The Good Stuff:

As a bit of a departure from what we have all come to expect with La Flor Dominicana, The La Nox is an incredibly dark, full production cigar. The name is appropriate as it translates to “The Night” and this cigar is as dark as the night. The cigar comes packaged in very interesting, huge, black, circular boxes which feature a simple moon and cloud design (said to be a tip of the hat to Van Gogh as the “La Nox” logo is actually a take on his signature) and magnets instead of hinges and nails. The La Nox blend starts out with a dark Brazilian wrapper, Mexican San Andres binder, and Dominican fillers from the company’s La Canela farm. The cigars are produced at the Tabacalera La Flor S.A. factory in Dominican Republic and began to hit shelves a few months ago, but sell out very quickly. The cigar is offered in a single 6.5 x 50 Toro Extra format which comes packaged in boxes of 10 and run $11 a stick. I purchased a handful of these over from our friends at 2 Guys Smoke Shop.

Size: 6.5 x 50
Wrapper: Brazilian
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Dominican
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $11
Pairing: Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Noel (Belgian Strong Ale 10% ABV)

Prelight:

La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox starts out with an incredibly dark, thick wrapper. It’s consistent in color sporting an almost black, dark brown color with a very toothy texture. The wrapper feel’s like a cats tongue drenched in oil. The wrapper is very thick, and very hard while it carries a few very minor veins, and one larger one running the length of the cigar’s body. The La Nox is polished off with a stubby, round, double cap and two very simple, elegant blue, black, and white bands featuring the same simple night artwork with the moon, clouds, and the words “La Nox” across the front. The cigar is very heavy. I mean, REALLY heavy as the wrapper probably weighs as much as the filler does. There are absolutely no soft spots. The cigar feels like a rock.

The wrapper on La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox gives off some slight grape, cocoa, and an almost charred rubber aroma while the foot of the cigar gives off a whole mess of spice and sweetness. Despite the density, the cap cut clean and smooth using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw leads with a very strong, and distinct raisin flavor backed by lots of sweetness, fruit, and cocoa.

First Third:

La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox starts out with some faint black pepper which quickly faded away letting the cigar showcase some smokey, charred meat, cedar, dark chocolate, and sweetness. As I continue on the chariness subsides a bit as some nice subtle fruit begins to work it’s way in. The draw is perfect, each little puff kicks out a good amount of thick, white smoke while the La Nox gives off very little stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is sexy, very sharp, perfectly even leaving behind a perfect trail of thick, compacted white and gray ash which held on for a bit over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox and this thing is just pouring out the flavors. The charred meat has really taken a step back and is very faint at this point, but still there while the profile leads with strong cedar, date, fruit, and sweetness backed by cocoa, and spice. It’s a great mixture. The retrohale coats my nasal passage with a lot more pepper than expected along with strong cedar. It’s not something I find myself doing too often with this particular cigar. The burn line is still perfectly even as I close out the second third with only a slight nicotine kick.

Finish:

As La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox continues to burn, the body and strength just keep ramping up more and more. The charred meat has amped up a bit but the profile is still leading with bold cedar, spice, cocoa, cedar, and fruit backed by pepper and those charred flavors. It’s still a great mixture. It took me an hour and forty five minutes to take this down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, nor any extra heat. There was a small amount of sap in the final third but a very small clip cleaned that right up. The La Nox left me with a pretty decent nicotine kick, but some of that may have been caused by the beer as well. Either way, it was a great finish.

Overview:

La Nox is quite a departure from what we normally expect from La Flor Dominicana, and it served as a breath of fresh air. Not that LFD’s stuff is bad by any means, I quite enjoy their offerings. What I mean is, it’s nice to see them step out of their element a bit, and they killed it. La Nox is a deep, rich, bold, flavor bomb that hits on all marks. The fact that it’s full production makes it that much more desirable. The price is a bit steep, but I can honestly say that it delivered and the price is well worth it. Will this squeak into my top 10? Find out next week.

