Now I’ll be honest that I hadn’t heard too much about Ezra Zion cigars or any of their particular lines before I came across this particular stick. But after doing some research I realized there was quite a bit of buzz around them. Now the company is fairly young looking to have really started pushing itself only last year but the big buzz came when our good friends over at Emilio Cigars partnered up with Ezra Zion to handle their distribution.

We all know Emilio Cigars has a knack for turning around quality sticks and they wouldn’t just accept any cigars, they must be good, right? Well the Reagan edition is one of 2 lines offered by Ezra Zion, the other line is called “Jamais Vu” which was renamed from the original “Inception”. The Reagan series only has two vitolas available at this time, the “President” (6.75 x 54) and today’s vitola dubbed the “40th”.

All the tobaccos in the Reagan are Cuban seeds grown in Nicaragua, as well as being aged a 5 to 6 years before rolling. It also should be obvious that these cigars are a tribute to President Reagan, the names should have given that away too ;). I also want to point out that I love the box press style toro, it’s just awesome and more people should do it. So let’s dive on in and see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: Ezra Zion Reagan Honor Series
Drink: Mill Street Breweries Cobblestone Stout
Vitola: “40th Boxpress” Toro (6 x 52)
Wrapper: 2006 Cuban Seed Nicaraguan – Sun Grown Habano
Binder: 2006 Cuban Seed Nicaraguan
Filler: 2007 Cuban Seed Nicaraguan Seco, Viso, and Ligero
Price: $12.50
Burn Time: Almost 2 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this Ezra Zion Reagan has a very smooth texture and a color of soft cinnamon brown
• There are hardly any veins to be seen, super smooth and velvety to the touch
• I really like the box-pressed shape on this cigar, definitely need more companies to start doing this
• All my samples were pretty soft to the touch, all the way from head to foot
• Packing looks to be pretty full at the foot even though they are soft, interesting…
• The cap has some imperfections but overall it’s finished well
• A very thin cut leaves me with a perfect draw

Burn:
• The Ezra Zio Reagan toasted up with ease and quickly, leaving a nice glowing foot to see
• Through the first inch, the burn has been somewhat wavy but no cause for concern yet, we’ll have to keep a close eye on this
• A little past an inch in and i got a pretty big peninsula growing that I needed to correct with a small touch up
• Just before the halfway mark I had another peninsula rear it’s head so I needed another touch up here
• Some more small touch ups needed towards the end but nothing too major

Smoke & Ash:
• This cigar has got a ton of smoke from each easy draw
• It actually doesn’t produce much resting smoke though
• So far just under an inch in and the ash is looking pretty messy, some pieces are already falling off and it appears pretty weak
• Despite the flimsy look, the ash lasted past an inch and started to look more clean and stable as the burn continues
• The ash lasted just about an inch before I tapped it off
• Second ash was a mix of looking strong and weak again due to the touchup, still lasted about an inch though
• The third ash is coming along much nicer with no touch ups, it’s clean and string with a light and dark grey striping

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a very hay-like aroma to it, with just a bit of woodiness
• I’m getting more hay and woodsy aromas on the foot with a touch of spice thrown in
• The pre-light draw had some nice sweet cocoa flavors and a touch of spice
• On the initial draws, I’m getting mostly light coffee flavors so far, a touch of dry spice on the back of my throat as well
• Through the first third of the cigar, coffee and light spices are still playing the biggest parts
• The whole experience has been in the mild-medium range so far
• From the retrohale, I’m getting a nice little bite and a smooth sweet and creamy finish that I’m enjoying
• As I get into the final third, the spice is ramping up a tad and the sweet coffee has switched over to more of an espresso note
• The deep rich flavors continue through to the end with a bit of leather being mixed in there as well
• No real harshness towards the nub so I got to finish this nicely

Final Thoughts:
There were some really nice flavors in the Ezra Zion Reagan Honor Series and I enjoyed the experience for the most part. There were two key parts that brought down my experience today. The main one was the touch ups and wavy burn throughout most of the cigar. The price is also a bit steep, so when I go into a cigar knowing I spent well over $10 for it, I am expecting a good cigar. On the upside, I really enjoyed the flavors here. They were deep, rich and right up my alley so that kept me interested the whole way though. Also, I’m happy that the touch ups did not ruin that flavors here either. All in all, I will be looking for more of these. I’m hoping the burn issues were restricted to the bunch I had because if you take that away, this would be a very tasty cigar!

Pairings:
Today we have another pick from Mill Street Brewery that I’ve also paired with before. I love supporting the local people and when it’s a darn good stout, I will keep supporting them! lol. The Cobblestone Stout is still fairly new to the stores but it seems to be selling quite well. It is a classic stout with lots of deep malty and smoky flavors and even a touch of coffee, but not too much. It’s got a ton of head when you pour it and a bit of a dry finish. I really liked how the rich flavors of the Ezra Zion Reagan. This would pair really well with anything deep and rich, such as a porter or even just a nice strong coffee.

The post Ezra Zion Reagan Honor Series appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Courtesy of www.CigarsInternational.com

With Tony away this week I wanted to fill the week with at least two reviews. Seems that time was not on my side though as a co-worker has also been off all week and his workload got dumped on me. Yeay! But have no fear, I did some digging and found this blind review that I never had the chance to post. I think you all know how much I enjoy doing these blind reviews so I’m not sure how this one slipped through the cracks.

As a caution, this was done many moons ago so the pictures admittedly suck and I’m glad to see how much I’ve improved over time! lol. (I can’t believe I used to use the flash, I’m sorry about that! haha) So bear with me on that, I promise some better pictures next week! I’m not sure on the exact date that I wrote this but I believe it was at least a year and a half ago, somewhere in early 2010 or possibly even late 2009. I happened to find it on one of my hard-drives from a crashed laptop. Glad I’m a pack-rat when it comes to electronic junk!

The cigar ended up being a La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte which is one of the growing number of exclusive cigars from Cigars International. It is also another blend from the great AJ Fernandez who has turned out some excellent cigars lately such as the recently reviewed San Lotano Oval and the Man O’ War Armada. Both of which received excellent reviews from us. The cigar being reviewed today is a much older blend and packed with some Ligero long-filler. It’s currently offered in 4 vitolas at very fair prices. Let’s see how it faired in my blind impressions.

