The Good Stuff:

The Henry Clay Stalk Cut is the second release in their portfolio that we have seen form the Altadis team in as many years. I recently reviewed the Henry Clay/Pete Johnson collaborative called the “Henry Clay Tattoo”. This particular blend is called the “Henry Clay Stalk Cut” named after the process used to create the cigar. Stalk cutting is the process in which the entire tobacco plant is cut at the base of the stalk and hung in the barn to cure as a whole. Once cured, the tobacco leaves are cut one by one. The Henry Clay Stalk Cut is blended at the Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana, Dominican Republic by a the Altadis blending team “Grupo de Maestros”. The blend starts with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Dominican Piloto binder, and Dominican Olor, Dominican Piloto, and Nicaraguan Criollo fillers. The Henry Clay Stalk Cut comes in three sizes: Gran Corona (6 x 46), Robusto (5 x 50), and Toro (6 x 54) which all come packaged in boxes of 20 running between $8 and $8.50 a stick. Big thanks goes out to Altadis for sending these our way for review.

Size: 6 x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Piloto
Filler: Dominican Olor/Piloto, Nicaraguan Criollo
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Price: $8.50
Pairing: Ode Brewing Dr. Green Thumb (Imperial IPA 8.2% ABV)

Prelight

The Henry Clay stalk cut is a gorgeous looking cigar. Staring with the extremely dark brown wrapper. The color is consistent for the most part with some darker areas surrounding both the cap and the foot of the cigar. The wrapper is extremely smooth and silky with a whole mess of beautiful oil coating the cigar. The wrapper leaf extends longer than the cigar’s body and is then gently folded over the foot. There are a few large veins running the length of the cigar’s body, but they are very smooth and you can’t even feel them when examining the cigar. The Henry Clay Stalk Cut’s meaty, box-press body leads up to a beautiful round cap. The cigar sports a double band, the first of which is a chrome, black and red one which carries the standard Henry Clay crest. The second is a gray band with chrome and read embossed ink which carries the Stalk Cut name as well as small text stating “by Grupo de Maestros”.

The wrapper on the Henry Clay Stalk Cut gives off only some slight pine and cedar aromas while the foot of the cigar is very similar with just an extra punch of spice coming through the folded foot. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw really didn’t produce a whole lot. I was only able to pull some slight spice, tobacco, and pepper out.

First Third:

The Henry Clay Stalk Cut starts out with a good amount of oak and sweetness backed by some honey, pine, and natural tobacco flavors. It started out with more flavor and body than I really expected. The box press fits really comfortably both in my hand and mouth. The draw is flawless with each little puff kicking out a great amount of thick smoke. As I continue through the first third some pretty bold pepper has started to poke in and out of the experience. The burn line is pretty wild, but I haven’t had to reach for my torch while it leaves behind a trail of light and gray decently compacted ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Henry Clay Stalk Cut and its much of the same minus the pepper which has completely drown out during the first third. The flavor profile at this time leads with some great sweetness, oak, honey, pine, and spice. While the flavors are great, the body is very weak. I wish the flavors were just a bit more bold. The retrohale helps with that by coating my nasal passage with a ton of sweet cedar and a pinch of spice. The burn line has completely fixed itself and the cigar is now burning perfect while I close out the second third with no signs of nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Henry Clay Stalk Cut and much like the second third, it’s pretty much the same story here. Mild oak, sweetness, honey and pine with just a pinch of spice. I was really hoping the cigar would ramp up in body, but it never really did. The flavors are good, just not enough. Into the final inch I encountered just a small amount of harshness, and no real extra heat. I close out the cigar after about an hour and a half with absolutely no nicotine kick.

Overview:

I really enjoyed the flavor profile that the Henry Clay Stalk Cut had to offer. My only problem was, there wasn’t enough of it. The cigar just needs a bit more “ummph” as it just fell flat at about the halfway point and struggled to keep my interest. All in all though, I think it’s a great cigar for someone who stays on the mild side of things as the flavors were great and mild. I think we all got a bit spoiled with how fantastic the standard Henry Clay was, and how affordable it has become so seeing these blends up in the $8 – $9 range can be a bit of a shock. But it’s where most cigars are headed.

Pairing:

I decided to pair with another one of El Paso’s own Ode Brewing’s beers. This week’s variant is their limited seasonal release of the Dr. Green Thumb which is their first ever produced Double IPA. Coming in at 8.2% ABV the Dr. Green Thumb leads with heavy pine, hop, citrus, malt, and a great sweetness with a decently heavy mouthfeel for an IPA before it finishes with more malt, pine, citrus, and a great hoppy bitterness. This is a hell of an IPA. I don’t often pair cigars with IPAs but the pine that kept coming in and out of the experience lead me to believe that it would be a great pairing and I had hoped the beer would bring up the body of the cigar a bit, and it did.

