So today’s is review is brought to us by Komodata, one of our many awesome readers, who was kind enough to send me a 2008 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. Thanks so much Komodata! Really appreciate the chance to get to enjoy a nice cigar like this.

So this blend was launched by Oliva on October 15, 2008 to follow up on the success of their 2007 limited edition release. There were a couple differences in the release though. Firstly, the name was slightly changed from the original “Oliva Serie V Liga Especial” and the ring gauge was knocked down a bit to 54 but the length was extended to 6.5.

Now the original plan on this 2008 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial was actually to make it to make it a 54 ring gauge. As the story goes, this vitola it was too strong and overpowering so they actually took out some filler and ligero to make it a 52 ring gauge. All-in-all, 50,000 sticks were made and distributed to approximately 250 retailers, most of those were US but some were sent across the ocean to a few select European retailers. They are pretty hard to come by now a days but there are still a few aging in some lucky people’s humidors. So without further adieu, let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: 2008 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial
Drink: Mill Street Brewery 2011 Barley Wine
Vitola: Torpedo (6.5 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Jalapa Valley Ligero and long filler
Price: Original MSRP $6.75 (Gifted by Komodata)
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• This is a tough looking cigar with a deep dark chocolate brown wrapper, with just some subtle hints of gold here and there
• The is finished nicely with just a few visible lines and the foot looks to be very tightly packed, tons of leaves inside this stick
• Despite looking to be over packed, the cigar has a nice spring when squeezed and is consistent from cap to foot
• The smooth and toothy wrapper has almost no visible veins, very nice looking leaf
• The cut was strong and tough to cut but it came off cleanly with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• I kept the cut short for now and the draw seems to be a bit tight, if it stays that way I may need to clip off a bit more
• I decided to clip off a bit more after the draw didn’t improve through the first third

Burn:
• The toasting on this cigar was super easy, it lit up evenly with very little effort
• The burn has started out nice and sharp and is moving very slowly, let’s hope it stays this way
• Burn continues to be razor sharp and even through the first third
• The burn has been awesome all the way through to the last third now, not even a tiny touch up required here at all
• It’s also burning nice and slow and is giving me time to enjoy it slowly
• The last 3rd of this cigar seemed to slow down on the burn even most, staying completely even but allowing me to prolong the smoking experience
• There was one small touch up required near the very end, most people might have put the cigar down at that point but I wanted to keep going! haha

Smoke & Ash:
• As I mentioned before, the draw is a bit tight right now so there isn’t a ton of smoke but there is still a fair amount to not warrant chopping off more leaf for the moment
• Resting smoke is practically non-existent, just a little bit right after I take a draw then it’s like it practically turns off
• The ash has a ton of striping and is alternating colors between light and dark grey
• So far, the ash is holding strong past an inch and it has no flaking or signs of weakness
• I had to tap the ash off shortly passed the inch mark since it’s pretty windy and it was gonna end up in my lap soon… lol
• After the little bit of extra clipping the smoke volume increased a tad, but not much
• Ash continued to be strong, even and clean throughout the whole experience
• Smoke volume increased a bit more at the halfway mark, making for a nice full billow from each draw

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the Oliva V Maduro 2008 has mostly an aroma of barnyard scents and a bit of earthiness
• The foot carries the same aroma but tosses in a fresh cedar and grassiness to the mix
• The pre-light draw brings in more of that cedar flavor and maybe just a touch of sweetness
• Initial flavors are interesting, very deep and dark roasted wood and espresso with some hints of clove or nutmeg
• The espresso/coffee flavor is developing nicely already in this first third, very tasty
• Body so far is in the medium range and the retrohale has no bite, but it does have a smooth coffee finish that is darn tasty
• I am getting a bit of dryness on the back of my throat but the creamy finish seems to be balancing that out
• All the flavors are playing nicely together so far with the roasted coffee and cedar notes being the most dominant
• There’s also an interesting aftertaste that I can only describe as something like fresh cut hay (Not to say I eat hay, but it tastes like what fresh cut hay smells like, lol)
• There is some interesting complexity to this cigar if you sit and pay attention to the flavors, some subtle notes I’m picking up in the background include a bit of meaty flavors, a bit of vegetal notes, and even some roasted nuts of some kind.
• The roasted nut flavor is really starting to shine through as I get into the last third and all the flavors are intensifying nicely, also picking up a bit of licorice flavors here and there
• The body continues to stay in the medium range and the huge burst of flavors from each draw is just delicious
• The body did pick up a bit in the last third, maybe to the low end of full, but not overpowering
• The flavors continued to intensify and surprise me to the very end with hardly any bitterness at all, I enjoyed this cigar down to the very nub and even busted out the toothpick to get maximum enjoyment!

