September and October 2015 Recap

Most Memorable Cigars Smoked

1. Crowned Heads – Las Calaveras 2015
2. La Mission du L’Atelier
3. Tatuaje – La Riqueza
4. Mel Caribbean Corp. – Bella Dominicana

 September and October Cigar Reviews

Review Highlights

Jeremy’s Reviews
Mel Caribbean Corp. – Bella Dominicana 

Bella Dominicana delivered medium/full flavors at the start and transitioned to more of medium smoke throughout the last two third. The strength behaved exactly opposite with reaching medium/full at the end. I would characterize the core of the smoke, or the most consistent flavor, as sweet, rich woodsy notes with no lack of complexity and change-ups and a fair amount of pepper spice.

J. Fuego – Vudu Sacrifice and Vudu Dark, Famous Smoke Shop Exclusives

Sacrifice: Right of the bat, the Sacrifice delivered full-flavors that were full in body and medium in strength. I have absolutely no complaints in the performance department. While the draw was stiff at the pre-light, once lit, the draw was fine and the burn and ash was exceptional for a cigar less than $3.00. Not overly complex, but highly enjoyable smoke that I could see picking up in the evening and standing up to fuller body beverages.

Dark: The Vudu Dark is my cup of tea. The flavors of earth, cocoa, and pepper suited my palate with an evolving strength that moved from mild to medium/full throughout the smoke. Compared to the Sacrifice, the burn-line was not nearly as even, but was of no concern. I actually ordered up a jar of No. 7s, and I believe you may be hard-pressed to find a better cigar for the price.

Macanudo Estate Reserve 2015

Macanudo Estate Reserve 2015 delivers medium flavors, body, and strength, sometimes pushing full, with an effortless performance. The sweetness noted in the first third brought a nice balance to the dark and sour/floral flavors and was sorely missed once it exited in the middle third and never made a return. The sour floral or grapefruit essence held my interest throughout but I longed for the return of the sweetness.

Carnage, a Famous Smoke Shop Exclusive

Famous Smoke Shop’s Carnage blended by Nestor Plasencia delivers medium flavors and medium/full strength with a consistent profile with a core of rich woodsy notes and pepper spice, with some subtleties that are much more noticeable if this cigar is not hot boxed. The Carnage Robusto required one touch-up, but other that I don’t have any complaints on the performance.

Tatuaje La Riqueza Lancero

The core of the flavors were dark and spicy, with lots of subtleties in the profile and change-ups in each of thirds kept me engaged the entire time. Each time I burn through one of the Tatuaje lanceros in the Limited Lancero Collection, I feel like I just found my new favorite Tat. As it stand today, this may very well be my favorite.

Tony’s Reviews

Padron – Damaso No. 8

In my case, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of everything that you have come to expect from Padron in the case of the Damaso. The body was lacking, the flavor profile was less than stellar, and the price point was way too high for what the cigar delivered. Not to mention that I really tried to take my time with this cigar, but even then it burned way too quickly. It seriously only took me about 50 minutes to smoke this down to the very nub.

Crux Du Connoisseur

Each of Crux’s cigars have been hits in our book, and the Crux Du Connoisseur is no exception. In fact, it’s probably one of my favorites by the company. The cigar sports lots of character with a complex and interesting flavor profile that isn’t too far over the top.

Guest Reviews by Jeff Oda

L’Atelier Extension de la Racine ER14

Looking over my review of the first release of the Extension de la Racine (ER13), it appears that this one is quite a bit different in the flavors it presents, and I have to wonder if the shape of the cigar has something to do with that.  I definitely missed the Asian spice and floral elements that were present in the ER13 and that I enjoyed so much, so perhaps the Parejo shape is a better fit for this blend than figurado.

Roberto Duran Cigars – Neya 

The flavors were enjoyable and reasonably complex, and the experience was very much in line with the Duran EPF target.  The previous two that I had actually lasted about ten to fifteen minutes longer than this one, so YMMV.  At four bucks, I think that this cigar is an absolute bargain, and I have no qualms about recommending it to someone who’s looking for a high-value medium-plus bodied stick.

AJ Fernandez Enclave

The AJ Fernandez Enclave turned out to be a solid smoke, which while not the most complex around, provided a good range of flavors with enough transitions to keep me interested in it.  Construction and burn were top-notch, it smoked nice and slow, and the price is absolutely consumer friendly.

The post Monthly Recap – September & October Recap – JH Edition appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now let me clarify something, I don’t mean “Average Joe” as in you are not special(I’m sure you’re all special…). I’m more referring to availability to the average person. As you run through Tony’s Top Cigars of 2012, many of them are still very new and haven’t hit some of the far reaching markets, especially not up here in Canada. They will roll out slowly to more shops but some may never make it to local B&M’s. Most of the cigars in my list below are pretty easily available nationwide, with a couple small exceptions, and they have nothing to do with release dates. It’s obviously biased to what’s easily available to me but I think my situation will mimic a lot of our friends out there.

As Tony mentioned in his post, this list is completely home-spun, written for the enjoyment of it, and I by no means consider myself any sort of expert smoker or expert shopper. Everyone’s opinion will vary and these might not be what you expect to see. But I’d love to hear your thoughts, let’s have some fun with this one!

#10 – My Father Le Bijou 1922

I had a bit of a tough time squeezing this cigar into this list, and I have a couple reasons for that. Firstly is the price, most of the vitolas are at or over the $10 range which makes them a little too pricey for most. The savior here is that you can grab the tasty little Petit Robusto for a much fairer price. My second concern was availability, they seem to be available in a lot of stores but also sell out quickly and are slower to re-stock to due the lower yield they have. But this is a cigar I’m constantly looking for, I don’t always buy it because of the price but when I see a sale or a package deal, I’m quick to throw one of these in there. The intense espresso flavors are almost enough for me to want this cigar, but it also gives great cedar, spice and cocoa all backed by a smooth and creamy finish. It’s an all around great cigar and will always be on my shopping list.

My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toro Review
My Father Le Bijou 1922 Box Pressed Torpedo Quick Draw

#9 – Padilla La Terraza Capa Habano

Now this is a cigar I honestly stumbled into by accident. I found it on sale, read a couple decent reviews and opted to grab a whole box for a steal of a deal. And I’m really glad I did! For the price of only about $2 that you can find these, the cigar is spot on and burns very nicely. You will find some woodsy, almond and coffee flavors here, perhaps a bit of a menthol kick at the start as well. All in a nice smooth medium bodied cigar. Just make sure to get the Habano version as the general consensus is that the Maduro just doesn’t match up.

Padilla La Terraza Capa Habano Quick Draw

#8 – Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”

This is a name you’ve probably seen pop up on our site before. Paul, leader of the Maldonado Dynasty, has been a great supporter and friend of Casas Fumando but that doesn’t mean we take his cigars lightly. I’ve been lucky enough to smoke through a whole bunch of these cigars, including some pre-release, first release and even a bunch from a fresh batch I received a few weeks ago. Paul is constantly working to make things better and it shows in his cigars. The quality of the sticks continues to rise while the flavors continue to impress. You can expect a silky medium-full bodied cigar with lots of coffee, cocoa, dried fruit and nutmeg flavors that will keep you on your toes. The availability of these is still a bit limited so it was a tough choice for me to add to this list, but if you don’t mind getting them shipped you can definitely find a place to buy these.

Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul” Review

#7 – Perdomo Champagne Noir

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Perdomo, they constantly impress me with top-notch construction on all of their sticks. It’s been rare for me to run into burn issues on their cigars and all of their sticks come in at fair prices. This is a definite commitment to quality that I can appreciate. Typically, Perdomo’s don’t make many top 10 lists because they don’t tend to be in the trendy boutique sphere and also don’t do anything too crazy. They seem to stick to their roots and just keep producing good cigars. I was a fan of the 10th Anniversary Champagne and when I heard about the Champagne Noir, I jumped to try it. I was happily greeted by a delicate mixture of baking spices, cedar, espresso and roasted almonds. Not to mention this was probably one of the slowest burning cigars I have ever lit up. The standard Toro size flew past 2 hours easily, normally I burn through a toro in under 1.5 hours.

Perdomo Champagne Noir Review

#6 – La Aurora 107

It’s been quite a while since this cigar was released but I still find myself seeking them out. The flavors never cease to impress and they usually come in at a very fair price, especially if you find them on sale. There is a wide range of vitolas in this line for everyone. Every time I light one of these up I know I’m going to get an amazing mix of cedar, light spices and some fruity sweetness. These are available just about everywhere so if you’ve been skipping them over recently cause they aren’t all new and trendy, I think it’s time to re-visit this stick!

