Now I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with the My Father Cigars brand, they are synonymous with awesome cigars. Jaime Garcia decided a long while ago to create a more wallet friendly line to add to the My Father Cigars inventory, and this is how the La Reloba line was born.

Just like most brands from the My Father lines, the La Reloba is a Nicaraguan puro made with high quality and aged tobacco leafs from their various farms. There are 3 wrappers offered in the La Reloba line which are Seleccion Sumatra, Seleccion Habano and Seleccion Mexico(Maduro). I also found some inklings online about a limited release Seleccion Oscura although I only can find them at one online source and they aren’t listed on the My Father Cigars website.

In the line of La Reloba we have 4 sizes which include the Corona, Robusto, Toro and Torpedo. Today’s cigar up for review is the Corona vitola which I’ve had the chance to smoke a few of. I had the Habano on hand but I haven’t had as many of them plus I decided to settle on a slightly milder blend since I was lighting this up just after lunch time.

Cigar: La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra by My Father Cigars
Drink: Unibroue Raftman
Vitola: Corona (5.625 x 46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Around $4
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra is wrapped with a fairly smooth leaf to the touch but the cigar itself is rather bumpy
• There are quite a few visible veins on the wrapper but none of them are very large, medium sized at most, and don’t look like they will cause any burn issues
• The orangey-chocolate colored wrapper has a nice oily sheen to it and the triple cap is finished with a couple loose edges
• From a little squeezing it’s easy to tell this is a very firm cigar and I hope that doesn’t cause any issues
• The foot looks extremely well packed, tons of leaf in there
• Cutting this cigar with my double bladed guillotine cutter was fairly easy but it caused a huge explosion of little pieces of tobacco

Burn:
• The toasting was very nice, even on this windy day it glowed evenly without much effort
• The initial burn looks promising and is keeping a razor sharp and even line
• The razor sharp burn continues through the first half, no touch ups needed at all and it’s letting me enjoy it nice and slow
• Great burn continued right to the end, nothing much else to report here!

Smoke & Ash:
• For a fairly small cigar this La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra is pumping out a ton of smoke from every draw
• Surprisingly though, the resting smoke is almost non-existent, as if it’s saving it all for me! lol
• The ash has a wonderful light grey, almost white color to it and is very smooth
• Despite being a smaller ring gauge cigar, the ash here is very strong and clean and held on over an inch before I tapped it off
• The crazy winds knocked off my next ash just short of an inch, missed a picture opportunity too
• Also realized the wind blew most of the ash right out of the ashtray!

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper is giving off a barnyard and cedar aroma
• The foot brings a ton more barnyard aroma with almost no cedar, maybe just a touch of spice in there too
• The pre-light draw brings more of the barnyard and woodsy aromas, and maybe a touch of earth now too
• The initial flavors coming from this cigar are all about the woodsiness and spices, I’m getting an interesting punch of cloves along with a mild paprika maybe
• The spice died down a bit and I’m left with a bit of a leathery flavor to go with the cedar notes
• At nearly the halfway mark I’m starting to get some of the baking spice flavors that I find in almost every Sumatra wrapped cigar I have, sort of like some molasses and cinnamon
• The body on this cigar has been mostly in the low medium range and the retro hale has been giving a tiny bite with a smooth cedar finish
• The cedar and baking spices stuck through to the end and made for a nice enjoyable experience right to the nub
• No harshness or bitter buildup right to the finish

Final Thoughts:
This isn’t my first foray into the La Reloba series and it definitely won’t be my last. The La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra was a tasty treat that had a nice array of flavors to keep me interested the whole way through. It wasn’t as complex or dimensional as some of the other My Father Cigars but it was definitely enjoyable and fits nicely into their inventory. The burn was also spot on the whole way through which is always a big plus for me. The price is also very attractive for a quality cigar from the My Father Factory. I also have to admit I was surprised to see such a great burn and draw from this cigar when my initial inspection led to some concerns. Can’t complain at all about this cigar and I definitely will be picking up more in the future!

Pairings:
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. I found that it paired very well with the La Reloba Seleccion Sumatra as it added some flavors to the whole experience without either the cigar or the beer being overbearing on each other. Any medium bodied brew would go well here such as an Amber lager or even a dark ale, a nice coffee would definitely pair nicely here too.