Final Thoughts:
I think the sheer number of flavors I mentioned in my tasting notes is a good indication of how complex and enjoyable this 2008 Oliva V Maduro cigar was. It kept me on my toes the whole way through and teased me to pay extra attention so all the subtle notes as well as the ones that were obvious and super tasty. Everything kept in great balance and the smooth creamy finish was a perfect touch to end each draw. Some people had warned me this would be a full bodied smoke but I think it stayed in the medium range for the most part and I didn’t even have a big dinner before smoking this. The age of this particular stick may have contributed to a little loss in body but the flavors were still in full swing. These are obviously super rare to come by these days but if you manage to track one down I’d highly suggest fighting to give it a try, it’s a great experience to add to your cigar journal.

Pairings:
So this was one of my first forays into Barley Wine and I decided to chose a local brewery, Mill Street, based out of Toronto. This happens to be from their 2011 batch. It comes in an awesome bottle which I think is some kind of ceramic or something, along with a nice swing top cap. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I knew it had some high alcohol content(11.5%) so I saved it for a time when I could enjoy it at night. Well to my surprise I was met with what I can best describe as a stout on steroids! It’s so thick and creamy with dark notes of roasted malts and roasted coffee. The creamy finish really sells this brew and I enjoyed the heck out of it(as Tony would say )! I can definitely say it was an awesome pairing to go with the Oliva V Maduro, the roasted coffee and malt notes matched with the cigar perfectly. Other great pairings would include a stout, port, scotch or a strong coffee.

The post 2008 Oliva Serve V Maduro Especial appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Ramon Allones brand isn’t too popular, but the Specially Selected seems to have garnered a fairly faithful offering. The brand actually began way back in 1837 by it’s two founders, Ramón and Antonio Allones. After a variety of ownership changes the company was eventually purchased by the Cifuentes company who also owns the Partagas brand. Manufacturing for all Ramon Allones cigars also comes from the same Partagas factory in Cuba.

The brand used to have a much larger vitola selection but since 2001, when Altadis bought a heft portion of the company, a lot of the sizes have been discontinued. The Ramon Allones brand is also heralded as one of the first Cuban cigar manufacturers to use full colored emblems on their boxes and possibly one of the first to produce the infamous 8-9-8 style of packaging.

As of current research, Ramon Allones is currently selling cigars in 4 vitolas along with an occasional Regional Release or Special Edition to round out the line. The particular cigar I will be smoking today comes from a box with a fairly recent date of May 2011. It will be interesting so see how this cigar performs early in the aging process since the recomended age time for this cigar is roughly 3 years.

Cigar: Ramon Allones Specially Selected
Drink: Innis & Gunn Spiced Rum Finish Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (4.8 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $7.00 in Cuba
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Each of the cigars in this box had a consistent soft box pressed shape to them
• The Ramon Allones Specially Selected also has very few larger veins
• The triple cap atop this cigar looks clean and well applied
• Although fairly firm, the cigar has a nice little spring to it when squeezed
• The foot looks to be very well packed
• The cap cut off cleanly leaving just a little mess in the ashtray
• The band unfortunately had a little too much glue on it and took some of the wrapper with it when removed
• The draw was good but I somehow got a huge tar buildup on the cap so I had to clip it a little further at around the half way point of the cigar

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven and long but it evened out with a little extra effort
• At first the Specially Selected was burning nice and even but then one side started burning much faster than the other so I was left with a huge wave that needed correction
• I actually find this to be a pretty common problem on a lot of my Cubans for some reason
• After that one minor burn issue the cigar has been progressing well without any need for corrections
• I like how the RASS is staying lit easily without the need for constant babysitting

