a lot too!

Pairings:
Today’s Port pairing comes from a random grab at the local store. I’ve never really seen this bottle before and I like to try new ones so I grabbed it. The winery is called Quinta da Romaneira and this is their 2004 Unfilitered Late Bottle Vintage Porto. Now I should note that I’m not exactly sure where the “unfiltered” part comes in here, the Port is surprisingly clear and clean with almost no sediment from the glasses I’ve had so far. This particular port fell short of my expectations, it almost tasted watered down. Closer to a glass of light red wine than a finely fermented port, and especially not one worthy of a 7-year aged sticker on the bottle. There are some nice light fruity notes and a decent merlot after-taste but it’s not my type of port. If you’re just venturing into port I’d say it’s a good starter bottle as it might bridge the gap between a light wine and a strong port. It’s not all bad though because it actually paired well with the flavors of the Le Hoyo des Dieux since they weren’t overpowering or super spicy. They both complimented each other quite well. I think this Hoyo De Monterray cigar would pair very nicely with a hot cup of coffee or possibly an oak aged beer to pair with the cedar flavors.

The post Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Before heading down south for a couple weeks I picked out a cigar to review that recently made an appearance at the IPCPR show in July 2011. It’s not the first report of this cigar though as is was initially released in limited quantities back in May of this year. Originally it was released to be sold in singles and 5-packs along with the purchase of other EO Brands cigars and is soon to be available in boxes of 10. I’ve already seen them posted up on some online cigar retailers who seem to be taking pre-orders.

The La Bomba is one of the first new cigars coming from EO Brands since they merged with Rocky Patel not long ago. There seemed to be a lot of criticism and concern over the direction of the company after that merger and I think they can be put to bed after the news of this release. The cigar is still blended by Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega of the original EO Brands company and also continues to be rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua.

From some web research, it seems the official name of the cigar is the 601 La Bomba. As you can see from the picture, it will be a yellow 601 label placed at the foot of the cigar with an interesting warning. I like the comedic side! The La Bomba has an interesting appearence with it’s “fuse” like pig tail on the cap. It’s been touted as a pepper and spice ‘blast’ no less, so let’s see if the imagery coincides with the experience. Will I be “blown away”? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist! haha)

Cigar: EO Brands 601 La Bomba (Yellow Label)
Drink: Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port
Vitola: “Atom” Corona (5.5 x46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: About $8
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A fairly rough looking wrapper with lots of veins surrounds with cigar, none of them are over sized but they are noticeable
• The dark chocolate brown color shines in the light due to it’s oiliness, very appealing look
• The top of the cigar is finished with a triple cap that flows into a long pig tail, making this look sort of like a stick of dynamite
• The cigar has a nice firmness with a slight spring which is petty even throughout
• The foot of the cigar looks to be mostly well packed with a couple spots that seem a little open
• The cap clipped off easily and left me with a great draw

Burn:
• Toasting was just about spot on, taking a bit of time but not too long before my culinary torch had it glowing evenly
• The La Bomba started burning great right off the start and is staying lit with minimal draws
• At first the cigar seemed to be burning quickly but it slowed down and is burning super slow now
• Burnline is razor sharp through the first half and still burning slowly
• Razor sharp burn continue to the end but it got a little hot at the nub

Smoke & Ash:
• This cigar started out with a huge burst of smoke, very thick and full
• Despite the ton of smoke from each draw, the resting smoke is very minimal going almost unnoticeable after a few seconds in the ashtray
• The ash is a little uneven and rough around the edges but it’s producing a very nice white color. It’s not flaking but doesn’t look too strong
• First ash lasted a little over an inch and fell softly into the ashtray
• Nice ashes continued for the remainder or the cigar, very nice construction!