La Aurora 107 Corona Review
La Aurora 107 Robusto Review

#5 – Padron 2000 & Londres

I think most everyone knows about this cigar and has probably had one at one time or another. I know I discovered these long ago when I first started smoking cigars. The prices on these are right in the sweet spot of most consumers and they are very widely available. The whole line is very good but I always tend towards the 2000 and Londres. Both the Maduro’s and Naturals seem to be pretty similar in the flavor department and you can expect to find lots of coffee and cocoa making this one tasty cigar!

Padron 2000 Review

#4 – Illusione 888 & 88

I couldn’t decide on which one of these I enjoy more so I decided to group them together since they are pretty similar in my eyes. The ~88~ and ~888~ are staples in my humidor. I know the prices are a bit high but the flavors and construction on these definitely make them worth my while. When you spark up one of these you can expect to find lots of earthy and cedar notes, but the two real winners here for me are the tarty sweet notes near the end and the amazing smooth creamy retrohale that they offer. If you haven’t tried one of these yet, make sure to pick some up! I added the link to our “~888~ Slam” here, the flavors were very similar to the regular ~888~ but I liked the vitola a little more just because it was more comfortable to hold, but both are winners.

Illusione ~88~ Review
Illusione ~888~ Slam Review

#3 – Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial

The first time I had one of these it was sent to me by Tony and I was just blown away by the awesome flavors and construction. I mean who can complain, almost all the cigars out of the My Father factory are top notch. What really caught my attention and keeps me smoking these is the price they come in. For a premium cigar with some awesome flavors and constuctio, the price is amazing. They are also very widely available which can’t be said for all the My Father products. If you like a solid medium bodied stick with awesome flavors such as spice, cedar, espresso and cocoa, you will love this stick.

Jamie Garcia Reserva Especial Review

#2 – Montecristo No. 2 (Cuban)

I know, I know, this is not an easy one for most of our American friends to track down. But it constantly tops my list and many others as one of the best value for a premium cigar you can find. With the right connections, you can get these for under $8 per stick. They have tons of good flavors ranging from coffee to cedar to earthy to creamy, it’s just so good. They do benefit from a bit of time resting but are easily smokable fresh too, you just won’t get some of the more delicate flavors.

Montecristo No. 2 2010 Review
Montecristo No. 2 2008 Joint Review

#1 – Drew Estate Undercrown

If you’ve been keeping an eye on my twitter feed or the Facebook page, you would have seen quite a few of these pop up over the course of the last year. The meaty and balanced flavors of espresso and spices in the Undercrown just seem to hit the spot everytime. Add on some excellent construction and spot on consistency, and this is a winner. I’m also a fan of the T52 and No.9 but I’ve had a lot more luck tracking down the Undercrowns and their price is also much more digestible as a more frequent cigar. I also love the wrapper on this cigar, it’s so dark and has a ton of toothiness and roughness to it, definitely some eye candy in the cigar world. As I write this I realize I’m running low on them and need to order another box… lol

Drew Estate Undercrown Review

There are tons more great sticks I could go into that are easily available, these are just a few that I’ve been smoking or wanting to smoke this past year. And this list could change completely in the next 6 months so take it for what it is and enjoy. If you have a couple that are on your constant shopping list and have been heavy hitters this year, let me know in the comments!

The post Casas Fumando “Average Joe” Top 10 of 2012 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

So at the end of my last post we had just finished up at first island on our cruise which was the beautiful island of St. Thomas.

Our next day was spent at sea so I went to check out the “cigar bar” that this ship apparently had. It was a small room that the bartender sold cigars from under the counter. They were all the mass production blends such as the Dominican Romeo y Julieta’s and Cohiba Red Dots, none of which appealed to me so I passed on that and enjoyed another Padron 2000 I picked up the day before.

Our third day brought us to the island of St. Lucia where we took a Pirate ship to a beach, no shopping here so I can’t report on any cigar selection or prices. But the weather was awesome, the water was blue and the rum punch was flowing!

The next island stop was Barbados. We went into the main town but it wasn’t much to see or do, we were gone pretty quickly and I didn’t see any shops that looked to be selling cigars in our short time there. We spent some more time at the beach then walked around the duty free shops in the cruise port. There was one shop that had a decent selection here including their locally made Royal Barbados brand which is a decent mild stick and a variety of Avo’s, Joya de Nicaraguan, Davidoffs and a few La Aurora brands. Prices were still a bit over US Retail here but were actually pretty good. I managed to grab myself a sampler of La Aurora sticks and some Royal Barbados while at this shop. That night I sat outside and enjoyed one of the La Aurora Cameroon’s I picked out.

The island of St. Kitts was up next, we did a scenic tour on train which took us the entire way around the island. The island has an amazing mountain right in the middle that touches the clouds, was very impressive. Then we walked around the shops at the cruiseport again but I didn’t see much in the way of cigars. This port was full of souvenir shop after souvenir shop. Not all that interesting but I did get to see an awesome sunset. Here’s a shot of it from my iPhone, I’ll have more on Flickr soon if anyone is interested in seeing some trip photos.

Our final island, and one of my favorites was St. Maarten (or St. Martin). This is a beautiful clean island with lots of nice shops and long beaches by the blue water. Another place I’d really like to come back and stay for a week or so. Here I found some of the best prices on Cuban cigars but the next day we’d be flying into Florida so I didn’t want to bring them into the US. If you do happen to stop here I do have to caution you that there were a lot of fakes so be careful what you buy! I did grab myself an RyJ Corona to enjoy while we walked around and also managed to buy myself a nice watch! While watching the ship leave port I also enjoyed a Don Lino backed by some awesome scenery.

The next day brought us back to San Juan where we made another dash to the airport and off to Florida. No time to shop around in San Juan unfortunately. While in Florida I got to enjoy a few more sticks and even remembered to take pictures of some. Here I am enjoying a Leon Jimenez Red Label with some more Rum & Coke.

While we were in Florida I made a trip down to visit our friend Jackie over at Bonita Smoke Shop. It’s about 2.5 hours away from where we were so I didn’t get a chance to stay too long. I dropped off my wife to do some shopping and headed over there. Now I have to say Jackie and the crew are a bunch of super awesomely nice people and I will DEFINITELY be going to visit them again next time I’m in Florida. She sat me in her office and we just chatted for a bit then she took me for a grand tour. This place is like cigar lovers heaven. It was room after room of nothing but good cigars. Was great to meet her and to see the shop. If you live or will be anywhere near Bonita Smoke Shop, make sure to pay them a visit! This pic is just a tiny corner of the store, there’s tons more in there.

I managed to grab myself a whole variety of sticks but here’s some of the main ones. I got a few of each of these but to make the picture easier I just lined up one of each.

When I got home that night I lit up one of Jackie’s special house blends called the Time Warp and paired it with 2 interesting brews, the Vieille Provision Saison Dupont and some Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale. The cigar was fantastic with tons of flavors and the beers were very tasty too. Thanks for the awesome cigar Jackie, you rock!

Another place I hit up while down there is a restaurant chain called Columbia. This chain started out in the cigar town of Ybor City which is just outside of Tampa. They make some great food and offer up a killer Sangria. They also have some house blend cigars out of their own little factory. I blindly picked up a couple of sticks, more out of curiosity and a bit of a souvenier. Turns out I should have bought more, this was a damn tasty cigar and next time I’m down there I will definitely be grabbing more! I also paired it with some Stone Imperial Russian Stout which was damn good as well!

I smoked a few more cigars that week but doesn’t seem I grabbed many pictures. Some were while we were walking and shopping and sometimes at the beach when I didn’t have my phone. I did manage to snap a pic of this pairing which was another Jaime Garcia Reseva Especial and a tasty brew called the Weyerbacher Blasphemy Ale. Both were darn good!

I think that’s all I got for our good readers. Hope I didn’t ramble too much and it was an interesting read. I had an awesome time and if anyone has questions about any of the places I visited I can go into more detail for you on what/where things were or whatever else. Things are still crazy at home since I’m still moving boxes and clothes while also working but look for me to finally buckle down and squeeze out a full review for everyone next week (I hope!) lol

Will have more pics of the trip up on Flickr soon, if you want that link just let me know!

