Today, I will be taking a look at the 1502 Ruby.  The 1502 brand derives it names from the year Christopher Columbus “discovered” Nicaragua and the cigars are produced by Global PremiumCigars noted by the “GPC” on the back of the band.   Since I don’t know much about Global Premium Cigars, and the 1502 brand, I decided to do a little research (is the word research now interchangeable with googling?). GPC’s site has this to say:

“Global Premium Cigars is a tobacco company Proudly Nicaraguan, which owns the most renown and prestigious brand 1502. Truly a Nicaraguan treasure.

In our Premium brand 1502, you will find three tobacco lines with the highest quality, where the sowing process, harvest, curing, aging and selection of each tobacco leaf is our major concern. It takes more than five years from the time of its sowing until the time you can enjoy one of our fine cigars; this is why patience is one of our greatest virtues in the art of tobacco production.

In our brand 1502, you will find three lines totally different from each other, being 1502 Emerald the “Fina Fuerte” (Fine Strong), 1502 Ruby of medium strength and 1502 Black Gold with strongest character. Three spectacular bindings that exclaim the Nicaraguan flavor, which will delight at all times and will make an unforgettable experience.”

On September 24, 2012 it was announced that Emilio Cigars would be handling the distribution of 1502 Cigars.  Emilio Cigars has not only  made a footprint in the cigar industry by the excellent cigars they have put on the market but also through the distribution of several boutique brands. Emilio Cigars manages the distribution for Ezra Zion (Tony’s review here), Epicurean, Rodrigo, Herederos de Robaina, and Guayacan.  Gary Griffith, owner of Emilio Cigars, has such a passion for the industry that bleeds through in all he does. Here is quote from Gary in a recent press release:

“I am fully dedicated to the mission of bringing an array of quality boutique cigars to a broader market, whether under the Emilio Cigars mark, or the mark of other equally dedicated and passionate manufacturers.”

The Facts

Price: Samples provided by Emilio Cigars
Format: Box Pressed Torpedo
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Pairing: Water
Smoke Time: Approx. 1 hour and 25 minutes

Pre-Light

As I do my pre-light inspection, I notice a few prevalent and minor veins running the throughout  the cigar.  However, I have never been one to worry about the impact of veins on the overall smoking experience  The Ruby sports a maroon band, with the trim, the words “1502” and “Ruby”, and center emblem all in gold.  The emblem is similar to the Crusaders’ cross.  The wrapper has minimal oils and is velvety  to the touch. When squeezed, the cigar feels somewhat spongy.  The wrapper hangs over the foot of the cigar, but not as drastic as other shaggy foot (I feel like I should use the word “feet” instead) cigars.  The wrapper is mostly uniform in color with slight imperfections and water spots letting me know this cigar has not been artificially colored.   The foot appears under filled.  As I bring the cigar to my nose, I note sweet earth and barnyard on the wrapper, while the foot reveals a bourbon like sweetness.  The head clips easily as I prepare to light up the cigar.

First Third

I am loving the free draw and amount of smoke that fills my mouth which each small puff.  Pepper and spice are in the forefront.  Beautiful dark, heavy flavors of espresso and earth are in the flavor make up, and a peppery sting is on the retrohale. The spice lingers in the back of my throat for a good amount of time.  The burn line is quite wavy but I’m going to wait it out and see if it will correct itself before doing any touchups. The ash is extremely flaky but holding on as I smoke in a cool afternoon breeze.  I don’t think I would like to smoke this through one of El Paso’s windstorms but I really don’t ever feel like smoking in windstorms unless I am settled in at the local lounge.   As expected, the 1502 Ruby has begun to tunnel but it has not taken away from the flavor department.  Flavors are very much full, with strength on the low side of medium.

Middle Third

After a minor touch up, I am into the second third of the 1502 Ruby.  Spice in the back of the throat resides, or maybe I am just numb to the burn, but the pepper holds strong.  The earth notes become much more prevalent, while a toasty, nuttiness hits the edge of the palette. I am starting to hope for a little sweetness to balance out the profile. The draw and the amount of smoke this cigar is producing is just awesome.  The flavors are still delivering at the same level, while the strength has crept up. The strength has been picking up since the start of the 1502 Ruby.  I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.  On the first sample I smoked, the cigar became extremely spongy about 1.5 to 2 inches from the burn line but the smoke never became too hot to enjoy.  That issue was not encountered on this cigar.

Final Third

The flavors remain consistent with the first and second third but the Ruby is now leaving a bite on the tongue.  The smoke is also drying out my mouth in the same fashion a walnut does.  A small sip of water and my palette quickly restores itself.  Some cocoa notes enter into the mix but fade just as quick as they arrive.  I would have loved for the cocoa to stick around a little longer.  The strength did move up to the high-end of medium, and the burn remained wavy till the very end.