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the cigar gives off a spicy and woodsy aroma, actually made me sneeze! lol
• The foot brings more spice and wood, along with a bit of earthy or barnyard aroma
• The pre-light draw is very interesting bringing some sweet tartness on top of the woodsy and spicy burst
• The initial draws are packed with pepper spice that makes you tongue and lips tingle, along with a smooth woodsy undertone
• The cigar started off in the medium bodied range and the retrohale already has a hefty bite to it.
• The finish has been somewhat dry and mostly with a flavor of wood
• Within the first inch the pepper blast laid back a bit, its still there but now it’s more of a compliment rather than the major player
• The woodsy and earthy notes have taken center stage and now I’m getting some leather mixed in there as well
• The cigar really balances out nicely and gets much smoother after the first third, the flavors haven’t changed much but they are brighter and the finish isn’t dry anymore
• As I pass the halfway point the body and spice are building up, definitely lots more pepper in the mix now with a biting raw nutmeg
• The spice and body continue to build in the the last couple inches, definitely into the full range
• The overall profile is still smooth but the dryness on the finish is slowly creeping up again
• Only minor harshness at the nub but the heat of the cigar had me lay it down just a bit early cause my fingers were burning, lol

Final Thoughts:
The EO Brands La Bomba is all in all and enjoyable smoke. It’s flavor profile will definitely cater towards those who like some bite and kick in their cigar. Usually that’s not my favorite profile but this one had a good balance to it through most of the cigar. The burnline was spot on the entire time and that always grants extra points in my mind. I don’t think I would offer this cigar up to a new cigar smoker but most regular cigar lovers will find the cigar interesting and it will keep you on your toes.
Let me add that this cigar had some punch to it that I didn’t realize until I stood up, a definite nicotine kick here and a powerful little cigar!

Pairings:
Not doing anything new in this department today, sorry! lol. I like my Port and I stand by it, especially when I’m heading into a cigar I know is higher up in the full range. The Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port is a great drink that fits me perfectly. Price, flavor and smooth texture make it a great pairing to many cigars. I recently reviewed the Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro and the Pinar Del Rio 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Madura with this pairing. I found the Port to be an excellent match for the EO Brands 601 La Bomba’s peppery spice and power. The sweet and boldness of the port really stands up to it while complimenting it as well. I think a careful pairing will make or break this cigar so make sure to reach for something a little fuller. Other possible pairings could include a nice scotch or maybe a strong and bitter Belgian ale.

The post EO Brands 601 La Bomba (Yellow Label) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

A little while back I had the chance to review and enjoy one of the My Father Cigars Le Bijou 1922. Today I’m taking on a slightly different cigar, the Cedros Deluxe. Just like the Le Bijou, this cigar is blended by Don Pepin Garcia. The Cedros Deluxe series comes in a few different sizes each with their own unique name. Today’s review will focus on the Corona Gorda size which is called the “Eminentes”. Each cigar in this line also comes wrapper in a cedar sleeve and an additional band near the foot.

Now this is a beautifully presented cigar! The bands on the My Father’s never cease to impress me. They have a cleanly printed matte label with green, red and pink accented by some metallic gold lettering. Even the lettering printed on the cedar sleeve is precise and clear. It’s easy to tell there was a significant amount of attention to detail in the creation of each aspect of this cigar. But enough blabbing from me, let’s hop to it and see how this cigar actually smokes.

Cigar: My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes
Drink: Delaforce Reserve Porto
Vitola: Corona Gorda (5.625 x 46)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00-$8.00
Burn Time: A little over 1 hour

Construction:
• After carefully and easily sliding the cedar sleeve off the cigar I was greeted with a beautiful chocolaty brown wrapper that shimmered with a slight oiliness
• There were only a couple small veins visible and the wrapped has an almost velvety feel to it
• The head of the cigar is finished with a smooth and clean triple cap
• The foot appears moderately packed
• The whole cigar had a slight softness to it when squeezed, even and consistent throughout
• The cap clipped cleanly and easily off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw is spot on, just enough resistance

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and quick and left the foot glowing perfectly even
• Burn has been mostly straight through the first third with some minor waviness
• After ashing the first time I noticed a tunnel forming in the center of the cigar, so far it hasn’t affected my burn much and is still burning fairly even
• The tunnel was still there as I got into the last bit of the cigar but it still didn’t affect the burn much with only one small retouch needed the whole time