The post Why I was MIA – Part 2 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

2 Days before I tied the knot I had a great cigar gathering with about 10 friends. Not all of them are big on cigars but there were a few. So I pulled out some mild sticks for the newbies and kept some of the good sticks for those I knew would enjoy them. I happened to grab myself a Cohiba Behike 52 (Which Tony reviewed here) that I had been saving for just this occasion and damn was it ever good. I paired it with a super smooth scotch which I had also been saving, the Macallan Select Oak. I highly recommend both of these! To finish off the night I also enjoyed a Drew Estate Undercrown and a Montecristo No. 2 which are staples in my humidor and still darn good. But hard to compare to the Behike…

The wedding day was mostly a blur and flew by very quickly. I didn’t have time to sneak out for a cigar but I did make sure they were part of the day. I had ordered a bunch of cigars from our friend Paul Maldonado and gave them out to our guests. Each cigar had my wonderful wife’s creative touch as well with a nice ribbon and little label that said “Compliments of the new Mr. and Mrs. T”. The whole day and evening went wonderfully smooth and without any problems at all, a great day for sure!

Now for the fun part, the next morning at 7am we were on our way to the airport! I made sure to pack my travel humidor with a few sticks cause I didn’t want to get stuck without any cigars while I was away. Our first stop was the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. The island itself has some great scenery but apart from the cruiseship port there isn’t many shops that tourists would visit so we stuck to the resort for the most part. Now I’m very glad I brought my own cigars because they were selling Cuban’s for about 4x the retail price, which is even more than they would cost me in Canada!
But you can’t really complain when this is the view you have at your table every morning for breakfast!

So while I was there this is what I had from my Travel humidor. I didn’t pack any Cuban’s because we’d be hitting U.S. soil and I didn’t want to deal with a Customs issue. The first night in Antigua I celebrated with a Jaime Garcia Reserve Especial. I really love this cigar and it comes at such a great price, can’t go wrong with these.

I didn’t have a cigar every night simply because we were having fun doing other things but the resort was very open to letting you smoke pretty much anywhere on the grounds. So I also enjoyed the odd smaller cigar such as a couple Illusione ~mk~ sticks and some little Tatuaje Verocu 5’s that I happened to bring along. The night pictured below consisted of a Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label paired with some Nachos + Cheese and my staple drink for the trip, a Cuba Libre (a.k.a. Rum & Coke). And yes, I had it in a mug because I ran out of glasses in the room! lol

The next cigar I snuck in my travel humidor is one of my recent favorites, the Drew Estate Undercrown. Of course, I have myself some more Rum & Coke here, El Dorado seemed to be the standard of this resort.

That was it for the cigars I snapped pictures of at the resort. The next leg of the trip brought us to San Juan where we would be catching our cruiseship for a tour of the Caribbean. We didn’t have time to shop around San Juan when we got there as we had to head straight to the ship. At this point I was running low on cigars and starting to get worried! lol The first night while we were watching the ship disembark I squeezed in an Illusione ~88~ and I think I only had 1 cigar left now.

The first stop on our tour was the island of St. Thomas which is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This was a really nice island with lots of clean shops and friendly people, definitely a place we’d consider going back to for a longer stay. While my new wife went crazy in all the jewelry stores I kept my eyes peeled for cigars. There were a couple duty free shops that I ended up grabbing some cigars at but the prices were kinda high so I only grabbed a few. I picked up a couple Padron 2000’s that were a little over $8 each and some Arturo Fuente Chateau’s that were in the $10 range. Selection wasn’t that great on this island either…

I have a bunch more to tell but it seems this post is already getting pretty long so be on the look out for part 2 coming up later this week! Let us know if you guys enjoy this type of post and we could chat more about our adventures with cigars whenever we have them!

The post Why I was MIA – Part 1 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Now this is a very special line made by Padron Cigars to honor their many great years of quality cigar production. It remains a family owned business so you can see where the name comes from. This line is amongst the best cigars ever to come from the Padron factory. Only the top quality tobacco leaves are used here and as with most of their cigars, all the tobacco leaves are exclusively Nicaraguan. On top of that, each leaf is aged a full 10 years before being rolled into one of the limited edition cigars.

Similar to some other limited cigars on the market, these blends are released annually, usually landing in September, and each year brings a new vitola and some different names. The name here, No. 44, commemorates the 44 years of successful cigar manufacturing by the Padron Family. This particular blend/vitola was released in 2008.

I fully plan on taking my time and enjoying this one, as you can see below, the price isn’t exactly cheap. The price, along with Padron name on the band, sets some pretty high expectations as I head outside to light this cigar up. I’m hoping it can live up to my expectations now. Let’s get to it!

Cigar: Padron Family Reserve No. 44 Years
Drink: St. Ambroise 2011 Special Reserve Extra Strong Imperial Stout
Vitola: Box Pressed Torpedo (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $30
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• First thing I noticed when I picked up this cigar was the subtle toothiness on the wrapper, there’s tons of little spots on it and it’s super oily to boot, damn tasty from an outsiders perspective
• The oily wrapper also has a super dark chocolate tone to it that just adds to its appeal
• Now the springiness on this cigar is almost non-existent, it’s a pretty solid box-pressed stick from end to end with no soft spots
• The cigar is a little bumpy but there are almost no veins above a “small” size here and it’s got a very silky feel to it
• The cap actually looks pretty poorly applied considering the special edition here, it’s kind of a crescent shaped tapered cap
• The foot is understandably well packed but despite being such a solid stick it actually feels pretty light in your hands
• After an easy cut, the draw was a little bit tight but not too bad. I didn’t want to cut much of this pricey stick so I’ll work with this

Burn:
• This cigar lit up with ease, within a few seconds the whole foot was glowing evenly with minimal effort
• Through the first inch I’m getting a super tight, razor sharp burn that is going very well so far
• This section is gonna be pretty short, the Padron 44 years is smoking wonderfully without any needs for touch ups at all
• It’s also letting me smoke it slowly and enjoy it without having to take a bunch of extra draws to get it going again

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw isn’t overly thick but it’s not thin either, I’d say its a nice balance right now
• The first bit of ash is coming along nicely, keeping tight together and fairly clean with only one kind of split on the side
• The resting smoke was fairly light and gave off a sweet cedar type of aroma, very pleasant
• The ash held on strong to an inch before I gently tapped it off into the ashtray
• The ash has a nice light grey color to it with thin black lines creating a nice zebra stripe effect
• The second ash stayed nice and strong and clean up until I tapped it off at about the one inch mark

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper is pretty much aroma-less, can’t pick up anything except for the slight cedar smell of my humidor
• The foot brings some more interesting aromas including cinnamon, a touch of sweetness and bit of coffee too
• Pre-light draw brings just a touch of cedar flavors to my tongue, not much else here though
• Right off the initial draw you get a super flavorful mouthful of cocoa, coffee, baking spices and a wonderful sweetness, what an awesome start!
• Within the first inch the cigar quickly ramps up from an initial mild body to getting near the high end of medium
• The retrohale started off with a light cedar finish and now I’m getting nice spicy bite to go along with it
• As the body builds at this early point, so does the spice. It has changed from being baking spices to more cooking spices in the range of white pepper and even paprika while still keeping the cedar, cocoa and coffee
• As quickly as the body and spicy flavors came, they are now gone and I’m back to the sweet and tasty cocoa, coffee and cedar. So much action in just the first third!
• The coffee and cocoa are dominating right now and it’s so damn tasty, there’s just enough spice and cedar in the background to make it interesting
• I should also note the body came down a bit towards the low end of medium after towing the line of becoming a full bodied stick before
• As I get into the last third, the cedar and spice started taking charge, leaving the sweet cocoa and coffee notes aside
• I also started picking up some tasty almond flavors and an interesting flavor I can only characterize as “red wine”. I’ve never got this before and I’m pairing it with beer so that really caught me off guard!
• Flavor and body picked up a little intensity towards the end but it never got harsh and I enjoyed it right to the nub!

Final Thoughts:
These are obviously super limited cigars and I’m very glad I had a chance to try one. The first thing everyone will look at is the price. It is way up there for sure and I don’t think I could justify a whole box but it was definitely worth having a couple to try. The flavors, construction and burn were all top notch and worthy of the price it carries, especially considering the rare tobacco that goes into it. The Padron family has a huge reputation to live up to so chances are, when you pick up a special edition cigar by them that it’s going to be a good one. Having said that, the Padron Family Reserve 44 years lived up to that legacy for me.

