The Little Monster Series is basically I re-release in mini-format of all the monster series cigar from Tatuaje to date, with the exception of the Little Boris (this was actually released as a region release, shop specific) and the new blend to look for this Halloweeen, the Mummy. What these cigars lack in size they make up for in flavor. The box of 10 include 2 of each: The Mini-Mum, The Frank Jr, The Lil’ Drac, Baby Face, and the Wolfie. Along with the cigars some of the boxes (from my understanding they actually ran out of these at some point) contain a fun little random collectors card. Each collectors card had one of the 5 cigar’s character drawing and information on it. Even further stretching “limited edition” a few of the “Baby Face” cards actually had Pete Johnson in the place of baby face. These cards aren’t really worth anything, but they were a fun edition to the box. Anyways, these limited edition cigars will run you $75 a box with only 10,000 boxes made.

Tatuaje Little Monster Series Frank Jr. (Tony)

Ever since the let down that was the “Tatuaje Frank” I have been incredibly eager to try this blend. the Frank was coined by many as Pete’s finest cigar ever made. I only had the pleasure of smoking one, not long ago, that had aged way past it’s prime. It was just kind of boring. You can check the Quick Draw I did on that one here.

How did the Frank Jr. Stand up? For lack of better words, it was awesome. I’ll start with the format. I liked this size so much more than the huge, bulky frank. The best part was the elongated box-press. I love those. Perfect draw every time while it sits perfectly and comfortably in your hand. I said it before and I will say it again, I am a sucker for Connecticut Broadleaf and the Frank Jr. is the epitome of how beautiful that wrapper can look. Cutting and lighting the Frank Jr. was cake. The flavors were just intense, much unlike the Frank that fell flat the Frank Jr. delivered with some powerful cocoa, vanilla, cherry, cinnamon and black pepper right off the bat. As expected, the pepper faded pretty quickly and the sweetness began to set in. The flavors remained very bold witth little change up until an all around creaminess took over toward the end of the smoke. The burn line was perfect the entire time with no-touch up or relights. This is a cigar that I really wish would find it’s way to full release. This size too, not the bigger brother. I’d eat through boxes of these if I had the chance and I am sure I can speak for some of you in saying you would too.

Tatuaje Little Monster Series Mini-Mum (Tony)

Next one the chopping block is the mini-mum. I was a bit skeptical on this release due to hearing both good and bad things about it. One of my good friend’s Dan Reeve over at CigarExplorer.com hyped this cigar up to me. I know Dan well, and I know that we both know each other’s pallets well enough to speak for each other and he kept boasting about this cigar to me. Needless to say, it was the first one that I smoked as soon as I got the box.

First off, this is a pretty cigar. Not in terms of “perfect” cause let’s face it, the wrapper is ugly. But you know what? That’s what I look for in a cigar. I don’t want a pretty, consistently dyed wrapper. I want something firm, well constructed, and natural. That’s exactly what you get in the case of the mini-mum. The Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo is a beautiful splotchy light/dark brown with orange mixed in. It gives off a TON of strong, sweet tobacco and cedar aroma. But enough about the wrapper let’s get into the flavor. This cigar was another flavor powerhouse pouring out tons of cedar, spice, nutmeg, cashew, leather, sweet tobacco and even a bit of fruit. Yeah, it’s a lot of flavor but the Mini Mum ties it all in perfectly with a smooth and creamy experience from start to last. The burn line was a bit wavy but again, no touch ups or relights required. The entire time I smoked this cigar I couldn’t help but compare it to the Tatuaje Black. It was everything I liked about the black blend, only better. That being said, I really can’t wait for the full Mummy release to come. These will be a monster series blend that I will be going after.

The post Quick Draw Episode 7 – Tatuaje Little Monsters appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

If you are a follower of ours on Twitter or Facebook, you will have seen recently that Tony is off slacking again. That’s right, again! lol. Ok maybe not. He’s actually on a trip to the Dominican Republic and visiting lots of people, cigar factories, and even some tobacco fields. I’m sure he’ll have lots to tell everyone when he gets back. In the meantime, keep up with what he’s doing by following him on Twitter or following the Casas Fumando Facebook Page.

