There is another blend in the Tobacos Baez series that seems more familiar to more people and that is the Serie SF. Not sure why but it seems to garner most of the spotlight with this line so I decided I needed to bring some awareness to this blend. People who have mostly smoked Don Pepin Garcia’s fuller lines will get a bit of a surprise when they go to the Tobacos Baez Serie H as it promises none of the pepper blast that most of his cigars offer.

The smooth Habanos wrapped cigars are made at a slightly lower price point than some My Father branded cigars but still maintains the excellent quality of Cuban Seed Nicaraguan tobacco we’ve all come to appreciate from the Garcia family. The line is only available in 3 vitolas all at just about the same ring gauge. It starts with the Famosos (5×50) along with the Favoritos (5.5×52) and ends with the Monarcas(6.5×52).

One thing I wanted to mention is that in my searching I noticed a lot of websites with some incorrect info on this cigar. Seems some of them mention the Tobacos Baez Serie H as having a “Corojo wrapper and a spicy profile”. Now the spicy profile is subjective of course so I can’t talk to that but it does seem they have it wrong when it comes to the wrapper. Even the Serie SF has a Habano wrapper so I’m not sure where this info comes from. But enough with that, let’s just find out if these are even worth seeking out to begin with. On with the review!

Cigar: Tobacos Baez Serie H Famosos by My Father Cigars
Drink: St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Vitola: Famosos (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban-Seed Habano
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Price: A little under $6 if you look hard enough
Burn Time: Just short of 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tobacos Baez Serie H has a wonderful orangey-brown wrapper that has a ton of oilyness to it
• The wrapper on this cigar is so smooth and soft with almost no veins to be concerned about at all
• There is a perfect consistent spring from cap to foot when you squeeze the cigar
• The top of the cigar is finished expertly with a seamless triple cap and the foot looks to be fairly well packed, a bit of a gap in the middle
• The cap cut easily and cleanly with my double-bladed guillotine cutter
• This stick had a bit of a tumble as I was taking pictures, so the wrapper cracked a tiny bit, hoping it doesn’t cause any burn issues

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit spotty but after some effort and a couple draws I was able to get the foot glowing nicely
• Despite a little tumble and slightly cracked wrapper from my awesome clumsiness, the cigar is smoking razor sharp so far
• I did need to make a couple corrections as I burned through some of the cracked wrapper but this was uncommon compared to the other samples I’ve had
• The cigar smoked itself, it never even came close to going out on me which is a great quality

Smoke & Ash:
• This cigar produces a TON of smoke, right from the first draw I was overwhelmed by it’s thick plume
• The resting smoke is not as abundant but still makes itself known with a nice woodsy aroma to it
• Did I mention this cigar is a smoke machine? One little draw is all I need
• The ash is showing itself to be pretty strong and clean so far, no flaking or breaking apart
• The appearance of the ash is nothing overly special, most dark and light grey accents with some messy lines
• I tapped the first ash off at about the 1 inch mark since it was getting a bit windy outside
• The wind died down so at the second ash I was able to hold on until about the 1.5 inch mark

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has the aroma of some mild sweet tobacco, fairly light aroma here
• The foot has a nice burst of sweet tartness and some woodsy notes
• Pre-light draw brought lots more woodsiness to the mix of flavors
• On the first few draws, the Toabaco Baez Serie H continues with the wood theme but there is no sweetness at all now, more of a roasted coffee or roasted almond type of flavor
• The medium bodied creamy and smooth finish is a very different profile compared to the usual pepper blast I’m accustomed to from a lot of Pepin made cigars
• The retrohale is also fairly mild with just a small kick and creamy roasted type of finish
• The roasted almond and roasted coffee flavors have really developed nicely through the first half, they are very tasty and compliment the smooth creamy finish perfectly
• I’m getting a bit of raw cocoa flavors sneaking in here, nothing sweet, almost like a tasty bakers chocolate
• The woodsiness is beginning to make a big comeback in the last third and I’m evening getting some mild spices that are new to the mix
• All the flavors seem to be picking up the intensity yet they are still very well balanced and the body remains in a nice medium range, the roasted coffee notes at this point is shining through awesomely
• I was left with nothing but an enjoyable flavor profile at the end, no harshness or bitterness, just a finger burning nub as I smoked it down to the very last bit

Final Thoughts:
When I first has a Tobaco Baez Serie H, I was expecting a fairly spicy smoke with lots of pepper. Reason being is that this comes from the tobacco master mind of Don Pepin and My Father Cigars. To my pleasant surprise, this cigar offers up a wonderful creamy medium bodied smoke with none of the in-your-face pepper. This is especially awesome if you’re not a huge pepper fan, like me (although I love Peppercorn Steak, go figure!). The flavors on this cigar, although not overly multi-dimensional or complex, were down right tasty. And the vitola was perfect to make them shine. If this was a churchill or some bigger vitola I may have gotten bored with it but it was perfect in a robusto. With prices ranging in the mid-high $5 mark, this is a well worthwhile purchase to enjoy and it has some great consistency so you know you’re always getting a good smoke. (Note: I saw these selling for as high as $7+ in some places so you may need to do a bit of searching)

Pairings:
I do enjoy myself a good stout, doesn’t really matter what time of day it is. I had seen this St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout in the stores a few times but for some reason I never picked it up. I finally decided to grab a few bottles and see what it was all about. I’m proud to say it turned out to be a tasty brew. It’s not as thick or heavy as I was expecting but it does have a ton of malt flavor to it as well as a touch of bitterness, but nothing off-putting. There’s also some nice roasted flavors in there to round it all out. A fairly straightforward Oatmeal stout and I really enjoyed it for exactly what it was. It paired well with Tobacos Baez Serie H although I think the flavors in the brew may have been a bit too rich for the cigar. A good Dark Ale or Amber Ale would have made a nice pairing, or even a nice cup of coffee.

