As for me, life has been pretty busy and it will surely continue to be that way until the big wedding day coming up in September. I did manage to sneak away last week and put together a review of the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared. Try saying that 10 times fast! haha.

Now Viaje is a brand I don’t really get to see a lot of North of the border in Canada. Due to their mostly limited production they also have a fairly limited distribution and they also seem to be well sought after, making them even harder to come by. The few I have gotten come from trades or bombs, just like this one did. Today’s Viaje is part of their Oro line up and is the limited edition version, so it’s even more limited production so I’m happy to have a chance to review this one for everybody.

There isn’t a ton of info on the Viaje brand or this particular cigar but I’ll do my best to give a little bit of background. The brand owner is Andre Farkas and he naturally portrays the brand as a boutique cigar company which specializes in small batch cigars. The actual name Viaje is a Spanish word that translates to ‘Journey’ and Andre currently has 7 lines under the Viaje flag. The Oro lines is produced at the Raices Cubanas factory and comes wrapped with a Corojo99 leaf and a double binder.

Now if you can get your hands on a few of these, they’ve all been pretty darn tasty from the small samplings I’ve had so far. They are all Nicaraguan puros, so if you are a Nicaraguan fan, you will be at home here. So let’s jump on in and see if the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared lives up to the reputation that I’ve come to expect from the brand so far.

Cigar: Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared
Drink: Unibroue Raftman
Vitola: Double Torpedo (5.25 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $9
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada is an interesting looking figurado shaped cigar with a very dark brown wrapper that has a few golden highlights
• The wrapper definitely has some toothiness to it and isn’t afraid to show off a little bit of oilyness
• The cap of the cigar is finished cleanly with a single leaf that blends away into the wrapper
• There is definitely a soft springiness to this cigar, more so near the foot, I’m hoping it doesn’t translate into an open draw
• The foot itself is almost closed, with maybe just a quarter inch visible so I can’t really tell if it’s well packed or not
• A couple medium sized veins show through on the wrapper but they are fairly short and don’t look like they will be a problem
• The stick I have has a small crack in the wrapper near the band, probably from shipment, hopefully it doesn’t cause any problems

Burn:
• The foot is so small on this cigar so toasting was obviously super easy, now let’s see if it works out to be a nice burn too
• I always tend to have a lot of burn issues at the start of tapered cigars like this but this one seems to be starting off pretty well
• Through the first inch the burn is a bit wavy but it seems to be staying within a decent range and not requiring touchups
• The waves got the better of the burn and I needed to give it a quick touch up near the halfway mark

Smoke & Ash:
• Even from the tiny tapered foot at the start this cigar started producing massive amounts of smoke from each and every draw
• The resting smoke was consistent but not overpowering, just a nice light line steadily emerging from the foot
• The initial ash is nothing pretty, it seems pretty uneven and dark grey or black in most spots
• I tapped it off after about an inch since it looked like it was gonna fall anyway
• The ash also has no smooth burn lines to it, weird to see that it’s all just chunks here and there
• The next ash lasted a bit longer than an inch but it was still fairly weak and pretty much exploded when hitting the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper is fairly light with only a little bit of woodsy aromas shining through
• The foot is very small so the aromas were pretty much the same as the wrapper here
• The pre-light draw carries more of the woodiness through but this time it’s much more noticeable and comes with a bit of clove and fresh vegetal notes as well
• The initial flavors are very similar to the pre-light with a lot of woodiness and vegetal flavors, plus a bit more of the clove spices
• The spices started to pick up as I head past the 1 inch mark, lots of interesting peppers, nutmeg and a bit of saltiness I usually only find in cubans
• As with a lot of sharply tapered cigars, I tend to get a bit of the oils coming out of the cap that make it a little bitter. Cutting it a bit more usually resolves this problem
• I’m getting a bit of leather in the mix now and the wood flavors have become more toasted now
• For the most part, the whole cigar has been in the medium bodied range and it’s had a nice bite on the retrohale with a smooth woodsy and clove finish
• Just past the half-way mark I’m getting a nice espresso flavor mixing in with the spices and woodsiness, this is getting better and better!
• All the flavors really started to gain some intensity near the end and balance out amazingly
• A nice tasty and flavorful finish without any harshness to worry about, bravo!

Final Thoughts:
I haven’t had too many Viaje’s in my days, mostly because they don’t reach Canada in distribution and of course they are fairly limited. But all-in-all I quite enjoyed this one! The ash may not have been pretty but we’re not here for good looks, we’re here for flavors and the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared did not miss the mark there at all. Tons of interesting flavors that kept changing made me wonder what the next draw was going to bring me, I love having that in any cigar. There were a couple issues on the burn but nothing major that I would knock this cigar for. The price is a bit up there at the $9 mark but even at that price I’d say it’s worth trying a few of these. That is, if you can find them cause they are pretty much all gone from what I can tell.

