Smoke Inn’s Microblend Series is aimed at reproducing the effects that Microbreweries have had in the beer industry. As many of you know, microbreweries have made a big impact in their industry and really opened up the market to new types of beers that a lot of larger breweries don’t seem to try. Stepping out of the comfort zone as some would say. Smoke Inn has done the same thing and is making use of smaller yield tobaccos to produce new blends that would previously not have been created. They have also utilized a variety of different manufacturers to achieve very different flavor profiles.

I’m not gonna lie here, Padron is a brand that I typically enjoy everything that they do. They clearly have a name in the industry that speaks to their high quality and excellent blending. Their 1964 Anniversary Series is part of their more premium line of cigars and with that they always carry a larger price tag. In my experience, the higher price tags on this line are usually justified by smooth, tasty cigars and perfectly burning tobacco leaves.

Converse to what you might expect from Padron, the SI-15 blend made form Smoke Inn is a huge vitola (6 x 60 to be exact). The Padron lines are usually available in a variety of smaller vitolas with the occasional larger ones and I found it odd to see a single blend made only in this larger vitola. I should make note that I’m not a huge fan of these large ring gauge cigars. It seems that I always run into burn issues, or draw issues or just a plain bland profile from too much filler. From what I could gather, the blend doesn’t really differ from other vitolas in the 1964 line but since there is so much more filler, the cigar has it’s own unique profile. Let see if that holds true and read on through my review! (Cheesy, I know… lol)

Cigar: Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural – Smoke Inn Exclusive
Drink: Sierra Nevada Stout
Vitola: SI-15 (6 x 60)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted by Smoke Inn ($18.50 MSRP)
Burn Time: About 2 hours

Construction:
• This is a hefty looking cigar with a significant ring gauge and a slightly box pressed look
• There are quite a few visible veins along the length of the wrapper but none seem to e large enough to cause any burn issues
• The color of the wrapper is a very soft medium brown and gives off a slight shimmer in the light, showing some of it’s nice oily qualities
• Surprisingly, the top of this massive cigar is covered by only a single cap, and it does a good clean job of it too!
• The whole cigar is consistently firm when squeezed with very little give
• From the foot, you can see some gaps in the filler, hopefully this won’t lead to any tunnel issues which I seem to run into often with larger ring gauge cigars
• My double bladed guillotine cutter was barely able to fit on this huge ring gauge, but it managed to get a nice clean cut
• The draw is very open even with my small cut

Burn:
• Toasting was a bit uneven as can be expected with larger ring gauge cigars
• Burn is going very well through the first inch, it was a messy start but I’m happy to see a good auto-correction!
• The cigar is also allowing me to smoke it slowly without any problems or worries about it going out
• Through to the half way marked I’m impressed by a razor sharp burn
• I started to get some wavy burn in the last couple of inches which needed a couple small corrections

Smoke & Ash:
• I’m getting surprisingly less smoke than I was expecting, perhaps a downside of the very open draw
• In hindsight, I think I should have gone with a V-Cut or Punch with this cigar
• The resting smoke on this Smoke Inn Padron 1964 SI-15 is fairly minimal and gives off a pleasant woodsy aroma
• The ash has a very nice white color to it with only a few spots of black here and there
• It’s also holding on strongly with no flaking or curving
• First ash lasted nearly two inches before gently being tapped off into the ashtray
• The smoke picked up thickness around the halfway mark and now I’m getting a big mouthful from each draw
• Second ash also held nice and clean for nearly two inches, great construction as I would expect from Padron

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a typical Padron aroma, giving off slight hints of coffee and some tobacco sweetness
• The foot seems to tell a bit of a different story, it had a lot more sweetness to it, mixed with some cocoa and a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw tastes mostly of tobacco and a bit of earthy notes, nothing exciting about this part of the cigar
• Right off the initial draw I get a very interesting baked bread type of flavor
• I have to note that this cigar is extremely awkward for me to hold and smoke, it’s just too large of a ring gauge than what I’m used to
• Along with the baked bread flavors, the Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15 has some mildly bitter coffee flavors and slight hint of sweetness once in a while
• The body of this cigar is starting off in the higher end of mild, it’s not quite medium. From the retrohale I get a small bite a smooth cedar finish
• The bitter coffee flavors continue to develop nicely and I’m really enjoying them. There is also some cedar and spice sneaking in as the sweetness disappears
• The body is slowly creeping into the medium category as the coffee flavors turn into the wonderful bittersweet espresso flavors I’ve come to love from most Padrons
• The bitter espresso notes have really taken control with about 2 inches left to go
• I’m also getting hints of a strong bitter chocolate here and there along with some cedar, a very tasty profile I must say!
• The bitterness turned a tad harsh in the last inch, but nothing terrible

