the Good Stuff:

Making its debut at this year’s 2025 PCA trade show, the My Father Blue was unveiled. This new, regular production cigars is created at the all new My Father Cigar factory in Honduras which opened in 2024. Marking the My Father Blue as the first Honduran produced cigar, the blend features a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper over a Honduran binder and Honduran filler tobaccos. The cigar is offered in four regular production sizes: Petite Robusto (4 1/2 x 50), Robusto (5 1/4 x 54), Toro (6 x 54) and Toro Gordo (6 x 60). Each comes packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $9 and $13 per cigar.

• Size: 5 1/4 x 54
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado
• Binder: Honduran
• Filler: Honduran
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $10.50

Prelight:

The My Father Blue starts out with a very deep, dark brown wrapper which isn’t the most consistent as there are quite a few areas with darker and light brown scattered throughout. The soft-box pressed body features a good amount of veining in the wrapper. The wrapper is laid carefully over itself white the texture itself is very gritty and toothy and coated with a ton of oils. The cigar is completed with a round, double wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a set of very light blue bands with the My Father Crest along with the Blue moniker. There is also an added blue ribbon at the foot of the cigar.

The wrapper on the My Father Blue gives off musky earthy notes with a bit of a floral ton while the foot of the cigar smells really spicy and earthy. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw is very chocolatey and earthy with some soft spice.

First Third:

The My Father Blue starts out with a ton of milk chocolate flavors over musk, earthiness, natural tobacco and pecan. The draw is absolutely beautiful. Each puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, white smoke which take forever to dissipate while the cigar releases a good amount of stationary smoke as the oils burn off the wrapper while the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and rock solid leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of thick, white ash which held on for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second third:

The milk chocolate is still the main character in the My Father Blue’s flavor profile. Along with the musk, earthiness, natural tobacco and pecan I picked up in the first third there is also now a really awesome sweetness, almost like brown sugar that has been seeping in. The retrohale brings out just a hint of the spice I picked up during the cold draw. I close out the second third with no nicotine kick at all.

Finish:

The body really picks up in the final third of the My Father Blue’s and is now in the medium/full arena. The flavor profile is mostly the same with loads of milk chocolate, tobacco, musk, earthiness and pecan but now with a whole mess of cinnamon and spice with the light brown sugar I picked up in the first. The cigar took me a little over and hour to smoke it down to the nub. There was no harshness nor extended heat. I did however experience just some slight sap, but once I clipped a bit more off the cap I was golden. I didn’t smoke at all faster pace either. I close out with no nicotine at all.

Overview:

The My Father Blue feels classic, yet modern at the same time. The cigar has all the nuances you’d expect from a My Father cigar. The flavor profile is complex and enjoyable, yet the strength remains on the lower end for a My Father cigar making it even more enjoyable in this case. It also really helps showcase some of the more subtle flavors in the Honduran tobacco. All in all, this is a cigar I can easily see myself smoking over and over again. It’s a perfect cigar to have on hand and will likely have a place in my regular rotation for quite some time.

The post My Father Cigars – My Father Blue appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Late last year one of the more household cigar manufactures had announced that it would be under new reigns, that company was Quesada cigars who’s portfolio includes the Fonseca brand. The company who was acquiring the rights was none other than My Father cigars. While this caught a lot of us off guard, more than most have been excited to see what changes My Father would bring to an already well-honored cigar company right in history. Fast forward to August 2020 and the newly branded Fonseca by My Father started landing on shelves while die-hard cigar enthusiasts were waiting to gobble them up.

The Fonseca by My Father is blended using a Nicaraguan Shade Grown Corojo 99 Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The cigar is offered in six sizes: Petit Corona ( 4 1/4 x 40), Robusto (4 1/4 x 52), Cosacos (5 3/8 x 42), Belicosos (5 1/2 x 54), Toro Gorda (6 x 55), and Cedros (6 1/4 x 52). Each offering comes packaged in boxes of 20 running between $7 and $11.20 a stick. Big thanks goes out to my boy Jason for hooking it up with a few of these!