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings with it a good mouthful of smoke
• The resting smoke is surprisingly minimal and gives off a great cedar aroma
• The ash is a mix of light grey and white areas and is having a small amount of flaking around it
• I tapped off the first ash after about an inch as it started going a little lopsided and looked weak, but it held on tightly until then
• The next ash also lasted over an inch but fell to the floor on the way back to ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• This while cigar smells completely like cedar! Oh wait… let me remove that cedar sleeve..
• Ok, now the cigar still smells like cedar! But added in there is some barnyard and spice aromas
• The foot of the cigar definitely brings more of that hay/barnyard aroma and a bit of spice that tingles the nose
• Pre-light draw brings a lot of cedar to my palate and a nutmeg or clove type of spice
• Initial draws are filled with a smooth and creamy cedar flavor accented by a mild clove and nutmeg spice.
• I’m also picking up a earthy green type of flavor that’s interesting
• Body through the first bit has been mostly mild and offering a creamy and smooth finish
• The cedar picked up it’s intensity as I reached the halfway mark and added in a touch of white pepper and a bit of roasted coffee
• As I hit the last third, the coffee and spices started to build in intensity, the body also picked up a bit to a nice medium
• The retrohale on this cigar has had only a small bite and smooth cedar finish the whole way so far
• The roasted coffee and white pepper notes seemed to take control in the last third with the cedar playing a minor part
• Body got a bit stronger near the end, touching into the full category but I’m still not feeling any nicotine kick on this one

Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable cigar from start to finish. The flavors were always tasty and had some complexity to them but can still be enjoyed by any level of smoker. The various flavors also changed up throughout the cigar adding some interesting and enjoyable dimensions that kept me on my toes. Construction was excellent as well. The price on this line of cigars is fairly comfortable as well, making it easy to pick some up and add to your regular rotation.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was my final glass from the bottle of Delaforce Reserve Porto. I enjoyed this port with a recent review of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series. It’s definitely one of my favorites mainly due to it’s full bodied red wine undertones. On top of that wonderful base, the Delaforce Reserve offers up a mix of blackberry and cherry flavors along with a bit of a smoked oak. I found this cigar paired excellently with this port especially accenting the cedar notes it had. Other good pairings with the My Father Cigars Cedros Deluxe would include a stronger coffee, dark porter, stout, or scotch.

The post My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Up for review today is the Pinar Del Rio. A fairly new brand to me and probably to many but they have been making a pretty big splash in the boutique cigar market. Pinar Del rio is actually the name of a City and Province in Cuba but despite the name, the company is not based in Cuba and does not roll Cuban cigars. In fact, the Pinar Del Rio company is based out of the Dominican Republic.

The creator behind the Pinar Del Rio lines is Abe Flores. There’s also a deep seated family tie to him for this company. At this moment they are up to 5 different blends with one more new one coming to IPCPR 2011 this year. The Clasico Exclusivo line is one of the milder of their offerings being wrapped with a Connecticut leaf. The company and it’s cigars have received a lot of positive press so I thought it was time we featured one of their cigars.

The vitola up for review today will be the lancero. The Clasico Exclusivo line is also available in a variety of other vitolas ranging from a Corona all the way up to Churchill and Double Magnum. Their 9 available sizes should make it easy for anyone with a vitola preference to find their own ‘sweet spot’. The cigars are adorned with a blue and gold band carrying the Pinar Del Rio name and accented with an additional deep red and silver band with the Exclusivo words on it.

Cigar: Pinar Del Rio Clasico Exclusivo
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Lancero (7.25 x 38)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Criollo 98 / Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican Republic
Price: $5.00-5.50
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A nice honey and orange colored wrapper surrounds this cigar
• The wrapper itself is somewhat bumpy and a little rough to the touch
• There are a lot of small veins running along the cigar and some seem to have a greenish color to them
• Only a tiny spring can be felt while squeezing the cigar, it’s fairly firm form end to end
• The clean triple cap is finished with a small pigtail
• A well packed foot finishes off the bottom of this cigar
• Cap clipped very easily and fell neatly into the ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting took a little longer than I would have expected given the smaller ring gauge and my Creme Brulee torch, but still lit up evenly
• Initial burn has been pretty straight and steady
• Through the first half and no burn issues at all, also staying lit easily with no need for extra draws
• May have spoke too soon… right after I wrote the above point I picked up the cigar for another draw and it was completely out… relight and off we go again
• Resting smoke really picked up around the halfway mark

