But I’m always up to try some new cigars so here we go digging into some information behind The Edge. It’s been a really since I had one of Rocky’s The Edge cigars and I used to actually really enjoy the original blend of the Sumatra wrapper. The new blend isn’t the same and although it wasn’t bad, I haven’t really stocked up on them. But today’s review isn’t on the Sumatra wrapper, we’re focusing on the Corojo for now.

As with the whole Edge lineup, the long fillers used to stuff this cigar are aged for a full five years before they get to the rolling tables. Something else interesting about this line is that the filler on their website simply says that it is “Secret”. There are some speculations around the actual makeup of the filler but I’m not one to speculate, so we’ll just leave it at that.

As with many of Rocky’s cigars, he has teamed up with the tobacco growing powerhouse that is Nestor Plasencia. Aside from the Corojo, you can also find the limited runs of Sumatra wrappers as well as a Maduro wrapped blend. There’s also a similar line called the “Edge Lite” that comes with a connecticut wrapper and even a limited run Candela that Tony reviewed here. So let’s dive on in and see how the Corojo wrapped Edge by Rocky Patel stands up.

Cigar: Rocky Patel The Edge
Drink: Pocas Special Reserve Tawny Porto
Vitola: Torpedo (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Secret?
Price: $6.00
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• This Rocky Patel has a seriously deep dark brown and oily wrapper
• There are very few veins on this wrapper and whatever I do see is very small
• The cap is finished very cleanly with the single lead blending seamlessly into the rest of the wrapper
• The foot is super packed from what I can see, lots of filler inside this cigar
• There is a bit of a soft spring near the foot when squeezed but the top of the cigar near the cap is very firm
• The cap took a little effort to clip, probably due to the huge amount of filler inside it
• Draw is just about perfect, it has just enough resistance
• Noticed a few wrapper cracks as I burned through the cigar but none caused any major issues to be worried about

Burn:
• Toasting was very easy and The Edge had a glowing foot with very little effort
• We’re off to a good start with a nice clean burn line in the first bit here, let’s hope that continues
• Saw one little peninsula forming but The Edge made a come back and corrected itself without my help
• A couple more small peninsulas as we roll along here but they keep correcting themselves which is a welcome treat
• One of the peninsulas finally needed my help to correct in the last half but nothing major
• Smooth sailing to the end with a good burn pace and no more issues to correct

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the start, there is a ton of smoke coming off this Rocky Patel cigar with only a small draw required to get it
• The ash is coming along with a very light grey, almost white color to it and some darker black accents here and there
• Super strong and clean ash here, no flaking at all
• Tapped off the first ash at about 1 inch just to prevent it from falling on my laptop, but it probably could have gone longer
• There is a fair bit of resting smoke off this cigar as well and I have to say, it smells a little like roasted marshmallows which is awesome
• All the ashes kept nice and clean and easily made the 1 inch mark before ending up in the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Rocky Patel The Edge has a sweet sort of candy/ cocoa aroma, reminds me of what Smarties smell like
• The foot brings more of that sweet cocoa aroma and adds to it a bit of baking spices like cloves and nutmeg
• The pre-light draw brought a little bit of the sweet cocoa but now it’s more wood and spices
• From the initial draws, The Edge was giving me lots of woodsy notes with some back splashes of cloves and nutmeg and maybe a bit of a leathery flavor
• The body starts off right around the low end of medium, a nice comfortable strength for now
• As for the retrohale, The Edge does have a bit of bite to it along with a smooth cedar finish
• The wood and spice notes are still holding strong, but I’m getting a bit of a black licorice taste in here now which is making it interesting
• A little ramp up in the body around the halfway mark as the licorice really starts to be prominent along with the spices making for a very interesting and balanced profile
• The coffee and spice took the main stage for the last half with some licorice peeking in once in awhile
• There was no harshness towards the end and The Edge finished smooth and with a bit of strength

Final Thoughts:
So Lou seems to be becoming the Rocky Patel advocate for me and I have to say he’s doing a pretty good job of turning me on to some of their better sticks. This is another Rocky Patel I can add to my list as one that I really enjoyed. It had lots of good flavors, some interesting change ups, and solid construction from start to finish. It seems that if you can find the sticks in the Rocky inventory that appeal to your taste profile, there are definitely quite a few that are worth trying. I will definitely keep my eyes open for more of these in the future and if you aren’t a huge Rocky fan, this may be a good one for you to try. Can’t complain about the price either, right in the sweet spot of most people.

