The Good Stuff:

As I stated in my review of the Long Live the King, Caldwell cigars are non-existent in these parts, but thanks to our friends at Fox Cigar Bar I was finally able to wrangle up a few. Caldwell cigars is the brain child of Robert Caldwell who is best know for his partnership with Christian Eiroa running Wynwood cigars. Last year the partnership had dissolved and Robert has since teamed up with Henderson and William Ventura of Tabacalera Ventura in the Dominican Republic to create his newest blends. One note is that Caldwell cigars often uses rare tobaccos and vintages to create their blends. The Eastern Standard features a Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano (Dark Connecticut), a Habana Dominicano Binder, and Criollo ’98 Viso Dominicano, Corojo Dominicano Ligero, and Habano Seco Nicaraguense fillers.

The Eastern Standard comes packaged in boxes of 24 and is offered in three standard sizes: The Euro Express (5.5 x 44), the Corretto (5 x 50), and the Cream Crush (48 x 7) running between $9 and $11 a stick. There is also one limited edition size called the Silk Road (7.5 x 40) which runs $12 per stick with only 500 boxes of 24 produced and features a tweaked version of the original blend. On top of that, there is a shop exclusive size out there called the Marble House (5 x 40) which features the same tweaked blend as the Silk Road, and is only available at Maxamar’s Ultimate Cigars of Orange, California which comes in boxes of 37 and runs $7.50 per stick. I got a handful of the Euro Express format over from our friends at Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert, Arizona.

Size: 5.5 x 44
Wrapper: Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano
Binder: Habana Dominicano 2005
Filler: Criollo ’98 Viso Dominicano 2008 (30%), Corojo Dominicano Ligero 2006 (30%), Habano Seco Nicaraguense 2007 (40%)
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Price: $9
Pairing: Ommegang/Boulevard Spiced Saison (Saison 7.3% ABV)

Prelight:

I absolutely love the look of not only the bands, but the ruggedness of the Caldwell Cigars and the Eastern Standard is no exception. Starting with the rough, rugged texture the wrapper features a mix of medium to dark brown colors with some slight natural leaf webbing. The Eastern Standard carries some mild oils and a few larger veins running through the course of the cigar’s body to its round, stubby pig tailed, triple cap. The cigar is very firm and tightly packed with a bit of sponginess around the foot. The wrapper is a lot more dense than I come to expect with Connecticut leaf and is very firm to the touch. The Eastern Standard features a simple band with a sketched portrait of an older gentleman in black and white, surrounded by the words “Eastern – Live East” and “Standard – Die Young”.

The wrapper on the Caldwell Eastern Standard gives off almost no aroma. I really had to reach for it and all I pulled out was some soft cedar. The foot of the cigar is modest in aroma too but I was able to get some sweetness, spice, and natural tobacco from it. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produced a really piney, cedary, grassy mixture of flavors with some slight pepper at the tail end of it. The cigar lit up clean and easy using my S.T. Dupont Maxijet lighter.

First Third:

The first few puffs of the Caldwell Eastern Standard showcased some great, unexpended black pepper backed by a ton of sweet cedar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and earthiness. I wasn’t expecting the cigar to start out with as much flavor as it did. The draw on the Eastern Standard is awesome, each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of very thick, white smoke which take forever to dissipate while the cigar gives off almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and perfectly even leaving behind a trail of bright white ash which held up for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The flavors in the Caldwell Eastern Standard have taken a step back into the second third, becoming milder and much more creamier. The cigar leads with some great cedar and brown sugar still with some nice creamed coffee notes, spice notes, and some slight grassy/earthiness buried in there. The retrohale rocks, coating my nasal passage with a really smooth cedar and cashew which I don’t really pick up in the standard experience. The cigar is still burning clean and even leaving me with absolutely no nicotine kick as I close out the second third.