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the first puff I’m getting a nice mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Even though I get so much smoke on each draw the resting smoke is fairly minimal
• The ash is a nice light grey color and keeps fairly clean
• Although looking strong, the ash falls off in less than a half inch, but it is a lancero so I usually don’t see very long ash on these anyway
• May have spoke to soon about the neatness, the next ash portion looked like a flower blossoming!
• Ash got a little longer and cleaner as the cigar progressed, only split the one time

Tasting Notes:
• The cigars wrapper doesn’t have a strong aroma, just a mild tobacco and hay-like hint
• The foot of the cigar brings more hay aroma paired with a bit of earthiness
• Pre-light draw brings more hay and earth, definitely a good helping of a “dirt” flavor in there
• Initial draws bring more of the earthy flavors and offer a nice smooth finish
• The body has started off mild and the retrohale has a smooth creamy finish to it with no bite
• Getting quite a bit of dryness on the back of my throat from this cigar
• As I hit the halfway mark, I’m still getting a mostly earthy flavor with a touch of cedar here and there
• I’m getting a touch of white pepper as the cigar progresses, possibly form the binder, an interesting touch to a Connecticut cigar
• As the cigar moves along, I’m really enjoying the slight pepper hint and the creamy finish, it’s an interesting combo and very well balanced
• As I get into the last third, the intensity of the flavors seemed to pick up a bit and the cigar started burning a little hotter, the body also picked up tad to medium
• I’m getting a bit of a sugar cookie type of flavor here and there, I wish it would stick around a bit more
• The pepper flavors are definitely developing in the last bit of this cigar and the retrohale has a nice little bite to it too, all while maintaining a fairly smooth finish
• The earthy flavor seems to have stuck around for the entire cigar, always playing a part in it’s flavor profile
• Near the nub the body continued to pick up, almost approaching full but no bitterness which is nice

Final Thoughts:
The Pinar Del Rio Clasico Exclusivo hit the spot for me today as an early day smoke. It brings something a little different to the typical Connecticut world but doesn’t shy away from still being mild enough to enjoy in the morning with a coffee. The price on these is very fair and the construction and burn was very good for the most part. It wasn’t overly complex but also not boring making it a good cigar for almost anyone to pick up and enjoy. I think a larger vitola may not be the best selection for this cigar but I could be wrong depending on how the added filler changes the flavor of the cigar. I think I’ll have to pick up a few more in other vitolas and experiment but I’m pretty happy with this one. If you want to add something a little different to your Connecticut line up, give this one a try.

Pairings:
Today I just went with plain old coffee for my pairing. It’s nothing fancy or freshly ground, there was already a pot made that was nice and hot and I’ll admit, I was just too lazy to make anything else. Plus it smelled good so that’s that. It paired nicely with the creamy and mild flavors of the cigar, I wouldn’t suggest going for a strong coffee here as it could drown out some of the mellower flavors. Other than a coffee, I think a dark soda, amber or wheat beer, or even just simple water would also make a good pairing.

The post Pinar Del Rio Clasico Exclusivo Lancero appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Monte Pascoal is made by the Tabacos Mata Fina Ltda company and is part of the Orsi Family Group. The tobacco portion of the Orsi’s company was established very recently in 2007 but they also have business in Wine, Steel, and Real Estate. The Monte Pascoal name comes from a part of Brazil where the first Portugeuse explorer landed in Brazil. As with the Dona Flor, the Monte Pascoal is a Brazilian Puro Cigar.

The Monte Pascoal line is available in 6 Vitolas and are all made with the same blend of Mata Fina and Mata Norte leaves. The blend of tobacco sounds very interesting and I’m hoping to get a lot of the expected cocoa and coffee notes that I typically get from Brazilian wrappers. Let’s light this cigar up and see how it stands. As always, I’m going into this review completely unbiased and will be giving my wholly honest opinion as I burn away.

