The Good Stuff: Smoke Inn has teamed up with some of the biggest names in the cigar industry to bring you their exclusive Microblend Series. This time, they paired up with Quesada to bring you the Oktoberfest Dunkel. The other blends in the Microblend include: Tatuaje’s Anarchy, Padron’s Anniversary 1964 SI-15, My Father Cigars’ El Hijo, A. Fuente’s Solaris, Tatuaje’s Apocalypse, and Room 101’s Big Delicious. The Oktoberfest Dunkel is the same basic Dominican binder and Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero fillers from the standard Oktoberfest (you can read my review of that cigar here) with a swap on the wrapper leaf. The Dunkel carries a Broadleaf  Maduro instead of the  Dominican Cibao Valley. As an added bonus the Dunkel has a very small portion of Ecuadorian Connecticut at the foot of the cigar to resemble the head on a freshly poured beer.

Here is the information provided in their press release:

In the spirit of Oktoberfest, the Dunkel uses the same binders and fillers of the regular Oktoberfest release, with the exception of the wrapper. A very select broadleaf maduro wrapper envelops this rich cigar with a slight underlying Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper at the foot, thus giving the appearance of a dark rich Dunkel beer with a savory foamy head.

The unique experience of smoking one wrapper, then 2 wrappers, and then one wrapper again give this Oktoberfest a unique complex flavor while maintaining that core flavor of Oktoberfest that fans across the world have grown to love.

There will only be 750 15-Count boxes released in a single 6×54 format running $8.95 a stick.

Size: 6 x 54
Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro – Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $8.95
Pairing: Paulaner Oktoberfest (German Marzen 5.8% ABV)

Prelight: Like the original Oktoberfest the Dunkel carries a very dark, very consistent  brown wrapper. While the Dunkel’s wrapper lead is very dark brown, I find that some of the original blends that I have actually carry a darker wrapper. The Dunkel’s wrapper is silky smooth with only a few smaller veins. It carries some nice tooth and a bit of oil and I am surprised with how seamless the construction is. The wrapper is capped off with a big, round, triple cap while the foot of the cigar has about a centimeter of a lighter shade wrapper leaf. This is supposed to represent the head of a beer that is created as you pour it into a glass. I love the little added touch. The cigar is very heavy, firm, and bulky while the wrapper leaf feels very tough and solid. There are absolutely no soft spots throughout the entire cigar. The Oktoberfest Dunkel is polished off with the traditional Quesada crest and a German Flag stretching the length of the band behind it, just like the traditional Oktoberfest.

The Oktoberfest Dunkel’s wrapper gives of a slightly sweet aroma covered in a ton of black pepper while the foot of the cigar boats of strong natural tobacco and earthiness. The Dunkel cut clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw kicks out a whole ton of sweet spice over some more natural flavors.

First Smoke: I had a conversation with Jeremy last night about the tiny little wrapper addition to the foot of the cigar. We were debating whether or not it would produce any type of difference in the experience or if it was there basically for aesthetics. Honestly,  I feel there actually was a difference, even though my  first hypothesis was that there would not be. When I first lit up the cigar it started out very creamy and smooth with what I would call some muted flavors. I’ve smoked my share of Oktoberfests so I know what to expect with these cigars and the first couple of puffs didn’t add up to what I was expecting. It wasn’t until I hit the darker shade of wrapper leaf that the experience began to take off.  The Dunkel went from creamy to full force kicking out some awesome sweetness, natural tobacco, cinnamon and spice, as well as some nice musky flavors with hints of black pepper. While it lead off with lots of different flavors they were well balanced and really didn’t overpower me. The draw on the cigar is slightly tight but nothing that I see bothering the experience down the road. The burnline is slightly wavy, and pretty wide leaving behind a beautiful, solid, white ash that held on for about an inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: The flavors in the Oktoberfest Dunkel in the second third are very similar to the flavors in the first third. Lots of sweetness, lots of musk and spice, natural tobacco, earthiness and a really nice cedar has finally began creeping its way into the profile. You can smell the cedar on the stationary smoke, and the retrohale is straight up sweet cedar, but it isn’t quite as powerful in the actual draw.  The burnline is now burning dead even and a lot sharper as I am feeling absolutely no nicotine kick at this time.

