The Good Stuff:

At this year’s PCA show Illusione gave the public a first glimpse at its latest release, The Group of Five. The Group of Five will be a five different vitola release with only the first one, the “RB” being released at this point. Created at the AGANORSA factory in Nicaragua the blend utilizes a high-priming viso tobacco that Dion Giolito, owner of Illusione states hasn’t been grown in Nicaragua until only recently. The cigar also contains Criollo 98 and Corona 99 however, the specifics of the blend and what portion uses what tobacco has not been released. On par with most Illusione releases there is a lot of mystery behind this blend and it’s all intentional. If you’re bored, look up the Group of Five. The “RB” comes in a single 5 x 52 format and is packaged in boxes of 15 running $16 per cigar. I purchased mine over from Small Batch Cigar.

• Size: 5 x 50
• Wrapper: Undisclosed
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $16

Prelight:

The Illusione Group of Five starts out with a rustic looking wrapper with areas of light brown, dark brown, yellow tint and red scattered throughout. The wrapper’s texture is both very toothy and very oily. The wrapper itself is dense and thick which smaller veins running through the body of the cigar. This cigar is packed extremely tight and is very heavy. There are absolutely no soft spots leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a very detailed black, gold and green band with the Illusione logo, “5”, and various of language that’s worth reading if you’re into the lore embossed across the front. There is also a small, elegant secondary band with the words “The Group of Five” in the front.

The wrapper on the Group of Five gives off a shockingly spicy aroma which overpowers almost anything else while the foot smells very earthy and grainy with tons of natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily allow the cigar to release notes of grain, honey, and cashew on the cold draw.

First Third:

The Illusione Group of Five starts out with a massive cayenne pepper punch which left my mouth in a daze for a few seconds before it started to fade as the cigar released some great notes of spice and musk over bold oak and lighter notes of cashew and a nice earthy saltiness that transferred to my lips as I smoked. The draw is perfect despite how tightly this cigar is packed. Each puff kicks out a huge cloud of very thick, very dark smoke which really doesn’t want to go anywhere while the cigar releases a normal amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is solid and even while the ash left behind is tightly compacted and light gray in color. The ash held on for a little under an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Group of Five and the spice has finally settled down while the flavor profile is more centered around the oak and musk. There are lighter notes of vanilla and cashew now and this really interested mint on the aftertaste that really ties things together. This is a classic “Dion Special” with a touch of extra love and some excellent, high quality tobacco. The retrohale is way spicy so I didn’t want to do that too much. I close out the second third with no nicotine at all.

Finish:

The final third of the Illusione Group of Five had its own secrets. An awesome dark chocolate flavor has started to not only poke through the flavor profile, but take charge of it down the stretch backed by at on of musk and mild notes of sandalwood and cashew. The cigar finished complex and very earthy. It took me a little over an hour to smoke this down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, no extended heat, and really only a mild little nicotine kick.

Overview:

There are certain cigars you smoke and you’re like, “That’s Illusione”. Or there are Illusione cigars you purchase because you want a certain experience. The Group of Five is that cigar, except on a more exceptional level. I really feel like whatever tobacco Dion chose to use here really added a level of not only flavor but complexity that moves this cigar is a category of its own. Yes it’s pricey, but the experience is worth it. This is a box worthy purchase for sure and easily one of the best cigars I have smoked all year.

The post Illusione Group of Five RB appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Dion Giolito made waves back in 2017 when he announced the purchase and re-release of the One Off brand which was created by Andre Molinari from Milan Italy. Along with the purchase of One Off (read out review here) there was also the purchase of a secondary brand called Allegria. I personally hadn’t heard about Allegria until the release was announced last year as Dion wanted to wait until the cigars were ready to announce the acquisition of the brand. Allegria is essentially a stronger version of the One Off which features higher-priming tobaccos. It utilizes a Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers which includes some Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’98. The Illusione Allegria comes in five sizes: Robusto (5 x 52), Corona (5 1/8 x 42), Gordo (6 x 56), Lonsdale (6 1/4 x 44), and the Churchill (6 3/4 x 48). Each comes packaged in boxes of 20 and run between $11.10 and $13.55 per stick. We purchased ours over from our good friends at Cuenca Cigars who still have them in stock currently in both singles and boxes.

• Size: 6 1/4 x 44
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $11.84
• Pairing: The Bruery Petit Mardi (Imperial Stout 15.9% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Allegria starts out with a very dark, rich brown wrapper that features lots of scatted light brown and orange. Right away the Allegria sets itself apart from the One Off visually as the wrapper is much darker. The wrapper’s texture is about average in density with some light tooth and a whole ton of oils coating it. The cigar as a whole is a bit soft and light. There are some larger veins running the course of the cigar’s thin body leading up to it’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a larger band with features the same orange as the one off along with the peace symbol, “Allegria” embossed on the front and “Illusione” across each side.

The wrapper on the Illusione Allegria gives off a really strong must and pecan aroma while the foot of the cigar is more natural with earthiness, tobacco, and spice. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of pecan, honey, and lots of earthiness.

First Third:

The Illusione Allegria starts out with a pretty bold black pepper zing that I wasn’t expecting. After the first few draws the pepper begins to fade and the cigar starts to release bold notes of pecan, honey and musk over lighter notes of cedar, vanilla, citrus, and a great earthiness. The draw is flawless as each little puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, white smoke while the cigar releases a good amount of stationary smoke while the oils burn off the wrapper. The burn line is pretty while and a bit messy but the cigar is smoking fine so no marks taken there as it leaves behind a flaky white and dark gray ash which held on for only a half inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Allegria and the flavors are pouring out of this thing. Pecan, honey, musk, and oak lead the charge backed by vanilla, citrus, earthiness, and a great little plum or cherry that has been consistent in the second third. The retrohale is one of the best retrohales I have experienced in quite sometime as it pours on the cherry, musk and spice. I find myself retrohaling this cigar very often. The burn line has started to sort itself out and is now burning pretty consistent. I close out the second third with only a very light kick of nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Illusione Allegria and I am loving this flavor profile. The pecan, honey, musk and oak are still out in front with vanilla, citrus, earthiness, black cherry and raisin in the back along with this great consistent spice that has really backed the entire flavor profile. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this down to the nub, and I smoked it until my fingers burned. Despite the wavy burn line at the start, the cigar completely corrected itself and I never once had to reach for my torch to touchup or relight the cigar. I experienced no harshness, no extended heat and I closed out with a decent little nicotine kick.

Overview:

I smoked a handful of these and each time I liked it more than the previous. The Illusione Allegria delivers a great, complex flavor profile that really keeps you on your toes. I smoked quite a few One Offs and at times I felt the Allegria was a much better version of that cigar and at other times I felt like it wasn’t even in the same realm as the cigar offers a profile that is quite different especially in terms of complexity and body. At this point, I think the Allegria will keep the One Off out of my rotation for at least the time being and this is a cigar that I enjoyed so much that I can see myself coming back to over and over again.

Pairing:

Petit Mardi, French for ‘Small Tuesday,’ is an imperial stout was aged in oak puncheons and carefully crafted with Petite Sirah grapes and Syrah grapes. Consider it a lighter-bodied still-beer Black Tuesday/Wine Hybrid coming in at 15.9% ABV. I’ve been a huge fan of The Bruery’s wine hybrids especially the Black Tuesday-based ones so I’ve been dying to crack these open. Normally, the Bruery’s wine/beer hybrids have been very dry. In the case of the Petit Mardi it’s the opposite as this beer is very sweet and reminds me of a great sweet red blended wine. The beer leads with loads of sweet grape, black cherry, vanilla, light honey, light malt and red apple. The mouthfeel is very sticky yet somehow still light. It finishes with loads of sweetness, grape, black cherry, vanilla and a great little spice. Very similar to a nice, sweet, fruity, Ruby Port and absolutely one of the best beer/hybrid still beers (non-carbonated beer) I have ever had. The vanilla, spice, and fruit matched up great with the flavors in the Illusione Allegria while the cigar itself added another layer to the spice notes within the beer. What a treat!