• Size: 5 1/4 x 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade Grown Corojo 99 Rosada
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $9.50
• Pairing: Civil Society BA King Gary Loves the Coco (Imperial Milk Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Fonseca by My Father starts out with an extremely consistent milky brown wrapper which shines orange in the sun. The texture on the wrapper is extremely toothy and grainy with a good amount of oils coating the cigar. The wrapper itself feels very thick and very dense while the cigar as a whole is extremely hard and tightly packed. The meaty body showcases some slight veins and a ton of natural tobacco webbing leading up to the cigar’s round double-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a VERY “My Father” looking, heavily designed band which showcases the Fonseca crest in the front. Its a bit odd for me, but we’ll get used to it. The cigar also carries a gold ribbon foot band.

The wrapper on the Fonseca by My Father gives off a very sweet mixture of spice and cedar aromas while the foot of the cigar carries a lot of the same spice but a much more earthy makeup. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a ton of spice, cocoa, and musk.

First Third:

The Fonseca by My Father starts out with a nice subtle pepper blast which one lasts through the first puff before releasing a ton of sweet cedar, cinnamon, cocoa, musk, leather and almond. This cigar starts firing right off the bat! Despite being very tightly packed, the draw is absolutely perfect as each tiny puff kicks out a whole ton of thick, white smoke which dissipates rather quickly while the cigar releases a whole mess of stationary smoke while the oils burn off the wrapper while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is slightly wavy as it leaves behind a decently compacted trail of medium and dark gray ash which held on for an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Fonseca by My Father and the cigar is still firing on all cylinders. The almond, cedar, and chocolate lead the pack backed by light creamed coffee, cinnamon, earthiness, and honey. The retrohale brings out a ton of the sharp spice so I don’t find myself doing it too often. The cigar is burning perfectly at this point and hasn’t required any attention from my torch to either touch-up or relight. I close out the second third with a minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Fonseca by My Father and the cedar is now in charge, back by bold notes of cedar and chocolate over light coffee, musk, earthiness and coffee. It took me an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness, no extended heat, and only a very minor nicotine kick.

Overview:

I’ve been on pins and needles awaiting the moment I could get my hands on these cigars. Quesada has been a favorite brand of mine for as long as I can remember, and My Father, I mean, who doesn’t love them? How did it go? Well, in short, it was absolutely amazing. The flavor profile is incredible and right up my alley, the smoking experience was flawless and the price is way below what I feel like I’d be comfortable paying for such a fantastic cigar. This is box worthy for sure, and a strong contender for my top 10 cigars of the year as it sits currently.

Pairing:

King Gary loves the Coco is a Barrel Aged Imperial Stout brewed with Cocoa and Coconut coffee. Coming in at 10% ABV this Florida raised beer leads with heavy cocoa, brown sugar, coconut, black coffee, and vanilla with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with very toffee-esque flavors over more cocoa and mild coffee with only a very light barrel bite. The choice for this beer was obviously the cocoa and coffee lead flavors in the beer and how well they complimented the cocoa and coffee flavors in the Fonseca while the coconut just added another layer to a already phenomenal experience.

The post Fonseca by My Father Robusto appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today I have a review from a brand we haven’t really seen too much of lately since they release the OSA SOL a while ago (which I reviewed here). The brand is CAO and if you remember they were also purchased by General Cigar. Today’s new addition to the lineup is known as the Concert.

The Concert is intended to be a throwback to the roots of the CAO brand in Nashville, Tennessee. The musical parts of this cigar are pretty darn easy to spot. Not only does the name give musical reference but the band actually looks like a guitar and pick. Also on the side of the guitar is written “Perfect Harmony” in some fancy script.

