Now, unless you’ve been under a rock lately, you have probably heard of the Avo line of Limited Edition cigars that are released each year to commemorate Avo Uvezian’s birthday. We’ve covered a bunch of these starting with the 80th from 2006, the LE09 Companero (83rd), the LE10 (84th) and LE12 La Trompeta (86th). Click on any of those to see their reviews.

Now thanks to our good friend Martin I get to bring you our review of the AVO LE11, 85th Annirversary! Martin was kind enough to send this all the way up north through Tony and I finally had some time to sit down, enjoy and take notes for everyone.I’ve had a couple of these before but never jotted down a full review so I figured it was time to do that.

As you might guess, the AVO 85th is to celebrate Avo’s 85th birthday and like most of the limited editions, it was restricted to only 10,000 total cigars world-wide. If you managed to be lucky enough to get a box of these, you would have a beautiful lacquered box with a giant gold “85th” printed on the front, very classy!

The Avo Limiteds have always been excellent so that leaves a lot of expectations for this cigar to live up to. I’m sitting outside today to enjoy this cigar and am really looking forward to it, so lets jump on in and see what it has to offer.

Cigar: AVO 85th Anniversary
Drink: Sleeman Honey Brown Lager
Vitola: Diademas (6.625 x 50)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Dominican
Binder: Peruvian
Filler: San Vicente and Piloto
Price: Gifted by Martin (About $18)
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The two ends of the AVO 85th are tapered to almost the exact same ring gauge and the center of the cigar is perfectly even from end to end
• The cap is completed cleanly with one leaf and it blends seamlessly into the rest of the cigar
• You can’t see much of the foot due to it’s tapered nature but it looks to be very tightly packed from what I can see
• There is a soft springiness through the whole cigar
• I’m finding a few medium sized veins but nothing that looks to be a problem on this velvety smooth wrapper
• The draw is very nice even with the packed tapered foot which surprised me

Burn:
• The tiny foot on this AVO 85th lit up with ease and was evenly toasted in only a few seconds
• I usually run into a bunch of burn problems with a tapered foot like this but it seems to have burned through that section with no problems and stayed even
• I’ve had two minor touch ups as I hit the halfway point but otherwise the cigar has been burning at a nice pace and fairly straight
• A couple more minor touchups as the cigar continues to burn but nothing major to report otherwise

Smoke & Ash:
• Even with the two tapered ends I’m still getting a nice volume of smoke from each draw without needing to draw multiple times
• The ash was looking nice and clean but the tapered piece must have been a bit weaker, it fell off at about a half inch
• The next ash made it up to an inch before I tapped it off, it did look pretty fragile and flaky though
• Color of the ash is mostly light grey although there is a brownish/yellowish type of color in there too
• The ash continued to look a bit weak throughout so I kept tapping it off pretty early to avoid any messes

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper is giving off a soft subtle sweetness in it’s aroma
• The foot is the same subtle sweetness with an added touch of cedar
• Pre-light draw on this Avo 85th brought a bunch more cedar and a bit more sweetness, add to that some light baking spices now
• Initial draws are fairly mild and starting off with some light spice and cedar flavors
• The spices are developing nicely, like nutmeg and cinnamon, nothing too strong
• Retrohale has a tiny tiny bite to it a smooth cedar finish
• The flavor is still smooth and I’m getting some creaminess sneaking in there around the halfway mark
• Starting to get a bit of a leathery taste now and the cedar is fading out a bit, spices are also shifting over to some peppery notes
• Body has picked up a bit but we’re still in the medium range here
• The The spice really picked up near the last third now, lots more pepper sneaking in
• The Avo 85th finished smooth and tastefully with a slight spice kick and cedar

Final Thoughts:
Well I have to say once again that the Avo Limited Edition did not disappoint. The 85th turned out to be another tasty experience that I would go back to try again anytime and recommend it to all. The Avo’s have a way of bringing in lots of complex flavors into a well balanced experience and it never turns out to be muddled. Just smooth creamy flavors. I would have been slightly happier with no touch-ups but they were pretty minor so I can’t knock back too many points for that. The price here will tend to scare away a few customers but that’s the case for pretty much all LE’s. If you feel like spoiling yourself and see an Avo 85th on the shelf at your local shop, just pick it up and enjoy!

Pairings:
Today I went with a simple pairing, mainly because I ran out of other stuff and it was too early in the day to jump into some Port. It is a Sleeman Honey Brown Lager. I won’t dive too far into this beer, but it does have a darn interesting history dating back to 1834 including some bootlegging and smuggling across the border. It was shut down for a long time but eventually restarted using original recipes in 1988. Sapporo Brewery of Japan bought them in 2006. The Honey Brown lagers are simple and classic with clean and crisp flavors including touches of citrus. It’s not a craft brew by any means but it’s good to have a couple in the fridge, I think I like the history of the company more though ;). As for the pairing, the beer was a little overpowered by the flavors in the Avo 85th and I think a tasty Port would have made for the perfect pairing. Coffee would have worked nicely too but it was too damn hot out here!

