Prelight: Cigar #9 starts out with a very smooth, consistent, yellowish brown wrapper. This could be some good Connecticut, Ecuadorian, Sumatran, or maybe even Cuban. The construction on this cigar is spot on bearing only one large vein between the body and the seamless, round double cap. And I use the term “double cap” loosely cause quite frankly, I can’t even tell if it’s double or triple. The cigar feels extremely hard when compressed. All except the foot which is very squishy. The wrapper feels really delicate and I am scared to handle it too much for fear of tearing or breakage.

This cigar is really holding back on its prelight aroma. I can barely get a slight cedar scent from the wrapper. So light that I can’t tell if it’s the actual cigar, or just some aroma it picked up from my humidor. The foot give off a very interesting sweet smell. It’s not something I smell too often in cigars. It’s a lot lighter and I can’t really smell much of the tobacco. It almost smells like sweet bread mixed with clean sheets or something. Really strange I know, and I am pulling really far its true. But, it’s worth noting that the small amount of aroma that I am pulling from this cigar isn’t one that I come across too often. The cap of this cigar cut super easy. Like, crazy easy. It felt as if I didn’t even need a cutter. The cold draw is really dry, and gives off an almost mossy leather type flavor. Don’t be turned off by that though. I picked up the same flavor in my review of the AVO LE10 and absolutely loved the cigar.

First Smoke: Lighting of the cigar was cake. And what some REALLY strange flavors I am pulling out of this thing. First, it started off with a really strange Marijuana type flavor (no joke). After the first few draws that changed into a charred, burn type flavor. All that before balancing out to a mossy, leather, creamy woodsy flavor with this neat little kick of spice that I can only feel during the aftertaste. The cigar gives off some slight stationary smoke, but it’s VERY pungent with a strong woodsy and spice aroma.  The burnline is a very sharp, but wavy at times. Nothing too concerning though as it leaves behind a very light grey trail of flaky ash. Remarkably, the ash held on well over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Interesting enough, the second third of this blind cigar is being totally dominated by this strong cashew flavor. My mouth seriously tastes like I have been smoking cigars and eating mixed nuts for the last 3 hours.  Outside of that I am still getting the same mossy, wet wood flavors I was getting in the first third and just a pinch of the spice on the aftertaste along with this slight metallic taste. The retrohale on this cigar is strange to me. I’m not really pulling strong spice and cedar from this cigar, but the retrohale is just that. It’s enjoyable though and gives a nice change up in the cigar’s profile. I am not feeling much of any nicotine at all from this cigar. The burnline still has some slight waves, but is overall doing a good job correcting itself. Believe it or not, I am actually feeling a little nicotine kick from this cigar.

Finish:  Down to the last third of this blind cigar, and overall it’s been very interesting. The flavor mash-ups while, not ideal, really keep you on your toes. The main flavor now has resolved to the mossy wet wood flavor more than the cashew. The cashew is still in there, but it’s really toned down a lot as the body began to ramp up. I am not finally getting some of the cedar flavor too, but it may be too little too late. I would have liked this a lot more upfront to balance out the moss taste. This cigar really took a lot longer then I thought to burn, ending up at a total of an hour and a half smoking time. Burnline was dead even by the end of the experience and required no touch ups, or relights what so ever.

Overview: Overall this was a good cigar. It’s definitely a departure from what I am used to smoking, but that doesn’t make it a bad cigar. The flavors aren’t something you come across everyday which made me really want to smoke more of the cigar and really pull to see what else I could pick up. The body ramp up at the end was really nice, but like I said, I really wish some of the cedar flavors came though a little more. It’s almost as if the cigar never really got it’s chance to shine.

So what did I think it was? PSh, who knows. I really had a hard time with this one as it probably isn’t anything that I have ever smoked before and if it is, it’s not anything I have had in while. My first guess would have to be a Tatuaje Ambos Mundos Sumatran. The wrapper on this cigar really had the characteristics of Sumatran Tobacco. Plus, I don’t smoke those often enough to be able to pull them out of a crowd. Second guess? Man, I really don’t know. Maybe a Bolivar Cuban? I haven’t had one of those in a while either, but I do remember them having a little kick of strength with an overall mild composure. Either way, my guesses are swayed very heavily on overall appearance of the cigar cause quite frankly, I really don’t think I have ever smoked this cigar before.

The Reveal: Turns out this cigar was far from my predictions. The Zino Chateau.

First of all. Let me start off by thanking Brooks for honesty. Why you may ask? Well, if any of you have read Brook’s review on this cigar you would know his thoughts on this. I remember reading it when he posted it and being BLOWN away by how honest, and upfront his opinions where on this cigar. In fact, I remember him actually saying “While I have loved a few and have been disappointed by a few (Dominican) Davidoffs in the past, to say this is a “Shitty” cigar would be slandering shit” Woah right? He then goes on to say: “I was going to give one of these away, but decided that would be torture to whoever received it, so count yourselves lucky.”  That’s where his honesty about me comes into play. He obviously sees me as an enemy.

All kidding aside, I am really glad that he sent this stick. As you can read above you can tell I didn’t think this was a great stick. But I also didn’t think it was that bad either. What this does is really confirm two things. 1) That taste is purely subjective. and 2) that I am a complete idiot for my guesses. Both the Tatuaje and the Bolivar didn’t deserve that.

Well, I wont really go into specifics about this cigar. I will say this, it’s probably may more pricey than it’s worth. To read Brook’s full review (which I strongly suggest you do, you’ll get a kick out of it) follow this link.

The post Blind Cigar #9 from Brooks at Smoking Stogie 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.