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings a little less smoke than I’d like
• Surprisingly though, the resting smoke is off the charts at times
• The ash is a disappointing looking dark grey and black, not very attractive at all
• It does have some strength to it though, the ash is clean and lasts about an inch or so before I tap it off
• The second ash lasted another inch with the same consistency, the colors weren’t so dark this time possibly because I didn’t need to touch it up at all

Tasting Notes:
• Pre-light draw was all about the cedar, lots of fresh cedar aroma coming off this cigar
• Initial draws brought more of the fresh cedar flavors and a bit of earthiness
• There also a touch of the signature saltiness on my tongue
• The body overall has started fairly mild and there is no bite on the retrohale at all
• The whole experience has a nice cedar finish to it, even on the retrohale
• As the cigar progresses I’m getting a creaminess being added to the mix that is balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• One unique note I’m picking up here and there is a licorice type of flavor, very interesting and it would be nice to see it develop a bit more
• The licorice is dancing around with the cedar and I’m getting some mild spices peeking in here and there
• Just past the halfway mark I noticed a decent tar buildup on the cap, lucky for me I caught it before I touched it with my tongue, so a quick clip and I was good to go.
• The rest of the cigar proceeded tastefully but I really wish that licorice flavor would have jumped out a bit more

Final Thoughts:
The Ramon Allones Specially Selected turned out to be a nice mild to medium classic Cuban cigar. I don’t think it does anything new or special but it’s one of the more affordable Cubans you can find and they seem to be constructed consistently well from the ones I’ve had a chance to enjoy. The cedar and earthy flavors are enjoyable and the hint of licorice and spice brought an interesting layer to the mix that kept my attention. I did get some tar on some of the ones I smoked but it wasn’t anything terrible, one quick clip kept it at bay. I can see myself possibly getting some more of these in the future but I’d be curious to see how they age first, maybe I’ll revisit them in a year or so and see how things have changed. Good to know they are tasty and not overpowering while fairly fresh, so grab a few to try if you can.

Pairings:
Another Innis & Gunn you say? Of course! These guys make some awesome beers and I keep finding more new ones to try. Today’s choice is called the “Spiced Rum Finish” and came as part of the Winter Sampler pack. I’ve never had this particular brew before so I was curious to see how it turned out given my awesome track record with this brewery. Well, what an interesting beer this turned out to be. At it’s core, you can tell the classic Original Oak Aged style is there but it has an extra punch. Each sip gives just a tiny little spicy kick of raw cinnamon or cloves, maybe even a touch of pepper. Very unique that’s for sure and damn tasty if I say so myself. Very disappointed to see that it’s only available in the holiday pack cause I would easily vouch for a case if it were available to me. This paired perfectly with the mild to medium bodied Ramon Allones Specially Selected and would pair very well with other medium bodied cigars. Other suggested pairings for this cigar would be coffee or other lighter amber brews, maybe even a Tripel.

The post Ramon Allones Specially Selected (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Andre Farkas is the brand owner of Viaje and has been leading the brand into a successful time with a pretty large following. For the most part the Viaje lines are fairly limited so this results in a split opinion between a lot of people. Some cigar smokers are not fans of seeking out rare or limited cigars while other love the thrill of the hunt! Tony also reviewed a couple other Viaje’s recently including the Platino Lancero and the Oro Reserva #5.

One of the lines that Andre and Viaje have been releasing is called the “Skull And Bones”. We are into the 3rd iteration of the brand and each year the band and blend is changed. Tony reviewed last years release which was simply called the “Skull and Bones #2” and had a White on Black band with the “Jolly Roger” logo on it. In case you didn’t know, the “Jolly Roger” is the skull and cross bones symbol that was commonly flown by pirates. There are other variations of the “Jolly Roger” but this is the most common. Below this band you will find a thinner White on Black band that just says “Skull and Bones”. Oddly enough, there is no mention of Viaje on the cigars.

Now this years “Skull and Bones” carries essentially the same two bands with the exception that the White parts of the band are now Red. The look of the cigars is pretty interesting and I like the way the band looks. Another difference I noticed is that the foot of this cigar is clean cut while in Tony’s review of the #2, there is a closed foot. This release of the Skull and Bones series came out in March of 2011. As mentioned, this is the follow up to the previous “#2” and the first released “Daisy Cutter” and apparently this years blend should pack a heftier punch, I guess I’ll find out soon!