Pairings:
I’m not gonna re-invent the wheel here, I already did a good write up on the Unibroue Raftman when I paired it with the La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra. Here’s the rundown from my last post:

Next to the Scottish brewery of Innis & Gunn that I paired last week, another of my favorite breweries is none other than Canada’s own Unibroue. This place is based out of Quebec and has a HUGE inventory of brews with a ton of different and unique beers that are a rare find. Today’s brew is called Raftman and I only found a case of these while actually in Quebec, I’ve never seen it in any other stores so far. Now this brew was very interesting as the label says it is brewed with Whisky Malts so I just had to pick it up and give it a try. Well I’m glad I did cause this is one tasty brew and yet again another winner from Unibroue. It’s a fairly light amber beer but it packs in a ton of flavor. The whisky malts are very obvious as they give a classic touch of whisky, as if you just put a little whisky inside a good beer. Along with that it also has a delicious malty finish and some notes of sweetness as well.

As for the pairing, I found it made an awesome compliment for the Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared. The unique and interesting flavors on the cigar made for an awesome experience to go with the beer. Other good selections could have been a nice Porto, or a flavored coffee seems like an interesting idea here.

The post Viaje Oro Edicion Limitada Perfecto Squared appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Le Hoyo part of this cigars name is actually a series created by Hoyo de Monterray which also includes the Le Hoyo Du Roi, Du Depute, Du Gourmet, Du Maire and Du Prince. Each name also represents a slightly different vitola but something unique to this series is that no cigar is larger than a 42 ring gauge which is fairly odd to see in todays cigar world where everyone seems to be making a 6×60 or something similar. In fact, the whole Hoyo de Monterray line up does not even pass the 50 ring gauge mark.

The Le Hoyo des Dieux is actually one of the larger vitolas measuing 5.5 inches and a 42 ring gauge. Only the Du Gourmet is comparable at 6.8×33. I picked this box as my purchase for 2 reasons. Firstly, it came with great recomendations from a few BOTL’s and my secondly, my research showed it was claimed as the best option from the Le Hoyo series.

I won’t get into too many details of the brand history but it is an interesting read, as is most Cuban brands. Basically, a Spanish immigrant to Cuba started his career working the fields and eventually began his own cigar line which gained a loyal following. We’ve also touched upon a few other Hoyo De Monterray reviews including the Regalos Edicion Limitada 2007 and the Epicure Especial. Be sure to check out those 2 reviews for more info on the brand.

We’ve had some pretty crazy weather up here, going from somewhat warm to incredibly cold. In fact, we already hit -13F just this week… that was a bitterly cold day! But between the bad days there’s been some good smoking days I’ve been taking advantage of. So let’s see how the Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux stands up in todays review!

Cigar: Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux
Drink: Quinta Da Romaneira 2004 Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port
Vitola: Grand Corona (5.5 x 42)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $7.00
Burn Time: Just over an hour

Construction:
• The Hoyo de Monterray is a surprisingly consistent looking cigar, all the sticks in the box I purchased were remarkably similar. I point this out because I find some Cuban cigar boxes to have a wide variety of oddly constructed cigars sometimes
• The wrapper on this cigar screams cedar just by looking at it, it has a light brown almost woodsy looking appearance to it
• The are some medium sized veins here and there but for the most part these cigars are smooth and well constructed
• Each cigar had a nice firmness to them with just a little bit of give when squeezed
• The triple cap atop each of the Le Hoyo des Dieux is finished cleanly and appears very well applied
• Filler in the foot looks very bountiful as well, cleanly cut and evenly colored
• The draw on the Des Dieux is just about perfect, getting a nice stream of smoke from it with little effort

Burn:
• Toasting was very even and easy, the whole foot was glowing with very little effort
• The draw is going nice and sharp with only a slight wave to it
• Some times it seems as though the cigar has gone out but two quick draws seems to bring it back to life easily
• The wave got a little out of control and needed a small correction, after ashing it looks like the cause was a small hole in the filler. Not a big tunnel or anything but a big of a gap between the leaves
• The next ash revealed another small hole that was affecting the burn, this one looks more like a tunnel so I’m hoping it doesn’t extend too far…