Cigar: Monte Pascoal
Drink: Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny
Vitola: Corona (5.623 x 42)
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Mata Norte
Price: About $6
Burn Time: Just over 1 hour

Construction:
• A slender rough looking cigar with a medium brown wrapper and some dark brown accents
• There is a fair bit of bumpiness on the wrapper and a few prominent veins but none look problematic to the burn
• The entire cigar is consistenly soft and springy
• The triple cap is finished tightly and clean
• The foot looks moderately packed, a couple open spots can be seen
• Cutting the cigar was effortless and fairly clean and didn’t cause any wrapper damage
• Draw it spot on, lots of air but just enough resistence

Burn:
• The small corona sized cigar toasted easily to a nicely glowing foot
• The burn line glows brightly with each draw, staying nice and straight but it seems to be moving quickly
• The burnline is still razor sharp through half the cigar and has started to burn a bit slower
• This burn is perfect, absolutely no waves or retouches from start to finish!

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is offering up a hefty mouthful of smoke
• Very little resting smoke but it gives off a mild and pleasent woddsy aroma
• Ash is fairly strong and clean, colouring is light gray with lots of black accents
• Ash held on just past an inch before I gently tapped it off
• Subsequent ashes all held on around an inch and stayed clean and tight

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a sweet cocoa and tobacco aroma to it, very inviting
• The foor brings different aromas of woodsiness and a bit of mild spice, possibly nutmeg
• Pre-light draw brings a bit more cocoa and woodsiness, this time I get a bit of nuttiness too
• Initial draws are mostly woodsiness and some tobacco flavors
• Retrohale is faily mild with just the smallest bite a woodsy finish
• As I approach the halfway mark I haven’t gotten many new flavors, maybe just a bit of nuttiness, sorta like raw almonds
• The existing flavors are well balanced but I’d like to have a bit more variety/dimensions soon…
• I’m getting slightly more body and bite as the cigar progresses near the last third
• Some slight bitter coffee notes started near the end of the cigar. At first it was enjoyable but then the bitterness took over

Final Thoughts:
Similar to the Dona Flor (also from CigarsFromBrazil.com) this cigar ranked in the mild-medium range. It would be a good early day cigar with your morning coffee or something light after lunch. Unfortunately the flavors never “wowed” me on this stick. The were tasteful and well balanced but didn’t offer enough variation or complexity to keep it interesting. With a shorter vitola like a corona I wouldn’t expect tons of dimensionality but I usually like to see at least one noticable change in flavor direction as it smokes. The cigar itself burned very well and is worth trying if the woodsy and tobacco flavors are in your favorite profile. The initial aromas on the wrapper and foot promised some more interesting flavors that never came to fruition.

Pairings:
I haven’t paired a port for a review in quite some time. Not sure why, I’ve been enjoying some Port with cigars but it never fell in line with one of my reviews. Today I’m pairing with a bottle that’s new to me. I saw it at the store and decided to give it a try. It’s a 2004 Late Bottled Vintage from Quinta Do Tedo in Portugal. It ranks in at 19% alc./vol. but it tastes no where near that. This particular Tawny Port is a bit sweeter then I’d usually like. It has lots of bright and fruity flavors such as blackberries and a tartness akin to cranberries. It also has a presence of a Merlot like wine to it. It’s very tasty and great for anyone looking to just start into tasting Tawny Port. In this particular pairing I think the port was too sweet for this mild cigar and would have been more enjoyable with a stronger cigar pairing. This cigar would have paired much better with a cup of coffee, dark cola or an amber beer.

The post Monte Pascoal Corona appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The La Aurora factory has recently released this new line called Guillermo Leon. The Leon family business, Grupo Leon Jimenes, has been around for over 100 years and La Aurora is one of the many companies under its umbrella. Guillermo had his hand in creating this blend and was out to create something that is complex and a bit stronger then some of their other offerings but still brings lots of flavor to the table. The Guillermo Leon line is also the first cigar by La Aurora which is made with two binders.