The post Illusione Allegria appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Follow the success of last years Supreme Leaf, Aganorsa Leaf swiftly released the Rare Leaf Reserve this year which is a cigar created to focus more heavily on Nicaragua Criollo tobacco. The blend features a Nicaraguan Jalapa Cafe wrapper over dual Nicaraguan Criollo 98 binders which were grown on two different farms which cover a mixture of Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 filler tobaccos. Created at the TABSA factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, Aganorsa Leaf released the Rare Leaf Reserve in three sizes: Robusto (5 1/2 x 52), Toro (6 x 54) and the Titan (6 x 60). All three sizes come packaged in boxes of 15 running between $10.99 and $12.10 a stick. I purchased mine over from our good friends at Cigars International.

• Size: 5 1/2 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan
• Binder: Dual Nicaraguan Criollo 98
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $10.99
• Pairing: Trillium Brewing Barrel Aged Adjunction Junction (Imperial Stout 14% ABV)

Prelight:

The Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve starts out with a beautiful, consistent, orangish-brown wrapper that displays a few darker areas around the foot of the cigar. The wrapper’s texture is tough, yet brittle while it carries a good amount of tooth and almost no oils. The cigar feels nicely packed and rather light while the foot of the cigar has a bit of a softness to it. The cigar carries some vey light veining and quite a bit of natural tobacco webbing in the wrapper leaf as it leads up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a great looking maroon, gold, white and black band that show cases the “Aganorsa Leaf” crest on the front as well as an added secondary band with “Rare Leaf Reserve” embossed across the front.

The wrapper on the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve gives off tons of pecan and oak aromas while the foot of the cigar carries some great caramel and natural tobacco scents. The cap took a considerable amount of effort to clip using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter, but once it did come off the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve released a ton of caramel, vanilla, musk, and natural tobacco on the cold draw.

First Third:

The Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve starts out with a huge blast of cayenne pepper which really kicked the crap out of my tongue and lips for a minute. After the pepper faded out the cigar greeted me with bold notes of cedar, vanilla, musk and caramel over lighter notes of hay and earthiness over some lighter floral flavors. The draw was a bit snug through the initial inch or so but had completely opened up after that allowing the cigar to release a whole mess of thick, white smoke with each puff with the cigar itself releases only a very small amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is a bit wavy, but very sharp leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of light gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve and the flavors are still pounding. The cedar, vanilla, musk and caramel are still leading the charge backed up earthiness, pecan, and a sharp spice that keeps coming and going. The retrohale really brings the spice to the front of the taste. The draw is still great, and the cigar is burning a bit wavy, but very manageable as I close out the second third with a good little nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve and this is where the cigar is really starting to shine. The leading flavor is now that awesome, deep cedar flavor that the corojo and criollo are capable of pumping out along with those great cedar notes I tend to pick up in most Aganorsa Leaf blends. Underneath that the musk, caramel and vanilla are still rocking hard over lighter notes of spice and floral flavors. It took me an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, nor any extended heat while the cigar left me with a great little nicotine buzz.

Overview:

I am a huge fan of Criollo 98 and Corojo tobacco and I think that the Rare Leaf Reserve is a perfect showcase on exactly the amount of flavors, and the nuanced profiles the tobaccos can offer. This cigar was very complex, but at no point did I feel like I needed to waste the experience on dissecting everything. The construction was flawless and the price point was very reasonable. Add another hit to the already packed Aganorsa Leaf portfolio.

Pairing:

Brewed by Trillium brewing in collaborations with some very heavy hitters: Monkish, The Veil, Other Half, and Cloudwater, this barrel-aged version of this beer comes in at a whopping 14% ABV. Brewed with coconut, coffee, vanilla, macadamia nuts, pecans, and almonds, this beer leads with a bunch of black coffee, vanilla, toffee, chocolate, plum and pecan with a very heavy, sticky mouthfeel before finishing with more flan-type flavors of caramel, pecan, toffee and still a ton of vanilla and a nice almond on the aftertaste. To say that this beer is sweet is an understatement. I’m really surprised with how this beer held up and how pronounced each of the adjuncts are. I would have figured it was just going to be a mash up of sweetness. The bold pecan, caramel, and vanilla flavors found in the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve made for a perfect pairing.

The post Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Back before things got all sorts of crazy this year, Illusione had announced that it would be releasing a new cigar that was to be available only to those who purchased the cigars directly from them at the PCA trade show. Well, 2020 happened and the show was eventually cancelled, but Illusione stuck to their word and released the same cigar, only to those who purchased them directly from the company via Zoom meetings. Enter the Cigares Prive. The Cigares Prive comes in a single 5 1/2 x 56 Box-Pressed format composed of Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Corjo 99 fillers under a Nicaraguan binder wrapped in an Ecuadorian Habano Claro wrapper. The cigars are sold in bundles of 10 for $9.95 with only 1,000 bundles being released. I purchased mine over from our friends at Neptune Cigars.

• Size: 5 1/2 x 56
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Claro
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $9.95
• Pairing: Westbrook Mexican Cake (Imperial Stout 10.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Cigares Prive PCA 2020 starts out with an absolutely beautiful, consistently dark brown wrapper that shines orange in the sunlight. The wrapper’s texture is semi-toothy with a ton of oils coating it. The wrapper sports quite a few medium-sized veins and lots of natural webbing in the wrapper leaf. The wrapper is laid over itself seamlessly heading up to the round, triple wrapper cap. The soft-box-press is extremely comfortable in my hand. The cigar is polished off with the elegant navy blue and white band we’ve seen on the Cigares Prive band in the past.

The wrapper on the Cigares Prive PCA 2020 gives off a ton of sweet cedar aromas over some nice barnyard and earthiness while the foot of the cigar carries more spice and a really nice black cherry scent. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great cedar flavors over earthiness and pecan.

First Third:

The Illusione Cigares Prive PCA 2020 starts off with an awesome mixture of bold cedar, nutmeg and pecan over light notes of brown sugar, musk, and earthiness. Yes, this does remind me a bit of oatmeal cookies. This flavor profile is absolutely incredible right off the bat. I’m interested to see how it transitions as we progress. The draw is brilliant as each little puff kicks out a ton of thick, white smoke while the cigar itself releases only minor amounts of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted, dark gray ash which held on for almost and inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Cigares Prive PCA 2020 and the flavors haven’t changed up too much. The musk, cedar, and pecan now lead the charge backed by nutmeg, cinnamon, and earthiness. The retrohale brings out a ton of the cedar as it ads quite a bit of sharp spice to the mix. I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick while the cigar has burned flawlessly without the help from my torch.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Illusione Cigares Prive PCA 2020 and a really awesome, bold pine flavor has entered the arena. Strong musk, cedar, and pecan lead the pack backed by cinnamon and earthiness. This is an incredible flavor profile from start to finish. It took me an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I did not want to put it down. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. I never once had to touchup or relight the cigar. I close out the cigar with only a touch of nicotine.

Overview:

This Cigares Prive is a pretty big departure from the Illusione cigars I have smoked lately, yet somehow still feels similar. The flavor profile is very complex, and extremely impressive as it suits my personal palate extremely well. The cigar burned like a dream from start to finish, and the price is something I would pay time and time again for this cigar resulting in a perfect mixture. My only gripe is the availability. This just means I’ll need to buy quite a few more as a Christmas present for myself before these are gone.