Final Thoughts:
I’m pleasantly surprised to say I really enjoyed this cigar. I came into this with some serious skepticism about the vitola as my experiences with 6 x 60’s has been fairly poor. This cigar did not suffer from those same problems! The flavors were not muted by all the filler and the burn was spot-on even after a poor toasting (for the most part). Despite the larger ring gauge, the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 kept the signature flavors I’ve come to enjoy in all the Padrons I’ve smoked. I think Smoke Inn has a definite winner of an exclusive on their hands here. Be sure to check out their website and order some to try if you can. They are a bit on the high scale in terms of pricing but if you compare to other Padron 1964’s it’s on par, and so is the flavor! If you are a fan of 6×60’s this is definitely something to add to your wishlist! You can buy there here from the Smoke Inn eShop.

Pairings:
Sierra Nevada is a brand that I can’t get locally, it seems they have absolutely no distribution in Ontario that I know of. So I picked this up along with the rest of my beer haul from Florida. I’m a big fan of stouts and porters and in general, they are hard for me to find locally. As you might guess from it’s name, the Sierra Nevada brewery is located in California and today Im enjoying their Stout with my Smoke Inn Exclusive Padron 1964 SI-15. The Sierra Nevada Stout is surprisingly smooth with a slightly bitter and full flavored maltiness. I was actually expecting this brew to be a bit thicker but it’s not as thick as other stouts while still maintaining a nice full flavor. It has a very long finish on the palate and leaves some bitter chocolate and coffee notes. This was an excellent pairing for the Padron 1964 SI-15 and complimented the flavors so well since they actually had similar flavor profiles. I would also recommend a strong coffee or port with this cigar, I think both would match nicely!

The post Padron 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural (Smoke Inn Exclusive) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Not long ago I reviewed the My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes and before that was the My Father Le Bijou 1922. Looking over those two reviews, it’s easy to see they were both tasty cigars so the My Father factory must be doing something right. One other thing that stands out to my about all the My Father cigars is their presentation. They really know how to make a cigar, from the beautiful wrappers to their crisp and well designed bands. Read up on one of the two previous reviews to get more information on the My Father company.

The My Father Limited Edition 2010 is a very special cigar. What makes this cigar special is the person who rolled it, Jose Pepin himself! With the help of his son, Jamie Garcia who did all the bunching. This is truly a collaboration between two great people in the cigar world and a testament to the families dedication to what they do.

The information regarding the tobacco used in this cigar seems to be a tightly held secret and very little is known other than rumours. One thing that does seem to be known is that the wrapper used is the same as the one you can find on the Le Bijou 1922. The Pelo de Oro wrapper is very rare and banned from growing in some regions due to it’s cost and sensitivity, among other factors. I really enjoyed the Le Bijou 1922 and I’m excited to see how this cigar turns out.

Cigar: My Father Limited Edition 2010
Drink: Hockley Valley Brewing Co. Traditional Irish Stout
Vitola: Toro (6.5 x 52)
Wrapper: Pelo de Oro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $20
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Talk about a gorgeous looking cigar, this thing has everything going for it.
• The wrapper is velvety smooth and presents with a warm milk chocolate type of color.
• The wrapper shows signs of only minor veins and the top is finished with an amazingly clean triple cap.
• I did notice a decent sized green spot on the wrapper
• The length of the cigar has a fair bit of firmness but still has a nice springiness to it.
• The foot looks to be fairly well packed but still has 2 smaller holes in it.
• The cap cut nice and easy but exploded into a small mess in the ashtray
• The initial draw seems a bit open
• As I peeled off the lower band, there’s some writing where the glue was that said “One out of 24000 made”