Rick Rodriguez of CAO is the mastermind behind this blend and the leaves used here seem pretty interesting. I’m a big fan of Rosado cigars when they are done right but to have a Broadleaf binder is very different, I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out in the flavors. The cigars in this line are also all 5.5 inches long and only vary in their ring gauge starting at 46 and going up to 60. In line with the rest of the cigar, all the vitolas have music related names such as Roadie, Amp and Stage. Today up for review is going to be the 50 ring gauge version called the Solo!

Cigar: CAO Concert
Drink: Crown Royal Maple Finish
Vitola: ”Solo” Robusto (5.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Price: About $6
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• A nice looking cinnamon brown wrapper surrounds the cigar
• I found one crack in the wrapper just below the halfway mark of the cigar
• It has a pretty firm consistency from cap to foot
• The single cap is applied very cleanly and looks well done
• The foot is well packed for the most part with just a couple spots that had a bit of a gap

Burn:
• Toasting was even, quick and easy with no problem spots to worry about
• The crack in the wrapper is causing it to unroll a bit as I burn closer to it
• Other than that crack the cigar has been burning razor sharp and even through the first 3rd
• The cigar started to expand a bit causing the crack to get even worse and grow, starting to cause some burn problems now and I needed to give it a quick touchup
• The crack continued to cause problems until I finally passed it in the last third
• I still needed a couple touchups nears the end though

Smoke & Ash:
• Even with a slightly tight draw, I’m getting a ton of smoke each time
• There’s also a good amount of resting smoke coming off the cigar as well
• The ash is coming along really nicely in the early stages, looking strong, tight and clean
• The color on the ash is also quite nice with alternating light grey and white tones
• To prevent the ash from falling onto my laptop I tapped it off around 1 inch but I think it could have easily made it to at least 1.5 inches
• Even with the messy wrapper and re-lights the ash still continued to be strong holding on for 1 inch each time
• Smoke also continued to be full right through to the end

Tasting Notes:
• There wasn’t much aroma coming off the foot here, maybe just a bit of spice and woodsiness
• From the foot, I’m getting a fresh woodsy aroma with the same touch of spice
• Lots more of the fresh wood flavor and even some earth now on the pre-light draw
• The initial few draws had a defined burnt undertone to them but it seem went away
• After the burn notes went away I was left with a bit of a pepper spice flavor profile with some notes of wood mixed in there
• The flavors have stuck in the woodsy and slightly spicy range through the first half with just a bit of leather getting mixed in now and again
• On the retrohale, I’m picking up more of the spice in the bite and a dry spice on the finish as well
• Body has been mostly in the medium range up until now, we’ll see if it changes coming through to the end
• The last half has stuck with the wood and spice main notes, the leather is peeking in more often now and I’m getting a bit of coffee notes here and there
• More leather flavors as I burn down the the end here with just a touch of soft spices hanging around

Final Thoughts:
This turned out to be a pretty nice smoke overall and I enjoyed it for the most part. The cracked wrapper definitely caused some burn issues but they luckily didn’t affect the flavors much and it was probably just a one-time thing since no other Concert sticks I’ve smoked had the same problem. Now there wasn’t anything over the top here but it was a good solid medium smoke with some nice flavors. Not too much change in the profile though so I don’t think I would opt for anything bigger than a robusto. Definitely worth lighting one up though so give it a try, good to see CAO is still turning out some good sticks even after their recent ownership change.

Pairings:
Just in case you missed the name of my pairing before it is Crown Royal Maple Finished. Yes, that’s right, MAPLE! And damn does this bottle pack some serious mapley-goodness! My wife actually said it smelled like pancakes when I opened the bottle. IF you’ve had Crown Royal before you’ll know it’s got a pretty smooth texture to it but a lot of people tend to mix it with coke. The Maple flavor added here makes it perfectly enjoyable just on ice. And it made an excellent pairing for the cigar too, the sweetness can be a little overpowering at first but it settles down after a couple sips. Just don’t try pairing this with any soft or mild sticks cause they might get lost. +1 for Maple!