The names of the vitolas may seem odd to some people but there is a method to the madness. The original Skull and bones release was called the “Daisy Cutter”. A quick search shows that a “Daisy Cutter” is a bomb used to flatten forests into a nice helicopter sized landing zone. There are also 2 vitolas released for this years blend, the WMD (Short Robusto) and the MOAB (Short Torpedo). WMD stands for “Weapon of Mass Destruction” and MOAB is “Massive Ordinance Air Blast”, both of which keep the trend of bomb related names. So let’s see how explosive this cigar is and dive right into this review!

Cigar: Viaje Skull And Bones WMD
Drink: Creemore Springs urBock Dark Beer
Vitola: Short Robusto (3.75 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun-Grown Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $9.00-$10.00
Burn Time: almost 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Skull and Bones WMD has an awesome dark chocolate wrapper that is super toothy with a touch of oil
• There are some minor veins here and there that are visible but none seem large enough to pose and problems
• The entire length of the cigar has a nice give to it when squeezed, never too firm
• The foot looked to be very well packed and I’m not sure if the picture will get this but you can pick out two very distinct colors of filler leaves
• The cap is finished in a very clean triple cap and looks well composed
• Draw is a tad tight but nothing that will bother me through the cigar experience

Burn:
• Toasting was even and slow, leaving me with a nice glowing foot
• The start of the burn is going a little wavy, I’m hoping it kicks itself back into line without a touchup
• Luckily, the burn did correct itself and although we’re still going a little wavy it’ more in control now
• I had a couple small touchups needed here and there but none were too major, it burned quite well for the most part
• A quick note, I think burn is EXTREMELY important on short vitolas like this so a poor burn would cost a lot of points so I’m glad it burned nicely for the most part
• The whole cigar burned surprisingly slow, good value for the dollar

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is giving me a very full mouth of smoke that is thick and billowy
• The ash has a bit of a medium grey tone to it and is showing signs of some flakiness early on
• The ash fell apart before even hitting a half inch
• The flaky ash continues but this time we got closer to an inch before falling off
• The ash continued to be flaky and a bit messy, falling off before reaching one inch each time

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is fairly light with just a hint of woodsiness
• The foot has a similar woodsiness with a hint of peppery spice that tickles your nose
• Pre-light draw is dominated by a nice light cedar
• Initial draws are very interesting, I’m getting a burning wood flavor that reminds me of a fresh campfire. I LOVE the smell of a campfire so I’m loving this start. (Note: I’ve never tasted a “Campfire” but if it were possible it would taste like this, lol)
• Aside from the campfire flavor, I’m getting some peppery spice and a bit of leather
• The retrohale has a nice medium bite to it but a bit of a rough woodsy finish
• So far through the first inch I’m getting a comfortable medium bodied smoke
• The woodsiness continues to be the most dominant flavor with some other spices sneaking in now, more like a strong nutmeg or close and a bit of earthiness
• Not too much change-up as I head into the last third, the whole cigar has been nicely balanced and smooth
• As I get to the nub there is a definite build-up in body to the full range but it’s not getting harsh, i like that
• Near the end, the main flavor was still cedar but I started getting some nice coffee and nutty notes
• Brought out the toothpick near the end to get that last bit of enjoyable cigar burned down without burning my fingers

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this cigar, especially for it’s size. I’ve been leaning towards larger vitolas lately but had a short timeframe this afternoon and went for a shorter cigar. There were enough favors to keep me interested and on my toes the whole time and it burned very well for the most part. I was a little worried about the cigar being strong after reading some reviews but it wasn’t as ass kicking as I was expecting. It is full but it didn’t give me a hard nicotine kick. the price for a cigar this size is also a bit high although it is actually cheaper than previous years releases. Luckily it burned a lot longer than I expected so I felt I got my money’s worth on it. The limited nature of these cigars (and most Viaje’s) make them harder to find but if experience is any indicator, most of Andre Farkas’ work is worth tracking down.