The two binders in this cigar both have a specific purpose. The Cameroon binder offers a smooth sweet creaminess to the blend while the Dominican Corojo offers some spice and strength. The concept is interesting and I’m excited to see how they blend together as I smoke it. The Guillermo Leon line is currently available in Corona, Gran Corona, Belicoso and Gran Toro. They were recently released in mid-October 2010 and should be in your local shop already or arriving very soon. Today’s review will look at Belicoso vitola as I sit outside on a chilly afternoon.

Cigar: Guillermo Leon
Drink: Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port (2005)
Vitola: Belicoso (6.25 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Vuetta Arriba
Binder: Cameroon & Dominican Corojo
Filler: Peru, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Nicaragua
Price: MSRP of about $8.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A soft cinnamon brown colored wrapper holds this cigar together
• The wrapper has some bumpiness to as well as some medium sized veins, none appear to be a potential problem though
• The cigar is firm but springy and consistent the whole way through
• The foot appears fairly well packed but not overly filled
• The cap is amazingly clean, almost impossible to see unless you really examine it
• Cutting was easy and effortless, I started with a small cut and got plenty of draw, so make sure not to over-cut on this vitola
• Got a bit of tar build-up that I commonly see with tapered heads, I cut off a bit more and problem was solved. I think my initial cut was too small

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit slow but still produced a nice evenly glowing foot
• The burn started out by creating a bit of a peninsula but it quickly corrected itself without my help
• Past the half-way mark and I’ve had no issues with the burn
• The cigar stayed lit with very little effort and allowed me to enjoy slowly
• A couple minor corrections were needed near the end

Smoke & Ash:
• First few draws are producing a ton of smoke
• The cigar gives off a moderate amount of resting smoke which gives off a nice cedar aroma
• Ash is a bit wavy and rigid but appears fairly strong
• The color of the ash is a bit on the darker side, leaving alternating lines of light and dark grey
• Ash held on just past an inch before being gently tapped off into the ashtray
• This cigar was a smoke machine the whole way through, never letting down and always producing a nice aroma

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a soft cedar aroma on it, very light and pleasant
• The foot has more cedar aroma but is complimented but a fruity sweetness and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw brings a mixture of interesting spices, I’m getting some pepper, nutmeg and a bit of cloves paired with a smooth cedar
• Initial draws bring more cedar, the same interesting spice mix and now I’m getting a flavor of freshly baked bread, starting out great so far
• The spices are slowly settling down and balancing nicely with the cedar and toasted bread flavors
• The body started in the low end of the medium range and is holding steady so far
• Retrohale is very smooth, there is no bite but has a great creamy finish
• As the cigar progresses near to the half way mark the creaminess from the Cameroon binder starts to become more apparent giving the cigar a very tasty finish
• Past the halfway mark and the spices are coming back a bit, mixing nicely with the new creaminess
• As the cigar progresses I can feel the body ramping up a bit but it’s so smooth you can almost barely tell
• The retrohale has developed a small bite now but still has that great smooth finish
• The flavors balanced excellent right up to the end giving a nice variety but blended into a smooth experience

Final Thoughts:
This cigar was right up my alley, it had a fantastic blend of flavors, body, construction, smoothness and balance. Even before you light it, the Guillermo Leon had a great aroma on it that just drew you right in. The cigar started off with a burst of various spices and the balanced out nicely with the cedar and toasted bread. The finish on this cigar never disappointed. It also never left my palate dry. The sweetness and creaminess from the Cameroon binder and the strength from the Corojo binder really showed through and I think they achieved their goal with this dual binder creation. I enjoyed every bit of this cigar and the flavors changed just enough to keep me interested the whole way through. The MSRP prices fall just below the $10 mark. Some people may see this as a bit high, especially when taxes are mixed in, but I think they are worth their cost. The body may be a bit much for a new smoker but are definitely worth a try. I will be looking for more of these, I’m especially interested in trying the corona vitola. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Pairings:
I’ve paired Tawny port with a variety of cigars and I always find it pairs best with something that has a bit of body and spice to it. This pairing didn’t disappoint at all. The berry, oaky and tart flavors of the Grahams Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port from 2005 was just right. The price of the bottle is also very accessible and offers lots of flavors. This is a good starting point if you’re interested in trying out some Tawny Port. Some other good pairings would include scotch, coffee or a dark soda.