So I’m still stuck at home and while Tony is probably burning up in the Dominican, and I’m pretty much freezing over here. Terrible forecast for the week full of rain and near freezing temps, winter is almost here! The summer flew by… So for no particular reason I made a mess in my humidor searching for my next review and what I came up with was my very last Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial from 2010.

Now Oliva should be a name most people know by now, they’ve been around for a long time and have a great reputation of turning over quality cigars year after year. They haven’t been much in the past for really branching out with drastic ideas but rather have been that “staple” cigar brand that you could always fall back on. Their 4 main lines are the Serie G, Serie O, Serie V and the Connecticut Reserve. Of their 4 lines mentioned, the Serie V is the fullest on the body scale.

If you have been keeping up with the cigar news, you would actually see that Oliva is starting to bring a lot more variety to their lines. They’ve had the Master Blend series for awhile now and are also hitting a few winners with the Studio Tobac project. Tony actually just recently posted a review of the cigar made by a joint venture of Studio Tobac and Padilla, appropriately named the Padilla – Studio Tobac Figurado. As you can see from his thoughts, Oliva is on the right track with their new project.

Oliva’s core lines don’t usually change much but a few years ago they decided to bring out a special edition of their Serie V. It was to be wrapped with a Maduro leaf, limited in production quantities and restricted to a single vitola. It’s full name is the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial and usually a year is appended to that. In the case of today’s review it is the 2010 to mark the year it was released. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to distinguish some of the various years.

With regards to the 2009 and 2010, you will find 2 main differences, firstly, the 2010 is a slightly larger ring gauge than the 2009 even though it maintains the same vitola. Also, the 2010 is wrapped in a nice dark San Andreas wrapper versus the previous years Broadleaf wrappers. Looking a little forward to 2011, the vitola is changing to a 6×50 Toro and should actually be hitting shelves very soon. It also has the same San Andreas wrapper. The production for the 2011 is also the same as the 2010 I’m reviewing today which is 5000 boxes of 10 cigars.

With a price point of $10.70/cigar they aren’t that steep but aren’t cheap either. It seems to strike a nice balance of a slightly high end or limited production stick. I’m also told that the 2011 version is dropping the MSRP to $9 which is a welcome change. Each of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial cigars are packed with a Ligero longfiller from the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua which is well known for producing tasty and quality leaves.

The band on this cigar is fairly unassuming and doesn’t venture far from the standard Oliva lines. It adds “Maduro” on one side and “Especial” on the other but I’m disappointed that it doesn’t include a year. Not a huge deal but it would be a nice touch. I’m sitting down to enjoy this cigar on a fairly chilly evening here. The cigar also has a fair bit of age on it so that will affect the flavors. I have smoked a few of these before so I’ll make a quick comparison to then and now in the summary. Enjoy!

Cigar: Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010
Drink: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
Vitola: Torpedo (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: MSRP $10.70
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Oliva Serie V Maduro is surrounded by a dark chocolate brown wrapper that has a rough look to it and an oily finish
• The exposed edges of the wrapper jump off the cigar a bit, especially near the cap which is extremely firm to the touch, this worries me
• The rest of the cigar has a nice little spring and give to it when squeezed
• The foot of the cigar appears to be very well packed with almost no room left in there at all
• I started with a small cut which clipped off fairly easily but I was met with a pretty tight draw
• I cut just a bit more and got a good draw, we’ll start here with a little more than a half inch clipped off the cap

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and slow but it kept even and glowed nicely
• Unfortunately, the cigar started off with a pretty drastic canoe despite what seemed to be an even toasting, needed to be touched up fairly early on
• Another little touchup after about 2 inches as the cigar tried canoeing on me again
• The cigar requires a small touch up pretty much every inch or so, luckily it’s not ruining the flavors
• The last 2.5 inches of the cigar REALLY slowed down the burn, making the cigar last that extra special bit longer

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a good amount of smoke coming from each draw
• Even while resting the cigar is producing a decent amount of smoke
• The ash is coming out to be a wonderful white color when it’s burning properly, my touchups are turning the ash black in some spots
• Even though the ash was looking clean, neat and strong, it still fell off into the ashtray after just about an inch