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The Good Stuff:

The Havana Soul is a Cigar King exclusive release that first hit the cigar community in 2003. Back then, Don Pepin Garcia created a few variations of the blend which quickly gained traction. In 2007, Garcia discontinued the project as he and his family were tied up in creating other various projects. In 2010 Rocky Patel stepped in and continued production but only had enough available tobacco to create 200 boxes which quickly sold out. Fast Forward to the present where A.J. Fernandez is now spearheading the project using the same vintage tobaccos from the same blend. Creating at the Tabacalera Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua the Havana Soul uses a Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan filler. The cigar is sold in a single 6 x 52 format with only 200 boxes of 20 released running $9.99 a stick. The only place you can get these is at Cigar King in Scottsdale, Arizona and a huge thanks goes out to them for sending us a few to review.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9.99
Pairing: Deadbeach Abuela (Imperial Stout 8.9% ABV)

Prelight:

The Havana soul starts out with a very, very dark brown wrapper. The color is extremely consistent with the only darker areas around the cap of the cigar. The texture of the leaf is very toothy as the wrapper feels very thick and firm in my hand. There is little give anywhere in the cigar’s body as I squeeze it between my fingers. There are a few mild veins running through the cigar’s body as its finished off with a round, double cap. The cigar carries a creamy yellow and manilla band with the word “Havana Soul” in gold embossed in and a portrait of a woman in the center.

The wrapper on the Havana Soul gives off a faint cocoa and coffee aroma while the foot of the cigar carries some nice spice and earthiness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces flavors similar to the aromas, cocoa, coffee, spice, and earthiness.

First Third:

The Havana Soul starts out with a massive cayenne pepper zing which lasted through the first few draws before settling down to showcase more of the cigar’s flavor profile. The cigar leads with some really bold dark chocolate, espresso, malt, and sweetness. As I smoke on I pick up some nice earthiness and a little bit of clove buried in the profile. The draw is perfect, each puff kicks out a great deal of thick, white smoke which lingers quite some time before dissipating. The Havana Soul gives off little to no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is a bit wavy leaving behind a semi-compacted trail of dark and light grey ash which held on for a inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Havana Soul and the flavors are still rockin’ strong with loads of dark chocolate and espresso over some great spice, sweetness, soft vanilla and malt. I couldn’t have paired this cigar any better. The retrohale is smooth coating my nasal passage with a great cedar that isn’t really evident through the cigar’s standard profile. The burn line is now dead even and sharp and I close out the second third with very little in the nicotine department.

Finish:

Into the last third of the Havana Soul and the strength of the cigar has ramped up into the medium/full range. The flavors have become more full as well leading with the dark chocolate and espresso backed by the spice, cinnamon, and sweetness while the pepper has slowly started to reemerge. It took me a little over an hour and a half to take this cigar down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, no added heat, and no burn issues whatsoever as I never once had to reach for my lighter to touch up or relight the cigar.

Overview:

I’ll be the first to admit the band and packaging is a bit dated on this cigar, however the Havana Soul really turned into a treat of an experience. The flavors were incredible and very well balanced while the cigar preformed flawlessly. It’s a bit pricey, but I wouldn’t mind dropping the coin on this smoke. It’s a shame that it’s so limited though so if it sounds like something you’d be interested in smoking you better act fast. Again, Cigar King is the only place to get there. Click here for more info.

Pairing:

Following up with the El Paso-based beer pairing is Deadbeach’s Abuela stout. Deadbeach is one of two new breweries to open up in El Paso this past year and is conveniently located across the street from my work. I’ve spend quite a good amount of time there, and have tried out most, if not all of their offerings so far. Their Abuela stout is probably my favorite so far. The 8.9% ABV Imperial stout carries a rich chocolate, and cinnamon flavor as it’s brewed with the Mexican favorite Abuelita hot chocolate. The beer leads with a ton of sweetness and roasted malt, chocolate, spice, and cinnamon with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with dark chocolate, coffee, and just a pinch of cinnamon. The cinnamon and spice isn’t very bold, more of an afterthought wile the chocolate and espresso lead the charge. It’s easy to see why I chose this pairing as the chocolate, spice, sweetness, and coffee married up perfectly with the flavors found in the Havana Soul.

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The Good Stuff:

There has been a wave of cigars created over the last few years with the intention of catering to cigar smoking craft beer enthusiasts. I fall in this category so it’s been interesting to see how cigar manufacturers are marking to this niche demographic. This is where the Perdomo Special Craft Series comes into play. A series of cigars created by Perdomo which are blended to pair perfectly with different types of beers. The Perdomo Special Craft Series comes in different blends, the Connecticut or Pilsner which goes with light, crisp beers, The Sun Grown or Amber which goes with Ales, IPA’s, or Marzens, and the Maduro or Stout which pairs well with stouts, brown ales, and Dunkels. Today though, we focus on the Amber selection of the Craft series.