Pairings:
I think it’s been awhile since I actually paired with a port, not sure why but here’s a new one for you. Today’s choice is a new one for me too from Pocas which is a family owned winery from Portugal. This particular blend is called the Special Reserve Tawny Porto. It pours very very light and has some very fruity notes on your nose. The flavors follow those same lines with a very light flavor, fairly fruity, lots of oak flavors and not bold at all. This would make an excellent into to Port if you haven’t dabbled in it before. It paired nicely with the Rocky Patel The Edge but I wouldn’t choose it for something super strong as the light flavors would get overwhelmed.

The post Rocky Patel The Edge (Corojo) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

If you are a follower of ours on Twitter or Facebook, you will have seen recently that Tony is off slacking again. That’s right, again! lol. Ok maybe not. He’s actually on a trip to the Dominican Republic and visiting lots of people, cigar factories, and even some tobacco fields. I’m sure he’ll have lots to tell everyone when he gets back. In the meantime, keep up with what he’s doing by following him on Twitter or following the Casas Fumando Facebook Page.

So I’m still stuck at home and while Tony is probably burning up in the Dominican, and I’m pretty much freezing over here. Terrible forecast for the week full of rain and near freezing temps, winter is almost here! The summer flew by… So for no particular reason I made a mess in my humidor searching for my next review and what I came up with was my very last Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial from 2010.

Now Oliva should be a name most people know by now, they’ve been around for a long time and have a great reputation of turning over quality cigars year after year. They haven’t been much in the past for really branching out with drastic ideas but rather have been that “staple” cigar brand that you could always fall back on. Their 4 main lines are the Serie G, Serie O, Serie V and the Connecticut Reserve. Of their 4 lines mentioned, the Serie V is the fullest on the body scale.

If you have been keeping up with the cigar news, you would actually see that Oliva is starting to bring a lot more variety to their lines. They’ve had the Master Blend series for awhile now and are also hitting a few winners with the Studio Tobac project. Tony actually just recently posted a review of the cigar made by a joint venture of Studio Tobac and Padilla, appropriately named the Padilla – Studio Tobac Figurado. As you can see from his thoughts, Oliva is on the right track with their new project.

Oliva’s core lines don’t usually change much but a few years ago they decided to bring out a special edition of their Serie V. It was to be wrapped with a Maduro leaf, limited in production quantities and restricted to a single vitola. It’s full name is the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial and usually a year is appended to that. In the case of today’s review it is the 2010 to mark the year it was released. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to distinguish some of the various years.

With regards to the 2009 and 2010, you will find 2 main differences, firstly, the 2010 is a slightly larger ring gauge than the 2009 even though it maintains the same vitola. Also, the 2010 is wrapped in a nice dark San Andreas wrapper versus the previous years Broadleaf wrappers. Looking a little forward to 2011, the vitola is changing to a 6×50 Toro and should actually be hitting shelves very soon. It also has the same San Andreas wrapper. The production for the 2011 is also the same as the 2010 I’m reviewing today which is 5000 boxes of 10 cigars.

With a price point of $10.70/cigar they aren’t that steep but aren’t cheap either. It seems to strike a nice balance of a slightly high end or limited production stick. I’m also told that the 2011 version is dropping the MSRP to $9 which is a welcome change. Each of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial cigars are packed with a Ligero longfiller from the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua which is well known for producing tasty and quality leaves.

The band on this cigar is fairly unassuming and doesn’t venture far from the standard Oliva lines. It adds “Maduro” on one side and “Especial” on the other but I’m disappointed that it doesn’t include a year. Not a huge deal but it would be a nice touch. I’m sitting down to enjoy this cigar on a fairly chilly evening here. The cigar also has a fair bit of age on it so that will affect the flavors. I have smoked a few of these before so I’ll make a quick comparison to then and now in the summary. Enjoy!