Pairings:
I picked up this brew while on a trip to Ottawa. We crossed over into Quebec where the selection of beers far outweighs what we have here in Ontario, and they are cheaper to boot. At the local stores here I can only find the oatmeal stout by St. Ambroise and I really enjoy it so I figured I’d give this special edition a try. It is a 2011 Special Reserve Extra Strong Imperial Stout. Now what a wonderful brew this turned out to be. It’s got a smooth creamy texture that is so darn tasty. The amount of malt in here is damn near staggering and it’s paired with some awesome coffee flavors and a touch of cocoa. To round out the mix, it is aged in Bourbon barrels and the bourbon flavor definitely shines through, but it’s not overpowering, just a nice hint. It is a strong brew coming in at 9.5% alc./vol. but it paired perfectly with the Padron Family Reserve 44 Years. Other good pairings here would be my port of course or maybe a good strong coffee.

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Smoke Inn was started by Abe “Ming” Dababneh back in 1996 and has quickly grown to 9 locations in South Florida. They have an excellent selection of cigars and all of them at excellent prices. Along with that, they maintain some great staff that are very helpful and informative. They offer some great events and even a You Tube channel with some interesting info.

Not long ago, Smoke Inn decided to take a chapter from the “Craft Brewing” world and began producing a selection of Micro-Blend cigars. Now these aren’t just some regular house blend cigar, these are serious premium cigars made by some top cigar companies. Smoke Inn enlisted the help of Padron, My Father Cigars, and Tatuaje to create 3 unique blends for the sole distribution by Smoke Inn. We even have the reviews posted of the Padron 1964 SI-15 cigar and the My Father Cigars El Hijo.

Now Smoke Inn has been kind enough to offer up a wonderful prize pack to give away to one lucky winner. The prize includes:

• A FULL BOX of My Father Cigars El Hijo Smoke Inn Exclusive Cigars

• An SI Survival Pack including a Torch Lighter, a 10-count Cigar Vault Travel Humidor, a Cigar Cutter, and a Smoke Inn Baseball Cap

Now that’s a pretty sweet prize pack and if you read the review of this cigar he basically said “This is a damn good cigar” and that should sum it up well! haha. So how do you win this sweet prize?

Well, yesterday’s contest turned up some amazing and sentimental moments relating to cigars so we’re going the opposite today with a little more light-hearted theme. Again, all you have to do is submit a comment below. You need to tell us who you like better, Tony or me?! And tell us Why!! (*hint* *hint* I’m picking the winner so choose wisely ) Winner will be chosen on Monday

EDIT: (by Tony:) To keep this fair, keep in mind that I AM IN CHARGE of getting the winner’s info over to Abe at smoke inn.  ;p  (*hint* *hint*)

Now onto the honorable mentions from Contest Day #8 – Joya de Nicaragua

As I mentioned, we had some truly awesome and heartfelt entries from yesterdays comment and a big thank you goes out to everyone who participated. If you didn’t realize the comraderie and fellowship that comes with the cigar world, just read over yesterday’s comments and it easily shines through. This is what we love about this world! So let’s see some honorable mentions:

Honorable Mention 1 – Tom
I’ve had so many great cigar moments over the years, it’s hard to pick just one. Speaking with Benji Menendez during an event a few years ago when he was General Cigars ambassador was one, but I think my best moment us with my brother. You see we had lost our mom in 2000, and at Christmas of 2001 we were sitting at his house just talking and reflecting on all the things we’d won, and lost, the year before. I’d brought a couple of I think Monties with me for the night and I shared one with him. We talked like we’d never talked before. We took our time, We laughed, and yes, we cried a little too.
We talked for hours. Everyone else there knew it was a special moment for us and left us alone. When the cigars went out, we said something to each other we’d let slip for a long time…Me “I love you”…Him “I love you too, little brother” I don’t think we’ve ever been closer.
Nothing since has been a special as that night.
Fantastic story Paul, very heartfelt. Thanks for sharing!

Honorable Mention 2 – MCCBarry
I have two… Sharing for the hell of it, once again I want to declare myself ineligible.
The first I was about 12 or 13 and my family went to a Bar Mitzvah for some cousin or something. While we we seated they served cigars to the gentlemen, and I asked my dad if I could try it. He was all for it, but my mom would have none of that. Well we went to the bathroom as a rouse to step outside. It was here my dad handed me the cigar and said, don’t tell your mother. Well, I lit the cigar up and proceeded to turn green. I still swear to this day whoever created the movie shrek was at the affair and got the idea from seeing me.
The second involved a Arturo Fuente. I had just picked up business partner up from the airport where he returned from a quick overseas trip. The best part of new job is I don’t have to pick him up at 5:00am anymore from the airport. After I dropped him off it was about 6:30am and it was a comfortable 65 degrees outside. So I headed to the beach and lit up my Work of Art Maduro. About an inch into it, the taste reminded me of cinnamon and apples, but to go a step further the aroma took me back to my dad and how he used to make these treats after dinner for himself. Now mind you my dad had been deceased for about 10 years and he hadn’t made a baked apple for about 10 years before that. I sat back, looked up at the sky and smiled as I knew my dad was smiling down on me.
Two great stories Paul. Showing us the lighter side and more serious side of the cigar world!

Honorable Mention 3 – Czerbe
Easy one for me. My wife was 7-1/2 months Pregnant and she was working one Saturday afternoon, I was at a buddies house Smoking an Onyx cigar nothing good just a yard gar but it was one that was given to me as a gift so I figured I would smoke it. My cell phone goes off and its my wifes Boss telling me I need to pick up my wife and take her to the Hospital her water had broke. So I dropped my cigar in the Ash Tray and ran to the car flying over to her job and took her straight to the Hospital where she was on bed rest and I.V.s for 5 days until she gave birth to our son. Now since he was 7 and a half weeks early he had to spend 11 days in the NICU (some of the worst days of our lives) well through his stay at the hospital my buddy came to the house and brought over the cigar which I was half way done with when I left to pick up my wife. He said “thought you might want to finish this later” now normally I would never pick up a cigar that was sitting in an ash tray for days and re-light it. But I thought to myself I will finish this when my son comes home. So I put it in a Zip Lock bag and put it in the Humi. 11 Days after my sons birth he came home from the Hospital, after my Wife and Son got settled I went to the Humi grabbed that half smoked stick and took the dog out for a long walk. It was possibly the worst tasting cigar I ever had after that long laps from smoking times. But I’ll tell you what it was the best cigar I ever smoked knowing my Son and wife were healthy and home safe. Its been a full 13 months now since his birth and I have had many great sticks in that time but none gave me that feeling like that Onyx did that day…czerbe
Another great heartfelt story. Very glad to hear the whole family is doing well. I’m sure that Onyx will be remembered for a long time, no matter how crappy it might have been!

Honorable Mention 4 – Neil
My best cigar moment was also my saddest. My father has been in failing health for a couple years. At the end of 2010 I bought a box of the My Father Limited Edition 2010 thinking I would put them away until the time came to share them with my brother in memory of my father.
Two months later I lost one of my closest friends, Tracy, to cancer. He was 12 years older than me and gave me a lot of great advice on how to raise my children and be a good husband. Right after he died I was with his brother, wife, and son. As I listen to Tracy’s son tell story after story of what his dad had taught him, I realized Tracy had taught me many of the same things. I had already kind of thought of him as a brother, but I realized during that time I spent with his son how much he had also fathered me.
In honor of Tracy I opened the box of My Father 2010s and had the first one out of the box in memory of him. I thought of what a great friend he was. I thought about all I had learned from him. I thought about how he shaped me as a father, how he fathered me, and how blessed I was that my Heavenly Father put him in my life.