Finish:

The body and strength have ramped it up a bit into the final third of the Caldwell Eastern Standard. The cedar has turned into more of a musky oak while the spice and earthiness are still rocking on with some nice coffee underneath. There isn’t a lot of changeups in the flavor profile of this cigar, but the flavors have remained enjoyable. It took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor any type of nicotine kick through the entire experience.

Overview:

The Caldwell Eastern Standard is a great mild cigar. It’s not going to wow you in the flavor department, nor is it going to punch you in the face with strength, and that’s ok. Let the other cigars in their portfolio do that. The Eastern Standard delivers a solid smoking experience. While I tend to gravitate more towards bolder cigars, I can see having a few of the Eastern Standard in my rotation for the times I am craving a mild smoke, especially early in the morning or early afternoon. The price point is a bit high on this one for me, but that goes along with Caldwell’s reach into rare and limited tobaccos. Pick a few up, let me know what you think.

Pairing:

Tis the season for Saisons! That being said, there are two breweries in the U.S. who brew up Belgian style, Saisons like no other. Those two breweries are Ommegang from New York, and Boulevard from Kansas City and they both teamed up to create the 7.5% ABV Spiced Saison. The Spiced Saison is almost closer to a tripel in terms of flavor in my opinion, leading with lots of celery, citrus, banana, and brown sugar with a dense mouthfeel before finishing crisp with some nice lemon, caramel, and more fruity goodness. This was a refreshing pairing. It’s in the upper 80’s here so I wanted something that wouldn’t be too heavy while adding some great flavors to the Caldwell Eastern Standard and not overpowering it since it’s not the boldest smoke out there, and the Spice Saison was absolutely perfect. This cigar would also pair great with some black coffee, marzen, or a nice porter.

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The Good Stuff: The Cuatro Cinco is one of the first, if not the first limited edition cigar to come out of the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The cigar commemorates 45 years of cigar manufacturing for the company. The Joya de Nicaragua site carries a great explanation about the cigar, blend, and details behind the creation:

Esteli, Nicaragua- 1968 was the year when it all started: the first Premium Nicaraguan cigar was hand-rolled in Estelí under the Joya de Nicaragua seal. With it, the Nicaraguan cigar industry was born and a new era for Premium hand-rolled cigars began. JOYA DE NICARAGUA S.A is proud to honor this achievement with Cuatro Cinco, a Limited Edition cigar.

Cuatro Cinco has been especially crafted to commemorate four and half decades of history of Joya de Nicaragua, its people and the city of Estelí, where it all started. Cuatro Cinco is an authentic Nicaraguan puro, hand rolled in Estelí with tobaccos grown in the region and in Jalapa, with a special 5 year-old ligero that the factory had been saving in its bodegas for this special occasion. As if time wasn’t enough, the filler tobaccos have been specially aged in oak barrels for more than a year to give them distinctive and sophisticated notes, and the silky smooth wrapper and binder are Nicaraguan grown in the Jalapa valley.

“We are very excited about Cuatro Cinco, for this is one of the few Limited Editions we have produced. With this cigar we are capturing the true Nicaraguan Spirit, rich in the tradition that embodies our cigars and that defines us as the archetypal Nicaraguan cigar maker, because before Joya, there was no Nicaraguan cigar. While this cigar promotes our heritage, it is also a celebration of the future and the many years we still have ahead of us. It’s been 45 years already, and we are just getting started!” stated Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, Chairman of JOYA DE NICARAGUA S.A.

Leonel Raudez, General Manager and Head of Production of Joya remarks: “this is also a tribute to the people of Joya, the ones that went and the ones that are still with us, even after 45 years. We Estelianos are proud of contributing to make Nicaraguan tobacco among the best in the world, and to celebrate that, we have made one of the most exceptional cigars we have rolled, using our finest local tobaccos and rolled by a selected few of our talented tabaqueros. The profile of this cigar is nothing like what we’ve produced, although the richness and complexity of the Nicaraguan grown tobaccos still predominates”.