Wrap-Up

The draw and the copious amount of smoke the 1502 Ruby produced was exceptional.  While I did come across a few construction issues, none them took away from the overall smoking experience.  The same construction issues (burn, sponginess and tunneling) were encountered in both samples.  The flavors were rather consistent in its entirety with only a view variations.  I found myself craving more complexity, and, at the least, some sweetness in the profile.  Also, I paired this cigar with water.  A drink that provides some sweetness would be a nice compliment to this profile, such as a big Red Zinfadel.  A local winery has an excellent Red Zin that I could see fitting this cigar perfectly.  I know I will be revisiting this cigar and try pairing it with the 2010 “Rising Star” Red Zinfandel from Zin Valle Vineyards which is located just outside of El Paso.  If you stumble across the 1502 Ruby or can find them online, grab a couple and give it a whirl.

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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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Now back to the cigar. The Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf a Nicaraguan Puro cigar. It’s leafs are grown in a few different valleys or Nicaragua which as Esteli, Jalapa and Condega. The are box pressed and packed in boxes of 15. They are currently offered in 3 vitolas which are Robusto, Toro and Torpedo. The band on the cigar is the same as their normal line but the Aganorsa Leaf has an additional band with it’s name on it just below.

The Aganorsa has received a lot of positive press in the cigar blogging community, Cigar Aficionado Magazine listed the original Casa Fernandez as one of the top 25 cigars of 2009. The original Casa Fernandez line was met with a lot of positive press so they had a lot to live up to. I’m lighting this cigar up on a sunny but cold afternoon and hoping to have a nice enjoyable and relaxing experience. Let see how it fares.

Cigar: Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf
Drink: Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port (2005)
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Aganorsa
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $8.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This cigar has a slightly box pressed look to it
• The wrapper is a medium dark, almost chocolate brown tone with some spots being lighter than others
• There are quite a few visible veins but they are all small and will not affect the burn
• Fairly clean triple cap
• The foot appears to be well packed and clean
• Cut was even and clean although it required a little more effort than usual
• The draw was just about perfect from start to finish

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly quick and even, very little effort to even out the toast
• The burn started going wavy soon after lighting leaving a small peninsula, gonna leave it alone for a bit and see if it corrects itself
• The crooked burn fixed itself fairly quickly and now we’re burning nice and even
• As the cigar progressed there were a few minor corrections I had to make but nothing major
• The cigar also stayed lit easily without much attention needed from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke produced a strong aroma of burning wood, almost like a bonfire
• Comfortable amount of smoke from each draw
• Lots of resting smoke that is consistently pouring out
• Ash is fairly strong with no flaking and wrapped tightly
• The color of the ash varies from a light brownish near the foot and getting progressively whiter
• Ash held on for about an inch before tumbling into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is mostly just tobacco with a slight barnyard type scent
• The foot still has some barnyard aroma but mixes in some cedar and spice
• The pre-light draw brings more spice and some cedar
• Initial draws are full of pepper and some cedar, a little dry on the finish
• I usually don’t enjoy peppery starts but this one is very smooth and mixing well with the cedar
• The retrohale has a nice little bite to it with a smooth cedar finish, the body has started in a mild-medium range
• Just a short ways in the peppery notes have tapered off a bit with the cedar taking control, picking up earthy and nutty notes now
• Some light coffee notes are popping up now and again but not consistent
• I’m approaching the half-way mark and I’m already noticing the body of the cigar building up
• At the half-way point now and the cigar has turned mostly a mild peppery spice and leather
• The bite on the retrohale has dialed down now and the finish is leathery but the body is holding on the stronger side of medium
• Coming up on the last third, the peppery notes are starting to gain traction again, this time mixing with the leather, the cedar has mostly disappeared for now
• The body lingered at full as I approached the nub with the flavors staying consistent to the end
• Didn’t get much harshness or bitterness and was able to smoke this happily until my fingers burned

Final Thoughts:
The was an interesting cigar that had a fair bit of complexity to it and some dimension on the flavors. The start was very in-your-face but smooth and balanced at the same time. The flavors mellowed out a bit as the cigar progressed but the body kept building at a slow and steady pace. The burn was fairly good with only a couple minor corrections and the draw was always good. The price on this cigar is a tad high but nothing crazy and still within reach to be included in a normal rotation. These are definitely worth giving a try even if you aren’t normally a fan of peppery/spicy cigars. On the other hand, if you are a fan of peppery and spicy notes I think you will really enjoy this cigar. The body is a fairly full but not a knock you on your ass type of full. I’ll be looking to pick up a few more of these to keep on hand as they were definitely enjoyable.