Tasting Notes:
• I was surprised to notice that the wrapper had barely any aroma to it, maybe just a touch of hay and that’s all
• The foot is also not too strong of an aroma, just a slightly more concentrated hay-type of aroma with just a little touch of a peppery spice
• The pre-light draw is also pretty bland here with only hints of hay again, I really hope the full experience will be more than this
• The initial draws were much more enjoyable with some roasted dark chocolate almond type of flavor and a hint of spices, maybe some coffee tucked in there too
• The chocolate almond flavors dwindled down a bit and I’m left with mostly coffee, spices and now some cedar. It’s still good but the start was much more enjoyable, let’s hope it returns!
• The body started off in the low end of medium and the cigar has a soft bite on the retrohale with an interesting cedary/peppery finish
• The coffee notes are really developing nicely and I’m also getting some nice warm earthy notes in the mix
• All the flavors are balancing well and the cedar finish is a nice touch
• As the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro progressed into the last third the body is slowly building and I’m on the edge of full now
• The spices have remained fairly soft so far and the retrohale reflects that with a soft bite and retains the smooth cedar finish
• The last bit of the cigar was still enjoyable until my fingers were burning, a nice buildup of coffee, light spices and cedar rounded out the final flavors

Final Thoughts:
Overall this was a pretty good smoke that I enjoyed. I feel that it never really did recreate that initial awesome roasted almond flavor. The beginning of the cigar was great and the remainder was good. Nothing about it was really bad, my only complaint would be the burn issues. Thankfully they didn’t negatively affect the flavors but it did take away from the whole experience a bit. I think the cigar could have earned itself a few more points with a bit more age as it already has. The ones I smoked earlier this year were not as good as this one. So my suggestion, grab a few and let them sit a few more months and they should be excellent. If those roasted almond flavors can linger a bit longer this would have been a fantastic cigar. The little bit of body buildup at the end was a nice touch for me as well. The price is a little high at just over $10 but I’m excited to see what the upcoming 2011 release brings since it will have the same wrapper and be $1.70 cheaper!

Pairings:
Tonight’s pairing is a new Port wine that I picked up at the liquor store the other day. It’s from Dow’s Winery which comes from the Symington Family Estates in Portugal. The 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port has a fairly light and fruity feel on the palate with some deep notes like a touch of chocolate and woodsiness. It’s probably not the best Port I’ve had but it’s not bad in it’s own right either. It paired excellently with the flavors of the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. Other than Port I think this cigar would pair wonderfully with a heft stout, a strong or chocolate flavored coffee or even a nice scotch.

The post Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: Studio Tobac is a venture brought to you buy Oliva to provide experimental, and very unique cigars such as the Cain and the nUB lines. Back in march, the Studio Tobac board approved a request for a joint-collaboration product with Padilla Cigars. From the mouth of Studio Tobac’s John Gazzero:

“Even though we’ve existed for the last few years, Studio Tobac just became know to the public; so we’re very protective of the brand. This type of joint venture isn’t something we take lightly, and we’re not getting in the business of making private label cigars for anyone. Working with Ernie (Padilla) makes sense because he has been a friend of Studio Tobac for years. Ernie assured us that he will treat this project with integrity and respect. We’ve got some interesting ideas for the blend. I’m sure Padilla does, too. I’m excited to smoke the cigars. They should be pretty damn good.”

Produced with Oliva tobacco with direct input from Ernesto Padilla, a few others at Padilla Cigars, as well as the Studio Tobac Advisory board, the  exclusive “Padilla Studio Tobac” was born. These cigars are very limited, only 1,000 boxes of 10 will be made and will run $140 a box. These are now available, but won’t be around for very long. A special thanks to Smoking Stogie for the information. There wasn’t a whole lot online, but they always have the good stuff.

Size: 6 x 60  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Medium/Full

Prelight: The Padilla Studio Tobac is a very meaty, beefy Figurado format cigar. This isn’t a format that I smoke very often. I usually run into burn problems do to the bulbed foot of the cigar, plus it just doesn’t seem comfortable to hold. The foot of the cigar is so much heavier then the cap that it sets forth this strange balance in my hand. Let’s just hope the lack of comfort is something that the blend makes up for. Outside of the strange size the Padilla Studio Tobac is an exceptionally well constructed cigar. I can’t imagine how difficult this is to roll. The foot start off with this tiny little tip then explodes into a huge bulb which stretches and thins out across the body of the cigar until it meets the cap with a seamless, very pointy tip. The cigar boasts of oil. Each little ray of light that hits the silky wrapper shoots off a huge gleam of reflection. The wrapper feels really touch and durable carrying an extremely consistent light to medium brown with a bit of tooth, and only a few visible veins.