Cigar: La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: MSRP $4.20
Burn Time: A little under 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The cigar is wrapped in a very dark chocolate brown wrapper
• Lots of veins but none of them very large and don’t look to pose any potential problems
• Foot is soft and springy but head is fairly firm when squeezed lightly
• No oiliness on this wrapper, it actually appears a bit dry
• Clean triple cap to finish off the top of the cigar
• Foot looks graciously packed and full
• Cutting the cigar with my double bladed guillotine was a little messy, but nothing major
• Draw is good right off the start, I like that!

Burn:
• Toasting was mostly even although there was one dark spot in the center that just wouldn’t catch
• As we progress, the burn has been dead on and razor sharp through the first-half
• Just past half-way got a slight wave in the burn that ended up correcting itself
• Had another peninsula form past the halfway mark that seems to be correcting itself slowly
• The last half of the cigar needed a few more draws to keep lit although the first half was burning nicely
• Burn took a turn for the worst near the last 3rd, hard to keep lit and very wavy

Smoke & Ash:
• Giving off a big mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Resting smoke is almost non-existent and a very light burning tobacco aroma
• Ash is light grey in color with the occasional darker streaks
• The ash is tightly packed and appears strong so far
• Each ash lasted a little short of 1 inch and made an explosion when they hit the ashtray, not sure why but it was definitely messy

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has aromas of cocoa and a barnyard/hay type of scent
• Foot aroma is of cocoa and a touch of spice on the nose, almost a mild pepper
• Pre-light draw is mostly the barnyard/hay type of flavor and a bit of the spice
• Initial draws are nutty, earthy and a touch of spice, it’s also very dry on the back of my throat
• Getting a toasted wood flavor about an inch in
• Retrohale is medium bodied with a barnyard flavor and a very mild kick
• The body has been medium right from the start
• Flavors haven’t changed much up to the half-way mark and its still very dry
• Passing the halfway mark, the only flavor left is burning wood and getting a bitterness here too
• The bland flavor and bitterness stuck through to the end, disappointing considering the first half was very good
• The bitterness got too powerful in the last 1.5 inches, had to put it down…
• I’m pretty sure the poor burn factored into the harsh flavors here since the good burning start had much more enjoyable flavors

Final Thoughts:
I think you can tell from my notes that I wasn’t too impressed by this cigar. It started off pretty decent but unfortunately the flavors didn’t change much and only dwindled away as the cigar progressed. The extreme bitterness at the end was also a big disappointment. I’m not sure if it was just a bad stick from the batch since I haven’t had this cigar before. That’s probably one of the main downsides of a blind review, a single bad stick could ruin your impressions on that cigar for the future. Even with it’s incredibly cheap price I think I’ll be avoiding this cigar in the future unless I get some glowing recommendations from a lot of people.

Pairings:
The brew I chose to pair today is from the local Toronto based brewery called Mill Street. This is their Coffee Porter which as the name implies, is a Coffee flavored Porter (Complicated, right? ;)). I’m a big fan of this brew to pair with cigars, it’s got a full feel to it and the coffee notes pair excellently with cigars. I wrote up a full review on the brew if you are interested, you can find it here. It’s also made locally and I love supporting local business whenever possible. This was probably the highlight of the review for me and I really enjoyed the brew. As I mentioned, it pairs excellently with a variety of cigars including full and mild. It paired well with the La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte and complimented the initial good notes I got from the cigar. I would definitely suggest a strong pairing with this cigar to combat the harshness I got on the end, something like a Porto, Stout of strong coffee would go well.

The post La Herencia Cubana Oscuro Fuerte (Blind Review) 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.

Let’s clear something up first.  Everyone seems to have their own name for this cigar.  Its equivalent to the music industries “Self-Titled” albums.  Remember back when Metallica released their self titled album?  Everyone had a name for it and it eventually became known as “The Black Album”. (Random example I know, but work with me here!)  I seem to see a similar occurrence with this line. The two most common names seem to the “The Padron Classic Line” or “The Padron Thousand Series” (obviously coming from the fact that most of their vitolas are numbers in the thousands). The actual name for this line is simply the “Padron Series”.

Padron is well known for their two more popular lines, the “1926 Serie” and the “1964 Anniversary Series”.  You can also check out my review of the 1926 40 Years or the 1926 No. 35 and the 1964 Anniversay Series Principe.  Those two popular lines often carry a fair hefty price tag whereas this line can be had at very valuable pricing.  It’s a diverse line coming in 15 different sizes and offered in both Maduro and Natural.  One thing to note is that the two different wrappers are usually very hard to tell apart.  The Natural wrappers tend to have a very dark color to them in my experience.

Although this is a much less expensive line, the cigars are still all hand rolled and are made using quality tobacco.  All of the tobacco included in the Padron Series is Sun Grown Nicaraguan and they are aged a minimum of 1.5 years.  The cigar I’m smoking today has also been in my humidor for close to 2 years.  So let’s see how Padron’s more budget friendly line stands up:

Cigar: Padron Series 2000 Natural
Drink: Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: About $4
Burn Time: A little under 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper is rough and has quite a few veins along with a dark cinnamon brown color
• The top is finished with a single cap, not terribly applied but a little messy
• The cigar has some slight give when squeezed but it’s mostly firm throughout
• Foot appears moderately packed, a bit of a gap in the middle which I’m hoping doesn’t cause a tunnel
• The band is fairly minimal and simple, comparably almost to some Cuban Montecristo bands
• The cut was nice and easy, leaving a clean end
• I made sure not to cut too much off the cap since experience tells me these can have open draw.  If you take care to make a shallow cut you’re greeted with a perfect draw

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and easy, the whole foot glowed evenly with minimal effort
• The burn is amazingly razor sharp through the first inch, almost no wave at all
• This Padron 2000 is staying lit easily without the need for me to keep drawing on it
• Through to the halfway point I’ve had absolutely no problems with the burn, razor sharp the whole way
• No burn issues right down to the nub, I never had to take my lighter out after the initial light. That’s the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the first draw I’m getting a ton of smoke from this cigar with very little effort
• The resting smoke is also fairly prominent and gives off a nice cedar aroma
• The ash here is very good, has some very bright white spots accented with some darker grey areas
• Ash appears tight and neat but also seems a bit weak
• After a little more than an inch, I tapped the ash off into my ashtray
• The second ash fell off on it’s own into the ashtray after about an inch

