As mentioned, I had absolutely zero knowledge of Felix Assouline Cigars prior to Michel Malek reaching out to me. While this was the first time that I heard of this company, Felix Assouline, owner, is not a newcomer to industry. Felix first entered in the cigar world in 1997, opened his first factory in Honduras in 2004, and achieved a 90 rating in Smoke Magazine in 2006 with their original release of the EGO.  After nine years in the industry, Felix took a six-year hiatus to focus on his family. Felix found his way back into the industry in 2013 and opened a factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. This is what Felix Assouline Cigars’ website has to say about the company now:.

Felix Assouline Cigars is proud to introduce four new premium cigar brands. Made in our factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, the Capital of Tobacco, our cigars marry the perfect mix of tobacco from the richest fields in Nicaragua and Honduras. Each blend is created to enrich your smoking experience leaving you wanting more. Through careful craftsmanship, we roll our cigars the traditional Cuban way using the knowledge learned from one of the great masters, Alejandro Robaina. We then take the extra time to box press our cigars to fuse the flavors of the different leaves together. The results are 4 distinctly rich flavors found in our introductory brands: EGO, Havana Sunrise Reserve and Ringo.

The EGO is available in three vitolas: Shot (5 by 25 Cigarillo), Perfect (5 by 52 Perfecto), and Passion (6 ½ by 58 Torpedo).

The Facts

Samples Provided by Felix Assouline Cigars
Vitola: Perfect (Perfecto)
Size: 5 by 52
Wrapper: Habano 98
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour

Pre-light

The EGO that I am smoking is the Perfect, which is a box-pressed perfecto. The Habano wrapper on the Felix Assouline EGO is mostly consistent in its medium brown color and it has a light reddish hue. There are only a couple color imperfections on the leaf. Tons of small veins web across the stick but to the touch they can barely be felt.  The wrapper has a wonderful aroma of  sweet barnyard.

The aroma off of the tapered foot of the cigar is rich with the same sweet barnyard and additional dark notes of earth, cocoa, and faint cedar. I find a firm draw upon cutting the somewhat sloppy double cap. I expect the draw to open up as I burn past the tapered foot. The cold draw is rich with earth and cinnamon notes.

First third

 A quick flame on the foot is all it takes to get the EGO started, but hardly any smoke is being produced and I am having to take several firm draws to get any sort of smoke in my mouth. The smoke that I am getting is bitter and burnt tasting. After about eight minutes, the draw is beginning to loosen and I am able to discern some much better flavors. Full spicy, woodsy notes saturate my palate. The flavors are much fuller than I expected. A spice sting can be felt at the back of my throat. I am still in the first third and there is already some development in the flavor department taking place. The smoke has become creamy with a light butterscotch flavor. The burn line is extremely thick and wavy requiring one touch-up in the first third.  The flaky ash is light in color but easily holding passed an inch.

Middle Third

The spice remains at the core of the smoke and black pepper notes have arrived. The black pepper is very noticeable on the retrohale. The intensity of the woodsy notes are picking up and a sugar-cane sweetness is peeking through but not on a consistent basis.  The finish has some dusty cocoa notes. At the forty minute mark, I have already arrived at the large band on the EGO. Another touch-up in second third was required  to keep the burn on path. The flavors are medium/full and strength at the high-end of medium.

Final Third

The spice is not at all shy. My mouth and lips tingle with a nice little spice sting for quite sometime after each draw. The flavors remain very dark and a toastiness  is beginning to overpower the rest of the flavors. The woodsy notes have shifted down and the sweetness has not shown back up. The burn line is a bit edgy at this point but overall burning well. The strength is pushing full.

Wrap-up

Felix Assouline’s EGO is a hard stick to fully evaluate. While the cigar I smoked for this review opened up after I burned passed the nipple foot, the draw on the other sample remained restricted throughout the experience causing shallow, bitter/burnt flavors.  If I only focus on the cigar that I smoked for this review, I really enjoyed the cigar after the first eight minutes through the second third. However, the toastyness I encountered in the final third overshadowed the flavors I enjoyed in the previous two thirds. A couple of touch-ups were required and the ash was rather flaky. I am interested in smoking a few more EGO’s before making my final judgement on the stick. Also, I think I will just clip past the tapered foot and skip right to the portion of the smoke I really enjoyed the next time I light one up. Finally, I want to say “Thank You” to Michel Malek and Felix Assouline Cigars for providing the samples.

The post Felix Assouline Cigars – EGO appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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

The post Padrón 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.