Pairings:
Creemore is actually a little town not too far from where I live. They pride themselves in making their brews with all natural spring water direct from their local spring. The Creemore Springs brewery mainly focuses on their Lager but they also brew a lot of other varities in smaller batches. The beer chosen today is a Dark Ale called an urBock. Bock beers began in Munich and can be traced as far back as 1612. It is actually a Ruby beer and not the darker chocolate color of some other Dark Ales. It’s also surprisingly fuller and thicker than the average Dark Ale with a smooth roasted malty flavor. It paired very well with the Vieje Skull and Bones WMD and is an excellent brew to pair with almost and strength of cigar. Other good pairings for this cigar would be coffee, a dark cola, or some Porto of course! lol (Are you tired of hearing that yet??)

The post Viaje Skull And Bones WMD appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now onto the cigar… If you attended IPCPR back in 2010 or read articles about the event, you probably heard about the new blend from El Primer Mundo, called the Liga Miami. I recently stumbled across a few of these sticks at the bottom of my humidor and realized they’ve been sitting there since sometime last year (oops?). With the upcoming IPCPR 2011 in July, I figured it would be a good cigar to pick up and review.

The Liga Miami blend from Sean Williams(Twitter: @PrimerMundo) made some waves at IPCPR 2010, especially in the blogosphere where a lot of reviewers were impressed by the unique array of flavors this cigar offered. The El Primer Mundo website is currently under construction, but before it went down you could also read up on their previous blends, the Connecticut Shade and Habano Criollo Maduro. The Liga Miami has the same company band on it but also adds an additional goldish-brown and silver band with the words Liga Miami on it.

The cigar itself is produced in Miami at the El Titan de Bronze factory. Willy Herrera of El Titan de Bronze also has a hand in making them This is a big change from the other two blends which are made in Esteli Nicaragua. You’ll also nice there is no box press on this cigar like the other offerings from El Primer Mundo.

Along with today’s Robusto vitola, you can also find the Liga Miami in a Toro and Churchill size. The cigar has an interesting mix of tobacco including a double binder and some ligero used in the filler. So without any more babbling from me, let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: El Primer Mundo Liga Miami
Drink: Waterloo Brewery Radlermass Lemonade Lager
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown
Binder: Double binded Nigaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican Republic (some Ligero)
Price: about $9
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Liga Miami has a very nice reddish colored wrapper surrounding it
• Slightly oily and rough, the wrapper has some medium sized veins running along it
• There was a nice spring to the cigar when squeezed, not enough to seem under-filled though
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean triple cap, definitely some attention to detail there
• The bands themselves take up quite a bit of real estate on this cigar, at least a good 1/3rd
• The foot looks the be moderately packed
• The cut was fairly easy and left a clean opening but made a bit of a mess in the ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting didn’t go so well, had some unevenness to it and I just couldn’t get it all lit properly without some assistance from a couple draws
• Despite the my failed toasting, the burn started off surprisingly well through the first inch
• Burn was razor sharp through the first half
• The cigar has burned nice and slowly the whole way through and allowed me to enjoy it slowly without ever feeling like it was going out

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke coming from the cigar straight from the start
• The ash has a very nice white color to it
• Despite the nice color, the ash is getting a little flaky very fast
• The resting smoke on this Liga Miami is consistent and has a very unique aroma, you get a bit of sweetness on the nose. Very pleasant.
• Ash managed to hang tight for close to two inches

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Liga Miami has a nice sweetness to it, along with a bit of cedar
• The foot definitely brings more sweetness and a tasty mild spice, almost like Cinnamon Sugar
• The pre-light draw brought with it a heavy helping of woodsiness and a bit of earthiness
• The initial draws offered up more of he woodsy flavors with a subtle note of sweetness in there, still along the same lines of cinnamon sugar
• The sweetness is definitely building up in this cigar, almost adding a syrupy flavor to the mix
• Body has been mostly mild to start and the retrohale has the tiniest bite with a smooth and creamy finish
• Adding to the syrupy/cinnamon sweetness, the cigar has a very pleasant creamy finish
• The woodsiness is still hanging around, is that burning caramelized wood could smell like? lol
• Body built up to a nice medium around the half-way mark
• The sweetness has tapered off a bit now, it’s still there and I’m getting some nice nutty almond flavors
• Definitely seems like the ligero was saved for the last half of the cigar, I’m getting some leathery flavors in the mix now and a touch of spice
• With about 1.5inches left, the sweetness has mostly left the mix but the remaining flavors are balancing well and the body is still a comfortable medium
• The creamy finish has remained consistent, I think this can probably be attributed to the double binder along with a smooth wrapper
• The creamy finish and leather/woodsy flavors continued to the nub with no bitterness, this was a finger burning cigar!

