Info: The Alec Bradley Mundial is one of the few new releases that they featured at this year’s IPCPR. While it is barely starting to trickle into shops, this release is limited to only 3,000 total boxes this year with five sizes ranging from 4 ¼ x 52 to 7 x 52. All of which feature a pointed foot  much like an open figurado but with a standard round cap. This blend has been worked on for several years now before Alan Rubin finally put the finishing touches on it this year. The cigar’s limited release is due to production limitations at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras which will feature a Honduran wrapper, a dual Nicaraguan/Honduran wrapper, and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. These will range from $9.95 to $15.95 a stick.

Prelight: As stated, the Mundial has a unique shape to it. The cap starts with a standard double cap you find on most cigars on shelves today, but finishes off with a very pointed, open foot. The wrapper is very, very dark brown and incredibly consistent in color. There is a small amount of tooth and a whole crap load of oils covering this bad boy. This cigar has probably the nicest band I have seen from Alec Bradley. Huge teal/white/blue/gold crests along with a secondary, elegant Mundial band. Love it.

Burn/Draw: The Mundial started burning out strangely well. Usually these tapered feet lead to upfront burn issues but I didn’t run into any in this case. The burn on this cigar was slow. In fact, it was probably the slowest burning cigar I have ever had. I smoked the robusto size and it took me almost 2 hours to smoke it down. The burnline was real thick, but burned consistent all the way though leaving behind a thick, dark grey ash. The draw was a bit tight until I got though the taper. Once I did the draw really opened up and the Mundial started kicking out mouthful after mouthful of thick smoke.

Taste: Right off the back there was some real strong dark chocolate and espresso notes, some sweetness, and real soft pepper. As I got to the halfway mark a ton of cedar started to creep in with a bit of spice which replaced the pepper while the chocolate and espresso really took off. The finish was much like the second third only there was a lot more sweetness and a good amount of strength. I was actually surprised that this cigar had the power it did. It wasn’t a powerhouse, but it packs a punch.

Thoughts: The Mundial is a great cigar. It has a whole ton of very bold flavors and a good amount of strength. It’s not overly complex, but I enjoyed what it had to offer. That being said, the cost is a bit high. I could see myself picking up a few of these as it offers a great experience, but I won’t go breaking my bank to keep them in my humidor.

Raices Cubanas 1941

Info: Alec Bradley has always had a great relationship with the infamous Raices Cubanas factory. The two have teamed up this year to bring us the Raices Cubanas 1941. The cigar will be made at the Raices Cubanas factory and will be distributed by Alec Bradley. It is said that the cigar’s blend will be based off of some of the greatest hits the factory has ever created. The Raices Cubanas 1941 starts with a Honduran wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder, and finishes with a mixture of Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar will be released in four standard sizes (Robusto, Toro, Churchill, and Gordo) and will come packaged in boxes of 20. Like the Mundial, these should start hitting shops very soon. This will be a regular production cigar and the size I am smoking (Toro) clocks in at about $9.50 – $10 a stick.

Prelight: the Raices Cubanas 1941 starts with a gorgeous medium brown wrapper. I love Honduran wrapper leaf cause it really showcases the webbing, darker colors, and the natural characteristics of the tobacco. The texture is remarkably smooth with some slight oils as it’s finished off with a big, round, double cap. The band is a semi-modern style almost resembling something you might find in the “old west”. It’s red, white, black, and gold with a large “Raices Cubanas” crest and the number “1941” on the front. The band features “Baez, Cuba” on one side of the back and “Danli, Honduras” on the other. Baez is where Romay Endernano who runs Raices Cubanas was born, Danli is where the Raices Cubanas factory is located. The year 1941 represents the year Romay was born.

Burn/Draw: The burnline is dead even and razor sharp on this 1941. In fact, it stayed perfect the entire experience which lasted just over an hour. The draw is spot-on. Each puff kicks out a nice amount of smoke. The ash left behind was bright white and extremely compacted. So compact that it held on for almost 2 inches before giving way.

Taste: The Raices Cubanas 1941 starts out with a lot of natural tobacco flavors, some soft pepper and spice along with a bit of honey and citrus. All natural/earthy flavors. As I smoke on a really musky, almost cologne flavor started to creep in. Not sure what’s causing it, but it’s fantastic. Into the final third the cedar and muskiness really ramped up while the citrus and honey began to fade out. There was some real interesting pepper in the final inch as well.

Thoughts: If there was a competition between the two, for my preference, the Racies Cubanas 1941 is the clear winner. Again, it matches up to my flavor profile perfectly with lots of cedar, citrus, spice, with a natural/earthy composition. The construction was flawless, and it was a bit more complex. The price may be a bit steep as well, but you gotta expect that from the Raices Cubanas factory. While I may not be searching out a box of these either I think that if I had to choose between the two I’d rather keep of few of these guys around.

The post Quick Draw Episode 17 – Alec Bradley Mundial and Raices Cubanas 1941 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: In 2011 Torano released two new blends. The Loyal, which was a value line, and the Vault. The Vault is said to be based on a blend that is contained in files that reference every blend Torano has ever experiemented with. The “Vault” is based off a blend created in 2000 called the A-008.  The A-008 contains a Shade Grown Nicaraguan Colorado wrapper, Honduran Jamastran Binder, and Nicaraguan Condega and Esteli fillers. After recreating and testing he blend, Charlie Torano decided to add an ingredient that wasn’t available at the time, a second Nicaraguan Ometepe binder.