Finish: As I enter the final third of the Oktoberfest Dunkel a really nice gingerbread type flavor began to creep in. Maybe I am imagining it, but I swear I am picking it up. Along with the gingerbread the musky flavor has ramped up while the sweetness, cedar, and spice have began to drop back. The body of the cigar has jumped up considerably as well. This cigar burns extremely slow. It took  me a little over two hours to smoke it down to the numb in which I have encountered absolutely no harshness at all and felt nothing more than a slight nicotine kick.

Overview: You can’t just throw Connecticut Broadleaf on any cigar and expect results like this. I remembered smoking my first few Oktoberfests thinking “Man, this cigar would rock with broadleaf”. Smoke Inn and Quesada made my dream come true with the Dunkel. The flavors are similar to the original Oktoberfest. Lots of spice and earthy flavors with a bit of the cedar but everything seemed more creamy in the Dunkel with a hell of a lot more sweetness. I love the sweetness in cigar so naturally I find myself liking the Dunkel just a tad more than the original and that says a lot considering I’ve smoked through literally a few boxes of the original Oktoberfest. They say these blends were made specially to pair with beer but in my opinion, I feel any cigar can pair well with beer if paired properly. This cigar is semi-complex with a ton of great, bold flavors and it kept me entertained all the way though. I think it’s a great cigar for any type of smoker.

To Sum it Up: It’s a great cigar. It’s not too strong and carries lots of flavor so it’s perfect for the seasoned smoker and the novice as it won’t leave you on your ass. The price point is spot on, and the Dunkel is more than box worthy. It’s limited so make sure you head over to Smoke Inn and order yours before they are gone.

Pairing: It’s not Oktoberfest without some Paulaner Oktoberfest. This is a staple in any beer drinkers Marzen arsenal. Brewed at the Paulaner Braueri in Germany this 5.8% Marzen is by far one of the easiest to drink, smoothest session beers on the market. After all, isn’t that was Oktoberfest is all about? This beer leads off with a ton of malt and caramel finishing off with a hint of sweetness and prune. It makes for an excellent pairing beer as the flavors are so consistent and smooth they seldom overpower any smoke while the sweetness and caramel pair in perfectly. This beer is a great transitional beer from the hoppy, dry summer beers to the full-bodied, heavy, stout beers of the Winter.

The post Quesada – Oktoberfest Dunkel – Smoke Inn Exclusive appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Quesada’s Oktoberfest is the newest offering by Manuel Quesada. If you’re like me, one thing comes to mind when you hear the word “Oktoberfest”. Beer. Well, beer and bratwurst, but beer first. And that was Quesada’s angle when they created this cigar. A blend that would pair perfectly with a hefty beer. Possible? Who knows. Marketing ploy? Maybe. But let’s dig a bit deeper to see what this cigar is all about. The cigar only comes in 2 sizes, the “Bavaria” which is a 5.5 x 52 double robusto, and a monster of a cigar called the “Uber” which is 6 x 65. The cigar is limited to 500 boxes of each size and will run you between $8 and $9.50 a stick. These were purchased from “La Casa Del Puro” my local shop/lounge.

Size: 5.5 x 52  –  Wrapper: Dominican Cibao Valley  –  Binder: Dominican  – Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero

Prelight: Now this is a dark cigar. The wrapper on the Oktoberfest is almost pitch black in some spots, and a very dark-chocolatey brown in others. I love seeing inconsistency in color on darker wrapped cigars, it leads me to believe that they are all natural in color and not dyed. This is also on extremely toothy, and oily cigar. What fine specimen. You can see the sun glaring more from the wrapper leaf than the actual band of the cigar. There are a few larger veins running the length of the cigar that I hope don’t pose a threat to the burn and overall experience. The toothy sandpaperesque wrapper then leads into a really stubby double wrapped cap. Seriously, skimming the thick and solid cigar body with my finger feels almost like rubbing my hands on sandpaper. This cigar is thick, heavy, and hard as a rock. The band on the cigar carries a similar overall design that Quesada always uses, but with a nice German flag accent running the entire ring of the band. The big, pronounced, gold embossed “Q” logo is neatly laid in the center of the band is accompanied by some simple back text with the words “Quesada – Oktoberfest – Hand Made – Dominican Republic”.