Cigar: Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010
Drink: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
Vitola: Torpedo (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: MSRP $10.70
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Oliva Serie V Maduro is surrounded by a dark chocolate brown wrapper that has a rough look to it and an oily finish
• The exposed edges of the wrapper jump off the cigar a bit, especially near the cap which is extremely firm to the touch, this worries me
• The rest of the cigar has a nice little spring and give to it when squeezed
• The foot of the cigar appears to be very well packed with almost no room left in there at all
• I started with a small cut which clipped off fairly easily but I was met with a pretty tight draw
• I cut just a bit more and got a good draw, we’ll start here with a little more than a half inch clipped off the cap

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and slow but it kept even and glowed nicely
• Unfortunately, the cigar started off with a pretty drastic canoe despite what seemed to be an even toasting, needed to be touched up fairly early on
• Another little touchup after about 2 inches as the cigar tried canoeing on me again
• The cigar requires a small touch up pretty much every inch or so, luckily it’s not ruining the flavors
• The last 2.5 inches of the cigar REALLY slowed down the burn, making the cigar last that extra special bit longer

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a good amount of smoke coming from each draw
• Even while resting the cigar is producing a decent amount of smoke
• The ash is coming out to be a wonderful white color when it’s burning properly, my touchups are turning the ash black in some spots
• Even though the ash was looking clean, neat and strong, it still fell off into the ashtray after just about an inch

Tasting Notes:
• I was surprised to notice that the wrapper had barely any aroma to it, maybe just a touch of hay and that’s all
• The foot is also not too strong of an aroma, just a slightly more concentrated hay-type of aroma with just a little touch of a peppery spice
• The pre-light draw is also pretty bland here with only hints of hay again, I really hope the full experience will be more than this
• The initial draws were much more enjoyable with some roasted dark chocolate almond type of flavor and a hint of spices, maybe some coffee tucked in there too
• The chocolate almond flavors dwindled down a bit and I’m left with mostly coffee, spices and now some cedar. It’s still good but the start was much more enjoyable, let’s hope it returns!
• The body started off in the low end of medium and the cigar has a soft bite on the retrohale with an interesting cedary/peppery finish
• The coffee notes are really developing nicely and I’m also getting some nice warm earthy notes in the mix
• All the flavors are balancing well and the cedar finish is a nice touch
• As the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro progressed into the last third the body is slowly building and I’m on the edge of full now
• The spices have remained fairly soft so far and the retrohale reflects that with a soft bite and retains the smooth cedar finish
• The last bit of the cigar was still enjoyable until my fingers were burning, a nice buildup of coffee, light spices and cedar rounded out the final flavors

Final Thoughts:
Overall this was a pretty good smoke that I enjoyed. I feel that it never really did recreate that initial awesome roasted almond flavor. The beginning of the cigar was great and the remainder was good. Nothing about it was really bad, my only complaint would be the burn issues. Thankfully they didn’t negatively affect the flavors but it did take away from the whole experience a bit. I think the cigar could have earned itself a few more points with a bit more age as it already has. The ones I smoked earlier this year were not as good as this one. So my suggestion, grab a few and let them sit a few more months and they should be excellent. If those roasted almond flavors can linger a bit longer this would have been a fantastic cigar. The little bit of body buildup at the end was a nice touch for me as well. The price is a little high at just over $10 but I’m excited to see what the upcoming 2011 release brings since it will have the same wrapper and be $1.70 cheaper!

Pairings:
Tonight’s pairing is a new Port wine that I picked up at the liquor store the other day. It’s from Dow’s Winery which comes from the Symington Family Estates in Portugal. The 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port has a fairly light and fruity feel on the palate with some deep notes like a touch of chocolate and woodsiness. It’s probably not the best Port I’ve had but it’s not bad in it’s own right either. It paired excellently with the flavors of the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. Other than Port I think this cigar would pair wonderfully with a heft stout, a strong or chocolate flavored coffee or even a nice scotch.

The post Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The first thing that struck me about this cigar was it’s odd name. After reading some marketing material you can discover that the name is inspired by a diamond found by the companies president, David Rafaeli, which contained a unique symbol. In the middle of the diamond you can see a replica of the cross logo used by the Templar Knights during the First Crusade in 1099. A pretty interesting story for the name of this company.

The cigars themselves are aimed to be value priced but quality smokes. At this time only 3 vitolas are offered, a Robusto, Toro and Churchill ranging in price from $1.90 to $2.30 MSRP. These are pretty aggressive prices for cigars in this struggling economy. If they hold up as good smokes the price could definitely attract customers. They are available in boxes of 50 and wrapped in either Indonesian Sumatra Natural or Broadleaf Maduro. Today’s review will focus on the Churchill sized Broadleaf Maduro cigar.

At the time of writing this it seems the cigars are currently only available from 2 indirect sources, the Four Season’s hotel and Palm’s Casino in Las Vegas. They have a website available reserved but so far it only has some contact information, it is located at here. The weather here has warmed up again and I’m hovering at a balmy 32F tonight so I get to enjoy my cigar without even needing a pair of gloves! Let’s see how this stick stacks up!