The post CAO Concert appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Nestor Miranda is the founder of the Miami Cigars and Company and has recently started producing his own blends that come attached to his name. These include the Nestor Miranda Collection 1989, the newer Nestor Miranda Special Selection and the recent Casa Miranda. The Art Deco cigar also carries the Nestor Miranda blend and is currently sold in 3 vitolas, all of which are over 50 ring gauge.

The Art Deco is a joint effort effort between Nestor Miranda & José Pepin Garcia. I think we all know that Don Garcia is no stranger to success in the cigar industry and if he has a hand in the blending, you can usually be guaranteed it will be a quality cigar. The blend consists of 60% Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and 40% Dominican San Vicente, plus Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano 2000 binders rolled and triple-capped in dark, shimmering Nicaraguan Corojo ’06.

I actually picked up this cigar as part of a box set which included 4 Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky’s (2 Oscuro and 2 Rosado) along with an Art Deco. I’ve also enjoyed a few singles of the Robusto Grande vitola bought separately. I want to mention how awesome I think this band is. It’s so retro and different and the colors really pop. The cigars are also packaged in retro tins with the same neat design. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover! So I think that’s enough chatter, let’s get onto the review

Cigar: Nestor Miranda Art Deco
Drink: Unibroue Don De Dieu
Vitola: Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’06
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano ’00
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 & Dominican San Vincente
Price: $8.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This looks to be a wonderfully constructed cigar, very even in diameter with a dark golden brown wrapper
• The whole cigar is very firm when squeezed and has almost no bumps on the wrapper
• The head of the cigar is finished off with an extremely clean triple cap, it’s easy to see some extra care went into making this cigar
• The foot looks to be mostly well packed with a one gap that looks a bit under-filled
• The cut was fairly easy despite the firmness of the cigar
• The draw seems to be a bit more open than I’d typically like but it’s not terrible
• Seems that the draw tightened up a bit near the halfway mark making for a perfect draw each time

Burn:
• The cigar toasting was very easy with a short time frame to get the foot evenly glowing
• The initial burn was a bit wavy but it quickly corrected itself and started burning razor sharp after that
• Through the first half I have no complaints about the burn here, it’s still razor sharp and requires zero attention from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw is fairly full but it’s actually not that thick in density
• The resting smoke here is almost non existent at times, it’s a very friendly cigar to have while non-smokers may be nearby
• The ash is starting off with a nice light gray color and looks to be tight and clean
• I’m getting some awesome striping on the ash and its staying clean and strong
• It lasted nearly 2 inches before making an awesome nosedive into the ashtray. A perfect 10 anyone???
• The next ash only lasted about an inch but it stayed clean and crisp and fell off easily into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives a strong earthy and barnyard aroma with a touch of cedar
• The aroma on the foot carries through with the earthy and cedar notes but adds in a slightly sweet spice, maybe of raw cinnamon
• The pre-light daw brings an interesting mix of sweet notes on top of the cedar, possibly some dried cherries
• Initial flavors are stong in the cedar department with that slightly dried cherry taste in there, very interesting!
• The cedar has stuck around through the first inch but the initial sweetness has tapered off a bit
• For the most part, the cigar has started off in the low end of the medium range with a small bite on the retrohale
• As I continue along, I’m getting a bit of leather and the initial earthy aromas are making an appearance in the flavor department now
• As I pass the halfway mark, the mix of cedar, leather and earth has me seeking a little something more. It’s not bad or harsh but I feel like there’s something missing since the sweetness disappeared…
• As the cigar continued I started getting a bit of the sweetness returning here and there along with some slight nuttiness
• The body is building ever so slowly in the last third, heading into the high medium range
• Some toasted nutty/almond flavors are making this last third a lot more interesting along with the dried cherry sweetness that keeps rearing it’s head here and there
• The nice final mixture of flavors stuck through to the nub with almost no harshness, a very nice finish