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is a mixture of hay and some coffee beans
• Pre-light draw brings more hay and a ton of earthiness, almost felt like I had dirt in my mouth for a second
• Initial draws have a very strong appearance of delicious coffee and some cedar notes
• The cigar starts off fairly mild and the retrohale has a nice light bite and a very smooth coffee finish
• As we get through the first third, I’m also picking up some mild cocoa notes here and there
• The finish on this cigar is very smooth and the whole profile is well balanced
• The coffee flavors are developing very well as I smoke this Padron 2000
• The cocoa notes are making a strong appearance near the last third and I’m also getting a nice nuttiness
• The body hasn’t changed much at this point, just a slight increase
• Retrohale has stayed nice and consistent with a tiny bite and smooth coffee finish
• The coffee flavors continue to get more intense, now more comparable to a stronger espresso
• The more intense coffee flavors along with woodsy, cocoa and nutty continued to the nub with very little bitterness, allowing you to enjoy it until your fingers burn

Final Thoughts:
Well I think the fact that I’ve ordered a few boxes of the Padron Series cigars may have already given up the fact that I really enjoy them, and this Padron Series 2000 Natural is no exception.  I think that’s easy to see from my notes above. I’ve always been met with great burn and flavors in all of the vitolas I’ve had from the Padron Series. They are also more on the mild side which make a great first cigar at a herf or an early day cigar. It’s also something you can pass out to new cigar smokers without hurting the wallet and you can be sure they will enjoy it. If you haven’t had the chance to smoke one of these or you are part of the group who thinks all Padrons are expensive, then you definitely need to track some of these down and give them a try. Considering the cost of these, especially if you find them on sale, you can’t go wrong.

Pairings:
For the pairing today we have one of my favorite summery blonde brews from one of my favorite breweries. It is the Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer. It’s a wonderful Scottish brew which is aged in Oak casks for a minimum of 77 days. I also paired this brew with Man O’ War Virtue a while back. Don’t let the lighter color of this beer fool you, it is full of flavor and surprising more bold than you would expect. You get the obvious oak flavors in every sip which make a wonderful layer on this brew. Along with that, you get some smooth caramel and slight malty flavor with a fresh and crisp finish. The pairing with the Padron Series 2000 was a pretty good one. The oak flavors in the beer accented the woodsy flavors in the cigar although I think the brew would pair better with a Connecticut. Coffee seems to be my favorite pairing with any of the Padron Series or a coffee flavored porter/stout.

The post Padron Series – 2000 Natural appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

A little while back I had the chance to review and enjoy one of the My Father Cigars Le Bijou 1922. Today I’m taking on a slightly different cigar, the Cedros Deluxe. Just like the Le Bijou, this cigar is blended by Don Pepin Garcia. The Cedros Deluxe series comes in a few different sizes each with their own unique name. Today’s review will focus on the Corona Gorda size which is called the “Eminentes”. Each cigar in this line also comes wrapper in a cedar sleeve and an additional band near the foot.

Now this is a beautifully presented cigar! The bands on the My Father’s never cease to impress me. They have a cleanly printed matte label with green, red and pink accented by some metallic gold lettering. Even the lettering printed on the cedar sleeve is precise and clear. It’s easy to tell there was a significant amount of attention to detail in the creation of each aspect of this cigar. But enough blabbing from me, let’s hop to it and see how this cigar actually smokes.

Cigar: My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes
Drink: Delaforce Reserve Porto
Vitola: Corona Gorda (5.625 x 46)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00-$8.00
Burn Time: A little over 1 hour

Construction:
• After carefully and easily sliding the cedar sleeve off the cigar I was greeted with a beautiful chocolaty brown wrapper that shimmered with a slight oiliness
• There were only a couple small veins visible and the wrapped has an almost velvety feel to it
• The head of the cigar is finished with a smooth and clean triple cap
• The foot appears moderately packed
• The whole cigar had a slight softness to it when squeezed, even and consistent throughout
• The cap clipped cleanly and easily off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw is spot on, just enough resistance

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and quick and left the foot glowing perfectly even
• Burn has been mostly straight through the first third with some minor waviness
• After ashing the first time I noticed a tunnel forming in the center of the cigar, so far it hasn’t affected my burn much and is still burning fairly even
• The tunnel was still there as I got into the last bit of the cigar but it still didn’t affect the burn much with only one small retouch needed the whole time

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings with it a good mouthful of smoke
• The resting smoke is surprisingly minimal and gives off a great cedar aroma
• The ash is a mix of light grey and white areas and is having a small amount of flaking around it
• I tapped off the first ash after about an inch as it started going a little lopsided and looked weak, but it held on tightly until then
• The next ash also lasted over an inch but fell to the floor on the way back to ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• This while cigar smells completely like cedar! Oh wait… let me remove that cedar sleeve..
• Ok, now the cigar still smells like cedar! But added in there is some barnyard and spice aromas
• The foot of the cigar definitely brings more of that hay/barnyard aroma and a bit of spice that tingles the nose
• Pre-light draw brings a lot of cedar to my palate and a nutmeg or clove type of spice
• Initial draws are filled with a smooth and creamy cedar flavor accented by a mild clove and nutmeg spice.
• I’m also picking up a earthy green type of flavor that’s interesting
• Body through the first bit has been mostly mild and offering a creamy and smooth finish
• The cedar picked up it’s intensity as I reached the halfway mark and added in a touch of white pepper and a bit of roasted coffee
• As I hit the last third, the coffee and spices started to build in intensity, the body also picked up a bit to a nice medium
• The retrohale on this cigar has had only a small bite and smooth cedar finish the whole way so far
• The roasted coffee and white pepper notes seemed to take control in the last third with the cedar playing a minor part
• Body got a bit stronger near the end, touching into the full category but I’m still not feeling any nicotine kick on this one

Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable cigar from start to finish. The flavors were always tasty and had some complexity to them but can still be enjoyed by any level of smoker. The various flavors also changed up throughout the cigar adding some interesting and enjoyable dimensions that kept me on my toes. Construction was excellent as well. The price on this line of cigars is fairly comfortable as well, making it easy to pick some up and add to your regular rotation.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was my final glass from the bottle of Delaforce Reserve Porto. I enjoyed this port with a recent review of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series. It’s definitely one of my favorites mainly due to it’s full bodied red wine undertones. On top of that wonderful base, the Delaforce Reserve offers up a mix of blackberry and cherry flavors along with a bit of a smoked oak. I found this cigar paired excellently with this port especially accenting the cedar notes it had. Other good pairings with the My Father Cigars Cedros Deluxe would include a stronger coffee, dark porter, stout, or scotch.