The Vault comes in four basic sizes: The Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 50), Torpedo (6 1/4 x 52), and Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46). The cigar comes packaged in boxes of 20 and run between $6.80 to $7.95 a stick Though I do see these go on sale quite often. Big thanks to one of our great readers Jeff who sent this my way to get my thoughts. I’ve smoked a few of these prior to the review, but never got around to reviewing one.

Size: 5 5/8 x 56
Wrapper: Shade Grown Nicaraguan Colorado
Binder: Honduran Jamastran / Nicaraguan Ometepe (Dual Binder)
Filler: Nicaraguan Condega and Esteli
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $6.80
Pairing: Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche (Berliner Weissbier 4.5% ABV)

Prelight: Torano’s Vault starts out with a beautiful, chocolate brown wrapper. The wrapper is crazy consistent in color with only a few dark blemishes throughout the body of the cigar. There are a few very small, smooth veins and lots and lots of oil. The slender body leads up to a nice, round, double cap. The cigar has a few soft spots throughout the body of the cigar but the wrapper feels tough and firm. Let’s just hope those soft spots don’t lead to burn issues down the road. The Vault is polished off with an elegant silver and black band with the word “Blended from the VAULT” and the Torano crest on the front. The Vault also carries a salute to it’s parent blend with a small silver foot band with “Blend A-008” scribbled on it.

The wrapper on the Vault gives off only a very slight tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar lets out some soft sweetness, chocolate, and tobacco. The cap cup very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was surprisingly full with very bold spice and an oaty/grainy type mixture.

First Smoke: The Vault starts out with some very sharp spice, a bit of citrus, lots of cedar and chocolate with just a pinch of black pepper. The pepper faded very quickly leaving behind even more sweet spiciness. The draw is very nice. I get a perfect amount of thick smoke with every puff. The burnline started out pretty crappy with two huge waves. It’s a bit gusty out so it may be due to the wind, or it may be those soft spots that I encountered in the prelight. Either way, I’m not going to touch this up just yet. The ash left behind is pretty flaky and dark gray and black in color only holding on for about a half an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: I’m not getting any of that citrus that I picked up in the first third now. Instead, Torano’s Vault has ramped up in terms of cedar and spice, introduced some nice coffee notes, and brought the black pepper back into the mix. This cigar is really starting to shine into the second third and I am anxious to see what we have in store for the finish. The retrohale is what I expected, lots of the sweetness and cedar with some pepper. It’s not bad, just not great. I’ll stick to keeping the smoke in my mouth. I am happy to report that the burnline has really started to correct itself with no attention from my lighter. Just as I had hoped it’s now only slightly wavy and I am feeling almost no nicotine from the cigar yet. My main complaint is the ash is so loose it’s falling all over the place.

Finish: The body flavors, and strength remained very similar in the final third. The pepper is still there, lots of chocolate/coffee, tons of sweetness, cedar and spice. I’m really impressed with not only the amount of flavor the Vault kicks out, but how well it kept it’s flavor without fading out. The draw has been perfect the entire experience. While I never had to touch up the cigar, the waves have returned in the final third making the burnline a bit crazy. I won’t complain about it too much, but I could see it being a nuisance. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experience only a very slight bit of nicotine towards the end, and absolutely no harshness at all.

Overview: This was a solid cigar. I found many of the Torano blends I have smoked in my time are very hit or miss, but just about all of the newest blends I have smoked have been great. The Vault has enough complexity to keep me entertained and the full body approach was great. I really wish I didn’t have to deal with so many burn issues. I encountered this on all the Vaults I have smoked and it might be something to do with the double binder. I’ll tell you one thing though, I much rather have the burn suffer instead of the flavors.

To Sum it Up: It’s a good cigar, at a decent price. This may sneak into my regular rotation from time to time, I just wish the construction was a bit better. The flavors are bold and it makes for a great evening, after dinner smoke while the strength remains on the medium end. This cigar is perfect for novices looking for a full-bodied experience without being knocked on their asses and the complexity is enough to satisfy the pickier cigar smokers. I’d buy it again for sure, but I don’t think I’d shell out for a box of these unless I found them at an unbeatable price (which happens often with this company).

Pairing: Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche has become a staple to their summer portfolio. While it’s labeled as a “Weissbier”, it doesn’t carry the same characteristics as most Weissbiers. In fact, I would consider this brew closer to a mild sour. Thin and smooth Festina Peche starts out with some sharp sourness leaving behind a sweet peach and citrus flavor. This beer is a bit one dimensional, but that’s great when you are just looking for something smooth and refreshing and the brew is just that. It’s one of those beers you’d love to take back after an hour of yard work. It’s also very light and comes in at only 4.5% ABV so it’s not going to fill you up or leave you with any sort of buzz. This pairing wasn’t perfect, as the sourness and citrus really only married up with the first third of the cigar, but it went perfectly with my mood, and the weather. Sometimes, that’s all that counts. If I had to choose another pairing for this cigar I think it would go awesome with a Marzen or even a sweet Brown Ale.

The post Torano – Vault (Blend A-008) Corona Gorda appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.