Final Thoughts:
As with all of the Miami Cigar offerings I seem to come into them with high hopes. They’ve had such a great track record recently that I only expect the best. The Nestor Miranda Art Deco is a well balanced cigar with a variety of flavors. The first and last 3rds of the cigar were interesting and kept me on my toes but the middle portion seemed to lack something. The burn was excellent the whole way through and overall construction was top notch. The price is also very reasonable so it’s something I would probably buy again, perhaps in the Coffee Break vitola (4.5 x 50). I think that size may be the sweet spot and keep the interesting flavors going from start to finish. If you like a good medium smoke with an interesting profile these are worth checking out.

Added note: I asked Tony his thoughts here and he’s only smoked the Coffee Break vitola and loved it. I’ve only had the Robusto Grande, so I think my guess that a smaller vitola would make this cigar great is probably a good guess!

Pairings:
So this beer comes with a funny sort of story.  I’ve done a few other reviews with Unibroue brews and always loved them, not to mention they are also Canadian which is a plus in my eyes!  Unfortunately, most of their brews are actually not even available for me to purchase cause of the ridiculous taxes and restrictions in my province. The brewery is only about a 5 hour drive away, but it’s in another province… So, I actually picked this bottle up in Florida. Yes, that’s right. I drove 1600 miles away from the brewery to actually buy it! I guess that speaks to the silliness of our taxes here! lol
Enough of my complaining, let’s move onto the actual beer. I had no idea what to expect from this as I’ve never had it before and the bottle doesn’t really explain what type of beer it is. The name of this beer, “Don De Dieu” literally translates to “Gift from God” so I figured it can’t be that bad!
After doing a bit of research, I found out this is a triple fermented wheat beer that is also unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance in the glass. The flavors in this brew are excellent, mixing a little bit of fruit, maybe some vanilla and very smooth malty finish. This is not your average wheat beer though, it packs in 9% ABV and the triple fermentation without filtration makes it feel a lot fuller bodied than you might expect. I found it to be an excellent pairing with the Nestor Miranda Art Deco as it offered up lots of interesting flavors. I think a fine tawny port would also be an excellent pairing here or perhaps keep it simple with a dark soda.

The post Nestor Miranda Art Deco Robusto Grande appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

A little while back I had the chance to review and enjoy one of the My Father Cigars Le Bijou 1922. Today I’m taking on a slightly different cigar, the Cedros Deluxe. Just like the Le Bijou, this cigar is blended by Don Pepin Garcia. The Cedros Deluxe series comes in a few different sizes each with their own unique name. Today’s review will focus on the Corona Gorda size which is called the “Eminentes”. Each cigar in this line also comes wrapper in a cedar sleeve and an additional band near the foot.

Now this is a beautifully presented cigar! The bands on the My Father’s never cease to impress me. They have a cleanly printed matte label with green, red and pink accented by some metallic gold lettering. Even the lettering printed on the cedar sleeve is precise and clear. It’s easy to tell there was a significant amount of attention to detail in the creation of each aspect of this cigar. But enough blabbing from me, let’s hop to it and see how this cigar actually smokes.

Cigar: My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes
Drink: Delaforce Reserve Porto
Vitola: Corona Gorda (5.625 x 46)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00-$8.00
Burn Time: A little over 1 hour

Construction:
• After carefully and easily sliding the cedar sleeve off the cigar I was greeted with a beautiful chocolaty brown wrapper that shimmered with a slight oiliness
• There were only a couple small veins visible and the wrapped has an almost velvety feel to it
• The head of the cigar is finished with a smooth and clean triple cap
• The foot appears moderately packed
• The whole cigar had a slight softness to it when squeezed, even and consistent throughout
• The cap clipped cleanly and easily off with my double bladed guillotine cutter
• Initial draw is spot on, just enough resistance