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is bring a perfect mouthful of smoke with very little effort
• The resting smoke it fairly heavy right after a draw but quickly dies down to a very light line of smoke that gives off a sweet cedar aroma
• The ash is starting off with a nice light grey color to it and is looking clean and strong
• I was surprised to see the ash on this thinner cigar easily pass 1 inch and made it to about 1.5 inches before I tapped it off, very clean, strong and even
• I find myself taking a few extra draws as I get to the halfway mark to get more smoke and the resting smoke has died down too

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux gives off a nice cedar aroma with a small spice kick
• The foot also gives off a nice sweet cedary spice aroma with a sort of creamy touch
• Pre-light draw brings lots of cedary and woodsy goodness with a light spice undertone to it
• Initial few draws bring more of that cedary smoothness and an undertone of light gingerbread spices, very nice start
• The body right from the start is undeniably mild but very flavorful
• The retrohale on the other hand has no bite and only a faint cedar finish, but at least it’s smooth
• There is quite a bit of earthiness sneaking into the flavor profile within the first inch or so
• The body of the cigar seems to have picked up somewhat at only 2 inches, it easily jumped into a more medium range and the flavors are a lot more intense and enjoyable
• The gingerbread-type of spices are creating a neat little kick on the retrohale and the creamy cedar finish has stepped up a notch too, very nice
• Cedar, spice and earthiness still dominate the flavor profile but it’s picked up a bit in intensity
• I’m also picking up a slightly bready type of flavor which is going very nicely with the spices
• The cigar continued on with the flavors balancing nicely and taking turns being the prominent one
• There was almost no strength or harsh buildup to the end, it stayed a smooth and flavorful medium right to the nub

Final Thoughts:
Despite a couple draw and burn issues, I actually enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. The flavors were spot-on and not diverse, they kept my interest the whole way through. I think the vitola was a perfect fit since I may have gotten a bit bored if this were a larger torpedo or churchill. At a price that isn’t too scary these are also fairly high on the cost-to-flavor ratio. The finish on this cigar was also very flavorful and it burned right to the end with no negative side effects at all. I’m curious to see what some aging will do to this cigar but they are already very tasty as is. I will definitely be looking to keep some of these in my humidor. Not only were they tasty but I actually liked this vitola a lot too!

Pairings:
Today’s Port pairing comes from a random grab at the local store. I’ve never really seen this bottle before and I like to try new ones so I grabbed it. The winery is called Quinta da Romaneira and this is their 2004 Unfilitered Late Bottle Vintage Porto. Now I should note that I’m not exactly sure where the “unfiltered” part comes in here, the Port is surprisingly clear and clean with almost no sediment from the glasses I’ve had so far. This particular port fell short of my expectations, it almost tasted watered down. Closer to a glass of light red wine than a finely fermented port, and especially not one worthy of a 7-year aged sticker on the bottle. There are some nice light fruity notes and a decent merlot after-taste but it’s not my type of port. If you’re just venturing into port I’d say it’s a good starter bottle as it might bridge the gap between a light wine and a strong port. It’s not all bad though because it actually paired well with the flavors of the Le Hoyo des Dieux since they weren’t overpowering or super spicy. They both complimented each other quite well. I think this Hoyo De Monterray cigar would pair very nicely with a hot cup of coffee or possibly an oak aged beer to pair with the cedar flavors.

The post Hoyo de Monterray Le Hoyo des Dieux (Cuban) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The wrapper on this cigar seems is very pretty, it’s got a very fresh and organic feel to it. At the same time it’s also pretty cryptic. On the front form top to bottom, you see “CAO”, “OSA” and “SOL” while on each side there are the words “San Agustin” and “Olancho”. Also in the white section it appears to be a map type of image with some names and rivers or roads on it. To help break the encryption for everyone, the “OSA” is simply the first initials of the regions where the tobaccos for this cigar were harvested. In this case it’s from ‘O’lancho, and ‘S’an ‘A’gustin.

I’m not sure exactly what the map is supposed to mean, possibly just tying into how the name is connected to it’s area of origin. The “Sol” in the name simply translates to “Sun” from Spanish. Likely signifying the Sungrown wrapper that surrounds the cigar. It’s also interesting to see that General Cigar kept the trend of naming the cigar after the location of it’s wrapper like CAO did. Although CAO usually named it after the wrappers after their country rather than region, such as the “Italia” or “Brazilia”

The blender for this new cigar is Rick Rodriguez of General Cigar. According to General/CAO, the leaves were chosen from the above mentioned regions in Honduras because of their unique weather conditions that result in some extra natural oils. I can’t say I noticed any excess of oils but it had a nice sheen to it. I will also say that General has some big shoes to fill after the massive success of CAO’s La Traviata and La Traviata Maduro.