The post Avo LE11 85th Anniversary appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post La Aurora Cameroon appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Gran Habano Corojo #5

This cigar came to me as part of a sampler pack at a recent herf. I’ve had a few Gran Habano cigars before but never reviewed one. Overall I’ve had good experiences with them. Gran Habano is made by the very experienced hands of Guillermo Rico, a third-generation premium cigar maker who’s leafs have touched the lines of Oliva and many premium leaf brokers in Tampa’s Ybor City. Guillermo operates out of Honduras and runs a successful business under the name of GR Tabaqueras Unida. The Gran Habano line long-filler and hand-made Honduran cigars began in 2003 with 5 cigars, the Corojo #5 being one of them. If you would like to read more about the Gran Habano line, Guillermo Rico, or GR Tabaqueras Unida, head over to www.ghcigars.com

Gran Habano Corojo #5

The Corojo #5 line is Gran Habano’s strongest blend with its rich and complex wrapper. This line is available in a variety of sizes ranging from Churchill down to Lunch Break (Petite Corona) with 8 other sizes in between. All offer a strong cigar full of flavor and spice. I found the Lunch Break to be a good intro to this line since the smaller vitola allowed the flavors of the wrapper to really shine through. It is also a great price point for an everyday full strength cigar.

Cigar: Gran Habano Corojo #5
Drink: King Brewery Dark Lager
Vitola: Lunch Break (Petite Corona) (4 x 40)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano
Binder: Nicaragua Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Mexico, and Costa Rica
Price: $2.40
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• Nice and even diameter throughout
• Wrapper is dark brown with a slightly oily sheen to it
• Clean triple cap with a small pigtail
• Foot looks moderately packed
• Slightly soft but even firmness throughout with a quick spring back
• Some medium veins but none that look problematic
• Clean and easy cut
• Draw is perfect right off the start

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Burn:
• Toasting was a little uneven at first but straightened itself out
• Burn started off nice and even but started to canoe within a half-inch
• Began to fix itself soon after, I let it try before attempting to correct it
• Cigar made an awesome recovery and is back on track
• Burn was a little wavy throughout but usually corrected itself with a couple minor touch-ups here and there
• Felt like the cigar was rushing me a bit, had to give it a little extra attention
• Cigar went out once near the end but re-lit easily with no harshness

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke off this little cigar
• Not too much resting smoke
• Ash is light gray but fairly weak
• Lots of flaking happening
• Although flaky and weak looking, ash held on past 1.5inches

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper smells slightly woodsy with a definite peppery spice
• Foot has the same woodsy aroma but much less spice to it
• Lots of pepper on the lips is evident right away
• Pre-light draw is mostly woodsy flavors with a bit of pepper
• Initial draws are earthy, woodsy and a bit of peppery spice
• Leaving a bit of dryness on the back of my throat
• Retrohale is surprisingly mild so far and smooth, just woodsy/cedar like flavors
• About two inches in, flavor hasn’t changed much but it has balanced out. The cedar came through and the spice took a backseat, although still there.
• Around the halfway mark I started tasting a toasted bread type of flavor
• Body has been mostly medium through the cigar
• Past the halfway mark, the retrohale started to get some bite to it, but still smooth
• As I burn through the last two inches, the peppery flavor has come back strong and is paired mainly with leathery type of flavor
• Body has ramped up to full at this point as well

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Final Thoughts:
Minus the few burn problems this was a great little cigar, especially considering the amazing price point. It offered a full bodied smoke with lots of flavor and spice to it. The variety of vitolas available will also satisfy any cigar enthusiast allowing them to choose their favorite. It surprised me that such a full bodied and inexpensive smoke had no harshness right down to the nub, even after re-lighting. The length of the burn time was also quite good for this vitola, coming in at 1.5 hours. The name might be a little misleading, I don’t get 1.5 hour lunch breaks! haha! I wouldn’t recommend this to novice cigar smokers as the body may be a little strong but would work very well as a mid-day or late day smoke for the veteran smoker. Definitely give this cigar a try, the peppery notes are not my favorite flavor profile but I did enjoy this particular blend as it wasn’t over powering and will be picking up more very soon. If you are also not a fan of peppery cigars, try a slightly larger ring guage which might bring the body down a bit.

Gran Habano Corojo #5

Pairings:
The beer I paired this with is a straight up Dark Lager, there’s nothing special to it and no flavors to it other than the normal malt/hop. It’s a decent no frills dark ale and fairly cheap. It’s also brewed very close to my house, about a 10min drive away and the only real local brewery to me. So although not my favorite dark beer, I like to support my local businesses and there’s something appealing to it’s straight forward flavoring at times. A dark beer paired fairly well with this cigar, some other choices for me would have been tawny port or scotch/cognac. They would have been even better matches to the body and flavor or this cigar. Some strong coffee or sweet tea could have also made a good match.

Gran Habano Corojo #5 and King Brewery Dark Lager

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