The post Guillermo Leon Belicoso appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: First of all, let me start off by saying that because of the rarity of this cigar I will only be smoking one (probably ever). That being said, this is more of a crash course on my thoughts, and less of a review. So I won’t be going in as detailed as usual, but with a chance to smoke a cigar like this why wouldn’t I do some sort a review? I’ll also appologize in advance for some of the photos. I did this review later in the evening (usually I do them midday) and the sun set halfway through.

The Tatuaje Black label is labeled as Tatuaje creator, Pete Johnson’s personal blend. The Corona Gorda was actually Pete’s private reserve and for a while was only given out by Pete at his events. In mid 2008 Tatuaje decided to distribute these cigars in a 19ct black Jar. I believe there were only 1,000 jars ever released and the purchasing frenzy only lasted a few days before this size/blend was completely sold out. During my review of the Tatuaje Black Tubo our buddy Joe, over at ubicigar.com chimed in a shared a bit of his Tatuaje Black expertise in the comment section:

The Black Label was created by Don Pepin Garcia and Pete Johnson to mimic a blend he had whilst on vacation, I believe in Nicaragua. He would smoke a cigar, drink coffee, and read the paper on his porch each morning, and discovered from a man who came by each day on a bicycle that, though they rolled cigars all day, when the torcedors returned home, they would roll their own ‘personal blend’ to suit their tastes. Pete Johnson and DPG recreated that, using an ugly (yet beautiful in it’s wholesomeness) wrapper with an unfinished foot. He has said that this cigar is to celebrate that sometimes, as Freud said, a cigar is just a cigar.

Size: 5.65 x 46  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Full

Prelight: The Tatuaje Black Jar Release is a very shabby,  offputting, looking cigar. The wrapper is composed of a very thick and delicate looking calico colored leaf with only very slight veins. The wrapper is extremely toothy and almost feels as if dust is rubbing off on your finger tips upon touching. The Tatuaje Black gives a ton of tightly packed resistance when slightly compressed. As stated above, if in fact this blend had the idea of trying to look and feel shabby then they really pulled it off. Judging by the quality of creativity and quality produced by Pete and Pepin I think that very well may be the angle they took. The cigars foot is a covered by a shaggy, folded over portion of the wrapper as the head of the cigar is polished off by an inverted pigtail. The wrapper on this cigar gives off little to no aroma outside of a bit of tobacco as the foot of the cigar only increases the potency of the tobacco scent with a dash of spice. The Tatuaje Black clipped with extreme ease using my double bladed cutter. The cold draw was extremely tight (more than likely due to the enclosed foot) but to my surprised produced a massive amount of sweet, sweet spice with cinnamon and a bit of cedar.

First Smoke: The Tatuaje black starts off with just a very slight pepper punch then leads into a much smoother flavor assortment consisting of creamy, sweet tobacco, cinnamon, and cedar with very earthy undertones. Despite the lack of a cold draw, I am having no trouble getting an effortless draw from this cigar that produces a massive, brown, tobacco scented cloud of thick smoke. The Tatuaje Black gives off little to no stationary smoke. The burnline is remarkably even and leaves behind a brilliant trail of bright white, tightly compacted ash. The ash surprisingly only held on for about ¾ of an inch before giving way. I suspect the slight wind outside was partly to blame for that.

Halfway There: The flavor of this cigar had a massive switch up in the second third. The spice and sweetness is still there but the earthy, tobacco flavors have morphed into this very interesting floral mix up. This has to be the taste of the wrapper really shinning through on this smaller ring gauge, one of the many reasons why I have been leaning towards corona vitolas as of late. The retrohale on this cigar rocks, giving off a very smooth and flavorful spice and floral prime. I am finding myself retrohaling this cigar at least every other draw. The burnline is still rocking, the draw is still easy and plentiful, no nicotine kick as of yet just an incredibly smooth and flavorful experience.

Finish: What a flavor-bomb. This cigar is just non-stop action. The finishing third was jam-packed with floral, sweet natural tobacco, and strong cedar flavors backed by a soft cocoa and earthy hints. This cigar burned perfectly, from start to finish with a perfectly paced burn. It took me about an hour and a half to take down this Tatuaje Black and what an enjoyable hour this was. There was absolutely no harshness built up towards the end, no heat could be felt even into the nub, just smooth sailing with not signs of any nicotine.