Pairing:

Westbrook’s Mexican cakes is an Imperial Stout aged it on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and fresh habanero pepper. Coming in at 10.5% ABV this beer leads with a ton of sweet vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon and dark chocolate with a very heady mouthfeel before finishing with tons of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a very nice, subtle pepper kick. This beer is a whole lot more balanced than I expected it to be. The brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla paired beautifully with the existing flavors in the Illusione Cigares Prive.

The post Illusione Cigares Prive PCA 2020 Exclusive appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Warped Cigars has had a history of releasing experimental blends using some of the rarest of tobacco and the Moon Garden Dark Blossom is no exception. Based on the popular “Skyflower” release which features Casa Fernandez’s famous High-Priming Medio Tiempo tobacco the Moon Garden Dark Blossom tweaks that blend slightly by using a higher priming Medio Tiempo leaf that only grows on only grows on a few of the plants to push the flavor profile into the next level. Produced at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua using all Aganorsa tobacco, the full blend features a Corojo ’99 wrapper over a Nicaraguan Jalapna Corojo ’99 binder, binder and Corojo ’99, Criollo ’98 and Media Tiempo fillers. The Dark Blossom comes in a single 7 x 40 size and is packaged in boxes of 10 with only 650 boxes released running $15 a cigar. Huge thanks goes out to my boy Jason for hooking me up with a few of these bad boys.

• Size: 7 x 40
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99, Criollo 98, and Media Tiempo
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $15
• Pairing: St. Bernardus Abt 12 2014 (10% ABV Belgian Quad)

Prelight:

The wrapper on the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom starts out with a rustic looking medium and dark brown wrapper with is very splotchy with lots of orange areas scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The wrapper itself feels very hard and very dense with some slight tooth and mild oils while the cigar as a whole feels very light, but very hard. There are some very minor veins and slight webbing as the long, slender body leads up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a similar bad to what you can find on the skyflower on with a tweak in the colors features a pastel green, pink, yellow and black color mixture.

The wrapper gives off some sharp spice and natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar screams pepper, spice, and earthiness. The cap on the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw is very spice and peppery with underlying notes of dirt, moss and earthiness.

First Third:

Right off the bat the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom kicks out a good amount of spice and black pepper that left my turning burning for a few seconds. While the pepper was strong, it only lasted through the first few puffs and then bowed out allowing the cigar to showcase some great musk, cedar, espresso and notes of black cherry. The draw is absolutely perfect and each and every little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke which hang out for quite some time before dissipating. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before dropping into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom and the flavors are still pouring it on as the cigar rest comfortably in the full-bodied arena. The pepper has completely exited the experience while the cedar and espresso lead the charge backed by black cherry, musk, and loads of earthiness. The retrohale really brings out the spice that I otherwise don’t really pickup during the normal smoking experience. The cigar has been burning flawlessly and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

The final third of the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom is where the already great cigar really shines. The flavors have become extremely rich as the cedar and espresso still lead the charge but the black cherry and musk have really stepped up while the earthiness began to mild out. This flavor profile is incredible. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved how slow it burned. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. The cigar burned perfectly from start to finish leaving me with a decent little nicotine hit.

Overview:

This is yet another winner in an already stacked Warped cigar portfolio. I LOVE the selection de Valle and the Skyflower is way up on my list of cigars I smoke every chance I get and I can honestly say that the Moon Garden Dark Blossom has edged even the Skyflower out as one of it not, my favorite Warped to date. The flavor profile is so balanced, and complex while matching up with my personal preference of what I enjoy in a cigar. Its a bit dry but pairing it with anything that has some sweetness fixes that right away. I only wish these were still available.

Pairing:

If you aren’t familiar with St. Bernardus Abt 12 you have been living under a rock. The 10% quad brewed at the St. Bernardus brewery in Belgium is one of the most household names in terms of Beglian beer in the U.S. This particular bottle has been in my cellar since 2014 and has aged absolutely beautifully. The beer leads with a great brown sugar sweetness over pear and black cherry notes along with a nice heavy malt, caramel, and piloncillo with a very light mouthfeel before finishing with more sweetness, caramel, and black cherry. This beer is incredible and often overlooked. The flavors especially the black cherry mash up so well with the flavors found in the Dark Blossom while the sweetness added another dimension to the cigar as the experience is a bit on the dry side.

The post Warped Cigars – Moon Garden Dark Blossom appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

One of the very few cigars released this year by Warped at the IPCPR show in Vegas was the line extension to the Flor De Valle line called the Seleccion de Valle. This 6 x 52, 109 style capped cigar, originally called “Flor de Valle Ghost Orhid before having to change it’s name due to trademark issues features an all Aganorsa makeup of a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 wrapper from the Jalapa region along with Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 binder, and all Nicaraguan fillers.

The format is slated for regular production, runs $12.59 a stick, and comes in boxes of 20. The cigar is produced at Aganorsa Lead Factory (formally TABSA). I picked mine up over from our friends at Fox Cigar who have them in stock now, and offer free shipping on all orders, no minimum.

• Size: 6 x 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 / Criollo 98
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $12.95
• Pairing: Modern Times Tequila Barrel Aged Monster’s Park (Imperial Stout 13% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle starts out with a splotchy milk-chocolate brown wrapper scattered with darker brown areas throughout. The wrapper’s texture is mostly smooth with a very slight amount of tooth and soft oils. The wrapper itself feels very thin and fragile. The wrapper is laid so smoothly over itself that its hard to even find the seam. The wrapper showcases only very mild veining and small webbing in the tobacco leaf as you lead up the cigar’s thick body to the stubby tapered 109 style cap.

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle carries the beautiful white, gold, and cyan Flor de Valle band we’ve come to expect on this blend. Seriously, this is a gorgeous band. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces lots of earthy/dirt flavors with a good amount of pepper coating the profile.

First Third:

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle starts out with an initial blast of black pepper that was only present for the first few draws. After the pepper faded the cigar greeted me with a good amount of earthiness, cashew, cedar, and soft spice. As I continue to smoke through the first third more and more of the cashew flavor pushes itself to the forefront of the flavor profile. The draw is absolutely perfect. Each little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke. The burn line is dead even and razor thing leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white/light gray ash which held on for about an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle and the flavor remain mostly the same. The cashew and cedar lead the charge backed by notes of earth and dirt along with a nice lightly creamed coffee which has entered the mix. The retrohale really brings out the pepper I encountered when I first lit up the cigar so I don’t find myself doing it too often. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin as I close out the second third with nothing from the nicotine department.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle and things remain the same, and I like that. The main flavors are still the cedar and cashew backed by earthiness, dirt and creamed coffee. It took me an hour and a half to take the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle down to the nub. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. I closed out the cigar with only a very mild hit of nicotine.

Overview:

The Seleccion de Valle is an excellent extension to an already vast, and great Flor de Valle line. The 109 format is one coveted by aficionados and easily the most prominent vitola in the line. The flavors offered in the Flor de Valle are not overly complex, but extremely enjoyable and just complex enough to keep you thinking about the cigar as you’re smoking it. I for one really enjoy the flavor profile and often reach for the blend when I want a just all around great cigar. After smoking quite a few different vitoilas in the line I have to say the Seleccion de Valle is my favorite, and I usually gravitate towards smaller ring gauges. The flavors are a bit more balanced, and the stubby tapered cap is incredible comfortable in my mouth.