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and quick and left the foot glowing perfectly even
• Burn has been mostly straight through the first third with some minor waviness
• After ashing the first time I noticed a tunnel forming in the center of the cigar, so far it hasn’t affected my burn much and is still burning fairly even
• The tunnel was still there as I got into the last bit of the cigar but it still didn’t affect the burn much with only one small retouch needed the whole time

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw brings with it a good mouthful of smoke
• The resting smoke is surprisingly minimal and gives off a great cedar aroma
• The ash is a mix of light grey and white areas and is having a small amount of flaking around it
• I tapped off the first ash after about an inch as it started going a little lopsided and looked weak, but it held on tightly until then
• The next ash also lasted over an inch but fell to the floor on the way back to ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• This while cigar smells completely like cedar! Oh wait… let me remove that cedar sleeve..
• Ok, now the cigar still smells like cedar! But added in there is some barnyard and spice aromas
• The foot of the cigar definitely brings more of that hay/barnyard aroma and a bit of spice that tingles the nose
• Pre-light draw brings a lot of cedar to my palate and a nutmeg or clove type of spice
• Initial draws are filled with a smooth and creamy cedar flavor accented by a mild clove and nutmeg spice.
• I’m also picking up a earthy green type of flavor that’s interesting
• Body through the first bit has been mostly mild and offering a creamy and smooth finish
• The cedar picked up it’s intensity as I reached the halfway mark and added in a touch of white pepper and a bit of roasted coffee
• As I hit the last third, the coffee and spices started to build in intensity, the body also picked up a bit to a nice medium
• The retrohale on this cigar has had only a small bite and smooth cedar finish the whole way so far
• The roasted coffee and white pepper notes seemed to take control in the last third with the cedar playing a minor part
• Body got a bit stronger near the end, touching into the full category but I’m still not feeling any nicotine kick on this one

Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable cigar from start to finish. The flavors were always tasty and had some complexity to them but can still be enjoyed by any level of smoker. The various flavors also changed up throughout the cigar adding some interesting and enjoyable dimensions that kept me on my toes. Construction was excellent as well. The price on this line of cigars is fairly comfortable as well, making it easy to pick some up and add to your regular rotation.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was my final glass from the bottle of Delaforce Reserve Porto. I enjoyed this port with a recent review of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series. It’s definitely one of my favorites mainly due to it’s full bodied red wine undertones. On top of that wonderful base, the Delaforce Reserve offers up a mix of blackberry and cherry flavors along with a bit of a smoked oak. I found this cigar paired excellently with this port especially accenting the cedar notes it had. Other good pairings with the My Father Cigars Cedros Deluxe would include a stronger coffee, dark porter, stout, or scotch.

The post My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Ideology was intended to diversify the line of 262 Cigars by bringing a smooth, mile and creamy profile.  The cigar is wrapped with a Rosado leaf which I find to be a great alternative to the Connecticut when seeking a mild cigar for anytime of the day.  As I mentioned in my last review, the 262 Cigar company is made up of a small group of passionate cigar smokers who have embraced the online and B&M cigar communities to promote their product.  By leveraging these communities they’ve been able to establish themselves as a good name in the cigar world.

The blend of leaves in this tobacco all come from some of my favorite tobacco leave regions including Nicaragua, Mexico and Dominican Republic.  Each of these leaves offers a unique and tasty profile and I’m excited to see how they blend together.  It’s nice to see a cigar aimed at the mild market when it seems a lot of new cigars are being aimed at strong, full bodied smokers.