Overview: I have to tell you, I feel like a total dumbass for not jumping on these while they were available and I can’t think Brooks enough for giving me the opportunity to smoke this bad boy. Anyone who has these should feel privileged. I may be going out on a limb here, but I can honestly say this just may be my favorite Tatuaje of all time. Again, I only had this one but if it has anything to show for the rest of the Jar Release CG’s out there then it says a lot. Smooth from start to finish, packed with very pleasant flavors around every turn, solid burn with absolutely no problems, with no harshness what so ever.  I nubbed this thing down until my fingertips were begging for mercy. If for whatever reason you do stumble across any of these, PICK THEM UP. ALL OF THEM. AND SEND ME SOME. I can’t stress that enough.

Pairing: This Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda was paired off with some of Enchantment Vineyards Chocolate Port. Yes Daniel, I understand this is a “fortified wine” and not a port based off of the country of origin but you know what? It was awesome, and I have some and you don’t ! Ha, anywho the chocolate port is a very smooth, and sweet tawny port with strong black cherry, dark grape and cinnamon notes finished off with a light and smooth chocolate aftertaste. With an flavor profile such as that and a ABV of 19.26% this port makes for an almost perfect match up with just about any cigar I can possibly think of.

Again, big thanks goes out to a great BOTL, Brooks over at SmokingStogie.com. If you haven’t checked out this guy’s site I strongly suggest you do so. Not only does Brooks have by far, the best photography I have ever seen on a cigar site, but his honest reviews, cigar insight, and ability to get his hands on pretty much every stick known to man make his site a must read.

Also, I wanted to give a quick shout out and Thanks to Tom over at Tomscigars.com. We were recently elected his “Cigar Review site of the Month”. You have no idea how pleasant of a surprise this was for both me and Daniel. If you haven’t read Tom’s blog, check it out. Tom is known for telling it like it is, and should I say “going where no man has ever gone before”. Great reviews, and a great guy. You can also find him on twitter here.

The post Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda (Jar Release) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Illusione ~mk~

The particular cigar up for review today is the Illusione ~mk~ The Teaching Machine. This particular cigar has a very interesting back story. Here’s a little excerpt from the Illusion site:

Project MKULTRA was a government experiment in creating “zombie soldiers” if you will, through experimentation with LSD and subconscious suggestion when under the influence. MKULTRA was also referred to as the “teaching machine.” The classic corona size is the teaching machine vitola. It is the perfect vehicle for delivery of flavor, if the blend is right.

Needless to say, this cigar did not disappoint. Let me point out to skeptics now, do not underestimate this cigars flavor and complexity based on its smaller vitola. As Dion’s description perfectly says, “It is the perfect vehicle for delivery of flavor”.

Illusione ~mk~

Cigar: Illusione ~mk~ The Teaching Machine
Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper / Water
Vitola: Petit Corona (5.125 x 42)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Café Colorado
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: Gifted from Tony – Thanks! (Sells for about $6.50)
Burn Time: About 1 hour

Construction:
• Medium brown in color
• One medium sized vein, shouldn’t cause problems
• Even and symmetrical throughout with a good spring to it
• Very clean triple cap
• Foot looks well packed

Burn:
• Very easy and even toasting
• Staying lit easily, no extra attention required
• Razor sharp and even burn throughout the cigar, no issues
• No complaints at all in this department

Illusione ~mk~

Illusione ~mk~

Illusione ~mk~

Pairings:
The complexity of this cigar deserves a good pairing that doesn’t over power the delicate balance of flavors here. I’d probably recommend something as simple as water for this cigar. I started off with Diet Dr. Pepper and switched to my backup bottle of water that I always keep handy. I found the cigar had more than enough flavors that the soda was taking away from the cigar, water made my enjoyment go way up. Definitely seek out a very mild pairing with this cigar. I think most alcoholic beverages will drown out the flavors too much to enjoy, but you could try a mild red wine.

Illusione ~mk~

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