Cuatro Cinco will be available in a single vitola: a 6 x 54 semi-box pressed in 10-count boxes. As a Limited Edition, only 4,500 boxes of Cuatro Cinco are being produced each one numbered to guarantee exclusivity. The initial batch will start shipping in the first week of November 2013 to special Joya customers in the United States and around the world.

That pretty much sums it up. I’ve always been a huge favor of JdN. The blends, the tradition, and the flawless construction we have grown to expect from the company always makes for a treat. Thanks goes out to our friends and Drew Estate for shooting a few samples of these my way. Let’s dive in.

Size: 6 x 54
Wrapper: Jalapa Nicaraguan
Binder: Jalapa Nicaraguan
Filler: Jalapa and Esteli Nicaraguan
Strength: Full
Body: Full
Price: $13.00
Pairing: Ommegang Adoration (Belgian Strong Dark Ale 10% ABV)

Prelight: The Cuatro Cinco carries such a beautiful wrapper. The wrapper is a medium brown/dark brown/orange calico looking thing. It really shows off the character of the leaf with the color patches as well as some dark webbing and only the smallest of veins. The wrapper is silky smooth to the touch, but quite thin and fragile. Each of the samples I received had a tiny bit of wrapper damage around the foot. Nothing worrisome in the least. The cigar is packed very firm with a soft-box-press technique that is almost unnoticeable.  It makes for a really comfortable feel in both the hand and the mouth though. The Cuatro Cinco is polished off with a round double cap and a beautiful black, white, and gold band with the Joya De Nicaragua logo, a “Cuatro Cinco” crest as well as the words “Edicion Limitada” and “1968 – 2013” and a sketched print of hands rolling a cigar on the back. The whole presentation is just killer, I love it.

The wrapper gives off a bit of natural tobacco and spice while the foot of the cigar screams of strong spice aromas with a bit of earthiness mixed in. The cap took a bit of extra pressure from my Palio to clip through, but the cut was clean. The cold draw was really flavorful kicking out  a great deal of spice, sweetness, and berry notes.

First Smoke: Joya de Nicaragua’s Cuatro Cinco started out with some soft black pepper which caught me off guard as I was expecting there to be much, much more. The pepper faded pretty quickly and I was left with a very strong natural tobacco flavor with some spice, leather, and a nice black cherry flavor.  The draw is incredible. Each tiny, little puff pumps out a massive cloud of thick, white smoke. The cigar pours out a whole mess of stationary smoke as well as it sits in my ashtray. The burnline is a bit jagged, but not concerning while the ash left behind is very compact, and bright white in color. It held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: As I enter the second third of the Cuatro Cinco a really strange acidic flavor started to come off the wrapper and onto my lips. It’s not off-putting, just not something I have ever experienced before. Along with the acidic flavor there is also a slight citrus zest I am picking up from the wrapper as well. All that is secondary to the strong natural tobacco, black cherry, and earthy flavors. The sweetness has since dropped out of the mix. The draw is still spot on and the burnline has completely corrected itself and is now burning dead even. The retrohale is very sharp and although I can’t pick up any more pepper in my draws it’s clearly evident and up front in the retrohale. I am feeling a bit of the nicotine as I close out the second third of the Cuatro Cinco, but nothing too heavy.

Note: As I peeled off the band on the Cuatro Cinco I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a complex double band. The bottom band being a beautiful, elegant gold band with a beautiful pattern of small Joya De Nicaragua Logos, and the cover band being the black portion with a nice old, black and white photo of the Joya De Nicaragua Rolling floor with the words “Handmade by Nicaraguans, joyacigars.com” on the inside:

Finish:  Wow, the body of the Cuatro Cinco really ramps up in the final third and this is where the cigar really starts to shine. While the spice has been pretty modest in the experience it takes front and center in the final third with strong cinnamon, and nutmeg notes mixing in with some strong cedar, berry, all laid over the natural tobacco and earthy notes. The cigar has been great, but the final third is fantastic and really puts it over the top. The burnline had it’s share of inconsistencies, but I never had to pull out my lighter so I’m not complaining. The cigar finished very strong, and very smooth leaving me with a bit of a nicotine kick.