The band on this cigar is a monster starting with a huge silver, maroon, and black Padilla branded crest with the standard lion’s head we have all grown to love. Following the huge ass band is a tiny little black, white, red, and gold secondary band with the words “STUDIO TOBAC” and the small leaf branding on it. The wrapper of the cigar gives off an extremely sweet cedar aroma while the foot, because of it’s size, smells identical. The Padilla Studio Tobac cut very easily, and very clean using my Palio Double bladed cutter.  The cold draw surprised me with a huge kick of very strong pepper followed by some soft cedar, and very spicy notes.

First Smoke: The Padilla Studio Tobac surprised me once again when it started off with no pepper at all despite my cold draw conclusions. Instead it welcomed me with a really nice, subtle spice, strong cedar, and a soft leather with just a touch of citrus. The draw is remarkable despite being a pain in the ass to get going at first (most Figurados are).  Each little puff kicks out a huge mouthful of thick smoke.  The cigar gives off a ton of very smooth, sweet tobacco and cedar scented stationary smoke. The burnline, as expected is a bit wavy, but honestly not bad at all. At least, not as bad as I was expecting. This format is always hard to keep a solid burnline out of the gate.  The ash left behind is an interest dark grey, to light grey, then zebra striped mixture lasting about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: This Padilla Studio Tobac is one of the most flavorful cigars I have had recently. I am really enjoying every single little puff. The main flavor is still this dominant cedar with a very, very sweet tobacco. The underlying flavors are a very soft leather and the citrus has now turned into a really nice fruit flavor. If I really wanted to stretch it I could say it has hints of apple, but for the sake of being subjective I won’t go that far. The retrohale is really nice and smooth coating with the cedar and some nice sweet spice. I am not feeling any nicotine at all at this point despite the size of this cigar. The burnline is now rocking solid and even as well which is great considering the format and the fact that I haven’t touched it up an at all.

Finish: The spice has really started to ramp up in this Padilla Studio Tobac. It’s a very nice and smooth spice, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. The cedar is still in there too but it’s taken a back-burner to the spice with backing flavors of the fruit and even some nice chocolate creeping in. Despite the size of the cigar and all the flavor this cigar has been smooth from start to finish, even approaching the final inch. No harshness, no relights, no touchups, just the way I like it! The body has ramped up a bit too, but I wouldn’t classify it above medium/full. This cigar took almost 2 hours to take down, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Overview: I really wanted this cigar to be bad. Not cause I don’t like Padilla, or Oliva, but for the simple fact that I have had a very long run of cigars that I really enjoyed and I didn’t want it to seem like I enjoy every cigar that I smoke. Too bad that wasn’t the case. This cigar is dynamite. From every aspect you look at it. Even the size. That’s right, I said it. I enjoyed the size. While uncomfortable I think it really added another dimension to the cigar and quite honestly I don’t know if the cigar would fair as well as it did in another format. I would love to try it though. The robust, and immense flavors the Padilla Studio Tobac kicked out kept me on my toes from start to finish. The smoother tones, and gentle body let me really sit back and enjoy the cigar without getting my ass kicked by body. While most people may think ~$15 is steep for a cigar, I think that price is perfect for a cigar of this caliber, and I would gladly pay it again. Too bad these damn things are so limited.

Pairing: I decided to pair this bad boy with a beer you tend to see a lot of in my reviews as the weather starts to cool down. Pawvel Kwak’s Special Belgian Ale. This amber colored 8.4% ABV ale is perfect for those chilly winter nights. It’s a very smooth, strong ale with notes of plum, sugar, caramel, and malt. This makes a perfect pairing for any cigar no matter how strong, dark, light, or mild.