Cigar: 262 Cigars Ideology
Drink: Erdinger Weissber Dunkel
Vitola: Box-Pressed Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Dominican
Price: $8.75 from 262 Cigars Website (www.smoketherevolution.com)
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A very clean and even square pressed toro cigar
• The wrapper is a nice matte chocolate brown color with almost no visible veins
• The head is finish with a clean triple cap and seems to have a little more shine then the rest of the cigar
• The foot is very well packed and the cigar is fairly firm to the touch with whole way through
• The cut was nice and clean, falling off in a neat bunch into the ashtray
• Draw is just right, not too much effort and not too airy

Burn:
• Toasting took a little while to get even but eventually glowed nicely
• Burn started off a bit wavy but quickly corrected itself and is burning razor sharp now
• Still no problems on the burn as I pass the halfway mark, this is a great sign since I usually have problems with box-pressed cigars, but not this one

Smoke & Ash:
• Getting a nice mouthful of smoke from each draw
• Resting smoke is fairly minimal
• The ash is producing a nice white color to it and looks tightly wound
• Despite it looking nice and strong, the ash fell into the ashtray after about an inch
• The one inch mark seems to be the sweet spot for this ash, but it cleanly falls into the ashtray without me having to worry about it at all

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is very light but I get some hints of coffee and hay
• The foot gives off a bit more hay on the aroma and some hints of coffee and cocoa, maybe even a small touch of spice
• Pre-light draw brings mostly hay and a sweet tobacco type flavor
• Initial draws have a nice cedar flavor and some hints of coffee, starting off nice and mild
• Retrohale is very mild with no bite and at this early point is not giving any distinct flavors
• The coffee flavors have developed a bit more on the finish and also on the retrohale, cigar is still fairly mild
• Getting a bit of creaminess on the finish, a nice touch
• The creaminess has also translated to the retrohale and it also developed a tiny little bite
• The body started to pick up a bit near the end, it’s just teetering on the edge of medium right now
• The cedar/woodsiness made a more prominent appearance in the last third
• The mild smoothness of this cigar is very enjoyable and relaxing, not too in your face
• Some bitterness started to develop in the last inch or so of the cigar, but it wasn’t terribly off-putting
• Smooth cedar flavors lasted to the end

Final Thoughts:
This was a nice mild and enjoyable smoking experience.  The flavors were never overpowering and it smoked smooth and easy the whole way through.  It also had a great burn and nice amount of smoke from start to finish.  This cigar would be a good addition to a selection of early day smokes or when you just want something smooth and mild to relax with. It’s nothing overly complex but still a relaxing and enjoyable cigar.  It would also make a great option for beginner cigar enthusiasts looking for something that won’t knock their socks off.  It also sets itself apart from a lot of other mild cigars which tend to be Connecticut wrappers.  The Rosado wrapper gives it a different flavor while still keeping it creamy and mild.  Anyone looking for a change in their early morning smoke should give these a try.  Their price comes in a bit high to be an easy every-day smoke but still fair enough to be part of a weekly rotation.

Pairings:
After getting the initial notes of coffee and cocoa on the wrapper I decided to pair this cigar with a nice dark beer.  My choice was Erdinger’s Dunkel, a dark wheat beer that goes through a strict fermentation process.  It has distinct notes of coffee and dark malts and goes down smooth with minimal hoppiness or bitterness.  This ended up being a very nice pairing for this cigar with the flavors from each complimenting each other.  Similarly smooth and flavorful dark beers would also pair well here.  A nice cup of coffee or dark soda would also make an excellent pairing.

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Miami Cigar & Company is a distributor of some fantastic cigars and has given us such names as Leon Jimenes, La Aurora, Nestor Miranda and Don Lino. Make sure to visit their website and read more about their products and the company at: www.MiamiCigarandCompany.com. Not long ago they ventured into creating their own house blend cigar which turned into the Calibre 58 creations.

These new cigars were graciously sent to us from our friends over at Miami Cigar & Company. The Calibre 58 is offered in two sizes and two different wrappers. The sizes they created were non-standard but offer something different to the cigar enthusiast in us. The two shapes are what resembles a Short Churchill and a Short Torpedo, both measuring in with a 58 ring gauge. The wrappers offered for the Calibre 58 are a Nicaraguan Rosado and Oscuro.