Overview: Joya de Nicaraguan is celebrating it’s 45^th milestone right. The Cuatro Cinco is a great cigar that really showcases Nicaraguan tobacco as only Joya de Nicaragua can. I loved the construction, flavors, burn, and pretty much everything about the experience. The mix-ups in the flavor profile really kept me on my toes and got me really invested in the experience. The final third just brought the cigar to a whole new level. While the price is a bit steep for some, I could justify spending $13 on this cigar all day considering the experience it delivered. I wish it wasn’t limited, and in my case very hard to find. But the cigar is very box-worthy (I think I will be seeking a box of these out very soon) and something that I think just about anyone would enjoy.

Pairing: Ommegang’s Adoration has quickly become my winter go-to beer. Brewed at the famous Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York this Belgian Style Strong Dark ale comes in at a whopping 10% ABV. IF that wasn’t enough, I can find four packs of these fairly easy locally for about $10 a pop. $2.50 a bottle is unbelievable for the amount of alcohol and flavor you get from these bad boys. Ommegang is one of the very few American Breweries that I feel do Belgian style ales well. And they do them VERY well. The Adoration is a winter beer, staying true to form it leads in with a ton of spice, sweetness, orange peel, cinnamon, and caramel while finishing sharp with a bit of alcohol and a lot of fruit left on my palate. You can see why this made a damn good pairing with the Cuatro Cinco. Be careful though, this beer carries so much flavor it’s easy to pair with a cigar that it would overpower and wash out the cigar experience. Make sure whatever cigar you smoke with the Adoration has a good amount of body or all you will taste is the beer.

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The Good Stuff: It’s hard to believe that it’s only been 10 years since Pete Johnson entered the cigar market. This cigar is made to celebrate his 10 years of premium cigar stardom. To celebrate, Pete decided to re-release the cigar that made him famous, the Brown Label. With the same basic blend Pete released two special sizes to celebrate. The 10^th anniversary comes in two sizes, the Belle Encre which is a 5 3/8 x 42 perfecto and the Bon Chasseur which is a 5 3/8 x 52 Robusto which carries an unfinished foot. These two sizes also get a packaging update replacing the simple brown Tatuaje band with a meatier, brown gold and white band with the words “tattoo” “Tatuaje” “Miami” “Seleccion de Cazador” and “10”  on the front”.

The 10^th anniversary will be produced at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua vs. Miami where the brown label was usually produced. The 10^th anniversary comes packaged in boxes of 20 and run $10 per cigar.  There is also a TAA 2013 exclusive format called the Gran Chasseur which is a 6 3/8 x 54 perfecto and it runs about $11 a stick. I got these over at Bonita Smoke Shop. Again, if you haven’t checked them out, you really should. Amazing selection, amazing prices, and the best customer service around.

Size: 5 3/8 x 42
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium / Full
Body: Medium / Full
Price: $10
Pairing: Ommegang Art of Darkness (Belgian Strong Dark Ale 8.9% ABV)

Prelight: Tatuaje’s 10^th Anniversary Belle Encre carries a crazy dark wrapper. If you look at the side by side wrapper you can actually see a huge color difference between the two. It’s not necessarily the difference in size that causes that, it’s simply the difference of contrast across the wrapper leaf chosen for the blend. The Belle Encre starts with a tapered little foot that quickly expands into the 42 ring gauge. The wrapper carries a lot of medium sized veins as it reaches up to the tapered, triple cap. The wrapper itself screams of reflective oils with some slight tooth. The cigar as a whole is very hard and well packed. I couldn’t find a single soft spot.

The wrapper gives off a whole ton of spice and pepper aromas while the foot of the cigar carries a bit of sweetness with some more spice and tobacco scents. The cap cut  very clean and easy with my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw was really spicy with some awesome sweetness, and syrupy flavors mixed in.

