Earlier this year, General Cigar Co. expanded the Vault line with two new releases: Vault E-021 and Vault W-009. The W-009 features a Nicaraguan Sungrown wrapper over Honduran binder and filler tobaccos. Available in 5 ½ by 54 and 6 by 50, the W-009 comes with a reasonable price tag of $6.49 for both sizes.

The Casas Fumando crew has previously reviewed the Vault A-008 and Vault D-042.

THE FACTS

Price: $6.49
Size: 5 ½ by 54
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa Sungrown
Binder: Honduran Jamastran
Filler: Honduran Jamastran and La Entrada
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 15 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Toraño Vault W-009 is dressed in a medium brown, mottled Nicaraguan Sungrown wrapper leaf. Oils glisten in the light from the wrapper that has a few medium sized veins and tons of small web like veins. As I examine the cigar for any soft spots, I can easily feel the oils on my fingertips. The cigar is evenly and firmly filled from top to bottom.

Aromas of chocolate, barnyard, and graham cracker are found on the wrapper, while chocolate, cedar, and raisin are come across from the foot of the cigar. After a quick cut through the cap, big notes of rich cedar show up on the cold draw and a faint cinnamon flavor, but there is hardly any type of spice. Two additional cuts are required to open up a manageable draw. 

FIRST THIRD

The Vault W-009 opens with a combination of damp earth, sweet bread and heavy black pepper. The spice heat is minimal in the mouth, but picks up a little as I retrohale the smoke. A saltiness also make an appearance on the retrohale. The burn, which started off with a slight wave, is nice and even now, forming a black and white layered ash.

MIDDLE THIRD

Starting out the second third of the Vault W-009, the earth and black pepper gain ground with the sweetness trying to keep up. A more woodsy flavor has also arrived, along with a sour quality in the profile. With the new sour quality, the profile has lost some of its balance. Leather and coffee are heavy on the finish and lingers for quite some time. Finishing up the second third, I am beginning to feel a bit of strength. The burn isn’t as even as earlier, but nowhere near requiring any type of attention.

FINAL THIRD

The sweetness has returned kicking out the sourness and rounding out the profile and is now back on par with the earth and leather that is still holding strong . The finish remains dark and is a bit dry as I near the end of this 5 1/2 by 54 Toraño Vault W-009. There is an added touch of pencil shavings in the final inch that sticks around to the final puff. 

WRAP-UP

The Toraño Vault W-009 presents flavors one may expect from the Nicaraguan wrapper and Honduran internals with the earth/leather and spice that were noted throughout the smoke. But the sweet bread rounded out the profile and added a bit of uniqueness to the blend. The cigar lost some of its rhythm in the second third when the sour quality moved in, but it was short lived as the sweetness came back around shortly after and balanced out the cigar for the remainder of the smoke. In one of the cigars smoked for review, the sweetness dropped out in the second third and never really made a full recovery, leaving the profile lacking and off balanced. Good smoke production, a mostly even burn, and a firm ash characterized the performance of the Toraño Vault W-009. With such a reasonable price point, I wouldn’t mind sitting on a handful of these to see how the profile develops over time.

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This is according to House of Emilio’s website:

Epicurean Cigars was created under the careful eye of Steven Ysidron with its focus on handcrafted small batch salon cigars.  Steven started making cigars in the late 1980’s with his father and the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic.  His passion for the long forgotten art of making hand-rolled cigars stems from four generations of his Cuban cigar making heritage that has been reborn in the Epicurean brand.

In 1999, Steven and his family started producing cigars in Nicaragua.  The richness and bold aromas that are characteristic to Nicaraguan tobacco became Steven’s preferred filler for creating top quality sticks today.

Steven knows what it takes to blend and create a premium cigar and proudly offers 3 distinct boutique blends culminating his 24 years of industry experience: “AG” Armando Guiterrez Vintage 2007, named after his Cuban grandfather who inspired the brand, Gonzo Vintage 2007 and AG Azul 2008 Vintage.  Only 700 boxes are produced per size per vintage.

All tobaccos have been aged for 4 years after rolled to blend and marinate to perfection. Steven believes you cannot rush true quality and that this process is the only way to successfully deliver the very best in tobacco flavor.  Whether Epicurean cigars are already on your list of favorite sticks or you are looking forward to trying one soon, these unique blends crafted with Cuban tradition will always leave a lasting impression.

The Facts
Samples Provided by House of Emilio
Vitola: Justus
Size: 6 by 60
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun-Grown Habano
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan Jalapa and Esteliano
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes

Pre-light

The AG Azul Vintage 2008  wears a dark tan sun-grown Habano wrapper that is mostly consistent in color. The tan color does nothing to hide the characteristic of the leaf. The cigar has three medium to large veins and it is rather bumpy. Upon removing the cedar sleeve, I am met with aromas of manure, vinegar, and some sweetness.

The foot has notes of black licorice, pepper, and cedar. The cigar is evenly and firmly packed through and through. Due to the larger ring gauge, I make a shallow cut on the neatly applied double cap. The cold draw has a cinnamon spice, cedar, and pepper. The spice is leaving a slight tingle on my lips. The draw is a little more restrictive than preferred but I will see how it smokes before I cut any deeper.