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a surprisingly unique and enjoyable cigar. When I hear ligero I usually brace myself for a powerful cigar with a straightforward flavor profile. This was definitely not the case with the El Primer Mundo Liga Miami. The first half of the cigar was totally unexpected. Sweet, smooth, creamy notes with a superb burn. Very uncharacteristic of a ligero filled cigar and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The last half came closer to what I expected from this cigar but it still had a smooth and balanced creaminess I don’t usually find in ligero cigars. I’m curious if the extra age in the humi made a difference since I didn’t smoke one when I first got them. It’s easy to see there was a lot of care and planning that went into this cigar and the final result speaks for itself. These are something everyone should try and can go well as a mid-day or evening cigar.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was from Waterloo Brewery, just a short 1 hour drive from my house. It is part of the Seasonal Collection and is called the Radlermess. It is a Lemonade Lager and has an interesting story behind it. The term Radlermess comes from Germany and was coined by a Innkeeper not far from Munich. The story says that he was overloaded with cyclists one day and was running low on beer so he took a risk and mixed his remaining beer with some lemon soda. It was a big hit! In German, Radler means cyclist and Mass means a liter of beer.
I took a bit of a risk with this pairing but based on the past few Liga Miami’s I’ve smoked I figured the sweetness from a lemonade beer would go nicely. I was worried the beer may have been too sweet but they did a good job balancing the lemonade and beer together. It actually worked out very well! The sweetness of the beer complimented the sweetness of the cigar at the start. As the cigar turned a little more into the woodsy/nutty/leathery flavors, the beer counteracted them, leaving a nice sweet aftertaste between draws. I think this beer would also go excellently with some connecticut wrappers. As for the cigar, an Amber lager would have gone well here too, as would my favorite tawny port. Maybe even a nice coffee with a bit of sugar to add some sweetness.

The post El Primer Mundo – Liga Miami appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard us and other blogs jabber on about La Aurora. They’ve been turning out some fantastic cigars as of late so I can’t really blame all the great press they’ve been getting. Also worth mentioning, Guillermo Leon recently bought out La Aurora and is now running the successful ship! He’s not shy to turning out quality smokes as you can see in our review of the fairly new Guillermo Leon Signature Cigar. I decided to pick up a La Aurora cigar but instead of one of their fancy new blends, I went with one of their blends that’s been a staple on their profile for awhile now. That cigar is simply called “La Aurora” but a lot of people seem to call it the La Aurora Cameroon so it’s easier to differentiate.

The Cameroon addition to the common name comes from the wrapper used to hold this cigar together. The majority of the leaf used in this cigar is harvested from the El Cibao Valley in Dominican Republic, the hometown country of the La Aurora factory. The La Aurora Cameroon is available in a variety of boxes not typically seen in other blends. You can actually pick these up in full presentation boxes of 5, 10, 20 and 25 cigars. As you can see from the pictures, I managed to get myself a 5 pack box of the Doble Coronas.

Let me note that this cigar is huge! It’s much bigger than what I normally smoke as my max comfort range is usually in the Toro/Torpedo range. But at the price they are I couldn’t resist. Be sure to check out some of our previous La Aurora reviews as well, such as the 107, 100 Anos, Broadway Series, or the 1495 Connecticut. The weather here in Toronto is wacky as usual. It’s gone super hot and dry back down to very cold and damp all within a couple days. At least it was some nice cigar smoking weather while it lasted so I sat down with this cigar and prepared for a long review session. Let’s see how it went…

Cigar: La Aurora Cameroon
Drink: Waterloo Brewery Dark Ale
Vitola: Doble Corona (7.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano and Nicaraguan Olor
Price: $3.50
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• This cigars wrapper has an interesting dark cinnamon color with specks of a darker brown here and there
• It has a velvety touch to it and a bit of toothiness
• There are some major veins running down the side of the cigar but I’m hoping they don’t cause any major issues
• The foot of this cigar was well packed, and given it’s size that kind of worried me that it would be a tight draw
• Given the length of this cigar, I’m amazed at how even the diameter is from start to finish, very well made
• The head of the cigar is finished with a slightly messy double cap, a few folds can easily be seen
• For the most part, the length of the cigar has a soft spring to it, but I did notice one very firm part about an inch above the foot
• The cap clipped off easily and made a slight mess in the ashtray
• Draw is perfect! I’m amazed because I usually have bad luck with large vitolas