The post My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Oliva family story is not that dissimilar from a lot of the family run non-Cuban cigar producers. Originally, they were tobacco farmers in Pinar Del Rio Cuba and were eventually forced to flee due to communism. After testing the soils of various countries, the Oliva family settles in Nicaragua and began producing top quality tobacco again.

The Oliva Cigar Family doesn’t seem to venture too far from what works but what they do produce is extremely consistent, tasty and usually well priced. Their lines offer a variety of flavors and strengths ranging from a full bodied Serie V down to the mild Connecticut Reserve and even a specialty line called the Master Blends. Today’s review is focusing on the milder range of their lines, the Connecticut Reserve in the Robusto vitola. This line is also offered in a few other traditional sizes such as Churchill, Toro, Torpedo and Lonsdale. This is probably a cigar that a lot of people have already tried since it’s been around for a long time and seems to be a staple in most people’s humidor. Let’s see if we can find out why in today’s review.

Cigar: Oliva Connecticut Reserve
Drink: RocketFuelCoffee.com Panama Carmen Estate
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $4.50 – $5.50
Burn Time:

Construction:
• A velvety smooth and honey brown colored wrapper surrounds this cigar
• There are some visible veins on the cigar but they are all small and thin
• The cigar is finished with a clean double cap
• The foot appears well packed and cleanly cut
• The length of the cigar is fairly firm but has a slight spring to in, very consistent throughout
• Draw is a little tighter than I would have liked but it’s not terrible, I won’t re-cut or use a toothpick in case it opens up later
• The draw opened up a bit as the cigar progressed but it seemed to be smoking well so I never bothered to try fixing it

Burn:
• Toasting was very fast and surprisingly even
• Burn line has been fairly straight through the first inch
• As I get past the first third the burn is starting to go really one-sided, I may need ot correct it if it doesn’t catch on soon
• The burn line never completely corrected itself but it did not get worse so it’s still burning without any touchups at the half-way mark
• As I get into the last third, the burn line is just about straight now.
• Cigar started burning a little hot near the nub

Smoke & Ash:
• There’s not much smoke coming through on the draw and it appears fairly thin, not the thick cloud you would usually get on most other cigars
• The resting smoke is fairly consistent but not too thick or overpowering
• The ash appears clean and tight with a light grey tone to it
• The ash just doesn’t want to fall off, sign of great construction here
• Ash finally fell off just past two inches

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is mostly of hay and some earthy notes
• Pre-light draw brought a lot of earthy notes and some woodsy hints
• Initial draws kept the earthy and woodsy flavors and added to that a slight tartness
• The Oliva Connecticut is starting off fairly mild and has a smooth creamy finish on each draw
• As I get past the first third I’m starting to pick up a toasted bready kind of flavor
• The retrohale on this cigar has no bite to it but finishes off with a smooth and creamy woodsiness
• As I pass the halfway mark I’m getting some nice roasted coffee flavors that are mixing well with the cedar and earthy smoothness
• The body picks up a bit in the last third, maybe just touching into the medium range
• Very minor bitterness near the end allowing me to nub the cigar until my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
The Oliva Connecticut Reseve made for a perfect morning smoke today and every time I have it. It has a smooth and creamy mild profile that is enjoyable for pretty much every level of smoker from novice to experienced. The burn and ash was also fantastic making the whole experience enjoyable from start to finish. The price on these is also very accessible. Although the MSRP is around the $5 mark you can usually find these on special for a much better value. This is a classic Connecticut that tastes exactly like you would want it to and remains enjoyable every time. If you haven’t tried one yet, keep your eyes open for some and give them a try!

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was a freshly brewed pot of Panama Carmen Estate Coffee which I received as a gift from Lisa over at RocketFuelCoffee.com. You can also track her down via twitter on @rcketfuelcoffee or @hisandherf. The location this gourmet coffee bean is grown is fairly interesting, it is shade grown at an altitude of 5,600ft. Give the full description a read over here. The coffee initially poured a bit light and I was a bit worried I had gotten the measurements or coarseness of the grind wrong. After taking a quick sip I knew it was just right. The flavor of this coffee fills your mouth quickly and offers up a unique morning cup. Rather than a strong bitterness I was met with a flavorful, yet light, mix of bright and roasted flavors. There is a natural sweetness to this coffee that could almost be characterized as fruity but with a smooth and deep finish. Made for a perfect morning pairing with this cigar! Other suggested pairings with this cigar would need to remain light, such as water or soda, maybe a light beer. But I think coffee makes the perfect match here.

The post Oliva Connecticut Reserve appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

It seems that Perdomo is a name that many cigars smokers know about and often enjoy yet it’s also I brand that seems to do minimal advertising. I don’t seem to see them launch large campaigns or expensive sponsorship but rather it seems word of mouth and consistent quality help spread their name. I’ve also had the chance to review the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro and Perdomo Patriarch Maduro in the past. Today we are going to take a look at the Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro.

The Perdomo Grand Cru is a cigar grown and rolled with the intention of giving a Cuban-like flavor in each blend. All of the seeds used to grow the Tobacco in Nicaragua are from Cuba. The tobacco itself has also been well aged before being rolled into the cigars. Each box and cigar is clearly marked with a “Crop of 2004” label. I really like this idea and it lets you know just how old the tobacco is. If they decide to keep the same blend moving forward but change crops, I’m curious to see if they will just change the year or change the name. From what I can tell, all the cigars and boxes still say 2004. The website also says this blend is made from that crop as well so it may not change at all.

I would actually love to see that type of labelling adopted by more companies. I think it’s an excellent idea. There are other cigars that do this currently, such as the Tatuaje L’Esperit de Verite that Tony reviewed or the Camacho Liberty series (we’ve reviewed the 2009 and 2010) but those are more limited editions. Having this label on regular production cigars would be and interesting piece of information. The above linked reviews already show how much a blend can change from year-to-year. But enough about me complaining, without further adieu let’s jump into the review of the Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro.