Pairing:

Brewed at the Modern Times brewery in California this version of Monster’s Park is aged in tequila barrels and comes in at 13% ABV. The beer leads with loads of cocoa, vanilla, brown sugar, and roasted malt with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing rather sweet with more cocoa vanilla and brown sugar. The Tequila flavor is very mild and really just adds an awesome floral flavor to the aftertaste. With the nutty flavors Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle I figured combining the two of these would lead to a complimentary, yet complex pairing and that’s exactly what the end result was.

The post Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

A follow up to last year’s Signature Selection, the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro is the latest offering by the Aganorsa Leaf company which hit shelves recently after making it’s debut at this year’s IPCPR show in Las Vegas. The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro features a Shade Grown Corojo wrapper which undergoes a Maduro fermentation process, Corojo 99 wrapper, and Corojo 99 & Criollo 98 fillers. The cigar is offered in four sizes: The Corona Gorda (6 x 44), The Robusto (5 x 50), The Toro (6 x 52) and The Belicoso (6.25 x 52). Each come packaged in boxes of 20 running between $10 and $11 a stick. I purchased mine over from our good friends at Two Guys Smoke shop.

• Size: 6 x 44
• Wrapper: Shade Grown Corojo Maduro
• Binder: Corojo 99
• Filler: Corojo 99, Criollo 98
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $10
• Pairing: Bruery / Answer Bananswer (Imperial Milk Stout 13.7% ABV)

Prelight:

The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro comes with this large, foil wrapper covering a majority of the cigar. Let’s just rip that off and get it out of the way. The cigar starts out with a very dark, rustic looking wrapper with areas of darker brown and reddish brown spotted throughout the cigar’s body. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and gritty with a small amount of oils and some smaller veins running through the cigar’s body. The wrapper feels extremely thick and very hard as the cigar is packed pretty tightly, there are no soft spots at all. The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Seleciont Maduro’s features a long, slender body (I love that all the formats feature smaller ring gauges) leading up to it’s round, triple-wrapped pigtail cap. The cigar is then polished off with a beautifully elegant white, gold, and black band featuring the Aganorsa Leaf crest as well as a secondary band with the words “Signature Selection” embossed across the front.

The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro’s wrapper gives off an extremely bold chocolate smell that seriously smells like straight up Cocoa Puffs, while the foot of the cigar carries a lot of the same cocoa flavors along with some spice and natural tobacco aromas. The cold draw produces a fair amount of the cocoa along with a crap ton of pepper and spice. The cap cut clean using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter, but needed a bit more force since the wrapper is so dense and hard.

First Third:

The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro starts out with a hell of a cayenne pepper blast that left my lips and tongue screaming for a few seconds. After the initial draw the pepper kindly faded allowing the cigar to release some great dark chocolate flavors mixed with heavy oak backed by blackberry, musk, coffee and a slight pine flavor. The draw started a bit tight but loosened up after about an inch. Each puff released a decent amount of smoke which dissipated pretty quickly while the cigar released almost no stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. I smoked a handful of these and each one was a bit on the tight side, but nowhere near plugged. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted light gray ash which held on for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro and I am loving this cigar more and more. The flavor profile still leads with dark chocolate and heavy oak mixed with pecan, coffee, blackberry, musk, and that pine flavor which is still hanging in there. The retrohale really brings out the spice and pepper which is a bit overwhelming so I don’t find myself doing it too often. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin as I close out the second third with a hefty little nicotine kick.

Finish:

The Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro is still leaning heavily on the dark chocolate and oak backed by coffee musk, and pecan. The cigar took me two and a half hours to smoke down to the nub and let me tell you, it’s not for the faint of heart. This a a strong cigar as it left me with a whopping nicotine kick while I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat and I never once had to touch up or relight the cigar.

Overview:

I was blown away the first time I smoked this cigar. Later I smoked it again and was equally impressed. Today I smoked it and well… It is by far one of the best cigars I have smoked this year. The flavor profile is complex and bold, the burn was effortless, and construction was flawless. Each of these were a bit tight, but extremely manageable so I won’t take points off there. The price is a bit on the high side but something that I’d gladly pay for and plan to as these will definitely have a spot in my regular rotation for those times when I am looking for a stronger, bolder experience.

Pairing:

What do you get when two of my favorite breweries in the world team up? The Bruery and The Answer combined forces to create The Bananswer which is a 13.7% Imperial Milk stout brewed with bananas, cocoa nibs, walnuts, and vanilla added. The beer leads with an awesome mixture of real banana flavor and fudge. Think of those yellow and brown bomb pops. The backing flavors are a good amount of walnut, vanilla, malt, and soft oak with a very heavy/sticky mouthfeel as it finishes very creamy with more banana, fudge, and vanilla. This is such a smooth and creamy stout with dangerously well-hidden alcohol content. The Fudge and walnut are what urged my to pair this beer with the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro while the sweetness of the beer added another level to an already incredible and complex cigar.

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HVC’s Pan Caliente, which translates as “Hot Cakes”, was first introduced in April 2016 in a robusto (5 by 50) format. At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, the company added both a toro (6 1/4 by 52) and a double corona (5 5/8 by 46) to the line. The cigars are manufactured at the Raices Cubanas factory in Danli, Honduras, but it is surprisingly a Nicaraguan puro featuring the highly acclaimed AGAGNORSA tobacco.

You can purchase the HVC Pan Caliente from our good friends at Famous Smoke Shop HERE.

THE FACTS

Price: $6.00
Vitola: Double Corona
Size: 5 5/8 by 46
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo 98
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 20 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Pan Caliente wears a medium brown Nicaraguan Criollo 98 wrapper that has a decent amount of oils and covered in small veins. The small veins web down the leaf and are darker in color than the rest of the wrapper. To the touch, the cigar is crazy smooth with only a couple of random bumps and raised veins. As I inspect the cigar, there is an indentation near the foot that can be both seen and felt. The rest of the cigar gives slightly when pressed.

As I bring the wrapper to my nose, I note a pungent vinegar and barnyard, along with an artificial chocolate sweetness. The foot shows off some big notes of chocolate (real) and pepper spice. In the background, there is fainter graham cracker and raisin aroma. The cutter easily slices through this 46 ring gauge cigar. The draw is right on with some rich cinnamon and clove flavors greeting my palate. A mild to medium spice heat lingers in my mouth. 

FIRST THIRD

From the get-go, the HVC Pal Caliente presents full and rich flavors. There is a vegetal, sour edge to the flavor that trails closely behind the rich wood and sweet combination going on. As the cigar warms, the flavors settle in and back off a bit towards the medium side. The calming of the other flavors has allowed a pepper spice to move in. A gray ash forms as the cigar burns with a thick eye-liner burn line. 

MIDDLE THIRD

Into the second third, the richness is back in full swing. The woodsy, sweet flavor has evolved to more of charred and earthy flavor. There is a sweet hazelnut flavor that joins in and chocolate lingers on the finish of the smoke. The ash appears flaky but continues to hold well. Just past halfway point, I am beginning to feel just a slight nicotine kick. 

FINAL THIRD

The sour edge has made a reappearance in the final third. This time, it is no longer trailing the other flavors, but it is leading the charge. The charred wood and earth are holding strong and the sweetness is still pulling through. The pepper is highlighted in the retro-hale and remains very manageable even with a full exhale through the nose. 

WRAP-UP

There is nothing not to like about this cigar. An awesome price point of $6.00, a perfect size – Double Corona (5 5/8 by 46), great flavors, and exceptional performance. The cigar has some clear shifting points as you move through each third. There is just enough strength to put one into a relaxed state and enough spice to keep one’s palate alert. The cigar burned evenly from start to finish without a single touch-up required. And, even though the ash began to look flaky in appearance, it never dropped prematurely. This is a cigar I highly recommend and one I will be purchasing more of.