The cigar starts with a Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Sun Grown wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Cuban-seed Nicaraguan fillers. The Perdomo Special Craft Series  Amber comes in four sizes: The Churchill (7 x 54), Epicure (6.5 x 54), Gordo (6 x 60) and the Robusto (5.5 x 54) which all come packaged in boxes of 24 and range between $7 and $8.50 a stick. I picked up a box of these over from our great friends at Bonita Smoke Shop.

Size: 6 x 60
Wrapper: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Price: $8.50
Pairing: Ode Brewing The Squeege (Scotch Ale 9.2% ABV)

Prelight:

The Perdomo Special Craft Series starts out with by far the biggest, most unnecessary band I have ever seen on a cigar. It does look pretty though. Each cigar has a larger red and black band that covers 85% of the cigar’s body sporting the Perdomo logo, the words “Special Craft Series”, and a large photo of the beer style that the cigar is meant to pair along with. After removing the monster band the cigar can underneath sports a very beautiful, medium brown wrapper with lots of lighter areas around the cap, and the smaller veins running through the cigar’s thick body. The texture on the Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber is very rough and toothy with some slight oils. The wrapper feels very, very thin and delicate but the body is well packed and rock hard. There is a ton of tobacco in this vitola making the cigar very heavy. The cigar is polished off with a very large, round double cap.

The wrapper of the Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber gives off some slight spice and nutty aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more bold as it releases strong spice, slight pepper, and a good amount of sweet scents. The cap cut very clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw is very musky with some strong spice and grain and a little bit of sweetness.

First Third:

The Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber starts out with a subtle little pepper blast that quickly fades into some great earthiness. As the pepper fades the flavor profile starts to showcase some great sweetness, malt, spice, and musk with a little bit of cashew mixed in there. As I continue on a very light pine comes in and out of the aftertaste. The draw is beautiful. Each tiny puff kicks out a large cloud of thick, white smoke which lingers quite some time before dissipating. The Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber releases only a small amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of decently compacted medium gray ash which held on for about and inch and a half before giving way.

Second Third:

The Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber continues on with sweet, malty, musky, spicy flavors as the pepper and pine come and go transitioning often throughout the experience. The retrohale coats my nasal passage with lots and lots of spice, much more than what comes through the traditional smoking experience. The burn line is still dead even and solid while I close out the second third with absolutely no signs of nicotine.

Finish:

The flavor profile remains consistent in the final third of the Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber. The cigar leads with malt and musk backed by sweetness, cashew, and spice. There was a small ramp-up in body and strength, but they both still fall in the medium range at best. It took me almost 2 hours to take this massive cigar down to the nub and I never once had to reach for my torch to touch up, or relight the beast. There was never any harshness, nicotine, or extended heat. The burn was flawless. The wrapper started to fall apart towards the end quite a bit, but it held on and really didn’t cause any issues.

Overview:

The Perdomo Special Craft Series Amber is a solid smoke. Nothing too fancy, but nothing turned me off either. The flavors we good, and solid, if anything I wish they would have just been a bit more bold, but then again that could overpower most beers so I understand why they weren’t. As far as the marketing goes, it doesn’t bother me, and I think it’s a cool concept. I almost always pair my cigars with beers and many time I’ve been in the position where the pairing is terrible and it easily ruins either side of the match. This helps pairing consumers crate their match ups a bit more easily. The price point is relatively affordable, and Perdomo is always easily found. Box worthy? Maybe, but it’s totally worth picking up a 5er of for sure.

Pairing:

Last year the first two breweries opened in my hometown of El Paso, Texas. Deadbeach (which is conveniently located across the street from my work) and Ode. Both offer a solid set of great beers as well as a few rotating experimental brews. Not only am I proud that El Paso is finally turning into a craft beer city, but the first two breweries here are as solid as can be and will hopefully pave the way for more to follow. Focusing on Ode this week, I decided to pair the Perdomo Craft Series Amber with their Squeege which is a 9.2% Scottish Ale. I’ve really enjoyed the Scotch Ale cigar pairings lately so I decided to ride that wave a bit longer. The Squeege leads with malt, caramel, sweetness and a slight bit of spice with a very light mouthfeel before finishing clean with more malt and sweetness, apple, and some slight booze. Considering the ABV I expected a lot more booziness from this so Ode did a very good job hiding it. The beer paired perfectly with the cigar as the sweetness, malt, and spice married up brilliantly while the apple flavor really helped add some dimension to the experience. Next week, we take a look at one of Deadbeach’s offerings. I’ll be featuring more and more brews from the two breweries in the next few months as well, stay tuned.

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