Here’s the winner from Contest Day #8 – Joya de Nicaragua

So now onto the lucky winner of a tasty box of Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970’s. Drumroll please…

The Winner is Paul Tyler

Although I have been smoking cigars for a while, I have really only gotten into exploring and understanding the industry within the last year. In researching on the Internet, I came across a great cigar review website where one of the reviewers happened to live near me. I thought it would be great to reach out to him to learn more about the industry and what the local scene was like. He has been a great resource for me. One of his insights was to check out a cigar shop in the city that had a nice guy running the place and good prices. I went down to check him out on a cool Wednesday night in February and found this quaint little shop with a nice little selection of cigars. In the middle of the shop (taking up almost half the space was a grand piano). The owner was extremely friendly and together we picked out a La Aurora 107 to smoke. He was so proud to show off a new heater he bought so he invited me out onto his front patio for a smoke…the temps were close to the freezing mark but that heater was pumping off some good heat to keep us warm. As we lit up and started into our cigars, the conversation flowed and I came to find the shop owner to be a wonderfully kind and interesting man. As we were sitting there, people would sporadically approach the store, give a wave to the owner and go inside to grab a cigar…some stayed inside to smoke and others came back out to join us…all huddling around this new heater. I asked the owner what was going on…who were all these people? He mentioned that he had started a Wednesday night smoking group and these were his regular crowd. Soon a bottle of rye appeared and then another…again, we all grabbed small plastic cups and gave ourselves a healthy pour to help enhance the warmth we were getting from the heater. The group was excited to see a newcomer to the night and were unbelievably welcoming to me and ensured my glass was always topped up and that I was made to feel like one of them. After a while I looked over at the owner and he was sitting back with a huge smile on his face…I turned to him and said, “You are in your happy place, aren’t you?”…and he just laughed and said “Yup”. I said, “This is really what cigar smoking is all about…bringing people together with a common passion and just enjoying each other’s company and sharing in the beauty of the leaf.” And he just nodded his head and smiled, “This is what I have always imagined my store to be about and represent”. At the end of the night and after a few cigars and a bunch of rye, we headed back into the store where the owner entertained us with a few songs on the piano…he was a former jazz pianist who did the club scene in his youth. It was a magical night that I have repeated a few times since…each time just as special as the last but I will always remember that first one…and that it was a La Aurora 107. You hear it all the time from the industry people in the social media universe and from people like the guys running this site…that it is a great industry with great people…I am fortunate that I have gotten to experience it first hand.

Awesome story Paul, a true show of the camaraderie that comes along with this wonderful hobby! Congrats!

Congrats to Paul, please email your name, and address to “casasfumando@gmail.com”. Thanks again for every one who entered! Keep the entries coming!

The post FINAL Contest Day #9 – Smoke Inn (and Day #8 Winners) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Smoke Inn’s Microblend Series is aimed at reproducing the effects that Microbreweries have had in the beer industry. As many of you know, microbreweries have made a big impact in their industry and really opened up the market to new types of beers that a lot of larger breweries don’t seem to try. Stepping out of the comfort zone as some would say. Smoke Inn has done the same thing and is making use of smaller yield tobaccos to produce new blends that would previously not have been created. They have also utilized a variety of different manufacturers to achieve very different flavor profiles.

I’m not gonna lie here, Padron is a brand that I typically enjoy everything that they do. They clearly have a name in the industry that speaks to their high quality and excellent blending. Their 1964 Anniversary Series is part of their more premium line of cigars and with that they always carry a larger price tag. In my experience, the higher price tags on this line are usually justified by smooth, tasty cigars and perfectly burning tobacco leaves.

Converse to what you might expect from Padron, the SI-15 blend made form Smoke Inn is a huge vitola (6 x 60 to be exact). The Padron lines are usually available in a variety of smaller vitolas with the occasional larger ones and I found it odd to see a single blend made only in this larger vitola. I should make note that I’m not a huge fan of these large ring gauge cigars. It seems that I always run into burn issues, or draw issues or just a plain bland profile from too much filler. From what I could gather, the blend doesn’t really differ from other vitolas in the 1964 line but since there is so much more filler, the cigar has it’s own unique profile. Let see if that holds true and read on through my review! (Cheesy, I know… lol)

Cigar: Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural – Smoke Inn Exclusive
Drink: Sierra Nevada Stout
Vitola: SI-15 (6 x 60)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted by Smoke Inn ($18.50 MSRP)
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• This is a hefty looking cigar with a significant ring gauge and a slightly box pressed look
• There are quite a few visible veins along the length of the wrapper but none seem to e large enough to cause any burn issues
• The color of the wrapper is a very soft medium brown and gives off a slight shimmer in the light, showing some of it’s nice oily qualities
• Surprisingly, the top of this massive cigar is covered by only a single cap, and it does a good clean job of it too!
• The whole cigar is consistently firm when squeezed with very little give
• From the foot, you can see some gaps in the filler, hopefully this won’t lead to any tunnel issues which I seem to run into often with larger ring gauge cigars
• My double bladed guillotine cutter was barely able to fit on this huge ring gauge, but it managed to get a nice clean cut
• The draw is very open even with my small cut

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven as can be expected with larger ring gauge cigars
• Burn is going very well through the first inch, it was a messy start but I’m happy to see a good auto-correction!
• The cigar is also allowing me to smoke it slowly without any problems or worries about it going out
• Through to the half way marked I’m impressed by a razor sharp burn
• I started to get some wavy burn in the last couple of inches which needed a couple small corrections

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m getting surprisingly less smoke than I was expecting, perhaps a downside of the very open draw
• In hindsight, I think I should have gone with a V-Cut or Punch with this cigar
• The resting smoke on this Smoke Inn Padron 1964 SI-15 is fairly minimal and gives off a pleasant woodsy aroma
• The ash has a very nice white color to it with only a few spots of black here and there
• It’s also holding on strongly with no flaking or curving
• First ash lasted nearly two inches before gently being tapped off into the ashtray
• The smoke picked up thickness around the halfway mark and now I’m getting a big mouthful from each draw
• Second ash also held nice and clean for nearly two inches, great construction as I would expect from Padron

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a typical Padron aroma, giving off slight hints of coffee and some tobacco sweetness
• The foot seems to tell a bit of a different story, it had a lot more sweetness to it, mixed with some cocoa and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw tastes mostly of tobacco and a bit of earthy notes, nothing exciting about this part of the cigar
• Right off the initial draw I get a very interesting baked bread type of flavor
• I have to note that this cigar is extremely awkward for me to hold and smoke, it’s just too large of a ring gauge than what I’m used to
• Along with the baked bread flavors, the Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15 has some mildly bitter coffee flavors and slight hint of sweetness once in a while
• The body of this cigar is starting off in the higher end of mild, it’s not quite medium. From the retrohale I get a small bite a smooth cedar finish
• The bitter coffee flavors continue to develop nicely and I’m really enjoying them. There is also some cedar and spice sneaking in as the sweetness disappears
• The body is slowly creeping into the medium category as the coffee flavors turn into the wonderful bittersweet espresso flavors I’ve come to love from most Padrons
• The bitter espresso notes have really taken control with about 2 inches left to go
• I’m also getting hints of a strong bitter chocolate here and there along with some cedar, a very tasty profile I must say!
• The bitterness turned a tad harsh in the last inch, but nothing terrible

Final Thoughts:
I’m pleasantly surprised to say I really enjoyed this cigar. I came into this with some serious skepticism about the vitola as my experiences with 6 x 60’s has been fairly poor. This cigar did not suffer from those same problems! The flavors were not muted by all the filler and the burn was spot-on even after a poor toasting (for the most part). Despite the larger ring gauge, the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 kept the signature flavors I’ve come to enjoy in all the Padrons I’ve smoked. I think Smoke Inn has a definite winner of an exclusive on their hands here. Be sure to check out their website and order some to try if you can. They are a bit on the high scale in terms of pricing but if you compare to other Padron 1964’s it’s on par, and so is the flavor! If you are a fan of 6×60’s this is definitely something to add to your wishlist! You can buy there here from the Smoke Inn eShop.

Pairings:
Sierra Nevada is a brand that I can’t get locally, it seems they have absolutely no distribution in Ontario that I know of. So I picked this up along with the rest of my beer haul from Florida. I’m a big fan of stouts and porters and in general, they are hard for me to find locally. As you might guess from it’s name, the Sierra Nevada brewery is located in California and today Im enjoying their Stout with my Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15. The Sierra Nevada Stout is surprisingly smooth with a slightly bitter and full flavored maltiness. I was actually expecting this brew to be a bit thicker but it’s not as thick as other stouts while still maintaining a nice full flavor. It has a very long finish on the palate and leaves some bitter chocolate and coffee notes. This was an excellent pairing for the Padron 1964 SI-15 and complimented the flavors so well since they actually had similar flavor profiles. I would also recommend a strong coffee or port with this cigar, I think both would match nicely!

The post Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural (Smoke Inn Exclusive) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Prelight: The obvious story in this cigar is the shape. You don’t come across so large, extended pyramids too often. The cigar starts with a slightly box-pressed style foot which slowly tapers into a nice, small, round, double cap. The wrapper is a bit rough looking, but the construction is dead on.  The wrapper is a nice, deep, medium brown with lots of darker spots where the wrapper has texture. It’s not the heaviest cigar, but the off-balance nature of the vitola makes it a bit uncomfortable to hold. It keeps wanting to tip forward. All together the cigar is slightly mushy, but there isn’t any stand-out soft spots.