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• Futuro
• Maestro del Tiempo

Manufactured at Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory, Guardian of the Farm features wrapper, binder, and filler from Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan puro comes in three sizes: JJ (5 ¼ by 5), and Apollo Selleccion De Warped (6 by 44), and Campeon (6 by 52). The cigar will run you between $8.00 and $8.74. 

You can purchase the Guardian of the Farm Apollo Seleccion De Warped from our good friends at Cuenca Cigars in their 2017 Top 10 Cigars by Cigar Aficionado sampler.

THE FACTS

Price: $8.00
Vitola: Apollo Seleccion De Warped
Size: 6 by 44
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade-Grown Jalapa Corojo 99’
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99’
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo 98’ and Corojo 99’
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 20 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Guardian of the Farm Nicaraguan Corojo 99′ wrapper that is light to medium brown in color does little to hide the character of the leaf. Veins and bumps are everywhere and there is a decent amount of oils. The cigar is evenly filled from top to bottom.

A floral and brown sugar aroma is found on the wrapper. The draw is stiff, which I hope opens up after I burn past the tobacco covering the foot of the cigar. Flavors of cedar, clove, and cinnamon are introduced on the cold draw as a mild spice is felt in the mouth.  

FIRST THIRD

This Casa Fernandez made cigar opens up with an earthy and woodsy profile with a medium pepper spice and a contrasting sweetness. The pepper heat quickly intensifies to full. The eyeliner burn is a little jagged and the easy draw is allowing the smoke to pull through effortlessly.

MIDDLE THIRD

The sweetness is now identifiable as brown sugar and a black coffee flavor has joined in with a faint cocoa. The pepper spice has the edge on the rest of the flavors.  As I pass the smoke through my nose, the spice is accentuated, but not overwhelming. A small section of the wrapper is struggling to burn, but I am not willing to bust out the lighter just yet. 

FINAL THIRD

A quick touch-up is required as pull into the last third of Guardian of the Farm Apollo. The brown sugar is getting pushed back by the darker flavors of earth and coffee. This is the first time in the smoke that the spice has settled and is not center stage. The smoke production is somewhat lacking in the final third. 

WRAP-UP

The Guardian of the Farm Apollo Seleccion De Warped brought to the table some darker flavors, a good amount of spice, and a sweetness that rounded out the flavors. At times, the spice overwhelmed the other flavors but played well for the most part. The 6 by 44 cigar burned for an hour and twenty minutes and required only one touch-up during that time. For an $8.00 cigar, I don’t think you can go wrong picking up Guardian of the Farm from our friends over at Cuenca Cigars.

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The Good Stuff:

The Haut 10 was created by Dion Giolito of Illusione to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary. The cigar made its debut at this year’s IPCPR trade show and hit shelves quickly, before the FDA regulatory deadline. The Illusione Haut 10 comes in a single 5 1/2 x 52 robusto Extra format with features a Nicaraguan cafe Clara AAA grade wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder and filler featuring seco dominant criollo 98 and corona 99 which is produced at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A., or TABSA factory in Nicaragua. The Haut 10 comes packaged in boxes of 12 running $15.95 a stick. As with the trend, the Haut 10 is slotted to be a regular production release. These were actually pretty hard to track down, but I did end up scooping up a handful from our friends over at Cigar Federation.

Size: 5 1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $15.95
Pairing: Prairie Artisan Ales Christmas Bomb! (Imperial Stout 11% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Haut 10 starts with an absolutely gorgeous medium brown wrapper. While the wrapper is very consistent in color, it does give off a nice orange glow when light reflects off of the cigar. The wrapper showcases some thick, natural webbing in the tobacco leaf and only a few very minor veins. The wrapper feels semi-dense, but does have some give as I squeeze the cigar between my fingers. The wrapper is coated with oils leading up to the stubby, pigtail-styled cap. The cigar as a whole feels very heavy and thick, while the construction looks flawless as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself. Polishing off the cigar is a beautiful, simple, elegant silver band with the words “Haut 10” embossed across the front in white ink and “Illusione” in the back in black.

Immediately after taking the Haut 10 out of the cellophane I am greeted with a very bold, sweet, cedar and cashew aroma from the wrapper of the cigar while the foot of the cigar is a bit more grainy with some soft spice mixed in with natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and like butter using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw kicks out some creamy coffee, nutty, sweet cedar flavors with again, more natural tobacco.

First Third:

The Illusione Haut 10 starts off with a nice little cayenne pepper blast which quickly fades away as the cigar begins to reveal some strong cashew, cedar, honey and vanilla over some creamy coffee and natural tobacco flavors. I actually wasn’t expecting this cigar to start off in the medium/full arena, but it did. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here. The draw is flawless. Each tiny little puff gives off a massive cloud of thick, white smoke which hangs around for a significant amount of time before dissipating while the cigar gives off very little stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is sharp, but pretty wavy. I haven’t had to pull my torch out yet, as it looks as though it may start correcting itself here. The ash left behind is an odd mixture of both flaky and compacted in random spots. The ash did hold on for about in inch though before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The pepper has completely disappeared from the Illusione Haut 10’s flavor profile and I am left with some spicy cedar, musky vanilla, honey, cashew, and earthiness. While the flavors have balanced out, they are still pretty bold and the body remains in the medium/full range. The retrohale really helps bring out the spice and cedar. In fact, the retrohale is very smooth and crisp, as I find myself doing it very often with this particular smoke. As suspected, the burn line completely corrected itself and is now burning solid, like a champ. I close out the second third with a very minor little nicotine kick.

Finish:

The body and strength of the Illusione Haut 10 are really on display here in the final third. The flavors have ramped up a ton bringing the cigar into the full arena now. The main flavor is a sharp cedar and spice backed by cinnamon, cocoa, and vanilla with subtle clove notes as well as coffee and lots of natural underlying flavors. I can really get into the flavor mix. It took me two hours to take the cigar down to the nub. I experience absolutely no harshness nor any extended heat while I did get a slight little nicotine buzz as I closed out the experience.

Overview:

I am a big Illusione fan, and while that means I generally enjoy their cigars, it also means I can get critical of them really quick if they don’t live up to my set standards for them. Not only did the Haut 10 live up to those standards, but it blew them away. This cigar has it all, bold flavors with a balanced profile I really enjoyed, flawless construction, and perfect burn. The price is a bit steep, but the outcome from what Dion put into this cigar is evident. This is how Anniversary cigars are done. Congrats to 10 years Illusione, I can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

Pairing:

Brewed at the Prairie Artisan Ales Brewery in Oaklahoma, Christmas Bomb! is Prairie’s Signature Imperial stout brewed with cinnamon. Coming in at a whopping 11% ABV the Christmas Bomb! leads with a ton of sweet honey and vanilla, cinnamon malt, and cocoa with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with a ton of vanilla and cocoa and a hint of booze and chile. The vanilla, cocoa and sweetness really mashed up with to the flavors in the Haut 10 and even helped them reach a whole other level of awesomeness without overpowering the cigar, as the Haut 10 holds it own. I would love to pair this cigar with a bold Belgian Quad or a nice, spicy tawny port.

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The Good Stuff:

The Singulare series is a “one and done” annual run created by Illusione. It’s one that I look out for every year (you can read a past review of the first Singulare the “Phantom” from 2010 here). Dion Giolito’s newest addition tot he Singulare line is the Miserere. The Singulare Miserere is a Nicaraguan puro composed entirely of Aganorsa tobacco. The blend includes a Nicaragua corojo wrapper similar to what you find on the Epernay, Nicaraguan binder, and criollo 98 and corojo 99 fillers from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. The cigar is produced at Tabacos Valle Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Esteli, Nicaragua. The Singulare Miserere comes in a single 6.75 x 48 format packaged in boxes of 15, running $13 a stick, with only 900 boxes produced. I picked these up over at Smoke Inn and last time I checked they still have them in stock.