Pairing:

Each Christmas I have a run of three of four beers that I always make sure I include in my rotation. Delirium Noel is at the top of that list. Brewed at the Brouwerij Huyghe brewery in Belgium, this 10% strong ale has what it takes to warm me up no matter how cold it is out. Delirium Noel leads with strong sweetness, caramel, loads of spice, fruit, and malt with a decently heavy mouthfeel before finishing sweet with more fruit, spice, and honey. The fruit and spice were an absolute perfect match for the flavors found in the La Nox while the cigar offered up some nice smokey charness that carries over to the beer. Both the cigar and the beer are dominant forces so you have to be careful not choose one that will overpower the other. In this case, they both offered support without dominating the other. This cigar would also pair well with a strong tawny port, bold baltic porter, or sweet bourbon.

The post La Flor Dominicana – La Nox appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Unlike the original Cu-Avana Intenso which was originally created by the master blender Manuel Quesada, The Punisher is actually re-blended, and hyped up by another familiar face, Nestor Plasencia. It wasn’t that Quesada did a bad job, in fact the blend was widely popular. Some people were just craving a stronger, more robust cigar hence the re-blend.  These cigars come only in torpedo-tubo format. You can buy them in boxes of 13 for about $100 or about $14 a single.

Size: 6-52  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero

Prelight: The Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher is a deadly looking cigar, from the branding down to the actually cigar itself. The cigar looks as if it has had better days. The wrapper is this crazy looking, extremely dark, baker’s chocolate brown color with a few lighter areas that seem to line the 2 or 3 larger veins the run the length of the cigar. The wrapper itself is tough as hell adding the cigars weight and firmness. This thing feels like it’s made from cement. The cap of the cigar is this strange torpedo cap. I call it strange cause it is actually tilted a bit on top (probably not on purpose) which makes it look kid of like the top of a garden gnome’s hat. The Punisher comes loaded in an all black metal tubo with simply the word “PVNISHER” painted on it. The first band on this cigar bears the same branding only with an extra “-MMXI-” added to it. The secondary foot band is identical to the gold, black, white and red foot band that you find on the standard Cu-Avana Intensos.

The wrapper gives off an almost motor oil aroma mixed in with some crazy harsh tobacco. I can already tell that I’m in for a doozy. The foot of the cigar is insanely peppery and because of that it’s pretty hard to pick anything else out of there. The cap cut clean using my double bladed Palio cutter. Before even trying to pull a cold draw off this cigar, I put it to my lips and tongue to moisten the cap. Holy hell!!! It was like sucking on a habanero. Seriously. It made my tongue burn for about 2 minutes and even made me second guess my beer selection swapping it with milk instead. Braving the pepper I went in for the cold draw. It was nearly as peppery and spicy as I was expecting, instead I was greeting with a nice, even draw filled with nice cedar, tobacco, and only a hint of spice.

First Smoke: The foot band on this Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher slid off with ease. Lighting up the cigar was a cake walk as well. As soon as the cigar hit my lips again they almost burned off from the immense amount of  pepper this thing packs. One interesting note is, the pepper isn’t necessarily coming form the filler or binder, its transferring from the wrapped cap straight to my lips. It’s like they coat the cap with jalapeno or something. Not very nice. Outside of the pepper I am picking up some nice spice, dark chocolate, earthy flavors and even some cinnamon. I just really wish the pepper wasn’t overpowering the hell out of the rest of the flavors as they are actually pretty enjoyable. The draw on this pepper machine is awesome kicking out huge clouds of thick white smoke with every puff. The Punisher also gives off a good amount of tobacco/cedar scented stationary smoke. The burnline is razor sharp and dead even leaving behind a beautifully compacted trail of white and light grey ash.

Halfway There: Halfway through this Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher and my lips are screaming for mercy. The pepper in this beast just will not give in. I live literally a stone throw from Mexico and this cigar beats the hell out of some of the spiciest of foods I’ve tasted. No joke. The main flavor is of course that pepper, although the underlying flavors are finally starting to show their colors with a very nice cedar, spice, cinnamon and chocolate. The retrohale on this cigar is awesome too boasting almost pure bittersweet chocolate which proves once again that the cap on this cigar is the pepper culprit. In the nicotine category, surprisingly, I’m not feeling anything at all at this point. I may just still be in shock by all the pepper setting my lips on fire to notice though.