The wrapper gives off a very slight barnyard style aroma with small hints of spice. The foot smell ridiculously good with just a ton of spice, and a really clean tobacco smell.  The foot really had a curious scent to it.  The cigar cut clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. Wow, this thing has a really strange cold draw. It’s like citrus, and spice, mixed motor oil? No joke. Hopefully that oil type flavor doesn’t come through once the cigar is actually lit up.

First Smoke: The cigar lit up with ease using my triple flame butane torch. Right off the bat the cigar starts off with a very burnt, oil type flavor. It tastes a lot like extremely charred chicken skin or something. Underneath that is a really mossy, dirt type flavor with just a bit of that badass spice I got in the prelight coming through. I really hope that some of these flavors start dropping off as I get deeper into the cigar. The draw on this cigar is perfect. Each little puff gives me tons of thick smoke. The burnline is slightly wavy, burning deeper on one side of the cigar than the other, but nothing too concerning. The ash is nicely compacted and bright grey with some deep, darker grey stripes. They almost look life fish gills in the ash. The ash held on for almost and inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: The oil/burnt flavors are finally beginning to subside a little bit. The mossy flavors are still there though and finally there is a bit more breathing room for the excellent spice notes this cigar carries. Hints of citrus, clove, and cinnamon make up the underlying flavors on this cigar, and if they were stronger, and the oil/burnt flavor wasn’t masking all the potential, this cigar would be dynamite.  Just as I wrote that, this really crappy, minty, grassy flavor came in. It tastes how I would imagine rotten grass would taste. This cigar is all over the place.  The retrohale is awesome though. It basically primes with all the cedar and spice flavors that I wish this cigar would show more of.

Finish:  The Burnt flavors are just about gone at this point, but the mossy flavors are still so strong they are masking anything else that really could have enhanced this cigar. The cedar and awesome spice was there the whole time, but never reached it’s prime which is really sad. The cigar took only about an hour to take down, burning a lot faster then I though it would. Despite the speed of the burn there really wasn’t any harshness, even into the final inch. The cigar remained mild/medium all the way producing only the slightest hints of nicotine. The burnline was a bit wild the entire time, but I never had to relight or touch up the cigar.

Overview: I think my thoughts on this cigar were pretty obvious. The potential for a good cigar was there, it was just masked by so much bad taste that it never got it’s chance to shine. The starting of this cigar was bad, but it progressively got better, but not to a point where I would say this is a cigar I would smoke again.

What did I think it was: This is yet another cigar that could go both ways. It could be a Dominican/Ecuadorian/Honduran style cigar, or another Cuban. The call is tough. The wrapper made me believe that it wasn’t Cuban, while the tart flavors, and ash make me think it was. So I’ll split my guesses. My first guess would be some sort of AVO/Davidoff medley. Simply being as they are one of the only cigars that I get such a strong moss flavor from. I don’t know what it is, but they seem to be the kinds of dirt. Second guess? Maybe a Hoya de Monterrey Cuban. It had the really mild and one dimensional flavors that I have picked up in the brand before.

And the Reveal: A Padron Anniversary 1964 Piramide circa 1999. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. I smoke the hell out of 1964 and love the hell out of them. This does explain that awesome spice and cedar that was buried underneath. Usually that’s the main flavors in the 1964, but age didn’t do this cigar well. This also shows just how much age can change a cigar experience. Brooks even made the comment that he didn’t think these cigars aged well and recommended smoking them within 3 years. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

The post Blind Cigar #11 from Brooks at Smoking Stogie appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Smoke Inn has been on a roll getting some of the most exclusive, and top notch cigar manufacturers to create exclusive Microblends for them. First it was the Tatuaje Anarchy, followed by the Padron 1964 SI-15, and now Don Pepin Garcia and family teamed up with Smoke Inn to bring you the My Father El Hijo.

The El Hijo, or Son, will be released in only one size. A Box-Pressed 5.5 x 52 with an unfinished foot. The cigar is composed of an all Nicaraguan binder and filler wrapped with a very rare limited edition harvest of 2009 Ecuadorian Habana leaf. The El Hijo will come in boxes of 15 and average about $9.75 a stick. This falls in line with other cigars in the My Father series. Again, these cigars will only be available from Smoke Inn and will go fast. They are due out at the end of August.

Size: 5.5 x 52  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Full

Prelight: Seeing a My Father cigar in box-press form is definitely a surprise from me. The El Hijo is a venture from the standard My Father lines in more way then one. The obvious box-press shape combined with the unfinished foot really make for some interesting appeal. Outside of those characteristics the El Hijo still carried the standard superb construction we all come to expect from the My Father factory. The consistent, medium brown wrapper contains almost no veins and is blends flawlessly into the round triple cap. I almost can’t make out where the body stops and the cap begins. This My Father, like many others carries a double band. The first one is the traditional, amazingly designed “My Father” band with green, red, pink and orange ink mixed in with a ton of gold embossing. The secondary band is very different. It still carries the standard My Father branding but it’s painted this strange, dried mustard color with the words “El Hijo” laid in prominent black ink. The cigar is solid all the way through. No soft spots, and only very little give when I compress it between my fingers.

The El Hijo’s wrapper gives off this crazy pungent barnyard scent while the foot has a much more spicy/peppery  composition. The cigar cut very easy, and clean using my double bladed Palio cigar cutter. I am really only pulling this very natural taste from the cold draw. There is a bit of spice in there but mostly it’s a grassy/earthy flavor and not much else.

First Smoke: Lighting the El Hijo was a cinch with the unfinished foot. But I am always a bit weary about how the burnline will fare once it gets to the wrapper. Luckily for me, this cigar did well with keeping a modest burnline even into the wrapper. The first initial flavor was a nice burst of pepper. Not anything in your face, but just enough to let you know it was there. Quickly the pepper faded and I was left with a very spicy, woodsy, leather, and a creamy coffee. This cigar doesn’t start off with as much bite as I was expecting. A lot smoother. The draw from this El Hijo was just awesome. It took very little effort to get a mouthful or thick, heavy smoke. The burnline continued well for the most part, only producing very slight waves from it’s razor sharp line. The ash left behind was a bit flaky, and very light grey. It only held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Into the second third of this My Father El Hijo and the story is much the same. Very smooth, with nice flavors, but I can already start to feel a bit of nicotine catching up to me. The My Fathers are like that, sneaky SOBs. The main flavors are still this nice grassy, woodsy taste with some soft coffee and a really interesting caramel. That’s right. This cigar tastes like a grassy Caramel Macchiato. The retrohale on this El Hijo is a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be coating my nasal passage with a nice, creamy wood flavor. The burnline on this cigar is right on the money.

Finish: And here comes that standard Pepin/My Father bite that I am used to. Although the main flavors still remain overall grassy and earthy, the coffee flavor has really taken off as well as a reappearance from the pepper. Overall this cigar took about an hour and a half to take down, and remained extremely smooth the entire time. I took this cigar down as far as my fingers would let me and I experienced no harshness what so ever. Tons of nicotine though, this is a bold cigar with a ton of body.

Overview: The El Hijo is a damn good cigar. I really enjoyed it. The cigar carries all the same characteristics that the My Father, and My Father Le Bijou, but at the same time stands out by itself. A great micro batch cigar. In comparison to the My Father and the Le Bijou, the El Hijo seemed a lot creamier and an overall smoother experience. I personally liked the Le Bijou the best, backed by the El Hijo, and then the My Father. And the price seems to fit my opinion just right. Grab these while you can, the El Hijo is a perfect cigar for anyone who likes Pepin’s cigars or enjoys the My Father Line.

Pairing: I decided to pair this cigar with a nice bottle of Weihenstephaner’s Vitus Wiezenbock. Vitus, is a light, wheat style beer brewed at the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan brewery in Germany. With an ABV of 7.70% Vitus is a perfect summer beer. Light in color but rich in banana, wheat, malt, and clove favors Vitus pairs perfectly with a sunny day, and almost any cigar.

The post My Father Cigars – El Hijo 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.

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We’ve had a few Padron cigars reviewed on the site already. You can read my reviews of the Padron 1926 No. 35 Maduro or Padron 1964 Principe, or check out Tony’s review of the special edition Padron 46 Years. Padron prides itself on releasing only Nicaraguan puros, which means all the leaves contained within the cigars are grown in Nicaragua. Check out one of the above linked reviews for more information about the Padron Cigar company and it’s Cuban heritage and inspiration.