Size: 6.75 x 48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo 98 / Corojo 99
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13
Pairing: The Bruery Mischief (Belgian Strong Ale 8.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Illusione Singulare Miserere starts out with a beautiful, consistent, medium brown wrapper that carries an interesting orange tint, and a whole ton of oil. The wrapper’s texture is very smooth and very oily with one some slight grit while the wrapper is very firm, yet thin. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself exposing some very mild veins running through the cigar’s slender body leading up to a perfectly round triple cap. The cigar feels very heavy, and is packed very tightly which I hope doesn’t present draw issues down the road. The cigar is polished off with the standard silver and while band we’ve grown to expect from this line, with the standard “Singulare” crest embossed on the front and “EL” for Edition Limitada on the back.

The wrapper on the Illusione Singulare Miserere gives off some honey, cedar, and natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice, grain, and earthiness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw leads with a ton of honey and cedar backed by some oat and grain, spice, and natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Illusione Singulare Miserere starts out with a good amount of black pepper which quickly fades out after the first few puffs revealing great honey, cedar, citrus, a ton of spice and sweetness of some great natural earthy tobacco flavors. This cigar does remind me a the Epernay with a nice little twang to it. The draw is perfect despite being packed so tightly. Each little puff kicks out a great deal of thick, white smoke which hangs around for quite some time before dissipating. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of thick white ash which held on for a bit over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

As I venture into the second third of the Illusione Singulare Miserere the cigar really starts to showcase how complex it is. The dominant flavors are cedar, honey, and spice backed by some fruit, molasses, oak, and lots of natural tobacco. I’m really big on both the dimension and the body of this cigar while the strength is still in the medium category. The retrohale really brings out the spice and cedar. The burn line is still absolutely perfect as I close out the second third with really nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

As if the Illusione Singulare Miserere wasn’t already firing on all cylinders, the cigar really ramps up in both body and strength in the final third. The flavors are still leading with honey and cedar, lots of spice and fruit backed by oak and sweetness while the strength has now entered the medium/full category. It took me 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. The cigar produced no harshness, and no extra heat while requiring absolutely no extra love from my torch the entire time. The Miserere left me with only a very small nicotine kick.

Overview:

I’m all about bold, full-bodied cigars that don’t need to compensate in strength and this cigar delivered. The Illusione Singulare Miserere is easily my favorite Singulare blend to date. The fact that it resembles the Epernay probably has a lot to do that as thats probably one of my favorite cigars of all time. The flavors are great, and the cigar is pretty complex while the price point is a bit high, it’s well worth it. I picked up a 5 pack of these and will definitely be picking up a box while they are still available.

Pairing:

Yes, another Bruery beer. I can’t get enough of them. Just wish I could get them locally. One day.. Anyhow, this Sunday’s selection is their Mischief. Mischief is a 8.5% ABV Belgian Golden Ale brewed at the Bruery’s facility in Placentia, California. Mischief leads with a bit of apple, a splash of citrus, a ton of spice and a bit of grain with a nice soft hop and a very light mouthfeel before finishing crips with more citrus, a bit of honey, spice, sweetness, and oak. Most of these flavors are present in the Illusione Singulare Miserere so the pairing was an easy choice. The citrus and apple also really helped pick up some of the same flavors in the cigar that I otherwise would have missed. This cigar would pair great with any Belgian Golden or Strong ale, a hefty Tripel, or even a nice sour.

Screw pop Ashtray:

Most of you should be familiar with Screwpop by now. The company makes lots of neat little tools for tons of different situations including cigars, and beer drinking which makes them a perfect pairing with Casas Fumando. Their latest product, the ashtray is probably my favorite item they’ve made yet. Here is what the company has to say about it:

Introducing the world’s first “cigar centric” ashtray!

Screwpop Ashtray keeps your cigar in the spotlight and your stogie in the sweet-spot for a most unique and pleasant cigar smoking experience!

By simply orienting the cigar perpendicular to the smoker (longways facing), the Screwpop Ashtray showcases the stogie in “presentational form”. You can now admire, enjoy and monitor your stogie between puffs: tobacco leaf, label design, burn, ash and rising smoke.

Geared for a single smoker (but don’t be fooled), its compactness allows for several Screwpop Ashtrays to fit comfortably on a table. Ideal for casual group smoking, parties and business meetings… it’s sure to impress!

The Screwpop Ashtray includes an ingenious “ash knocker” (for clearing the cigar-foot before relight). It also offers a well-placed tapered slot (shown front) for cigarillo enthusiasts alike.  Even use the Cigar Rest as a place to put cutters, punches or lighters after smoking a gar.

Made from ultra durable matte-finished (solid) melamine, the Screwpop Ashtray is sure to be your new favorite cigar smoking accessory!

That pretty much sums it up. Honestly, I love how compact, yet sturdy this thing is. You can basically carry it around in your pocket if needed, yet it’s not something you’d lose, or something that the wind would simply kick over. The canal that holds your cigar is very long for once, so I don’t have to worry about about my cigar tipping into the ash, or falling out of the ash tray. Once ash does fall of the cigar the little ramp carries it away from my cigar. I also dig the smaller channel for my cigarillos. I probably won’t use the ash knocker too much, but it’s convenient. All in all this is a solid product. If you want to pick one up for yourself follow this link. They normally run $19.95 a pop but as of today, they are on sale for $14.95.

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Bella Dominicana utilizes tobaccos from Ecuador, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua and is available in six vitolas: M (4 ⅞ by 46), E (5 by 52), L ( 6 ½ by 54), I (5 by 56), S (5 ¼ by 58), and A (6 by 60). The “M” and “E” frontmarks come packaged in 12 and 24 count boxes, while the “L”, “I”, “S”, and “A” are in 10 and 20 count boxes. Prices range from $7.00 for the 4 ⅞ by 46 up to $9.80 for 6 by 60.

The box and cigar presentation is spot on. The picture on both the box and band features two nymphs painting a “typical” Dominican sunset with farm scenes on either side of the band.  Also, there is no shortage of gold coins on the box. A trend I have noticed as of late. Overall, the box and band are elegantly done and give me a sense of nostalgia.

The Facts

Samples Provided by Mel Caribbean Corp.
Price: $7.00
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Seco, Dominican Viso Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Viso
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 10 Minutes
Drink: Water

Pre-light

The Bella Dominicana is draped in a medium tan Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf that has some small veins, scattered bumps, and a couple of color imperfections. The tan color does nothing to conceal any imperfections, but overall it is a fine looking cigar. On the wrapper, there is an aroma of dark red fruits, caramel sweetness, and a vinegar pungency.

Big notes of rich cedar paired with natural sweet tobacco notes and a hint of spice are on the foot of the cigar. The cigar is evenly filled until I make my way to the foot, which is somewhat squishy. Upon clipping through the neatly applied double cap, the dry draw delivers rich cedar, clove, raisin, red pepper, and burning gun powder. A medium spice is warming my mouth and leaving a spice sting on the lips.

First Third

Right off the bat, the Bella Dominicana opens with a heavy dosage of black pepper with some earth and rich, sweet woodsy notes are in the background. That unique burning gunpowder I picked up on in the pre-light is coming across on the finish, along with coffee and cocoa. Woodsy note gain ground and are at the front of the profile after an inch of smoking. A thick eyeliner burn is leaving behind a light grey ash.