First Third

After taking my time evenly lighting this 60 ring gauge stick, it is off to the races with dark notes of pepper and cedar. Earthy tones and coffee are on the finish of the smoke. The pepper is really getting to me on the retrohale. I am having to fight off a sneeze each time but I am still enjoying it. At the inch and a half mark, the flavors have lightened and the cedar is now much warmer and richer. A slight sweetness is contrasting the darker notes quite nicely. The eyeliner burn is performing well leaving behind a salt and pepper ash. I am already noticing some strength, which I seem to be more sensitive to on spicier cigars.

Middle Third

Pulling into the second third of the Azul, the flavors continue to balance out and have become almost refreshing. While I would say the main notes are still in place, the flavors are intertwining well. At this point in the cigar, the retrohale is one of the most enjoyable retrohales I have come across. The smoke is smooth as it passes through my sinus passage with the same notes of cedar and pepper but without the edge. There is some underlying cocoa on the finish and I would like to see it play a larger role before the end of the cigar. The burn is right on and the ash is holding way past an inch. No touch-ups have been needed thus far.

Final Third

The smoke production has been just awesome. The smallest puff produces a satisfying amount of smoke. The peppery spice has stepped up its game from the middle third being right in the front of the profile. Some yeasty, bread-like notes are accompanying the cedar and the cocoa is still hanging out on the finish. The sweetness I mentioned earlier has really picked up and there is tad of bitterness as I get down to the last inch and half. The burn-line is edgy as I put the cigar down for the final time.

Wrap-up

The performance of the AG Azul 2008 was exceptional, allowing me to sit back and relax for almost 2 hours. The cedar and pepper made up the core of the profile but the shifts in the intensity of the spice, sweetness, and cocoa finish made this an engaging ride. The flavors were medium/full and the strength ended right around the same range. While the availability online seems quite limited, you should be able to find some available for around $10 with a little searching. If the profile seems like it would fit your taste, I recommend that you pick a couple up and give them a try. If I stumble across these in the future, I would be glad to visit this cigar again. 

The post Epicurean Cigars – AG Azul Vintage 2008 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Quesada’s Jalapa is the follow-up release to their incredibly successful Seleccion Espana line. The Seleccion Espana was a blend released in Europe which catered to their more common, Cubanesque flavor profiles. Well, some of these cigars managed to find their way into the hands of people here in the states and the buzz about this blend blew up. I personally smoked my fair share of them. Quesada had to react. Since the Espana was a European release  Quesada then took the blend, and basically took the blend and swapped the wrapper, and then released it into the US. The Espana carries a very rare, very pricey Ecuadorian Arapiraca wrapper making the price of the stick much higher. This is fine in the Cuban-filled European markets, but the US needed something that would drop the price down while maintaining or enhancing the cigar’s flavor. What they came up with was a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper which the US is much more familiar with.

This limited edition cigar comes in 3 sizes: Robusto (4 7/8 x 50), Belicoso (6 1/8 x 52) and Prominente (7 5/8 x 49). They are packaged in boxes of 10 and limited to only 1,000 boxes of each format. Although this cigar was released last year in August they can still be easily found on a lot of shelves across the states for between $8 – $9.50. The blend starts out with a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, Dominican Binder, and Nicaraguan and Dominican Fillers.

Considering that we are dealing with Quesada and the MATASA factory, it goes without saying that this cigar carries top notch construction. The wrapper starts out with perfectly consistent, with a honey-brown color that really showcases all the oils the Jalapa carries. The slender body is polished of with a beautiful, round triple cap. Seriously, you can rub the oils from this cigar off on your finger tips.  Although the wrapper feels a bit fragile the cigar didn’t give much as I squeezed it between my fingers. Right off the bat I am greeted with lots of sweetness and some strong black pepper. The pepper faded right away and then left me with a very smooth, very creamy cedar, sweet, earthy tobacco flavor. One thing I enjoyed about the Espana was how remarkably smooth the experience was and the Jalapa mimics that experience every step of the way. As the cigar progressed notes of cashew and even some really soft mint came and went while the finish was just as smooth and creamy as the start. I never had any issues with the burn on any of the Jalapas I have smoked. In fact, the ash and burnline have been some of the best I have seen in recent cigars. It took me a little over an hour each time to take down the Robusto format and about an hour and half on the Belicoso. Needless to say I enjoyed every minute of it. The Jalapa left me with no nicotine kick or harshness. I have smoked about 10 of the Robusto and a handful of the Belicoso. Although I have never smoked the Prominente, I would have to say the Belicoso was my favorite from the two I had smoked. It produced a smoother experience with, what I felt was more cedar character.

So is the Jalapa a good replacement for the Espana? In a value and market sense, totally. Is it better than the Espana? In my opinion it is not. I absolutely LOVE the Espana, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good cigar. In fact, It’s a GREAT cigar. And for the price point I think that this stick, despite it’s availability should find it’s way in anyone’s humidor. It’s light, balanced, and smooth while it carries a lot of bold flavor that will appease any palate.

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