Cigar: Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro
Drink: Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Porto
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Price: $4.50 – $5.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A rough and bumpy wrapper with a few medium sized veins, but nothing concerning
• The wrapper has a sand-paper like texture and is a consistent medium chocolate brown color
• The cap is cleanly applied with a double-cap design, almost impossible to see the second piece of tobacco
• The foot appears well packed and the length of the cigar is pretty firm with very little spring to it
• The cut was very easy and quite clean, falling in a neat little package into the ashtray
• Draw is a little tighter then I’d like

Burn:
• The burn line is not neat and pretty on this cigar but it’s not out of control either
• Felt like the cigar was starting to go out after only an inch and started needing a few more draws
• The funny burn finally hit a rut and needed a small touch up just past the half-way mark
• For the most part, the cigar burned without much effort or extra draws

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite the tightness I’m still getting a giant mouthful of smoke from every draw
• There is a small bit of resting smoke visible while the cigar sits in the ashtray, it gives off a mostly woodsy aroma
• The ash is a little flaky on this cigar but not too weak
• A very nice white color to the ash as it burns
• Each ash tumbled into the ashtray shortly after an inch

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a strong hay and barnyard aroma
• The foot stays consistent with the barnyard aroma and mixes a touch of spice into the nose
• The pre-light draw brings an interesting bakers chocolate flavor mixed with some woodsy notes
• The initial draws give off a strong woodsy flavor with some hints of coffee here and there
• As the cigar progresses I’m picking up a lot of roasted notes, a mix of roasted almonds and roasted coffee beans, very nice
• I noticed a bit extra dryness on my throat with this cigar
• As I approach the halfway mark, the body has been mild-medium and retrohale has no bite with a woodsy finish
• The flavors still seem to hover around with roasted coffee, woodsy and roasted almonds all taking a turn
• In the last third the flavors got much more intense and I started picking up some more bakers chocolate type of flavors
• The body picked up only slightly near the end, making it a comfortable medium

Final Thoughts:
The Grand Cru Maduro from Tabacalera Perdomo proved to be a nice smooth cigar that can easily be enjoyed by many experienced or new smokers. It offers a nice variety of flavors that are neither too complex or too boring making for a perfect cigar to relax with. It’s something you can pick up and smoke without paying too much attention to and still enjoy and easily pick up on the various flavors. The price is also very attractive, make sure to search around a bit as my research showed a HUGE variance in pricing on these. I’d definitely suggest picking up a few of these to try out, especially at the good prices you can find them for.

Pairings:
Yes I’m still riding the Port train and today I bring something new. This bottle is something I haven’t seen around before so I grabbed it to try something new. Damn am I ever happy I did. The Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage offers some excellent flavors backed by a robust and bold red wine flavor. A lot of Ports overdo the fruity notes but this one seems nicely balanced between a full bodied red wine and a flavorful fruity port. It paired well with this cigar but was maybe not the perfect pairing. I think this cigar was made for coffee, the roasted coffee and almond notes would have made a great compliment. You could also enjoy this with a nice dark porter with some coffee flavors.

The post Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Ideology was intended to diversify the line of 262 Cigars by bringing a smooth, mile and creamy profile.  The cigar is wrapped with a Rosado leaf which I find to be a great alternative to the Connecticut when seeking a mild cigar for anytime of the day.  As I mentioned in my last review, the 262 Cigar company is made up of a small group of passionate cigar smokers who have embraced the online and B&M cigar communities to promote their product.  By leveraging these communities they’ve been able to establish themselves as a good name in the cigar world.

The blend of leaves in this tobacco all come from some of my favorite tobacco leave regions including Nicaragua, Mexico and Dominican Republic.  Each of these leaves offers a unique and tasty profile and I’m excited to see how they blend together.  It’s nice to see a cigar aimed at the mild market when it seems a lot of new cigars are being aimed at strong, full bodied smokers.

Cigar: 262 Cigars Ideology
Drink: Erdinger Weissber Dunkel
Vitola: Box-Pressed Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Dominican
Price: $8.75 from 262 Cigars Website (www.smoketherevolution.com)
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A very clean and even square pressed toro cigar
• The wrapper is a nice matte chocolate brown color with almost no visible veins
• The head is finish with a clean triple cap and seems to have a little more shine then the rest of the cigar
• The foot is very well packed and the cigar is fairly firm to the touch with whole way through
• The cut was nice and clean, falling off in a neat bunch into the ashtray
• Draw is just right, not too much effort and not too airy

Burn:
• Toasting took a little while to get even but eventually glowed nicely
• Burn started off a bit wavy but quickly corrected itself and is burning razor sharp now
• Still no problems on the burn as I pass the halfway mark, this is a great sign since I usually have problems with box-pressed cigars, but not this one

Smoke & Ash:
• Getting a nice mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Resting smoke is fairly minimal
• The ash is producing a nice white color to it and looks tightly wound
• Despite it looking nice and strong, the ash fell into the ashtray after about an inch
• The one inch mark seems to be the sweet spot for this ash, but it cleanly falls into the ashtray without me having to worry about it at all

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is very light but I get some hints of coffee and hay
• The foot gives off a bit more hay on the aroma and some hints of coffee and cocoa, maybe even a small touch of spice
• Pre-light draw brings mostly hay and a sweet tobacco type flavor
• Initial draws have a nice cedar flavor and some hints of coffee, starting off nice and mild
• Retrohale is very mild with no bite and at this early point is not giving any distinct flavors
• The coffee flavors have developed a bit more on the finish and also on the retrohale, cigar is still fairly mild
• Getting a bit of creaminess on the finish, a nice touch
• The creaminess has also translated to the retrohale and it also developed a tiny little bite
• The body started to pick up a bit near the end, it’s just teetering on the edge of medium right now
• The cedar/woodsiness made a more prominent appearance in the last third
• The mild smoothness of this cigar is very enjoyable and relaxing, not too in your face
• Some bitterness started to develop in the last inch or so of the cigar, but it wasn’t terribly off-putting
• Smooth cedar flavors lasted to the end

Final Thoughts:
This was a nice mild and enjoyable smoking experience.  The flavors were never overpowering and it smoked smooth and easy the whole way through.  It also had a great burn and nice amount of smoke from start to finish.  This cigar would be a good addition to a selection of early day smokes or when you just want something smooth and mild to relax with. It’s nothing overly complex but still a relaxing and enjoyable cigar.  It would also make a great option for beginner cigar enthusiasts looking for something that won’t knock their socks off.  It also sets itself apart from a lot of other mild cigars which tend to be Connecticut wrappers.  The Rosado wrapper gives it a different flavor while still keeping it creamy and mild.  Anyone looking for a change in their early morning smoke should give these a try.  Their price comes in a bit high to be an easy every-day smoke but still fair enough to be part of a weekly rotation.