The post Tobacos Baez Serie H Famosos appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: I will jump right into the press release, it pretty much sums up Cremo’s history:

The Original Cremo Cigar, an icon of early America and the most successful cigar brand of the early 20th century, made a commitment to providing their customers with value. The company which rose out of beautiful Manhattan, New York City attained the largest sales of any cigar in its class. The brand was also famously linked to musician Bing Crosby in the early days of Broadcasting Radio.

With a shift in the way cigars were made, factories moved south and all was lost… Now in the 21st century a new dawn awaits. After new buildings were built, and old ones were torn down, a piece of history remained. Now, that piece has been found. Walter Santiago, better known as “Lilo”, a native New Yorker, decided that this amazing company, a staple in the Cigar World, should rise from its ashes.

With the revival of Crémo, the tradition continues with taste and quality as well as class. This was found in El Titan de Bronze (ETB) cigar factory, makers of the “Redemption”, which has scored 88 in Cigar Aficionado and 90 in Cigar Snob. Lilo, along with ETB owner Sandy Cobas and Master Blender Willy Herrera (now with Drew Estate), created an ultra-boutique cigar of masterful construction and excellent flavor.

The factory located in Miami’s famed Calle Ocho, known best for its old school Cuban entubado techniques, is a family owned and operated “fabriquita” which employs level 9 rollers from Cuba, who have worked for Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta, Corona and Partagas. These torcedores (cigar rollers), like a painter to a canvas, handcraft each cigar with meticulous detail.

There you have it. One thing to note is the Cremo doesn’t describe the smoke. Cremo is actually the first personal translation of “Cremar” or “To Smoke”. Thanks Cigar Inspector for pointing that out. Anyways, the blend is composed of a Habano wrapper (not sure if its Dominican or Nicaraguan), a Nicaraguan Binder, and mixed Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. The cigar is available in three different sizes: The Excelsior (5 x 50), the Magnum Opus (5.75 x 46), and the Intrepidus (6 x 52) and run between $8 – $9 a stick.

Size: 5×50  –  Wrapper: Habano  –  Binder: Nicaraguan  –  Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan

Prelight: The Cremo Classic is a fantastically constructed cigar. The wrapper starts with this almost perfectly smooth, consistent milk chocolate brown. It almost looks like a Connecticut shade wrap, and I thought it was for a while.  There is only one smaller vein running the length of the body of the cigar which leads up to the round, triple wrapped cap. The band is a simple, elegant manila and silver color with the words “Cremo” and “ Handcrafted in little Havana” in dark brown. The cigar is firm to the touch and the only soft spot I was able to find was right at the foot.

The wrapper gives off a very sweet, cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar carries a really nice mixture of spice and nuts with some interesting floral notes. The cap clipped off extremely easy using my handy dandy “V” cutter. The cold draw produces this just awesome profile full of sweet cedar, cinnamon, and even some nutmeg. It tastes much like a Christmas treat!

First Smoke: I was shocked to be greeting with a bunch of upfront pepper from my initial draws on this Cremo cigar. It’s not overpowering, I just didn’t except it to be there. Under the pepper lies a bunch of nutty, cinnamon and cedar flavors. I was expecting a much smoother, milder start but this Cremo Classic actually packs some flavor!  Even the aftertaste is great leaving behind a ton of cedar and tobacco. The draw is wide open and kicks out lots of thick smoke without being too loose. The Cremo Classic gives off just a bit of stationary smoke, but it smells really neat, kind of like roasted nuts. The burnline is pretty wavy, but not too concerning as I think it will correct itself as I continue on with this cigar.  The ash is a bit flaky, medium and dark grey. The ash held on for about in inch before falling into my ashtray. Again, ashtray, not my lap. Success!

Halfway There: The pepper has started to fade into the second third of this Cremo Classic. Once the pepper faded the cigar really smoothed and balanced out. The main flavor is now this soft cedar, sweet nutmeg, and cashew.  The retrohale on this cigar is badass. It coats my nasal passage with a really smooth cedar with just a touch of spice. The burnline has since completely corrected itself as I assumed it would and I am feeling almost no nicotine kick at this point.

Finish: The body ramped up into the final third of this Cremo Classic. I started to feel only a slight nicotine kick while the cigar remained smooth and creamy down to the nub. The main flavors were still that cedar, nut, and sweet tobacco but a lot of the spices that I picked up in the first third made a brief comeback. All in all it took a little over and hour to take this cigar down to the nub. It needed absolutely no touch-ups or relights.

Overview: The Cremo Classic surprised me with it’s bold flavors and it’s overall smooth profile. I was expecting something super mild and it wasn’t anything like that. Great flavors, amazing construction, and an overall good cigar at a great price. This is a great cigar for the seasoned cigar smoker and a perfect cigar for the novice looking for a good cigar that won’t break the bank.

Pairing: I paired this cigar was a very easy to find, affordable, and wonderful winter seasonal. Yes, I stepped out of my Belgian kick for this one, pairing the Cremo Classic with some Samuel Adams Winter Lager. Sam Adams winter lager is brewed at the infamous Boston Brewing Company and clocks in at 5.5% ABV.  Sam Adams winter lager bears the same characteristics as most winter brews, smooth, fruity, caramel, deep amber beer only with a few extra hops which really helps to bring out the flavor without being too overpowering. This beer pairs wonderful with any smooth cigar such as the Cremo. This cigar would also go perfect with your favorite coffee or tea.

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