Burn:
• Toasting took a bit longer than usual and even after 30 seconds with my large culinary torch I couldn’t get it glowing properly but I started smoking it anyway
• As expected, my poor toasting led me to require a retouch within the first inch
• After that first touch up, the burn was been excellent up to the halfway mark here
• As I make my way into the last third, still no burn issues and continuing along fairly razor sharp

Smoke & Ash:
• This thing is producing a ton of smoke, each draw fills my mouth completely and with ease
• The resting smoke is still fairly full and gives off a nice sweet woodsy aroma
• The ash on the La Aurora is nothing pretty, it has some light and dark grey tones and is fairly flaky through the first inch
• The ash lasted just over an inch before I tapped it off because it was flaking and looked like it was snowing every time I moved the cigar
• The second ash was a little less flaky and held on for nearly two inches, this was also the part of the cigar that was a little firmer and could explain the difference

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma gives off a light sweetness and earthy aroma
• The pre-light draw is woodsy and earthy with a touch of spice on the lips
• Initial draws bring earthy and woodsy flavors mixed with a bit of coffee, a nice start
• As the cigar progresses, I’m picking up some sweetness here and there, almost like some sugar was added to the coffee flavor
• Cigar has been mostly mild through the first bit
• Approaching the halfway mark, the sweet coffee notes are becoming more prominent and I’m getting some raw cinnamon notes in there too, the earthy and woodsy flavors are still there but are more in the backseat now.
• The retrohale is very smooth with a small bit and a roasted coffee finish
• As I get into the last third stretch, the coffee has developed very nicely into a roasted coffee flavor, the sweetness and raw cinnamon still remains
• The finish at this point has turned super creamy as well, a very tasty touch!
• The intense sweet coffee and cinnamon flavors continued to the end, with some added roasted cedar. Although the last half didn’t change much it was still very enjoyable
• The retrohale developed a stronger kick to the end, still tasty and not overpowering
• The body also developed towards the end of the cigar, coming in at a comfortable medium

Final Thoughts:
Let me start by saying I was very impressed by the overall construction of this cigar. I always tend to have burn or draw issues when it comes to very large vitolas, especially ones that are well priced. This cigar hit those marks with flying colors offering a perfect draw and great burn. The flavors were also extremely enjoyable and offered a bit of dimensionality to keep it interesting. This cigar is still larger than what I would normally smoke and I think it would be even better in a smaller vitola. I also found through some searching that these are commonly offered as “Factory Seconds” at some retailers with this huge vitola selling for under $2! That’s just crazy good! Even the normal retail of this massive vitola is under $4, that’s a hard price to ignore for such a good cigar. These will definitely be part of my regular rotation at this price and I would highly recommend you seek them out.

Pairings:
For today’s I went with a trusty brew that I always have on hand. It’s from Waterloo Breweries located only about an hour from my house and it’s their Dark Ale offering. Their Dark Ale is surprisingly light and refreshing but offers the great notes of roasted hops and a slight bitterness mixed with a mild fruity and malty flavor. The La Aurora Cameroon is a fairly mild stick so this brew fit it well with it’s crispness. The bitterness and mild fruits paired excellently and accented to roasted and sweet notes of the cigar. I think an IPA or Amber lager would also pair well here. The flavors of the cigar could also compliment a nice coffee.

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The Good Stuff: For those of you who don’t know, Viaje is a new badass brand. Badass cause their cigars rock. Not so badass that they are all exclusive. Seeing as they haven’t been around as long as most I can only hope that changes as time progresses. The Oro Reserva is no exception to the rule. There wasn’t many of these cigars made. They are a double-bindered, box pressed, Nicaraguan Puro, that run roughly $11 a stick. That is, if you can find them. It’s impossible to get them here in El Paso. Luckily I have some awesome BOTL’s that like to help a brother in need out. This cigar really got a lot of buzz when it was listed as Cigar Aficionado’s #2 cigar of the year. Does it deserve the spot? Let’s find out.