Pairings:
After getting the initial notes of coffee and cocoa on the wrapper I decided to pair this cigar with a nice dark beer.  My choice was Erdinger’s Dunkel, a dark wheat beer that goes through a strict fermentation process.  It has distinct notes of coffee and dark malts and goes down smooth with minimal hoppiness or bitterness.  This ended up being a very nice pairing for this cigar with the flavors from each complimenting each other.  Similarly smooth and flavorful dark beers would also pair well here.  A nice cup of coffee or dark soda would also make an excellent pairing.

The post 262 Cigars Ideology Box Pressed Toro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I really enjoy setting these up. As Tony mentioned, it allows you to pick up a cigar and smoke it with no biases on brand/wrapper/blender/price. When you think about it, there are a lot of things that can affect your opinion that you may not even realize. It could be a cigar you’ve had before, or one you’ve never tried. Sometimes it’ll confirm your first impressions or maybe introduce you to a new brand that you would have otherwise overlooked at the B&M.

This set of blind cigars comes from dk_fxn, you can find him on twitter @dk_fxn. He sent me the following 5 cigars as well as bombed me with some other awesome smokes such as an AF Shark, Opus X and an Illusione culebra. He even had the creativity to name them all uniquely. Can anyone tell me the link between all the cigar names?? Thank very much for the bonus sticks dk_fxn! Now let’s get on to these reviews. I did them in short paragraph’s and jotted them down as I smoked them, so it’s all based on what I thought at that exact moment. Hope you enjoy!

A toro shaped cigar measuring in around 6 x 48. The wrapper is a nice medium shade of brown, not quite maduro but not quite Connecticut, maybe a Habano? It’s clearly constructed and has no major veins. The aroma on wrapper and foot is mostly hay/barnyard and pre-light draw leaves a big spice kick on my lips.

The toasting was nice and easy and the initial draws brought flavors of toasted cedar and a bit of leather added to the peppery spice which is actually very minor at this point. The spice settled right down after an inch and a nice toasted cedar has taken control with a bit of earthiness and nuttiness mixed in there. Body starting off fairly mild but close to the medium threshold.

The ash on this cigar is very nice, it’s white, strong and clean. It lasted nearly two inches before I tapped it off. Retrohale has been bite-free with a smooth cedar finish since the start. I’m surprised more spice didn’t come through on this since i was expecting a lot of spiciness after the pre-light draw. The cigar has also been a smoke machine since the start, never letting me down and has been burning razor sharp through the first half.

Some more spice came into play just past the halfway mark, like a peppery nutmeg type of spice. the body and spice developed a bit more near the end but it stayed with a nice cedar flavor straight to the end with no bitterness, very enjoyable cigar!

REVEAL: Cain F Toro

Post-Reveal Notes: I’ve only previously had the Cain Maduro and Habano and both were quite powerful. This one however only barely passed medium. I’m not sure if it had some age on it or what it was, but is was a nice smooth and spicy cigar. Very surprised at this one.

A Grand Robusto or maybe 6×60 shaped cigar with a nice dark cinnamon colored wrapper. It’s fairly smooth with a couple veins but nothing that looks problematic. The wrapper has a very nice oily sheen to it and is mostly hay/barnyard scented. The foot has a very nice aroma of cedar, barnyard and a bit tartiness. The prelight draw has a nice cedar flavor with some raw nutmeg and cinnamon spices.

Initial draws are very very peppery with an undertone of cedar. The pepper-bomb died down shortly after and balanced nicely with the cedar, also getting a sort of toasted bread note and a nice creamy finish. The ash is a bit messy, I needed to tap it off after an inch the first time. I’m also having some burn issues where the cigar doesn’t stay totally lit and I have to purge or touch up, I’m blaming it on the weather since it’s -6C (about 22F) outside right now.

The cigar has a nice bite on the retrohale, nothing over powering, and a smooth creamy finish. It started off just about medium and is holding steady so far. At about the halfway mark the flavors haven’t changed a whole lot but that’s ok cause I’m enjoying them. They are well balanced and alternating turns being the most prominent, the toasted bready flavor is especially nice.

Passing the halfway mark and the peppery spice is really picking up, as is the body. In the full range now. The creaminess is gone and getting some leather in the mix with a bit or earthiness. The bite on the retrohale picked up as well with a cedar finish. The cedar eventually turned to a burning wood flavor, not really in a bad way, just different. It finished nice and full with the pepper and burning woodsiness balancing nicely.

REVEAL: Camacho Corojo

Post-Reveal Notes: This is one of the cigars that I would normally overlook in the B&M. The peppery flavors are not exactly up my alley but I can say that this was a well balanced cigar and would recommend to people who enjoy the fuller and more peppery-type cigars.

The “Easy” is a Corona shaped cigar with a tapered cap at the head. It has a rough appearance with some bumpiness and rough lines, makes it appear old. There’s one section with some major veins and a knot running through most of the cigar, hopefully they won’t cause any problems. The wrapper has very faint aroma, maybe of just some hay/tobacco and foot is pretty much the same since it’s a shaggy so I can’t really get a good aroma off the filler.

Initial draws and construction seem to be pointing my guess towards a Cuban but I’m not sure. I got one very interesting flavor here that I think I’ve never had before. While toasting and initial draws I got a Pine taste. Was actually very good paired with some cedar and spice. Spice quickly took a backseat to the cedar with a smooth leather and clove finish. So far going very well.

Construction has been perfect, no burn issues at all and ash is a nice light grey color and holding steady just past an inch each time. Body is fairly mild/medium and retrohale his a tiny little spice bite and a cedar finish. Lots of smoke on each draw.