The post Padilla Studio Tobac Figurado appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Monte Pascoal is made by the Tabacos Mata Fina Ltda company and is part of the Orsi Family Group. The tobacco portion of the Orsi’s company was established very recently in 2007 but they also have business in Wine, Steel, and Real Estate. The Monte Pascoal name comes from a part of Brazil where the first Portugeuse explorer landed in Brazil. As with the Dona Flor, the Monte Pascoal is a Brazilian Puro Cigar.

The Monte Pascoal line is available in 6 Vitolas and are all made with the same blend of Mata Fina and Mata Norte leaves. The blend of tobacco sounds very interesting and I’m hoping to get a lot of the expected cocoa and coffee notes that I typically get from Brazilian wrappers. Let’s light this cigar up and see how it stands. As always, I’m going into this review completely unbiased and will be giving my wholly honest opinion as I burn away.

Cigar: Monte Pascoal
Drink: Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny
Vitola: Corona (5.623 x 42)
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Mata Norte
Price: About $6
Burn Time: Just over 1 hour

Construction:
• A slender rough looking cigar with a medium brown wrapper and some dark brown accents
• There is a fair bit of bumpiness on the wrapper and a few prominent veins but none look problematic to the burn
• The entire cigar is consistenly soft and springy
• The triple cap is finished tightly and clean
• The foot looks moderately packed, a couple open spots can be seen
• Cutting the cigar was effortless and fairly clean and didn’t cause any wrapper damage
• Draw it spot on, lots of air but just enough resistence

Burn:
• The small corona sized cigar toasted easily to a nicely glowing foot
• The burn line glows brightly with each draw, staying nice and straight but it seems to be moving quickly
• The burnline is still razor sharp through half the cigar and has started to burn a bit slower
• This burn is perfect, absolutely no waves or retouches from start to finish!

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is offering up a hefty mouthful of smoke
• Very little resting smoke but it gives off a mild and pleasent woddsy aroma
• Ash is fairly strong and clean, colouring is light gray with lots of black accents
• Ash held on just past an inch before I gently tapped it off
• Subsequent ashes all held on around an inch and stayed clean and tight

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a sweet cocoa and tobacco aroma to it, very inviting
• The foor brings different aromas of woodsiness and a bit of mild spice, possibly nutmeg
• Pre-light draw brings a bit more cocoa and woodsiness, this time I get a bit of nuttiness too
• Initial draws are mostly woodsiness and some tobacco flavors
• Retrohale is faily mild with just the smallest bite a woodsy finish
• As I approach the halfway mark I haven’t gotten many new flavors, maybe just a bit of nuttiness, sorta like raw almonds
• The existing flavors are well balanced but I’d like to have a bit more variety/dimensions soon…
• I’m getting slightly more body and bite as the cigar progresses near the last third
• Some slight bitter coffee notes started near the end of the cigar. At first it was enjoyable but then the bitterness took over

Final Thoughts:
Similar to the Dona Flor (also from CigarsFromBrazil.com) this cigar ranked in the mild-medium range. It would be a good early day cigar with your morning coffee or something light after lunch. Unfortunately the flavors never “wowed” me on this stick. The were tasteful and well balanced but didn’t offer enough variation or complexity to keep it interesting. With a shorter vitola like a corona I wouldn’t expect tons of dimensionality but I usually like to see at least one noticable change in flavor direction as it smokes. The cigar itself burned very well and is worth trying if the woodsy and tobacco flavors are in your favorite profile. The initial aromas on the wrapper and foot promised some more interesting flavors that never came to fruition.

Pairings:
I haven’t paired a port for a review in quite some time. Not sure why, I’ve been enjoying some Port with cigars but it never fell in line with one of my reviews. Today I’m pairing with a bottle that’s new to me. I saw it at the store and decided to give it a try. It’s a 2004 Late Bottled Vintage from Quinta Do Tedo in Portugal. It ranks in at 19% alc./vol. but it tastes no where near that. This particular Tawny Port is a bit sweeter then I’d usually like. It has lots of bright and fruity flavors such as blackberries and a tartness akin to cranberries. It also has a presence of a Merlot like wine to it. It’s very tasty and great for anyone looking to just start into tasting Tawny Port. In this particular pairing I think the port was too sweet for this mild cigar and would have been more enjoyable with a stronger cigar pairing. This cigar would have paired much better with a cup of coffee, dark cola or an amber beer.