Today’s review comes from the Serie 1926 line and is called the “40 Years”. Although it seems named similar to the yearly special editions (45 Years, 46 Years, etc…) it is actually part of the regular production Serie 1926 line. The cigars name is significant of the year it was added to the line. It has a unique box-pressed

I was lucky enough to find myself a slightly warm day to enjoy this cigar, of course warm to me this winter is still well below freezing, but I’ll take what I can get until spring comes around! As you might be able to tell, I’m already a big fan of Padron cigars, but as with all my reviews, I go into them as unbiased as possible and give it a fair review. This also means that I will have high expectations for this cigar and might work against it in the outcome. Take a read through it and let me know how your thoughts here might compare to mine.

Cigar: Padron Serie 1926 40 Years Natural
Drink: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Vitola: Box-Pressed Torpedo (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $25
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• A slightly rough yet well made cinnamon brown wrapper with a box-pressed torpedo shape
• No major veins but lots of smaller ones can be seen
• The tapered cap finishes cleanly but it very firm, making me worry about draw issues
• The body of the cigar has a soft spring to it
• As with most Padrons, the wrapper has a very appealing toothiness to it
• The foot appears fairly well packed but does have a couple holes
• The cut was very clean and firm, I did have to cut a fair bit of the taper off to get a decent draw
• This cigar had a crack in the wrapper near the foot, likely due to shipping damage as none of the others I’ve had were like this

Burn:
• Had some trouble getting the foot to light up evenly, starting off with a wavy burn now
• After a few draws the burn line straightened right out nicely
• The crack extended about two inches down the wrapper and definitely affected the burn but it still burned quite well despite that
• A slight peninsula formed just as I passed the end of the crack, a small correction and we’re back in good form
• A few more peninsulas here and there but they mostly corrected themselves
• The cigar burned nice and slowly the whole way through

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke from each draw right from the start of this cigar
• There’s quite a bit of smoke from a resting position as well, giving off a nice cedar aroma
• The ash is not splitting but it does look a bit flaky and weak, we’ll see how it holds up…
• Started to get more flaky as it progressed so I tapped the ash off at about an inch before it fell all over me
• Second ash also fell off after about an inch, seems to be on par with the others I’ve had of this vitola
• Lots of flaking as the cigar burns further along

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is strong of cedar and tobacco
• The foot has more hints of cedar but also a strong presence of earthy aromas and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw is more cedar and a lot more spice, leaving a tingling sensation on the lips and tongue
• Initial draws are mostly of a burnt woodsy type flavor with some earthy notes mixed in
• After a few draws the flavor smoothed out to a nice cedar with some hints of white pepper
• The retrohale is very smooth with a little bite and a tasty cedar finish
• As i finish the first third, I’m getting some hints of coffee creeping in as the pepper slowly fades away
• So far the cigar is just about on the edge of mild and medium and very smooth, no dryness either
• The coffee kept developing nicely and the cedar is still around, also getting some cinnamon or nutmeg on the finish now
• Just past the halfway mark, an interesting bready (think fresh dough) and creamy flavor has popped up, it’s very enjoyable and the cigar is balancing out so well
• The bite on the retrohale is just right, not overpowering and still offers a smooth finish of cedar and coffee
• More coffee flavors developing and turning into an espresso like taste, I find this in a lot of Padron’s and it always impresses me
• Straight down to the nub the flavors are still going strong with no harshness at all

Final Thoughts:
As with most Padron’s I’ve enjoyed, this one did not disappoint. Each time I’ve lit up this vitola I’ve been greeted with a variety of flavors and dimensions that kept it interesting the whole way through. Even with a large crack running a good length of the wrapper, the cigar still burned fairly well. Unfortunately, this cigar loses points in the price department. It carries a hefty tag at about $25 and a lot of shops will over price these due to the name, not to mention taxes in some states/countries. It’s definitely something worth trying as this offers a great cigar smoking experience but it’s not something that can be had on a regular basis for most people. Try to grab a few to save for special occasions and you will not be disappointed!

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is one that seems to be a well known brew, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It comes in a good sized bottle and definitely has lots of character from this UK based brewery. It’s a nice dark stout with lots of head and a smooth finish. You won’t find any bitterness with this brew. The chocolate notes are not as pronounced as the name might suggest but are definitely there and offer a very smooth malty flavor. This brew is an excellent choice for any cigar with hints of coffee or cocoa, I find it really helps those flavors shine. It was no disappointment here as it paired very well and made the coffee notes of the Padron Serie 1926 40 Years really shine. This cigar would also pair quite well with Port, Coffee or a smooth scotch. I also paired this brew with a blind review I did awhile ago of the Perdomo Patriarch Maduro, read that one here.

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These cigars came in a recent order that I made with the absolutely awesome team over at Bonita Smoke Shop. There you can find the Padron Family Reserve 46 Years in both singles and by the box. Padron isn’t a brand that I smoke too often. It’s not that I do not enjoy them (cause god knows I do), I just find them slightly out of my price range. To me, Padron signifies the perfect “special day” or celebratory cigar. What am I celebrating? Being alive I guess. I just really wanted to see just how great of a chance this years 46 Year release has for Cigar of the Year vs. last years 45 year release.

The Good Stuff: The Padron Family Reserve 46 Years Maduro is said to be amongst the most finest cigars that have ever been produced by the Padron Family. The 46 year Family Reserve is made to commemorate Padron’s 46 years of successful operation. The blend is composed of all Nicaraguan tobacco grown at Padron’s Tabacos Cubanica factory in Esteli that is aged for at least 10 years (some of the companies oldest tobacco). The 46 Years only comes in a maduro wrap unlike the previous 45 Year blend which came in both Maduro and Natural. There have been rumors going around that Padron plans on releasing the blend in a natural wrap but again, these are only rumors. The Padron Family Reserve 46 Years comes in boxes of ten and there will only be between 40 to 50 thousand of these cigars made.

Size: 5.5 x 56  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Medium

Prelight: The Padron Family Reserve 46 Years Maduro is a very meat, beefy, boxed pressed maduro. The wrapper is a very consistent, toothy, dark chocolatey brown wrap that leads up to a single, tiny, flawless cap.  This cigar is very heavy, and extremely firm to the touch. There no soft spots, and just one small section on the side of the cigar towards the middle of the body that bumps out. The wrapper on this cigar seems really tough and durable. It’s real tough and I am only hoping that is isn’t a branch and I burn right through it. The band is exactly what you would expect from the Padron Family Reserve line. Dark maroon with the words “Padron – Family Reserve – 1964” embossed in gold metallic ink. The underband simply states the number of authenticity, No. 263835 in this case. The finally band is small color reversed band with the words “46 Years” repeated across it. The wrapper gives off but a faint chocolate and coffee aroma while the boasts of a very smooth and creamy espresso with subtle hints of natural tobacco.  The 46 Years cut off very lean and easy using my double bladed cutter.  The cold draw produces a very flavorful tobacco and cocoa mixture with a bit of coffee.

First Smoke: The Padron 46 Years starts off by pumping out just a massive and effortless draw. This cigar pumps out a very thick cedar rich draw with hints of espresso, spice, sweetness, and chocolate. After the first couple of puffs a very strong spice (nutmeg and cinnamon maybe?) just takes over this experience. Leaving behind a completely massive cloud of thick, lingering smoke. This cigar gives off a very impressive amount of spicy scented stationary smoke.  The burnline is extremely sharp and dead even all the way around the body of the cigar.  The ash left behind is a brilliant grey, almost white, and held on literally for two inches before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: I really live this size of this cigar. Not to big, not too small, and the box press fits perfectly and comfortably between your fingers. The spice into the second third simmered down a bit and the cedar flavor made it’s triumphant return. There is still quite a bit of espresso mixed in there as well. So far the experience has been flavorful, creamy, and incredibly smooth. I can’t feel any nicotine despite how slow this cigar is burning. The retro hale is straight up woodsy and I get almost the same prime just being around the cigar due the amount of stationary smoke the 46 year gives off. On a side note, The “bump” mentioned in the Prelight did nothing to hinder the experience. I just burned right through it.