As I approach half-way some more spice is making an appearance, getting a bit of pepper and some saltiness. Shortly after the spice took a back seat again while the saltiness stayed and some dried fruit flavors snuck in, I’m loving all the subtle flavor changes here.

The flavors kept taking turns to the end with only a hint of bitterness but nothing off-putting. This cigar had it all, construction, burn, and a nice variety of flavors. It was very similar to some run-of-the-mill/basic Cubans I’ve had, if its not a cuban they did a damn good job making it taste like one. It wasn’t overly complex but a good quality smoke, definitely enjoyable.

REVEAL: Arturo Fuente Curly Head

Post Reveal Note: A budget Arturo Fuente? They hit this one on the head! I found them online for about $2 or less. Definitely a great purchase and an easy cigar to hand out to friends who aren’t smokers. I think this will make a perfect choice for a lot of situations, even when you’re not paying it much attention. From some discussions I’ve had about this cigar, seems a lot of people overlook them. I’ve personally never seen them but they are definitely on my radar now. Perfect cigar to throw into a blind tasting!

A corona sized cigar with another oddly tapered, or maybe pointed, head. The wrapper is a nice mild chocolate color with lots of definition but no major veins. The wrapper gives off a sweet tobacco and barnyard aroma, the foot is closed with wrapper lead so not much of a difference in aroma there. Pre-light draw is mostly cedar with a bit of spice on the lips.

Had a bit of a tough time getting this lit. Initial draws are packed with cedar with some subtle coffee notes. The cigar is leaving a dryness on the back of my throat that I’m not too fond of. There’s not much interesting going on in the retrohale right now, very small bite and some cedar/tobacco flavors. Body is almost in the medium range for me so far.

Having a hard time keeping the cigar lit, keeps tunneling on me. The current temperature out here of about 17F might have something to do with that… The coffee flavors have developed a little more and I’m getting some nutmeg type spices. a nice change. Unfortunately the dryness on the back of my throat is still an issue but nothing to toss this cigar away for.

Around the half-way point some of the dryness seemed to stop, not completely but much improved. The coffee flavors developed a bit more into a nice espresso type of note and some leather and sweetness came into the mix. The body is slowing building up and the bite on the retrohale got a little more aggressive too but with a nice espresso finish. The burn also got much better in the last half.

With about two inches left I’m getting a new flavor I can’t quite pinpoint that is very tasty. It’s almost like maybe freshly baked goods, interesting! Definitely some more woodsy flavors, nutmeg and the espresso is turning into a bit of a bitter espresso, but not in a bad way. It finished off with mostly a sweet and bitter espresso flavor. Just an awesome finish, it was so tasty it could easily be compared to drinking a nice hot espresso. I kept expecting it to turn bitter but it never happened. Finished super smooth and damn tasty.

I have absolutely no guess on this one. It started off decent with some straightforward flavors and a dryness on my throat but really started to shine about halfway in. I can’t stress how good the last 2 inches was, tons of flavor and amazingly smooth finish.

REVEAL: Tatuaje Black Jar Release

Post Reveal Notes: A Tatuaje Black! Awesome! A Very rare gem and I’m very glad I had the chance to try it. Thanks so much for this one DK! Even though the start wasn’t as exciting the finish was just fantastic!

Click here to compare to Tony’s review of the Tatuaje Black OG Jar Release

A nice looking Grand Corona sized cigar with an interesting looking wrapper. The wrapper has lots of definition to it. Each vein, no matter how small, seems highlighted in a light brown color against the wrapper mainly milk-chocolately wrapper. The head is finished with a pigtail and there are definitely a few soft spots along the cigars body. The wrapper gives off an aroma of sweet cocoa while the foot is more barnyard scented with some hints of spice.

Pre-light draw is more barnyard and a touch of spice. Initial draws offer me a blast of pepper with some subtle coffee notes. I think there may be a Pepin influence going on here… The spice slowly started fading as the cigar progressed and the coffee notes made a more prominant appearence with nutmeg-life spice. Burn has been razor sharp since lighting. The ash is also very nice and clean and holds on just past an inch.

The cigar seems to be right at the edge of medium so far with a nice bite and cedar finish on the retrohale. At about the half-way point the pepper is still kicking around with the coffee and nutmeg. Hasn’t changed much but I’m enjoying the current balance. The pepper fades in and out of strength now and then, but it’s always there.

As I got into the last third the pepper and body both kicked it up a notch. The coffee and nutmeg is still around but it’s taking a backseat to the pepper. Can’t say I’ve had this specific cigar before but I’m almost 100% sure it’s a Pepin blend, maybe one of the 601 or DPG lines.

REVEAL: Ashton Benchmade Cazadore

Post-Reveal Notes: Looks like I was right! The infamous Pepin definitely did have a hand in blending these cigars. They are super budget friendly and pack an interesting mix of flavors. I’ve heard about them but always overlooked them as “just another budget cigar”. But they can definitely stand alone as a good smoke!

So if you actually made it down this far thanks for reading! This was yet another fun Blind Review Experience! Tony and I were thinking of setting up a blind review with some of our readers, would anyone be interested in participating? Let us know via comments or even email us directly!

The post Daniel’s Blind Review Challenge appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Garo Habano Los Lectores

The Los Lectores comes in 6 sizes:

Robusto “G” (6.25×54), “R” Robusto (4.75×52), “T” Torpedo (6.5×52), Churchill (7.48), DC (7.5×54) and Salomon (7×58)

You can notice that all the sizes are fairly large ring gauges and as mentioned, the one up for review today is the Churchill. I was hoping to end this string of reviews on a high note but unfortunately this cigar was not the shining star of the bunch. I’m lighting this up on a sunny day and hoping to settle in for a long enjoyable smoke…

Garo Habano Los Lectores

Cigar: Garo Habano Los Lectores
Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Vitola: Churchill (7×48)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Ligero Cubano / Seco Piloto
Price: $8.00 from Garo Habano Website
Burn Time: ??? Did not fully burn either sample

Construction:
• Fairly even and round throughout, one sample had a very soft 2 inch spot near the foot
• Light brown colored wrapper
• No major veins
• Small crack in wrapper just above the band, nothing major
• Messy triple cap
• Tightly packed foot but there is one small hole, hope it doesn’t cause any tunneling
• Fairly soft when squeezed throughout
• Draw is a very open
• Draw improved about half-way through