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The Good Stuff: Kinda funny, when I sit down to finally do this review, and start looking up some of the background on the cigar, I realized just how mixed up the information is. From what I have deduced, this cigar was blended by Nestor Plasencia, or Manuel Quesada. It carries a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan Filler along with Peruvian tobacco, or Panamanian tobacco. Really, that’s how mixed up this stuff is. What I can tell you for sure is, it’s a good looking cigar that you can get for about $2.50 a stick. That being said, lets get to the real review.

Prelight: The Cu-Avana Intenso is a pretty little cigar. The wrapper is this very rich, very dark oily and shiny brown. The color is pretty consistent for the most part, but goes crazy light in a few areas. I’ve said it before, but I much rather experience ugly looking color in wrapper than a dyed cigar, so the light patches really don’t bother me at all. The cigar is crazy firm to the touch, it almost feels like a toothy, solid block of wood. The cigars slender body leads of to a seamless, huge, round double cap.  This is one of those few cigars out there that spring for a single foot band versus the standard body band. The band is a simple black with gold decorations, the words “Cu-Avana Intenso” in white and gold as well as a red “Cu-Avana” Medallion on the back.

The wrapper gives off a very sweet and inviting chocolate aroma. Seriously, it smells like a Hershey’s bar. The foot tells a much different tale of spice, tobacco, and other earthy aromas. The cap cut clean using my V-Cutter. The draw was a bit light so I opened it up easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. No problems after the switch and cut while the cigar let lose a very strong pepper, and tobacco flavor on the cold draw.

First Smoke: Despite me thinking that the first few puffs from this Cu-Avana Intenso were going to be filled with massive pepper bombs (probably still traumatized from the Punisher) the Intenso started out with only a slight pepper tingle, a ton of spice, some black cherry flavors and a ton of dark chocolate. It’s already starting to be a completely different cigar. Ever since the change in cut the draw has been great from this cigar. This beast kicks out a butt load of thick, white smoke with each puff so be prepared for it. The burnline is a bit wavy, but not really concerning while it leaves behind a nice zebra striped, semi-compacted light and dark grey ash. The ash held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray. That’s right. My ashtray, not my lap.

Halfway There: The more I smoke this Cu-Avana Intenso, the more the chocolate ramps up. It’s the main flavor now, while there is still a bit of the berry and tobacco in there the chocolate and a bit of coffee have really taken control of the cigar. The retrohale is awesome, and a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be priming my nasal passage with some nice oaky chocolate goodness. I’m feeling a very slight nicotine kick from this cigar, but nothing much at all at this point.

Finish: The pepper has made a huge comeback in the final third of this Cu-Avana Intenso. Let me rephrase that, there isn’t a lot of pepper at all but seeing how there was barely any at the beginning at all I am very surprised to experience a bunch of it towards the end of the smoke. The chocolate is still there, but not very strong as more natural tobacco flavors have really started to take over. The cigar is still really smooth despite ramping in body. I am getting a mean little nicotine kick off of it, but absolutely no harshness into the final inch. All in all it took me about an hour and a half to take this cigar down and it required only one touch up in the final third as the cigar created a crazy wave.

Overview: Needless to say this is a completely different experience than the Punisher. I’m glad too. While I applaud Cu-Avana for trying something different, the Punisher just wasn’t my cup of Habanero flavored tea. The Cu-Avana Intenso started out bold, with lots of flavor and finished with a ramped up body while remaining smooth and true to it’s flavors. I would totally smoke this cigar again, especially at the price point, but I think it may be a tad bit more power then most non-experience cigar smokers can handle. Either way you look at it, it’s worth a try. Now if only they’d release the Punisher blend minus the burning sensation… hmm..

Pairing: Surprised to see that a Canada company makes a style of beer that is not a pilsner? Yeah me too. Unibroue has always made decently priced, great brews that you can find just about anywhere. The Trois Pistoles in particular is a favorite of mine. I actually haven’t had it for quite some time and I am glad that it didn’t disappoint. The beer qualifies as a “strong Dark Ale” coming in at 9% ABV. The beer however, tastes nothing like one. The unique brew is created to resemble “ripe fruit” but it tastes more like celery and tomato. This may sound gross, but it’s a common mashup in Belgian style ales, and a very tasty one at that. It actually compares to Delirium Nocturne, another favorite of mine. And you know what? It paired perfectly with this cigar. The flavors never ceased and the smoothness of the brew really help bring the cigar to another level. Pairing success!