Finish: At this point I am very pleased to say that the pepper has really subdued and I am left with the original flavor profile intended for this cigar. First of all, there is a TON of sweetness in this cigar that I wasn’t able to pick up until now. Sucks too cause it is very tasty! Matched with that is a whole ton of cedar, some strong tobacco, cinnamon, and even some clove. Needless to say what lies under the pepper is actually an amazing flavor combination. I am only feeling a slight nicotine kick, if any at all. I can’t tell if it was the beer or the cigar, but I really anticipated having trouble standing once this experience was done. That just wasn’t the case. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this bad boy down to the nub with no harshness, and actually a very smooth experience within the final inch.

Overview: I really can’t wait till the next time I eat some spicy chili and get to say “I’ve smoked cigars spicier than this!”. Maybe they named it the “Punisher” cause you give it to your friends to punish them for being jerks (Thanks, Lupe). But in all seriousness, the Cu-Avana Intenso Punisher is no freaken joke, and not for the faint of heart. I really, truly think all the pepper ruined the experience for me. I like bolder cigars, but when you just tack on a bunch of crap to make you cigar feel bold it’s a total turn off. Especially considering just how wonderful the flavors hidden underneath all the pepper are. If you are considering buying one of these cigars, I would urge you to pass and consider the standard Cu-Avana Intenso while saving yourself some coin, unless you are looking for a crazy pepper and overall unique experience. I strongly urge any novice smoker to stay as far away from this cigar as you can. Unless you eat jalapenos on a regular basis.

One interesting note is on Cigar.com they actually state the following:  “Don’t expect sweetness from this powerhouse and we highly recommend you enjoy this one on a full stomach.” Although I agree with the full stomach portion, I highly disagree with the lack of sweetness. In the final third the cigar was full of sweet tobacco, and it wasn’t just a hint, there was a ton. Just something I found interesting.

 Interesting tidbit #2: It looks like my detective skills were spot-on when I stated that the pepper might actually be a pepper or chili coating. Our friends over at Cigar Inspector actually confirmed it.

Pairing: No surprise here pairing yet another cigar with a fine Belgian brew. Delirium Noel, part of the Delirium series (Delirium Tremmens and Delirium Nocturne) from the Brouwerij Huyghe in Belgium, is a 10% ABV winter seasonal Belgian dark strong ale and one of my favorite holiday treats. I will stalk my local spirit stores until I find these on the shelves every year as they fly right off the shelves. The beer pour a nice amber and copper red with some thick head. The taste profile pumps out some very nice citrus, zest, and almost vegetable flavors before finishing off with a smooth malty aftertaste. This beer REALLY helped tone down the Punisher. I wouldn’t recommend anything too strong with this cigar as the cigar is already strong enough, but something with some really nice balancing flavors. A Trippel, while very light, would pair great with this cigar. Hell even some heavily creamed coffee and dare I say milk?!

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The Good Stuff: The Singulare Phantom is the first Limited Edition run that Illusione have kicked out since they have been creating cigars. The Phantom is an all Nicaraguan blend, 6×50 that comes in boxes of 15 running about $180 a box.. There are only going to be a total of 1,000 boxes released. The Singulare series will be a limited run, ran once a year and will feature a different blend and size every year.

Size: 6 x 50  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Med/Full

Prelight: Illusione’s Singulare Phantom is an almost-toro sized cigar. The wrapper is a milky-brownish-orange with a whole ton of oil. I can actually feel some of the oil from the wrapper come off on my fingertips as I am handling this cigar. The construction is near flawless despite a few larger veins running the entire length of the body. I have noticed that a lot of Dion’s cigars sport more veins than you would expect, but they never really cause any problems. Needless to say, I’m not worried about this one either. The lengthy body is polished off with a seamless, round, triple cap. The Phantom is relatively firm, with no soft spots at all. The band is very similar to all the other bands that Illusione kicks out, only with 2 main exceptions. The first is, this is the first of the bunch with silver metallic embossed ink instead of the black and gold we are all used to. The second is two, very small, black, old English styled letters on the back of the band “E” and “L”. I am assuming this stands for “Edicion Limitada”.

The wrapper of the Singulare Phantom gives off a sweet, earthy aroma with the foot of the cigar kicking out a much more pungent, tobacco smell.  The Phantom cut very clean and easily with my double bladed cutter.  The cold draw gave off a very grassy, earthy flavor with just a slight sweet, spice aftertaste.