Finish: I have to say, the Padron 46 years is a perfectly balanced yet complex cigar. The final third while flavorful, finished incredibly smooth. The spice has been completely removed from the flavor make-up with only the cedar and lingering espresso and chocolate flavors. I still haven’t felt much nicotine from this cigar. It fits perfectly in the medium range finishing smooth and creamy with no harshness built up what so ever. The cigar didn’t even burn hotter than warm going well within the final inch.  The burn was perfect from start to finish with no touch ups or relights needed. On another side notes the small band peeled right off while the larger two connected bands slight off with ease.

Overview: After all was said and done the Padron Family Reserve 46 years took about an hours and forty five minutes to finish. And I have to say I enjoyed every single minute of it. Super flavorful, complex, creamy, mild and smooth. Everything you would expect from the Padron Family. Will it top last year’s Cigar Aficionado’s best cigar of the year performance? No idea, but I can say it stands a few good chance. The price obviously plays a big role in me saying that I don’t find these cigars in my regular rotation too often. At around $26 a pop this cigar is a bit pricey. It is however the perfect special day or celebratory cigar.

Pairing: I hit the booze hard last night so I didn’t do my normal beer/wine pairing with this cigar. Instead, pure hydration. H2O was my weapon of choice. Needless to say I ‘m not posting a picture of this. You all should know what water looks like. Instead, I am posting a picture of my dog Sonny in his Halloween costume. Cause he’s a badass and keeps me company while I write these reviews.

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This cigar was sent to me as part of a package from DannyP6228 on Twitter. It was aged more than 2 years and his only requirement was that I do a review when I got around to smoking it. Danny raves about this cigar and after smoking it I completely understand why. I’ve yet to have any Padrón that has disappointed me, even their inexpensive Padrón Series line is consistently good. Without further delay, let’s get to the review.

Cigar: Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro Principe
Drink: W&J Graham’s 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port
Vitola: Principe (4.5 x 46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted from @DannyP6228 – Retails for around $10
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Nicely box pressed
• Medium brown colour, not as dark as most maduros
• Very firm feel throughout
• Foot looks tightly packed
• Evenly applied single cap
• Double banded with the bottom band having a serialized number
• Some dots all over the wrapper, giving it that nice toothy appeal
• Lots of attractive oils secreting from the wrapper due to it’s age
• Slightly open draw
• Band slid off easily, no extra glue means no damage to the wrapper


Burn:
• Toasting was easy and perfectly even
• Razor sharp burn from the first draw
• No problems staying lit, allowed me to enjoy it nice and slowly
• This is how every cigar should burn, no attention required at all here

Smoke & Ash:
• Big mouthful of smoke right from the first draw
• Resting smoke is minimal and giving off a fantastic cedar aroma
• Very light grey ash, perfectly round, with small white spots from the toothy wrapper
• Absolutely no flaking, ash is picture perfect
• Great ash, hanging on for about 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a very light aroma of cedar and cocoa
• Foot aroma is of cedar with some earthy notes and a touch of spice
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and earthy with a hint of nuts
• Initial draws are extremely smooth with more of the woodsy, cocoa and earthy notes
• Retrohale is also very smooth with just a small bite and a smooth cedar finish
• Hints of coffee and nuts sneak in after the first few draws
• The flavors are so well balanced, each one taking turns being the prominent one between draws
• About an inch in and getting a bit of spice, closest comparison would be something along the lines of nutmeg
• At around the halfway mark, the coffee and nut flavors were the most prominent, still very smooth and enjoyable
• The body has been a smooth mild-medium throughout
• Retrohale started to pick up the coffee notes on the finish, very nice touch
• Picking up a great toasted wood flavor
• With about 1.5 inches left the coffee flavors changed to a slightly stronger espresso type flavor, loving that little change
• Body slowly increasing towards the full range as I reach the end of the cigar
• The body just suddenly went to the very full range and the coffee flavors just bursted out
• Very little harshness, smoked it down to the nub till my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
As with every Padron I’ve had, this one did not disappoint. Great flavors, great burn, great ash, great cigar. The price range on these is a little high but well worth it. I’m sure the extra age on this one helped. If you haven’t tried the 1964 or 1926 lines by Padron I definitely recommend trying them out.

Pairings:
My Port went perfectly with this cigar. The body of the pairings matched up perfectly and I would suggest trying it to anyone out there. Another good pairing could be a nice strong coffee, but I will strongly suggest a good Tawny Port!

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Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Padrón Cigars offers 3 consistent lines along with a select few special releases. The particular cigar I reviewed was from the “1926 Serie” and is called the “No. 35” measuring in at 4inches with a 48 ring gauge. All vitolas in the series are available in both Maduro and Sun-Grown Natural wrappers. The other sizes available in this line are: No. 6 (4.75 x 50), No. 2 (5.5 x 52), No. 9 (5.25 x 56) and two specialty vitolas, ‘40th Anniversary’ (6.5 x 54) and ‘80 Years’ (6.75 x 54). The prices of these cigars tend to be fairly high but they are intended to be a premium line and more than live up to their selling price. The 1926 Serie was first released in 2002 and is a commemoration of Jose O. Padrón’s 75th birthday. The minimum age for all tobacco in this line is 5 years, so rest assured you are getting a wonderfully aged product right out of the box, no need to let them rest. Light up and enjoy!

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

I also wanted to note that each Padrón 1926 Serie cigar comes with a second band under the logo band that is individually numbered after undergoing their strict quality controls. The annual production of this cigar will be limited to only 100,000 each year. When I picked up this cigar on a trip down in Florida I was hesitant whether it would live up to the name given the small vitola. Take a few minutes to read my notes on the cigar and you’ll see that it was worth every penny.

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Cigar: Padrón 1926 Serie Maduro
Drink: Niagara Region Merlot from Peninsula Ridge
Vitola: No. 35 (48×4)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $13.00
Burn Time: 1 Hour

Construction:
• Box pressed shape
• Slightly bumpy wrapper with no major veins
• A deep brown color with a nice oily sheen
• Very firm throughout with very minor spring to it
• Very neat single cap
• The band was just perfectly loose so I know there are no glue or wrapper issues underneath
• Individually numbered second band below the logo band
• Cut was effortless and even
• Draw is dead-on perfect which is surprising considering the firm feel, stayed perfect throughout the cigar

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Burn:
• Toasting was quick and even, no awkward or dark spots
• Burn was razor sharp straight from the toasting
• Not much else to say here, it was perfect, no wavy burn, no touch ups, burned without me needing to babysit. Every cigar should be like this

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Smoke & Ash:
• Good mouthful of smoke
• Not overbearing and not wishing for more, just right
• Resting smoke is just right and giving off a perfect “cigar smell”, not sure how else to describe it… just sweet and savory
• Light gray ash with some black highlights
• Ash is very tight and strong with no flaking
• Held on past 1 inch, surprising considering the smaller size and ring gauge
• It’s almost like a piece of art, looks too perfect

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is light and just smells of tobacco
• Foot has a nice tobacco aroma with a bit of a barnyard scent
• Pre-light draw has a mild spice to it and some pepper on the lips
• Initial draws have a great sweet tobacco flavor and some earthy tones
• Medium bodied and well balanced
• About half an inch in, starting to detect some coffee/espresso notes
• Retrohale has a small bite to it and a great finish of sweet tobacco and coffee
• Approaching the halfway point, starting to pick up some woodsy notes
• The balance of spice on the retrohale and flavors in the draw are near perfect, couldn’t ask for anything else
• Past the half-way point, the bitter coffee flavor (think espresso) has changed to a roasted coffee flavor, very nice
• Great cedar flavors as I approach the end
• Some pepper and spice came in near the end and body ramped up to a medium-full
• Very minor bitterness at the end, more like a coffee bitter instead of the usual harsh bitter on the nub of other cigars

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Final Thoughts:
This is a wonderful cigar experience and would definitely recommend this to anyone that asks. The flavors throughout the cigar were pronounced yet balanced and enjoyable. There was not a single spot in the cigar that I wasn’t enjoying myself, it was great from the first draw to the last. Although in the higher price range, this is definitely a box-worthy cigar to be smoked on any occasion, whether a special day or just relaxing on a sunny afternoon.

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

Pairings:
A cigar like this requires a good pairing or you could throw off the delicate balance of flavors that make this a great cigar. My pairing with a medium bodied, semi-dry wine worked perfectly. I can also see this working well with a fine scotch or cognac. Don’t opt for the inexpensive stuff here, it will take away from the experience. I also wouldn’t go with port or soda on this cigar as the high sugar content could also lessen the experience. For a non-alcoholic pairing, I’d probably go with water or coffee to make this cigar really shine.

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

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