The post Monte Pascoal Corona appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Up for review today we have a special edition release from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. If you haven’t been following Pete or Tatuaje, you should know that he has a successful line of both limited and regular release blends and he shows no signs of slowing down. You can review some of the other cigars we’ve reviewed from Tatuaje, such as the recently released Halloween special, “The Face”, the Verocu Red Tubo or the Black Corona Gorda. You can also see more by clicking on “Cigar Reviews” at the top of the page and scrolling down to Tatuaje.

Today’s cigar is a special release as part of Tatuaje’s “Exclusive Series” and was made specially for the 100th Anniversary of Barclay Rex Fine Tobacconists. There’s not much extended information around about this cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which was one of the reasons I really wanted to track it down and give it a try. When it arrived it looked very tasty and appealing. Without further adieu let’s jump right in!

Cigar: Tatuaje Exclusive Series – Barclay Rex 100th Anniverary
Drink: Hirsh Brau – Holzar Bier Bavarian
Vitola: Toro (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $10
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Very smooth and round chocolate brown wrapper
• The foot is uncut, leaving the extra wrapper to wrap over the foot
• Fairly springy to the touch but even throughout
• The triple cap has a very clean finish
• No major veins but the minor veins offer a nice lighter shade of brown
• Cut was clean but made a bit of a mess
• Draw is perfect, not too open and not too tight

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly easy even without trimming off the excess wrapper on the foot
• Burn has been nice and razor sharp for the first third
• As I hit the halfway mark I’m still getting a razor sharp and slow burn
• No problems all the way to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• A fair bit of resting smoke rises off this cigar in the ashtray
• The cigar also gives a nice mouthful of smoke on each draw
• The ash is a nice light grey color and appears fairly strong and tight although the first one fell gently into the ashtray at about one inch
• Subsequent ashes were about the same length but still kept tight and clean

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a mostly barnyard or hay like aroma, but a bit of spice can be detected
• Given that the wrapper extends over the foot it has the same aroma at this point
• Pre-light draw is almost non-existent, very mild tobacco flavor with a bit of peppery spice on the lips
• Initial draws hold a bunch of pepper and cedar with some cloves on the finish, interesting start
• The pepper is continuing to be the dominant flavor through the first third with some added toasted wood
• The retrohale has a peppery bite with a nice cedar finish, so far we’re starting out near the medium range
• The toasted wood is developing a but more with some new coffee flavors as the pepper slowly tapers off
• The coffee is balancing nicely with the toasted wood, at this point the pepper is almost gone but the clove flavor is still around complimented with some nutmeg
• The cloves are building as the coffee develops, very interesting mix, I may need to put some cloves in my coffee grinds next time…
• Body is definitely building up, already at full as I head into the last third but still very smooth
• The cigar finished strong but was still smooth and flavorful to the end

Final Thoughts:
This is yet another great cigar from a blending master. It started out fairly strong and peppery but the change-up around mid-point proved to be very enjoyable. The burn and general construction of this cigar was spot on the whole way through. The price is also fairly accessible although they are yet another limited edition and that may turn away some people from purchasing them. If you are a Broadleaf or Tatuaje fan these are definitely worth a try as they do not disappoint. They finish fairly strong so make sure to have a good beverage and a full stomach before lighting one up.

Pairings:
The beer is completely new to me and I stumbled upon it for the first time in one of the holiday packs at my local store. It’s from a brewery called Hirsh Brau and the packaging claims it to be a “Bavarian Beer from Germany”. The English on the packaging and bottle after that is pretty much non-existant, it’s all German. A little online digging shows that this is a Dunkel (Dark Lager) from Sonthofen, Germany. It has a ton of flavor packed into with nice swing top bottle. Despite being a dark lager it is a fairly light drinking ale with bright flavors. It has a nice bitter finish with some hints of fruit and honey and lots of hoppiness. I don’t think it was the best pairing for this cigar, probably a bit too light. I think a nice dark stout or porter would have paired better. Also, this cigar would go fantastic with a good Scotch or Port as well as a nice strong cup of coffee.

The post Tatuaje Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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!

The post Illusione Singulare Phantom appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.