The post Cu-Avana Intenso Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Today I reached into my Cuban humidor to pick out a stick from a box I recently ordered. I hadn’t tried a Hoyo de Monterrey Spicure Especial prior to this little box purchase so I started off with a 10 count box to see how I would like them before I bought a larger box. The cigars have the standard Hoyo De Monterrey bands with an additional white band below that with the “Epicure Especial” name on it,

Hoyo De Monterrey is one of the many cigar manufacturers from Cuba and they offer a fair variety of cigars. I’ve dabbled in some of their other vitolas and heard good things about this one, especially considering their fair price tag. So I bit the bullet and grabbed a box. The cigars come in a cedar box of 10 with a sliding lid. This damn lid practically required a vice grip to get off! Needless to say, the lid never went back on the box after that… So after prying the lid off I got to see my cigars.

The Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial come bound together with a nice golden yellow ribbon adorned with the cigar name. The name of the cigar is very misleading considering it’s actual vitola. A typical epicure is much smaller but this cigar is almost a full toro size! As I smoke this I’m sitting outside enjoying some awesome sunny weather. Let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial
Drink: Unibroue Brewery Maudite
Vitola: Epicure Especial (5.8 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: About $8
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is fairly rough looking with quite a few bumps and some medium sized veins running along it
• The color of the wrapper is a nice deep brown, almost chocolate and shines with it’s oiliness
• The top of the Epicure Especial is finished with a triple cap, not messy but not perfectly clean either
• The foot of the cigar looks fairly well packed with no gaps to be seen
• A slight squeeze reveals a fairly firm cigar with just a little springiness to it
• The cut on this cigar was super easy and fell off in one clean piece

Burn:
• Toasting was very simple, the tobacco started glowing quickly
• Turns out the toasting wasn’t too even so I needed a little touch up shortly after lighting
• After that minor correction we’ve be running in auto-pilot! No problem for the first couple of inches at all
• Discovered a little tunnel after the first ash and it’s making the burn a little lopsided now, will need a touch up
• Cigar actually went out a bit early

Smoke & Ash:
• Right off the bat I’m getting a ton of smoke from each draw
• The resting smoke is fairly minimal and gives off an almost campfire type of aroma, like burning wood
• Ash is a little rough looking but it’s staying compact and clean
• The color on the ash is a fairly light grey with some spots being nearly white
• I started to get a bit of flaking on the ash as it grew to almost 2 inches in length
• First ash fell calmly into the ashtray just short of 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the Epicure Especial gives off a nice cedar aroma with a slight nuttiness to it
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and has some nice spice added into the mix, a bit of white pepper and some raw nutmeg
• Initial draws bring more of the woodsy notes and a very creamy undertone, I’m very surprised to see the pre-light spice is almost completely gone
• So far the body is fairly mild but smooth and creamy, retrohale has almost no bite to it with a cedar finish
• I’m getting a little bit of the saltiness that Tony always mentions in his Cuban reviews
• There are some slight hints of leather here and there along with some bits of roasted coffee
• There’s a lot going on the the flavor department, very complex but it’s very smooth, balanced and tasty so I’m enjoying it quite a bit
• As the cigar hits the half-way mark, some of the initial spice is making a comeback with a bit of nutmeg and clove
• All the flavors seemed to slowly intensify as I passed the halfway mark with the coffee and woody notes still being the most prominent
• As I approach the nub I’m getting some interesting earthy and vegetal flavors I wasn’t expecting
• The body had a nice buildup to the finish and started to turn a tad bitter with under an inch to go

Final Thoughts:
Well there’s not much I can say about this stick other than I really liked it! What a great and relaxing experience! The cigar had a nice variety of flavors that were always well balanced and enjoyable. The smooth and creamy aspects made it a pleasure to smoke along with a great burnline. The price of these is also very fair coming in at around $8. It’s not an “in-your-face” cigar and if you prefer a lot of strength you won’t find it here. The little bit of build-up near the end was a nice turn as I was expecting it to be mild the whole way through. Considering the age of this cigar being only from 2009 I think another year would make the last bit just as smooth but it’s still a tasty cigar.

Pairings:
Another Canadian craft brew for me today. The Maudite from Unibroue Brewery! I’ve had this one with quite a few other reviews including the Alec Bradley Family Blend, La Aurora 1495 and My Father Le Bijou 1922. It’s a very tasty and smooth strong beer with an 8% alc/vol. I’ve sai it before and I’ll say it again, this does not taste like a strong beer AT ALL! It’s so smooth and light tasting. you get some fruity/tart undertones with a slight malty bitterness and a clean finish. Very enjoyable and seems to pair well with a lot of cigars. It did pair fairly well here although I think a nice porter or stout would have gone better from the brew category. Port of course would have been perfect and a strong coffee would have been excellent as well.

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