-Tony

In 2015, Quesada released the limited run Keg in time for St. Patrick’s Day, packed in beer barrel shaped boxes and meant to be enjoyed with an Irish stout.  This year, the company again came out with the same blend with some cosmetic packaging and band changes.  Made at Plasencia Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua, the Keg comes in three sizes:  Lonsdale 6 x 44 (30/keg), Toro 6 x 50 (21/keg), and Toro Gordo 6 x 60 (16/keg), with prices ranging from $5.95 to $8.95.  I picked up a couple of the Toros at a Quesada event at Stogies N Hops in Lynnwood, WA last month.

The Basics:

Wrapper:  Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder:  Nicaragua
Filler:  Nicaragua
Size:  Toro 6 x 50
Price:  $7.95
Smoking time:  One hour, forty minutes
Pairing:  Sound Brewery Ursus americanus Stout (ABV 6.5%)

Pre-light:

The Quesada Keg is beautifully presented in a damned near black Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper that is interspersed with lighter areas around the fine veining and a sandpapery toothiness.  The nearly seamless roll is very firm, although not rock hard, with one small softer spot above the band.  The band, in manila yellow with black and gold/bronze, looks suspiciously like a classic beer label and matches well with the darkness of the wrapper.  The wrapper gives off a tart barnyard aroma, while the foot shows rich, spice laden tobacco and some woodiness.  Clipping the cap reveals an ideal draw carrying sweet musky spice, light wood, and a tingle on the lips.

First third:

The Quesada Keg immediately deals out a copious amount of smoke that showcases oak, earth, coffee, and spices with pepper trailing behind.  The oak soon becomes toasty and the coffee becomes stronger, deepening the flavors.  The sharp burn line, which had started out a little wavy, quickly self-corrected, but the ash has fallen into my lap short of an inch.  Retrohaling shows some smooth black pepper and hints of leather and musk.  The initial third of the Keg winds up at medium in body.

Middle third: 

Moving into the center section of the Quesada Keg, the toasty wood, earth, and light coffee continue to lead the way, while the leather and faint musk bring up the rear.  Pepper shows itself at the back of the throat and lingers on the retrohale.  The mouthfeel has actually become a bit lighter and smoother, although I am beginning to feel just a bit of strength creep in.  Light sweet spice notes peek in and out, and the coffee is becoming more noticeable on the back end, as both body and strength begin to climb, heading toward medium-full in body and medium strength.

Final third:

Entering the final leg of its run, the Quesada Keg continues to show the same flavor profile, but also continues to up the ante in the way of intensity.  The burn has been wavering, requiring a couple of minor touch-ups, but I can’t consider that to be much of a problem.  Sweetness has become a factor and the pepper has also ramped up.  Taking the nearly full-bodied and medium-plus strength Keg down to the final inch, it finishes cool and without harshness, although it is a little squishy at this point.

Overview: 

Whether you pair the Quesada Keg or not, it is very much a cigar worth grabbing if you see it.  While it was not the most complex cigar around, there was certainly enough there to enjoy and the flavors mingled well and became more intense as the cigar progressed.  Despite needing a few touch-ups along the way, the cigar’s construction was very good and I think the price is right where it should be.  I would caution, though, that this may be a cigar best smoked outside, as it pumped out a pretty prodigious amount of stationary smoke as it sat in my ashtray.

Pairing: 

No Irish stout on hand?  No problem, as there are a ton of American stouts out there, and excellent ones at that.  Sound Brewery’s Ursus americanus (yes the brewery does spell it with a lower case “a” in deference to the scientific name) gets its moniker from the American black bear, but it is not really a fierce predator in a bottle.  Rather, it hangs out on the lighter side of the American stout spectrum with a surprisingly light feel upon entry, with flavors of prune, citrus, coffee, a wisp of smoke and a tangy finish.  As with most dark beers, the flavors deepen as the beer warms in the glass, and it provided a very nice foil for the Quesada Keg, even bringing out more sweetness in the cigar, despite not being a particularly sweet stout itself.  I can see how an Irish or English stout might be a better match for this cigar, though, as they tend to be less hoppy and bitter than the American versions.  A good strong cup of coffee or a big tawny port would also be a great way to go with the Keg.