Cigar: Miraculous Templar Cigars Maduro
Drink: Quinta Do Todo Fine Tawny Port
Vitola: Churchill (6.75 x 50)
Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican?
Filler: Domican Cuban-seed long filler
Price: MSRP $2.30 ($115 for a box of $50)
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• A rough and uneven wrapper surrounds this cigar with spots of brown and some darker chocolate colors
• There are quite a few medium sized veins to be seen, I’m hoping none cause burn issues
• The not so evenly finished double cap tops off the cigar
• I’m not sure if this was just in our samples or all the cigars, but the cap comes with a punch cut already made, I found this rather odd??
• There is a soft springiness throughout the cigar with some lumpy hard spots here and there
• The filler at the foot extends slightly passed the wrapper and looks to be fairly loosely packed
• The draw started out just perfect but as I hit the 1/3rd mark it tightened up quite a bit
• The cigar began to tar up quite a bit at this point as it often does to me with punch cuts, I went ahead and used my double bladed guillotine to make a straight cut
• The draw improved now and I’m back on track
• The band slid off fairly easily but it’s very apparent that the printing is blurry and undefined

Burn:
• Toasting was very quick but evenly glowed without effort
• The first bit of burnline was fairly wavy but it didn’t stray too far off course and kept burning along well
• Coming up to the halfway mark the burn is still wavy but stays on course fairly well, no touch-ups needed thus far
• Still no burn issues as I pass through the last third, quite impressive for a budget cigar
• No issues right to the end, well done!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right from the start the pre-cut punch gave me a big mouthful of smoke
• The ash has a consistent light grey color, it has quite a few holes in it but is holding strong
• The strong ash held on for about 1.5 inches before gently falling into the ashtray
• The second ash fell off at about one inch as I re-cut the cap of the cigar
• There’s only a bit of resting smoke after taking a draw but then it’s almost non existent, mostly woodsy aromas here

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a sort of musty barnyard and tobacco aroma
• The foot brings more of the barnyard aroma and some earthy notes, a tiny bit of tartness is there too
• The pre-light draw brings almost no flavors at all on this pre-cut cigar
• Initial draws were fairly earthy but the barnyard flavor has thankfully disappeared
• There is a slight tingling on the back of my throat from each draw, not a dryness but a sort of spicy tingle
• Body is starting in the lower medium range with a decent bite on the retrohale and a woodsy finish
• As I get past the first third I’m picking up some light coffee and woodsy notes but it’s still mostly earthy and tobacco flavored
• Near the halfway mark I’m beginning to pick up some slight pepper spice, the coffee and woodsy notes haven’t developed much as of yet
• The bite and woodsy finish on the retrohale remains about the same at this point
• Body ramped up a bit as I got into the last 1.5inches to the low end of full
• The coffee and woodsy notes kept making minor appearances but the peppery spice really developed into the last bit of the cigar
• Cigar got a tad bitter with about an inch left so I put it down, but the flavors in the last bit were definitely more interesting then the rest of the cigar

Final Thoughts:
Before lighting this cigar up, I had quite a few doubts. It’s rough construction, oddly pre-cut cap (and a punch cut to boot!) and some dis-interesting aromas. I was happy to see that this cigar burned exceptionally well and produced thick clouds of smoke. I would definitely advise cutting these more though as the punch got really tarred up and tightened the draw. Although the flavors were nothing spectacular they were fairly decent when you bring the incredibly low price into account and produced a comfortable medium body. A shorter vitola may be the sweet spot here to avoid getting bored of the flavors which are mostly one dimensional but never off putting. These are worth trying, especially if you are on a budget or want some inexpensive everyday smokes that don’t require constant relights or produce other issues. I can see these being a smart purchase if I was at the Casino or hotel and wanted a quick cigar that doesn’t break the bank. (Gotta save the money for the Craps table afterall!!)

Pairings:
I recently paired this Port with my last review of the Monte Pascoal Corona, check out that review to see my full thoughts on this tawny port. Since this cigar was more in the medium range I found that the fruity notes of the port complimented the cigar well. It brought some more flavors to the straightforward profile of the cigar and made the whole experience much more enjoyable. I think a good pairing will be an exception key to whether you enjoy this cigar or not. Other good pairings for this cigar would include a strong coffee, scotch, or a dark stout/porter.

The post Miraculous Templar Cigars Maduro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.