I have to admit I’m coming into this cigar review with mixed feelings. I’ve enjoyed many of CAO’s offerings but now that they’ve been acquired by General Cigar I have some concerns since I’ve not had a good track record with General’s offerings. Maybe I just haven’t found the line they make that appeals to me. So here I guess we will find if the acquisition worked out in favor of the CAO line or not…

A quick disclaimer, this cigar was sent as a sample from General Cigar but I can assure you my review and opinions are my own and are completely honest. Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the “Good Stuff” as Tony would say!

Cigar: CAO OSA SOL
Drink: Innia & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: ”Lot 50” Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: About $5.50 – $6
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The CAO OSA has a very velvety smooth wrapper that has a warm cinnamon color to it
• There are some visible veins along the wrapper but they are not bumpy at all
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean double cap
• The foot of the cigar seems a bit messy, it looks well packed but some of the leaves seem sort of folded in and not really cleanly cut
• From the cap to the foot, the entire cigar is very firm with very little give when squeezed, let’s hope that doesn’t translate to a tight draw…
• The cut was very easy and clean and left me with a slightly tight draw. It’s not overly difficult to draw so I’ll stick with it for now

Burn:
• Toasting was a little bit tedious and there were some dark spots near the center that would just not glow properly, but after a few puffs I think I’m well on my way
• The cigar has a slight wave to it within the first inch, we’ll see if the burn corrects itself or gets worse…
• The wave is slowly getting worse as the cigar progresses, I’ve made it to the half way mark without correction but it may need a touch up soon
• As predicted, I needed a hefty touch up shortly after the halfway point and it continue to go downhill after that…

Smoke & Ash:
• The first few draws were a little weak in the smoke department but it got going to a moderate amount per draw shortly after
• There is initially a lot of resting smoke after putting the cigar down but within a couple seconds it’s pretty much no resting smoke at all
• The ash on this cigar is looking to be very clean and strong with a medium gray and black color to it
• Ash held on nicely for about an inch before falling into the ashtray, still remaining tightly bound

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper of the CAO OSA has an interesting tart sweetness to it and a bit of a mild tobacco touch
• The foot keeps the slight tartness to it and adds a bit of spice and a dry foliage type of aroma
• The tartness makes another appearance in the pre-light draw, along with more of the dry foliage earthiness
• Within the first few puffs I get a very interesting spicy bite, it’s not quite pepper, maybe something like a chili flake. Mix that in with the sweetness that’s still around and this is making for a very tasty start!
• Sweet Chili Doritos come to mind as I continue smoking this… wow! Maybe even with a little dirt thrown in the bag for the earthy flavors! lol
• The chili flavors have settled down a bit and translated to a mild white pepper, the earthiness has taken it’s place mixed with some cedar. Seems the sweetness is mostly gone now
• The retrohale up to now has been pretty uneventful with almost no bite and a bland finish
• Body for the most part has been in the low end of medium for the first half
• The flavors have settled into a mostly plain cedar and earthy mix and the finish has gotten slightly dry, a HUGE change from my initial impression
• Sadly, the blandness continues as I smoke the cigar, the flavors are turning into an almost charred wood type of flavor
• After my touch up past the halfway point the flavors took another downward turn and really turned more into the charred zone. I’m hoping it picks up…
• After another touch-up I couldn’t smoke this one anymore. I was trying to take one for the team here and hoping for the best but it’s just not happening, setting it down early…

Final Thoughts:
I REALLY had some hope for this cigar after seeing it’s construction, aroma and interesting initial flavors. That wicked sweet chili start really got my attention but it sadly tapered off quickly after that. The sweetness and chili got replaced by some plain cedar and earthy flavors that did not compare at all, it was if I started smoking a whole different cigar. I have to say I can’t remember the last time I had such a huge difference of opinion from start to finish on the same cigar. If the initial flavors on this cigar continued, I would have given this a glowing review for it’s uniqueness and delicious profile, but sadly that didn’t happen. The price point on these is accessible but it doesn’t come close to comparing to CAO’s old flagship La Traviata which was at the same price or even cheaper.

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn, what can I say? It’s still one of my favorite breweries. I enjoy everything I’ve had from them and I continue to seek them out every time I go to the store. Today’s choice was their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer which is a fantastic brew. It’s got some very tasty fruity sweetness and malty flavors mixed in with their trademark wonderful oaky notes. You can even catch some spicy flavors in there if you really pay attention. It’s got a fairly dark and full body on it so it can stand up to many fuller cigars including the CAO OSA. It made for a good pairing and added some interesting flavors to what ended up being a straightforward cigar. Other good pairings with this cigar would probably be some flavorful or full bodied beers or wines to keep your palate interested. Possiby a nice stout, Port or a strong cup of coffee to overpower the cigar… lol

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