Size: 5.5 x 52  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Medium/Full

Prelight: Much like Viaje’s Platino I reviewed a while back, the Oro Reserva has a really nice, medium to dark brown wrapper with spots of orange throughout. The body of the cigar really doesn’t have any noticeable veins running the entire length of the box-pressed body before leading up to a nice, round triple cap. The cigar doesn’t have a lot of weight to it, and actually has more give than most cigars when I compress it, leading me to believe it’s probably going to have a looser draw. The wrapper feels pretty durable for the most part, and gives off a real nice shine as the sunlight bounces off all the oils that surround it. The band on the Oro Reserva, is almost identical to the silverish edition band you saw on my recent Platino review, only with gold trim and a nice secondary back and gold “Reserva” band. I Really like this brand’s logo.

The wrapper on this Oro Reserva doesn’t gives off a very sweet, floral aroma with some nice spice mixed in, while the foot has almost the same sweet, aroma only with much more spice.  The cap clipped off very easy using my double bladed Palio cuter. Usually I am skeptical cutting box-pressed cigars as the always seem to tear, or squish when I cut them. The cold draw feels slightly loose give out this really neat, tobacco, sugar cookie flavor.

First Smoke: The first couple of draws from this Oro Reserva seemed really loose, but once the foot was completely toasted it tightened up just right kicking out a very nice, thick, and easy draw. The flavors started out with this really light, pepper touch which transcended into all the sweet sugar, and floral aromas and flavors I picked up during the prelight mixed with a nice bite of strong tobacco, and sweet earth flavors. This thing is a flavor bomb right off the bat. The burnline on the Oro Reserva is thick, and even for the most part, only containing a few smaller waves. This cigar gives off a ton of stationary smoke that smells almost as good as this cigar tastes! The ash was a very tightly compacted, white and light grey which held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Viaje’s Oro Reserva really started to mellow out into the second third. Not in a bad way. The flavors became much more smooth as the strong tobacco taste was replaced with a nice, rich cedar taste along with the floral, sugar, and even some honey backing up the cedar. The retrohale is really sharp at first, but after a few times your nasal passaged get coated with a very nice cedar. But I still don’t find myself retro haling too often with this cigar. I am feeling some nicotine from this cigar. Enough to call this cigar Full, but it’s not an ass-kicker. At least, not yet.

Finish: The flavors began to ramp up again in the final third. The cedar is just rocking hard and established it’s leading place in the flavor race. The main contenders in the final third outside of the cedar was still floral, still the sugar, and even some nice grape flavors that snuck in. The body didn’t increase much, which is a good thing cause I really didn’t want the body to overpower this cigar. There was absolutely no harshness even into the final inch. In total this cigar took about two hours to smoke. Really, and I smoke pretty fast. This is a very slow burning cigar. Seriously, this is a hell of a cigar.

Overview: Nothing but good things have came from Viaje, and or course, the Oro Reserve is naturally no exception. That being said I really hope Viaje comes out with more, and higher volume produced cigars.  I hate all the limited editions, but sometimes, its worth it to just really reach out and spend the extra time, and coin to chase them down. The Oro Reserve started out with a bang, and ended on nothing but pleasant notes. This cigar is really worth the price, box worthy, and will hold a strong place in the premium cigar rotation of any cigar lover.

Pairing: Making up for my “water” pairings, I paired this cigar with another great beer, Uerige’s Doppelsticke. This beer is a strong altbeir (German top-fermenting brew) creeping up with 8.5% ABV brewed at the Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei GmbH / Zum Uerig brewery in the Beerfamous Dusseldorf, Germany.  That being said, I would assume this is another beer that follows the Germany Purity act of 1516 stating that any beers brewed in certain parts of Germany only be composed of 3 ingredients; water, barley, and hops. It’s amazing the flavors one can create with such limited resources. Uerige’s Doppelsticke tastes much like a strong brown ale, with tons of bitter, citrus, fruity flavors over a caramel malt base. This cigar went extremely well with the sweet, woodsy notes in the Oro Reserva. Other great pairings would be a nice tawny port, some creamed coffee, any strong or brown ale, or if you really want to go big pair it with a nice Barley-wine style ale. Just make sure you had something to eat first.

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