First Smoke: The Phantom lit up with extreme ease under my triple flame butane torch. Instantly I am greeted with a very subtle, and light pepper taste. The pepper soon fades into a creamy earthy, grassy flavor with hints of honey and spice. You can tell almost instantly that Dion was behind this stick, even if you had no idea what it was. The draw is incredible. Effortless, and thick as hell throwing out a massive, thick cloud of wood scented smoke. The Phantom gives of little to no stationary smoke. As in with almost all Illusione’s the burnline is thick and clean, leaving behind a nice trail of compact, darker grey ash which held on for almost 2 inches before giving way.

Halfway There: The pepper seems to be coming and going, but into the second third it’s completely apparent and almost in your face. Outside of the pepper (which again, faded completely after a while) the back-end flavors had a change up as well. The dominant flavor is now a really rich cedar, with the honey and spice still shining through. The retrohale is amazing, priming my nasal package with a deep cedar flavor. There really isn’t much nicotine coming through on this cigar yet. The burnline has become slightly wavy but it quickly corrects itself. I have a feeling the breeze has something to do with that.

Finish: The Singular Phantom burned slower than most Illusione that I am used to. All in all it took almost 2 hours to smoke this guy down to the nub. The band, and of the many reasons I love illusione, slid off with ease. The burnline was almost perfect, and cleared itself up anytime it wasn’t, with no touch-up or relights. The final flavors were perfect for the finish of this cigar. Tons of cedar/wood notes, a very slight return of the pepper, sweet honey, and spice. The Phantom finished VERY smooth and creamy. I was able to hit the crap out of this cigar without any complications or harshness even into the final inch. No nicotine kick. This is a perfect cigar no matter what time of day.

Overview: Dion is on fire. Just about anything that this guy has created have been right up my alley. Recently, I had a chance to sit down, enjoy a cigar, and talk shop with Robert at Gran Habano cigars and Dion’s name came up. We spoke about how he is so damn meticulous and it shows. His blends are pretty much produced with his taste in mind, and he knows exactly what he wants out of his cigars. Meaning, if you are a fan of a few of his sticks there is a good chance you’ll love them all.  The Singulare is a very smooth, medium, creamy cigar with a ton of flavor change-ups. At about $15 a stick this is a great cigar, but not something I’d smoke every day. Needless to say though, it’s worth the coin (especially if you buy enough to share with me). Box worthy by far.

Pairing: Winter to me, is the beer season. With all the warm porters and stronger stout seasonal’s the winter has to be my favorite time of the year, at least as far as beer goes. Because of the creamy, lighter bodied blend of this Singulare, I decided to pair it with a long-time seasonal favorite of mine, Brouwerij Huyghe’s Delirium Noel. Delirium Noel is the winter seasonal selection from the “Delirium” series which feature the wonderful “Delirium Tremens”, and the not so wonderful “Delirium Nocturne”. Delirium Noel comes in at 10% ABV and is packaged in a very festive white, painted bottle with red foil, and a metallic coated label the cute, iconic Delirium Pink Elephants ice skating in the snow, and carrying Santa clause who is dumping a ton of delirium bottles on a snowman (random, I know).  The reason I mention this is due to the “friendly” packaging this brew has actually been banned in Texas, as well as a ton of other states. It’s a pain in the ass to find, but a real treat when you do. The Belgium Strong Ale is a beautiful amber color. The ale produces a malty, spicy, mixture with a ton of fruit. It’s almost as if someone threw some apple cider in this ale. The  beer paired ridiculously well with the honey, creamy composure of the Singulare, not to mention due to the small lunch I had it buzzed the crap out of me. The Singulare would also do well with some sweet tea, a heavy Pilsner, and even an IPA.

Stay tuned this week. On Friday I will be posting a contest for a rare, and very nice accessory furnished to us by the wonderful people at Bonita Smoke shop! Next week we will also be posting our “Top ten cigars of 2010”. With all the new cigars that hit the scene this year this was a tedious task! Next month I will also pair a cigar review with a beer that I have been brewing myself over the past few weeks. Can anyone say chocolate/cinnamon stout? MmmmHmmmm!

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