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and even, the open parts of the filler near the foot didn’t cause any problems
• Through the first few inches this cigar is burning razor sharp with no problems at all
• About 2 inches in the cigar is going a little wavy, it may correct itself so I’ll see how it goes…
• Looks like the wavy burn was caused by a vein under the wrapper
• The burn isn’t getting uncontrollable, staying with a slight wave as it burns through what seems to be a pretty long vein
• After the ash fell I decided to give it a quick touch up so the next section starts off nicely
• I gave it another quick touch up after the second ashing as it seems this subterranean vein will not go away!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right off the first draw it’s easy to tell that this cigar is going to be a smoke machine, it fills your mouth completely with very little effort on each draw
• The ash on this cigar is a beautiful thing, very tight and neat with an almost white color and some smaller accents of light grey
• There is a bit of resting smoke slowly coming out of the cigar, it leaves a nice sweet roasted cedar aroma in the air
• The ash continues to impress, staying nice and clean and easily hitting the 2 inch mark before falling into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives off a wonderful cedar aroma with a touch sweet cocoa
• The foot of the cigar has aromas of wood and hefty helping of spice, mostly pepper and raw nutmeg
• Pre-light draw brings an interesting mixture of cedar, nuts and some coffee all held together by a prominent pepper spice. There’s also earthy notes in there
• The first few draws bring a blast of pepper and cedar, with some of the nutmeg tossed in there
• Within the first inch, the “in-your-face” peppery punch tapered off, I’m left with a nice bittersweet coffee and cocoa flavor with some hints of nuts
• The retrohale has a small bite, just enough to keep it interesting and a super smooth cedary finish
• The balance at this point is stellar, all the flavors are playing an equal role and the finish is amazingly smooth
• The coffee flavors are slowly developing as I progress and the body has stayed in the medium range from the start
• I’m not sure if it’s just the pairing or a combination of the two, but this cigar has some awesome coffee notes, maybe even a nice espresso flavor
• I’m surprised that as I get near the halfway mark the pepper and nutmeg spices are nowhere to be seen after that initial burst
• I want to re-iterate how smooth this cigar is smoking, very balanced, creamy and smooth!
• Approaching the last third, I can sense the body building here, the flavors are also getting more intense
• I think the initial spice is starting to make a re-appearance near the end, I was hoping for this!
• The spice definitely came back with a vengence, lots of pepper, raw nutmeg, and maybe a bit of paprika all mixed in with the cedar, coffee and creaminess
• The last bit of this cigar is an absolute flavor bomb and a bit of hefty body, but it’s still balanced very well

Final Thoughts:
If you didn’t figure it out from my notes above, I loved this cigar! The coffee notes in this thing were over the top and they stayed well balanced and smooth with everything else. The burn had a bit of trouble due to a vein but nothing that got me annoyed or relighting multiple times. The ash was also spectacular as was the whole visual presentation of the cigar. I went into this cigar expecting a lot of spice but it never really overpowered the cigar other than a little burst at the start. Now this is obviously a limited edition cigar and along with that title comes a limited edition price. The My Father Limited Edition 2010 carried a retail price of about $20 so it’s not something I can justify having too often but it’s definitely worth splurging and enjoying on special occasions. The cigar doesn’t seem to need aging but I think it would taste even better after a little time in the humidor.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is from a local brewery about 45min North from where I live. It’s a nice little town with a small ski hill for the winter and a beautiful lodge. Their brews are fairly small batch and I tend to have a hard time finding them but so far I’ve enjoyed each one that I’ve had. I thought I had done a review with their Dark Ale but after a quick search I can’t seem to find it… but back on topic! This brew is a Traditional Irish Stout from Hockley Valley Brewing Co. It has a neat little catchphrase on the can as well: “Pours like liquid midnight”. And indeed that phrase holds true. The Hockley Stout is a thick and dark brew and pours with a full head of foam. It has some wonderful coffee notes and a sight hoppy bitterness, all held together with a smooth creaminess. I have to say I think this was an awesome pairing for this cigar. The thick brew stood up to the bold flavors of the My Father LE 2010 and was flavorful enough to add to the whole experience. I would highly recommend a good stout with this cigar. As always, I think Port would go well here! Also, you can try a nice scotch or a strong coffee.

The post My Father Limited Edition 2010 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.