First Smoke: As predicted, the Tatuaje 10^th Anniversary Belle Encre started out with an explosion of spice and black pepper. Once the pepper began to fade off some really sweet tobacco, molasses, cedar, leather and lots of spice were showcased in the first third. The cigar lit up with ease using my single flame butane torch. I feared for a bit that the draw would be tight due to how much tobacco was packed into this little cigar, but it was spot on kicking out just the right amount of thick smoke with every little puff. Usually I get crappy burns through the first third of perfectos but the 10^th anniversary is rocking a razor thin edge and a flawless burnline leaving behind a trail of brilliantly white, and light gray tightly compacted ash which held of for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: The pepper took a bit, but it has finally completely fizzled out of the 10^th anniversary. The sweetness is still rocking hard as well as the molasses as some nice, sharp, cedar has crept in with just a faint leather on the aftertaste. The retrohale is incredibly spicy and very sharp. It’s not very easy so I only found myself doing it once or twice to get the flavor from it. The burnline has a very larger waves that don’t really concern me and I am feeling almost no nicotine as I close out the second third.

Finish: Into the final third there is a note I’d like to add. In each of the Belle Encre that I have smoked I got a little bit if sap/tar/whatever. You know, that really fowl tasting, brownish/black syrup we find on the cap of some of our cigars. Anyhow, I didn’t encounter this with any of the Bon Chasseur’s that I smoked and almost every time I do encounter it, it’s with a tapered cap regardless of the cigar’s make up or manufacturer. That being said, a little attention from my cutter clipping a bit more off the cap cleaned this right up and I was back to smoking cleanly in no time. Now into the final third of Tatuaje’s 10^th anniversary the body of the cigar really ramped up. The flavor profile still carries a lot of sweetness and molasses but the cedar has become much more bold and there was a bit of a pine flavor as well as a ramp up in spice. It’s a great way to end a cigar. The cigar burned perfectly the entire way and required absolutely no attention from my lighter. Don’t let the size fool you, it still too me about 1.75 hours to take this little guy down.

Overview: As always, the Brown Label delivered. I am always reminded of my first Tatuaje’s every time I fire up a brown label and just what it was that made me fall in love with Pete’s work. Complexity, construction, and great flavors while never really being over the top in terms of strength. The 10^th anniversary Belle Encre is a great edition as the format delivers with lots of sweetness and spice. The price is right where you would expect it and will never leave you disappointed. While I wouldn’t go too far out of my way to find this size, It’s a great experience to those of us who really enjoy this blend.

To Sum it Up: As always, this is a great cigar and is always in my regular rotation. The 10^th Anniversary Belle Encre didn’t stand out too much in comparison to other Brown Label blends, but the blend itself is complex enough to always satisfy the seasoned smoker overdoing it with the novice smokers. The price is nested right within the other formats in the brown label line. Box worthy by far.

Pairing: Art of Darkness is a limited edition Belgian Style Dark Strong ale coming out of the Brewery Ommegang in New York. Ommegang has been a long time favorite of mine as it’s one of the only breweries in my opinion that specialize in Belgian style brews. This special beer was actually a birthday gift from none other than our Jeremy Henseley. He spoils me. Clocking in at 8.9% ABV this beer isn’t for the faint of heart. Leading off with a ton of fruit (cherry, apple, date) this beer is full of flavor. It finishes off with the traditional Belgian bitterness and a ton of malty goodness. This beer is incredibly flavorful and could easily overpower most cigars. Lucky for us, Tatuaje’s 10^th Anniversary can hold its own. The strong spice was from the cigar was an amazing addition as it parried up with the fruit and bitterness from the beer. Another great matchup was the molasses from the cigar as it transitioned into a much more malty, caramel mash up with the beer. Great Pairing, success! Ommegang is pretty easy to find in these parts so I suggest picking this one up while it’s still available. If I’m not mistaken, there was only one run, so there won’t be much to go around.

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