-Jeff Oda

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The Good Stuff:

The Epicurean Carnavale is one of the newest offerings from Epicurean to hit the market. Created at the Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory in Esteli, Nicaragua the cigar features a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua, American Broadleaf and Honduran dual binder, with Nicaraguan Ligero fillers. The Epicurean Carnavale is offered in four sizes: Lancero (6.5 x 38), Petite Corona (5.5 x 48), Toro (6 x 52), and the Trabajdor (5 x 56) all coming in boxes of 20 with a total of 1,000 boxes of each released ranging from $8.60 to $10 a stick.

Size: 5.5 x 48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
Binder: American Broadleaf and Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9
Pairing: Prairie Artisan Ales Funky Gold Amarillo (Sour Ale 7.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Epicurean Carnaval Petite Corona is a pretty small cigar, but the box pressed format makes it fit comfortably in your hand without it feeling too tiny. The cigar starts out with a very consistent, very dark brown wrapper. There is a bit of darker splotches around both the foot and the cap o the cigar. The wrapper features some very minor veins along with a lot of natural webbing in the tobacco leaf. The cigar has a nice firm, oily texture to it with a decent amount of tooth. The long, slender, box-pressed body leads up with a stubby, round double cap. The Carnaval is very firm and only carries a few softer areas around the foot of the cigar. The cigar is polished off with a beautifully designed band featured a mask similar to those that you’d see at a Carnival event along with a gold “Carnavale” logo embossed into the front.

The wrapper on the Epicurean Carnavale gives off nothing more than a slight cocoa aroma while the foot of the cigar has some soft spice, pepper, and a bit of natural grassiness.  The cap cut very clean and very easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a really mild mixture of cocoa and tobacco and not a whole lot else.

First Third:

The Epicurean Carnavale lit up with easy using my S.T. Dupont Maxijet torch. The cigar starts off with a very mild black pepper blast followed by some strong brown sugar, grassiness, cocoa, and honey with some slight woodiness and bitterness on the finish. I love how comfortable this small, box-pressed cigar fits in my mouth as it produces a perfect, massive cloud of thick smoke with every little puff.  The burn line has a few smaller waves but is running razor thin. The ash is pretty flaky and only held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The cocoa has really taken over the flavor profile in the Epicurean Carnavale. Backing the cocoa is some light woody flavors, a bit of spice, some sweet brown sugar, and light pepper. It almost seems as the flavors have become more muted in the second third as I was expecting the opposite. The retrohale is great as it coats my nasal passage with some potent cedar and spice. The burn line has completely corrected itself and is now burning dead even and razor thin. I am feeling nothing in the nicotine department as I close out the second third.

Final Third:

Into the final third of the Epicurean Carnavale and much is the same. Lots of cocoa and wood flavors mixed with spice and sweetness. While those flavors are great, it would be nice to see a bit more change ups throughout the experience. It took me about an hour and a half to take this cigar down to the nub and I experience no harshness what so ever. The cigar always burned on it’s own and I never once had to reach for my lighter to touch up, or relight the cigar. I close out the final third feeling only a slight nicotine kick.

Overview:

The Epicurean Carnavale is a good cigar. It produces some great flavors, and a great experience. It’s not as complex as I was hoping for, and that’s probably my only gripe about it, but that falls on the subjective side as the cigar preformed flawlessly. I love the format, and the quality of the construction was perfect. I think this cigar is perfect for someone who likes solid smokes, and doesn’t normally reach for the more complex cigars. One note is going in, and knowing the blend, I was surprised with how modest the strength was. I was expecting a much stronger experience but was pleased with how balanced they were able to create the body/strength ratio in this cigar. Would I buy it again? Absolutely. While it won’t be in my regular rotation I would love to have this cigar around for those relaxing nights when I want a solid smoke to relax and enjoy some time in my backyard.

Pairing:

I took a bit of a risk on the pairing and boy did it ever pay off. Going into the smoke I knew that there was just something missing, something that a beer could easily replace making this an incredible experience. To me, that “thing” was citrus. That being said I decided to go as citrusy as it gets pairing the Epicurean Carnavale with a bottle of Prairie Artisan Ales’ Funky Gold Amarillo. The Funky Gold Amarillo is a dry-hopped sour ale brewed at the Prairie Artisan Brewery in Oklahoma. Coming in at 7.5% this sour ale leads with a nice, nippy sour punch backed by strong orange and lemon notes, with a smooth, light mouthfeel before finishing very crisp with a nice hop, citrus and spice. This is by far one of the best sour ales I have ever had the pleasure of drinking and it really helped feel that gap in the cigar’s flavor profile.

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