The wrapper of Quesada’s Oktoberfest gives off little more than a subtle cedar and tobacco mixture where as the foot of the cigar is a very, very strong cedar and spice. It smells a lot of the scent of the inside of a brand new humidor with just a sharp little spice kick at the end. The Oktoberfest clipped cleanly and easily with my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw give fourth a nice, smooth, welcoming cedar and spice flavor. Pretty much an identical match to the aromas I picked up in the prelight.

First Smoke: I was almost expecting to be greeting with a nice pepper kick, but was really surprised when the Quesada Oktoberfest started out with a very smooth,  Earthy, Cedary, nutty, spicy flavor profile. The spice is really neat, it’s almost floral with a very sweet undertone.  The Oktoberfest really doesn’t give out much stationary smoke at all, but it smells incredible. Like a burning garden, or some lightly scented potpourri. The draw on the Oktoberfest is very easy, but not too loose pumping out a HUGE cloud of thick while smoke. And when I say thick, I mean VERY thick. The heavy cloud of smoke takes forever to dissipate. The burnline is very thick and even for the most part, with some larger, not-so-deep waves on one side. The ash left behind is this interesting dark grey and black and extremely tightly compacted. It’s very rare that I see ash this dark in cigars. I read once, somewhere, that this shows the lack of magnesium in the soil in which the tobacco was grown. I have no idea what this even means, but it sounded smart.

Halfway There: Oddly enough, a little of that pepper did in fact sneak into the second half of this Quesada Oktoberfest, but it bowed out just as quickly as it appeared. The flavors are still pretty smooth and consistent. The cigar is weighting in heavily in the cedar area with some sweetness, bittersweet chocolate, and some pasticcio mixed in there. The burnline is still a bit wavy, but I haven’t had to touch up the cigar or relight it. The retrohale is really sharp and coats your nasal passage with a very floral, strong earthy type prime. I am starting to feel a bit of body from this cigar already. Nothing too crazy, but enough to catch my attention early on.

Finish: I started to pick up some really neat gingerbread type flavors in the final third of this Quesada Oktoberfest. The flavors switched up quite a bit actually. The cedar is still there but it is now being challenged by some chocolate, cinnamon, and that gingerbread I mentioned. It’s a strange pairing with the fuller body from this cigar, but it makes for a very enjoyable, and smooth finish. There wasn’t any harshness into the final inch. I kept thinking there was going to be, and because of the flavors I expected there to be, but surprisingly there wasn’t at all. The body had a quick ramp-up towards the end, but it wasn’t anything too powerful. Medium/Full at Best.

Overview: Now did Quesada really come up with a cigar in which the basis of the blend was all about a better beer and cigar pairing? I doubt it. Reason being is, as it is, Cigars and beer already go perfectly well together. Now did Quesada come up with a blend to celebrate the season while keeping possible cigar and beer pairings in mind? Much more likely. Whatever the case may be, Quesada hit the marks when creating their Oktoberfest blend. The marketing is great, the construction is flawless, the flavor profile is complex and very enjoyable. What more could you ask for? I smoked this cigar both with and without beer and quite honestly, it handled itself very well in both realms. Despite having some body, I don’t think that any novice should be scared to try this cigar and I would highly urge any seasoned smoker to get your hands on these cigars. The overall experience and the price point makes it a great addition to anyone’s regular rotation.

Pairing: Obviously I was going to pair this cigar with a German Marzen. I contemplated for a while which one I wanted to shoot for and then decided that I’d go with one of my favorites, Paulaner’s Oktoberfest Marzen. I also decided to drink this out of a full sized Oktoberfest style stein. Couldn’t get much better than that! I am also pretty curious as too just how many beers these steins hold. It’s kinda like the “how man licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop” mystery. Usually during Oktoberfest celebrations, these steins remain full while the party goer drinks filling, after filling. I know I have had my share! So just how many beers does one hold?

Four. Well, About 3.75 to be exact, but I had no problem gulping down that extra .25 before finishing the other 3.75. Paulaner Oktoberfest is a Marzen style brew, brewed at the infamous Paulaner Brewery in Germany. What started as a simple seasonal ale has recently blossomed into a full, year round treat. The 6% ABV beer carries a very sweet, yet spicy malt and citrus flavor which really pairs well with most cigars, especially lighter shade ones. The beer made a great pairing with the Oktoberfest cigar, but I think it would go a lot better with something heavier, like a nice porter or a Bruin.

The post Quesada – Oktoberfest Bavaria appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.