Pairings:
In my eyes, Tawny Port and cedar/spicy cigars go hand in hand! I did a bit of research before lighting this up to find out the prominent notes and I knew Port was going to be my match here. I decided on a Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port which was bottled in 2005. This is a fairly inexpensive bottle that boasts a lot of flavors. You’ll find oak, blackberries, cherries and a tarty sweetness that mixes perfectly with this type of cigar. Other good pairings would include scotch, dark soda, a full Porter or Stout, or a full bodied red wine. A nice cup of strong coffee would also be a good match here.

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ACID one by Drew Estate

I have stumbled across a few of these cigars in brick & mortar shops, but not regularly. The first time I picked one up I had no information about it, outside of the fact that it was an ACID, and i knew i liked ACIDs. That was sometime ago, and I wish I knew how to appreciate cigars back then as I do now, because I didn’t give this cigar the attention it needed, therefore, I hadn’t smoked as many as I probably should have.

The Good Stuff: As stated previously, the ACID One is the only non-aromatic cigar in the ACID series. But don’t let that fool you. Don’t go into this cigar thinking its going to have habano type characteristics. Any ACID blend is far from that, and the ACID One is no exception. Drew Estate states that the ACID One is cured with 5 different red wines, from 5 different countries, and then wrapped in the finest Nicaraguan Cameroon that has be cask cured for ninety additional days.

Size: Torpedo 5 x 54  –  Wrapper: Dark Cameroon  –  Body: Mild – Medium

ACID one by Drew Estate

Prelight: The first thing you will notice about the ACID One is its impeccable construction. This cigar not only has no soft spots, or signs of construction flaws, but is carries with it a perfect structure. I smile a bit when I unwrap a cigar that looks this good. The wrapper itself is Cameroon, but looks very dark and could easily be mistaken for a maduro. The first scents from the unlit cigar were a bit piney, and a bit minty, with a hint of cherry. The band itself is a bit different than the other ACID lines. Instead of the guy on the motorcycle there is a yin yang, placed over and image of the Earth, with a diamond embroidered “1”. If you look very closely in the right light you can also make out the words “Japan”, “Nicaragua”, and “Africa” written backwards across the stars on the band. Maybe these were 3 of the 5 countries the wine came from? The Drew Estate Website does state that one of the wines was a tradition Sangria from Drew Estate’s hometown in Esteli, Nicaragua. Anywho, the head of the cigar sports a very long and sharp torpedo edge, as the foot of the ACID One is concealed underneath a careful folding of the wrapper, much like the ACID Atom Maduro.

ACID One by Drew Estate

First Smoke: Again, I cut this cigar using a double bladed cutter, and lit up REALLY easily under my single flame colibri torch. I am not going to list 5 different times “this cigar tastes like red wine”. That should be a bit obvious. Instead I will note all the subtle tastes that I hit while I was smoking this cigar. First of all the wrapper itself is incredibly sweet. I like it a lot. The first bold flavors are a bit earthy, a bit of leather, mixed with soft grape and cherry accents, and a subtle barley. This is a more natural tasting cigar. The draw itself is very very large, but the cigar isn’t very loose. It’s just perfect. The smoke is very smooth, i could probably got at this thing for a few hours without getting tired. The burn is really consistent and I have yet to touch it up. The ash collected well over and inch and a half before falling into my ashtray.

ACID One by Drew Estate

Halfway There: The draw on the ACID One is still remarkably smooth. It makes your almost forget you were smoking a cigar. The taste of mixed fruit, and natural hints is still present, but taking a back burner to what seems to be a more minty, peppered, pine taste. This cigar is delicious. I had to touch it up once, just slightly, but the burn outside of that little area are perfectly even. One big plus about the ACID One is the smoke isn’t as strong scented as a lot of the other ACID cigars. This is one you may just get away with lighting up in a room fool of non-infused smokers without bothering a single one.

Finish: The ACID One finished just as smooth as it began. I nubbed the crap out of this one, and had I had a pocket knife handy I would have probably taken a few more draw off this bad boy before I threw up the white flag. The flavors ended very smooth, with of course a wine taste with hints of fruit and pine. An excellent finish. I had no problems at all with unwrapping, or burn flaws.

ACID One by Drew Estate

Overview: This is one hell of a great cigar. I really enjoyed it, and will again. I would recommend it to any cigar smoker, from beginner to non-infused. The attraction of wine, with deepened tastes that don’t overpower the smoker is a killer combination. The value of this cigar? It depends. Here in my local B&M shops they are priced RIDICULOUS. But if you can find them locally for a descent price comparable to what you can find on-line, do it.

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