Burn:
• Messy at the start, the wrapper is bubbling just past the burn and is quite wavy
• Needing extra attention to stay lit near the first couple inches
• Lots of canoeing that needed attention
• Cigar went out just past halfway point and needed re-lighting
• After going out twice more and cutting it once I tossed the stick with over 2 inches left
• Also tossed the second sample early due to more burn problems

Garo Habano Los Lectores

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper and foot both have a barnyard/hay aroma
• Pre-light draw left a strong peppery flavor on lips and tongue, with an added hay flavor
• Initial draws offered none of the pepper I was expecting from the pre-light draw, mostly just a simple tobacco flavor and some burning wood taste
• Retrohale is very mild and smooth with a short finish, again just tobacco flavor so far
• The burning wood flavor turned to a woodsy/cedar flavor
• Flavors went very bitter after the re-light, let’s hope they come back
• Flavors came back after about 6 or 7 draws
• More relights and nothing but bitterness, nowhere near enjoyable anymore
• Even before relights the flavors were very bland and boring

Final Thoughts:
This was a disappointing cigar. The other Garo’s may have been one dimensional but they did have decent flavor. This particular cigar suffered from multiple flaws in flavor, burn, draw and construction. I’d be curious to hear if anyone else has tried one of these and if they had the same problems I did. Perhaps a smaller Vitola would do away with some of the problems I experienced?

Pairings:
I can’t suggest a great pairing for this cigar simply because of the problems I encountered. If I had to go by what the website says, the Ligero would likely need a good strong pairing like coffee or scotch to be well balanced.

The post Garo Habano Los Lectores appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Baritone (4.5×52) – Tenor (5.5×52) – Alto (6×50) – Soprano (6.5×52)

Garo Habano Maduro

Garo Habano Maduro

Cigar: Garo Habano Maduro
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Alto (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Piloto Cubano
Price: $5.40 from the Garo Habano website
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Very bumpy wrapper with two large veins
• A nice dark brown color but no oily sheen which I see on most Maduro’s
• Slightly messy triple cap
• Slightly springy and even firmness throughout
• Very open draw…

Burn:
• Very bad start, started to canoe, gave it an inch to fix itself but never did. Needed a major touch up
• After touch up, the burn was still wavy
• Another canoe at the halfway point but it fixed itself
• Big tunnel right at the band that caused the cigar to go out and needed a re-light
• More tunneling problems as I smoke through the last few inches, also having problems keeping it lit
• Needed another relight about 1.5 inches from the end
• Tunnels/Canoes seemed to affect both my samples, one of them had a hard time staying lit because of it

Garo Habano Maduro

Ash:
• Very flaky
• The massive amount of flaking makes it very weak and little pieces of ash are falling off all over me
• Light grey in color

Tasting Notes:
• Dry aroma on the wrapper is sweet coca
• More sweet cocoa on the foot with an added hint of coffee
• Initial draws are strong notes of coffee and a hint of bitter cocoa
• The bitter cocoa flavors got stronger when I reached the band, leaving a nice finish on the palate
• The body started off mild and has approached the medium range near the end
• Retrohale throughout the cigar has been sweet tobacco with a small bite and short finish
• Harsh bitterness creeping in after the last relight

Garo Habano Maduro

Pairing Suggestions:
This cigar was a good pairing with the Mill Street coffee porter I had. It’s a light porter with mild flavors. I wouldn’t opt for anything strong or overly flavored since the cigar has plenty of flavors to offer. A good option would be a similarly light beer, a diet soda, water or a light red wine like Beaujolais. I would personally stay away from stronger drinks like scotch or cognac since this is a lighter cigar.

Garo Habano Maduro

Garo Habano Maduro

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Garo Habano Centum

Robusto (4.75×52), Corona (5.5×42), Toro (6.52), Churchill (7×48), and Salomon (7.5×58)

You can read a little bit more about the Garo Habano Centum by visiting their website at www.garohabano.com. The cigar comes wrapped with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I was excited to try this one out since I’ve had some great smokes that have wrappers from Ecuador. The description on the site also had some nice notes in it like toast, cocoa and espresso.

I’ve added a new section at the bottom of this review for pairings. Let me know what you all think of that little section at the bottom. If I get good feedback I’ll keep adding it to my reviews to help give you all some suggestions on what to pair the cigars with.

Garo Habano Centum

Cigar: Garo Habano Centum
Drink: Taylor Fladgate 10 year old Tawny Port
Vitola: Robusto (4.75 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.00/stick from the Garo Habano Website
Burn Time: 1.25 Hours

Construction:
• Very nice orange and cream colored band, almost antique looking with lots of little detail
• Very appealing medium brown and oily wrapper
• Two large veins running down the sides that will likely cause burn issues
• Cleanly applied double cap
• Foot has some holes in it and some of the filler appears to be very dark brown, almost black in color
• The bit of dark filler was also under the cap after cutting
• Consistent firmness throughout with a bit of spring to it
• Pre-light draw was very open on one sample, others were just right
• Lots of glue under the band and it caused a small tear in the wrapper, didn’t cause any major problems though

Garo Habano Centum

Smoke:
• Big mouthful of smoke
• Very light resting smoke

Ash:
• Light grey in color
• A bit of flaking
• Held on for over 1.5 inches

Garo Habano Centum

Final Thoughts:
The tasting notes on the website promise a variety of flavors (espresso, toast, cocoa) and complexity that I did not pick up in this cigar, the flavor was pretty straight forward. As with all my Garo’s so far, the flavors have been quite enjoyable. The downside is that they never change throughout the cigar. Let me be clear that this is not necessarily a bad thing. It is just a preference of mine to have some dimension to a cigar. The body never passed medium and it wasn’t overly complex, which makes this a good early day or beginner’s cigar.

Pairing Suggestions:
I paired this with some Tawny port and thought it made an ‘okay’ match. The flavors in a port are usually quite strong and sometimes very sweet and I find they match better with a full bodied cigar. The Habano wrapper made me think this was going to have a little more body than it did. A good red wine such as a merlot, or a dark porter/stout would make an excellent pairing. Light beers would not mix well. For non-alcoholic pairings, I’d suggest a diet soda.

Garo Habano Centum

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