Middle Third

Transitioning into the second third, an intriguing and enjoyable vegetal/earthy flavor has entered the profile, the sweet woodsy notes are gaining in richness, and the spice gains in intensity. While the burn is not nearly as thick as earlier, it continues to burn just about perfect.

Final Third

The profile is developing into much heavier flavors with the gunpowder, earth, coffee, and cocoa. However, unlike the previous third, the sweetness has departed. The smoke remains rich and the smoke is developing into a much more chewy texture. Wrapping up the cigar, I am captivated by an apple cider sharpness paired with a cinnamon spice.

Wrap-up

Bella Dominicana delivered medium/full flavors at the start and transitioned to more of medium smoke throughout the last two third. The strength behaved exactly opposite with reaching medium/full at the end. I would characterize the core of the smoke, or the most consistent flavor, as sweet, rich woodsy notes with no lack of complexity and change-ups and a fair amount of pepper spice. The 4 7/8 by 46 “M” vitola showcases the blend very well and performed exceptionally in the four samples smoked for this review.

The post Bella Dominicana appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

As I stated in my review of the Long Live the King, Caldwell cigars are non-existent in these parts, but thanks to our friends at Fox Cigar Bar I was finally able to wrangle up a few. Caldwell cigars is the brain child of Robert Caldwell who is best know for his partnership with Christian Eiroa running Wynwood cigars. Last year the partnership had dissolved and Robert has since teamed up with Henderson and William Ventura of Tabacalera Ventura in the Dominican Republic to create his newest blends. One note is that Caldwell cigars often uses rare tobaccos and vintages to create their blends. The Eastern Standard features a Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano (Dark Connecticut), a Habana Dominicano Binder, and Criollo ’98 Viso Dominicano, Corojo Dominicano Ligero, and Habano Seco Nicaraguense fillers.

The Eastern Standard comes packaged in boxes of 24 and is offered in three standard sizes: The Euro Express (5.5 x 44), the Corretto (5 x 50), and the Cream Crush (48 x 7) running between $9 and $11 a stick. There is also one limited edition size called the Silk Road (7.5 x 40) which runs $12 per stick with only 500 boxes of 24 produced and features a tweaked version of the original blend. On top of that, there is a shop exclusive size out there called the Marble House (5 x 40) which features the same tweaked blend as the Silk Road, and is only available at Maxamar’s Ultimate Cigars of Orange, California which comes in boxes of 37 and runs $7.50 per stick. I got a handful of the Euro Express format over from our friends at Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert, Arizona.

Size: 5.5 x 44
Wrapper: Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano
Binder: Habana Dominicano 2005
Filler: Criollo ’98 Viso Dominicano 2008 (30%), Corojo Dominicano Ligero 2006 (30%), Habano Seco Nicaraguense 2007 (40%)
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Price: $9
Pairing: Ommegang/Boulevard Spiced Saison (Saison 7.3% ABV)

Prelight:

I absolutely love the look of not only the bands, but the ruggedness of the Caldwell Cigars and the Eastern Standard is no exception. Starting with the rough, rugged texture the wrapper features a mix of medium to dark brown colors with some slight natural leaf webbing. The Eastern Standard carries some mild oils and a few larger veins running through the course of the cigar’s body to its round, stubby pig tailed, triple cap. The cigar is very firm and tightly packed with a bit of sponginess around the foot. The wrapper is a lot more dense than I come to expect with Connecticut leaf and is very firm to the touch. The Eastern Standard features a simple band with a sketched portrait of an older gentleman in black and white, surrounded by the words “Eastern – Live East” and “Standard – Die Young”.

The wrapper on the Caldwell Eastern Standard gives off almost no aroma. I really had to reach for it and all I pulled out was some soft cedar. The foot of the cigar is modest in aroma too but I was able to get some sweetness, spice, and natural tobacco from it. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produced a really piney, cedary, grassy mixture of flavors with some slight pepper at the tail end of it. The cigar lit up clean and easy using my S.T. Dupont Maxijet lighter.

First Third:

The first few puffs of the Caldwell Eastern Standard showcased some great, unexpended black pepper backed by a ton of sweet cedar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and earthiness. I wasn’t expecting the cigar to start out with as much flavor as it did. The draw on the Eastern Standard is awesome, each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of very thick, white smoke which take forever to dissipate while the cigar gives off almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and perfectly even leaving behind a trail of bright white ash which held up for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The flavors in the Caldwell Eastern Standard have taken a step back into the second third, becoming milder and much more creamier. The cigar leads with some great cedar and brown sugar still with some nice creamed coffee notes, spice notes, and some slight grassy/earthiness buried in there. The retrohale rocks, coating my nasal passage with a really smooth cedar and cashew which I don’t really pick up in the standard experience. The cigar is still burning clean and even leaving me with absolutely no nicotine kick as I close out the second third.

Finish:

The body and strength have ramped it up a bit into the final third of the Caldwell Eastern Standard. The cedar has turned into more of a musky oak while the spice and earthiness are still rocking on with some nice coffee underneath. There isn’t a lot of changeups in the flavor profile of this cigar, but the flavors have remained enjoyable. It took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor any type of nicotine kick through the entire experience.

Overview:

The Caldwell Eastern Standard is a great mild cigar. It’s not going to wow you in the flavor department, nor is it going to punch you in the face with strength, and that’s ok. Let the other cigars in their portfolio do that. The Eastern Standard delivers a solid smoking experience. While I tend to gravitate more towards bolder cigars, I can see having a few of the Eastern Standard in my rotation for the times I am craving a mild smoke, especially early in the morning or early afternoon. The price point is a bit high on this one for me, but that goes along with Caldwell’s reach into rare and limited tobaccos. Pick a few up, let me know what you think.

Pairing:

Tis the season for Saisons! That being said, there are two breweries in the U.S. who brew up Belgian style, Saisons like no other. Those two breweries are Ommegang from New York, and Boulevard from Kansas City and they both teamed up to create the 7.5% ABV Spiced Saison. The Spiced Saison is almost closer to a tripel in terms of flavor in my opinion, leading with lots of celery, citrus, banana, and brown sugar with a dense mouthfeel before finishing crisp with some nice lemon, caramel, and more fruity goodness. This was a refreshing pairing. It’s in the upper 80’s here so I wanted something that wouldn’t be too heavy while adding some great flavors to the Caldwell Eastern Standard and not overpowering it since it’s not the boldest smoke out there, and the Spice Saison was absolutely perfect. This cigar would also pair great with some black coffee, marzen, or a nice porter.

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As Villiger North America extends its reach into the American market, newer premium cigar releases continue to come from the Swiss company.  I have previously reviewed their La Libertad, as well as the Villiger Talanga.  The Trill was released last year along with the Cuellar Connecticut Kreme (pronounced “creamy”) and Cabarette Maduro.  The Trill is a Dominican puro and is produced at Jochy Blanco’s Tabacalera Palma factory, and comes in five sizes:  Robusto 5 x 50, Toro 6 x 54, Gordo 6.25 x 60, Torpedo Gordo 4.5 x  62, and Corona 5 x 46.

The one I will be reviewing was among a handful of cigars given to me by Villiger’s NW rep, Ed Ryan (@pdxcigars) when we met at an event at Stogies n Hops in Lynnwood, WA last month, and will be my first experience with the cigar.