Up for review today is the Short Churchill version of the Calibre 58 wrapped in the Nicaraguan Rosado wrapper. There’s a couple things to note about this cigar. Firstly, this is a Nicaraguan Puro, which means all the tobacco leaves used come from the country of Nicaragua. Secondly, this is a pre-release version which means that future releases could see some differences such as the addition of bands or slight changes in the blend.

Cigar: Miami Cigar & Company Calibre 58
Drink: Quinta de Infantado Tawny Port (2004)
Vitola: Short Churchill (4 x 58)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Around $5-6
Burn Time: 1 Hour

Construction:
• Very even diameter throughout the length of the cigar
• A couple prominent veins but none seem big enough to cause any burn problems
• Fairly firm from end to end with just a tiny bit of spring
• Very cleanly applied triple cap
• The foot appears to be very well packed
• The large ring gauge just fit barely into by double blade cutter but it did cut nice and clean, you might need scissors or a punch cutter if your guillotine style doesn’t fit large ring gauges
• A small crack formed near the head but it never caused any problems

Burn:
• Toasting took a fairly long amount of time but it did toast up nice and evenly with no dark spots
• Burning very slowly, needs a few extra draws to stay lit but nothing overwhelming
• Burn has been fairly even through the first inch although it did require one minor touch up
• Almost went out near the halfway point, needing a little more attention now
• Some more touch-ups as the cigar burns, I seem to have this problem a lot with large ring gauge cigar, possibly because I smoke them very slowly when reviewing

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke right off the first draw
• Moderate amount of resting smoke giving off a nice woodsy aroma
• Ash appears extremely strong in the first inch of the cigar with no flaking
• First ash fell off at about 1.5 inches, it probably could have held on longer if it wasn’t for some touch-ups

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is mostly cedar with some hints of earthiness
• The foot brings more cedar and a sweet nutmeg type spice
• Pre-light draw has more cedar and some pepper mixed in with the nutmeg spice
• Initial draws bring flavors or toasted wood and some peppery spice
• Retrohale starting off with lots of cedar and a smooth spicy finish, just a small bit of kick
• About 1 inch in some of the nutmeg spice is making a more prominent appearance and the pepper has settled down, just getting minor hints of it here and there
• Some added earthiness is joining the flavor mix, they all seem to be well balanced so far
• Passing the halfway mark there is some creaminess being added to the mix and despite the touchups there has been little to no harshness
• Body started off a bit mild and has slowly made it’s way up to medium
• The creaminess also added itself to the finish of the retrohale, nice and smooth and the bite has gotten a little more aggressive
• Body definitely picking up as I approach the last inch, also feeling a bit of nicotine kick, surprising for this short vitola cigar
• Used a toothpick near the end to maximize nubbing since there was very little harshness

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this cigar and I think most people would. It had some peppery spice at the start and end but not a very in-your-face type of pepper that usually turns me away. It was fairly balanced throughout and had a fair bit of dimensionality considering it’s shorter length. It does kick into full gear near the end so novice smokers may need to be careful here. A good drink is key here, something with some sugar in it will help reduce to nicotine kick you get. The burn required some touchups but it was never major, just make sure to keep some constant draws and it should burn no problem. For the price it’s worth picking up a few of these and trying them out. I’m curious to see if they change the blend at all on the official release but I’ll try another one when they come out regardless.

Pairings:
I finished off my last bottle of Quinta de Infantado Tawny Port with this cigar. You can read more about this port from this review of the Tatuaje Verocu Red Tubo. This paired very well with this cigar. I find that the sugar in port helps reduce any nicotine kick in stronger cigars. The oaky flavors also matched nicely with the cedar/woodsy notes and the spicy notes in this cigar. A good porter/stout, sweet tea or a dark soda would also pair nicely here.

The post Miami Cigar & Company – Calibre 58 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.