Wrapper:  Dominican Habano
Binder:  Dominican Cuban seed
Filler:  Dominican Cuban seed Corojo and Criollo ‘98
Size:  Torpedo Gordo 4.5 x 62
Price:  ~$7
Smoking time:  One hour, forty-five minutes
Pairing:  Fremont Spring Elixir Imperial IPA (10.5% ABV)

Pre-light

The Villiger Trill Torpedo Gordo is a squat, Nub-like bugger neatly wrapped in a dark milk chocolate Habano leaf with one prominent vein and a couple of minor ones, and a nice oily sheen to it.  The band is a blending of traditional and modern in black, white, and gold foil, and a dark gold ribbon acts as a foot band to cap off the presentation.  The scent off of the wrapper is of tart barnyard, tobacco, and a very slight hint of cocoa, while the foot shows an aroma of earthy tobacco and a touch of leather.  The foot band is a bit of a pain to remove, as it is tightly applied to the cigar with a very tacky tape.  A fairly shallow snip of the cap produces a very open draw showing sweet tobacco, earth, and a peppery tingle on the back of the throat.

First third

Not surprisingly, it takes a bit of time to get the 62rg Trill properly toasted with my single flame torch, as it starts off with deep (rather than bright) cedar notes on top of earthy tobacco and light coffee.  Pepper is present in the form flavor rather than bite.  However, the first layer of wrapping on the cap lifted and had to be torn off, and I will now have to be careful not to let the rest of it unravel.  I’m glad that I’m smoking this one outside, as it is pumping out a ton of rather pungent stationary smoke.  The burn in the first ½” is pretty wavy, so I’m hoping it evens itself out.  The cedar has stepped up and the tobacco flavor has taken on an aged mustiness, and the pepper has moved to the background.  At the 1” mark, the wood has turned oaky, and a light sweetness has emerged, while the pepper has rebounded in the so far medium stick (or stump, if you prefer).  One thing I’m noticing is that while a single pull on the Trill produces a decent mouthful of smoke, a double draw gives a much more satisfying concentration of flavor.

The home stretch

After an hour of smoking the Villiger Trill, I’m finally at the half-way point, and the ash just fell into my lap and disintegrated upon impact.  I have a feeling that things will be going a lot quicker from this point forward.  The flavor has morphed into a woody bread, if there is such a thing (yes, I know that back when fiber was first being pushed back in the day, bakeries actually used wood cellulose to boost the fiber content of their breads, but it sure didn’t taste like this), and a brighter citric note has crept in.  The pepper is now a thing of the past, as the Trill continues to go its merry medium-bodied way, while the double puffs are no longer warranted.  With a couple of inches to go, the flavors have deepened, pushing the Villiger Trill over the medium bodied threshold, while the strength has crept up a bit to somewhere around medium.  The oak has reverted to cedar, while the breadiness holds on.  After an hour and forty-five minutes of smoke time, it’s finally gotten a little unwieldy to hold on to, and it’s time to put it down, although if I had dragged my lazy ass inside for a toothpick, I could easily have gotten another five minutes out of it.

Conclusion

Going into this review of the Villiger Trill, I thought that it would be a short write up of a quick smoke.  I was wrong about that, and happily so.  I was expecting an hour or so of smoking, but this little guy gave me more enjoyment in a much more protracted experience than I thought it would.  Although it did eventually require a few touch-ups, I did not have any re-lights, and the flavors, while not terribly complex, did have some nice transitions, while smoking cool and without harshness all the way down to the nub.  After the initial lifting of the cap, careful handling gave me no further problems.  I am intrigued enough to want to check out the smaller ring gauges to see what they would have to offer, although this experience would be a warning to me that the gordo would probably be a bit too much cigar – in terms of time, not strength – for me.  Thanks again to Ed for providing me with this sample!

Pairing

This is seemingly the thousandth review I’ve done featuring Seattle’s Fremont Brewing, and for good reason:  they just make damned good beers (plus, they’re located just a mile or so from where I live).  The Fremont/Bartell Drugs 125^th Anniversary Spring Elixir Imperial IPA was made to commemorate Bartell’s 125^th year in business in Washington state, making it the oldest continually family owned drug store in the country.  Extremely limited in quantity in bombers and growlers, and sold only at Bartell outlets (and on tap at Fremont’s beer garden), this full bodied, oily textured brew pours an orange/amber tinged gold and displays tropical mango and papaya fruit, orange, and grapefruit notes on top of malty sweetness, with a nice hoppy balancing finish.  This all plays extremely well with the flavors that the Villiger Trill has to offer, and any Imperial IPA with similar qualities would go perfectly with this cigar.

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Exactus cigars are produced by Tabacalera El Artista in the Dominican Republic. The internals in the Puro Amber appear similar, at least on paper, to the Clasico and Habano lines with the Criollo 98 filler tobacco and the wine-fermented Criollo 98 binder. But we all know that different primings, ratios, etc… can make this a completely different smoke even with similar ingredients.

The Facts

Samples Provided by Tabacalera El Artista
Price: Unknown
Vitola: Short Coloso
Size: 5 1/2 by 60
Wrapper: T13 (Exclusive of Tabacalera El Artista grown in Rancho Elba Maria)
Binder: Wine Fermented Criollo 98.
Filler: Criollo 98 & 1900 (Exclusive of Tabacalera El Artista grown in Rancho Elba Maria)
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 25 Minutes
Drink: Water

Pre-light

The  T13 proprietary wrapper leaf that adorns the Exactus Puro Ambar is by no means appealing to the eyes. Medium brown in color with a greenish hue, the wrapper leaf is marked with stitch-looking veins, visible seams, and color imperfections.. The aroma off the wrapper is faint, with only a mild pungency and sweet tobacco. The pungency transfers to the foot, along with barnyard rich cedar, sweet raisin and pepper.

They weren’t messing around when they applied the cap. What appears to be a triple cap is the largest cap I have ever come across. No worry of over-cutting. The cap clips clean presenting an easy draw, however, I am extremely concerned that there may be some major issues going forward. A large void in tobacco can be seen in the middle of the cigar. Mainly rich cedar is presented on the cold draw.

First Third

Bright, white pepper spice is the initial hit on the palate. Just a quarter inch in, the spice tones down allowing room for other flavors but is still at the medium/full level and a good amount of warmth lingers on the palate. There are some woodsy notes, but not like the rich cedar on the cold draw, but rather a wet forest accompanied by some dark fruit flavors. The burn-line is thick, a little edgy, but overall good.

Middle Third

Smoke production is satisfying and, so far, the void in tobacco at the head of the cigar is not having a noticeable impact on the experience. I am beginning to feel a small nicotine hit in my gut. The strength is a solid medium. The profile is much more balanced in the middle third. The richness has picked up, but the majority of flavors are the same as the first third but more rounded. The most intriguing part of the profile is the dark fruit notes. I am not sure if it is from knowing the binder is wine fermented, but my mind immediately thinks of a dry red wine.

Final Third

The smoke is a bit dryer in the mouth as I make my way into the final third of the Exactus Puro Ambar. The pepper, woodsy notes and fruit continue on with an added toasty quality and earthyness. The tobacco void may be having an adverse effect on the profile at this point. Flavors are coming through much lighter and almost airy. Other than the airy flavors, the cigar is performing well, with a good draw, decent burn, and firm ash.

Wrap-up

First off, I want to say a big “Thank You” to Tabacalera El Artista for providing the samples of the Exactus Puro Ambar. I hate it when this happens, but I actually caught myself enjoying this 60 ring gauge cigar. The flavors delivered in the first and second thirds, but tapered off in the final third, which I will blame on the void in tobaccos near the head. I am pleased to report that the issue did not occur in the other sample. When I think of the lines I have smoked under the Exactus brand, I can honestly say that the Puro Ambar is a step above the other lines. If you live near an Exactus retailer, which you can see here, grab a couple and get back to us on what you think of the cigar.

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