Monthly Recap – September

Number of Cigars Smoked: 26

Of those smoked:

• Purchased: 13 or 50%
• Gifted: 6 or 23%
• Samples Provided: 7 or 27%

Of those purchased:

• Brick & Mortar: 1 or 8%
• Online: 12 or 92%

Most Memorable Cigars Smoked

#1. Fuente Opus X Belicoso XXX “Power Ranger” – A good friend and coworker gifted this cigar to me awhile back. Maybe two or three years ago (I need to get better at tracking my cigars). I have been waiting for the right occasion to burn this cigar and with the recent move to Michigan, the purchase of our new home, and my mom and stepdad’s visit, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time. As the kids played off the shores of Lake Michigan, I lit up the Opus X Power Ranger as my stepdad, Rick, burned a Padron 1926 Maduro. Watching the kids be kids and enjoying each others company, the Opus X was the perfect touch to an already perfect day. This cigar will hold a special place in my heart.

#2. Espinosa La Zona Habano – I have never had much luck on cigar bid sites until I came across a bundle of La Zona Habano at cigarbid.com. With only a few minutes remaining on the auction, I placed my bid and counted town the remaining seconds. I walked away with the bundle for $43. Since the shipment was received earlier this month, I have already burned through six of these sticks. The Super Toro 6 1/2 by 44 La Zona offers a satisfying, flavorful smoke at a very inexpensive price.

Cigar Reviews

Agio Cigars – Balmoral Royal Selection Anejo 18

The Balmoral Royal Selection Anejo 18 is a very unique and special cigar. The profile was intriguing in the first third with the sour grass notes, well balanced in the second third with the added sweetness and coffee, and completely satisfying in the final third with deep, dark, full flavors.

Tatuaje – Havana VI Lancero

The Tatuaje Havana VI Lancero began with a bang, opening up with full flavors that were balanced and spicy, but that is where the fairy tale ends. The final two thirds became a story of bad performance and poor flavors. Knowing the high quality of Tatuaje and My Father cigars, this cigar has not deterred me from hunting down one more Havana VI Lancero and giving it another shot.

StogieBoys – Riot

In the last couple of months I have burned through 5 or 6 Riots. Each one presented a decent draw, a somewhat wacky burn-line, and solid, enjoyable flavors. The flavors have been consistent in each of the  samples and sizes. The medium/full flavors and strength fit me just right.

Tony’s Reviews

Espinosa Premium Cigars – Laranja Reserva

Add the Espinosa Laranja Reserva to the list of possible candidates for cigar of the year, not just on our list, but everyone’s else. This cigar is making a name for itself by providing solid construction, and a unique, bold, complex experience to everyone who smokes it.

Quesada – 40th Anniversary Corona Clasica

I seldom reach for Connecticut wrapped cigars, but this is one that I could see myself smoking all day. Flavorful enough for the evening, mild enough for the morning. The construction is absolutely flawless, and the experience is incredible while the price point is just.

Eiroa – CBT Maduro

The rich flavors, full-body, and full strength entice even the more sophisticated cigar-smoking palates while the old school maduro presence will bring the more traditional, and novice smokers out of the woodworks. Sure, the CBT Maduro does come with a premium price point, but it’s one that I would gladly pay over and over again for the complex, balanced, and flavorful smoking experience.

Guest Reviews by Jeff Oda

Villiger – La Libertad 

The Villiger La Libertad carries some rather unique flavors that may not have quite come through in my review, as I admit that the link between my palate and brain is probably not sophisticated enough to describe the nuances of the experience, but anyone interested in what Peruvian tobacco can bring to the table would do well to pick up on a couple of these to see what it has to offer.

Bonita Smoke Shop – Time Warp “Big Ben”

In this age of the new wave of modern flavor preference (i.e. chocolate, spice, etc.), the Time Warp is kind of a throwback in terms of “old time” flavors, and the Time Warp Big Ben does a pretty solid job in delivering on those, although I found myself craving a bit more sweetness to provide more balance.  The construction is terrific, especially with the signature El Titan de Bronze entubado roll that provides a great draw and burn, resulting in an enjoyable big ring smoke

Contests

Casas Fumando and our good friends at StogieBoys.com are giving away a box of Riot Cigars. The contest runs through Thursday, October 9th @ 11:59 PM. A winner will be selected Friday, October 1oth. Enter HERE for your chance to win.

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I hope that everyone had a great and relaxing Labor Day weekend. Tony told me that he was planning on doing nothing, and it seems that he stuck to his word by not posting a review on Monday. Haha, just kidding, man. You no doubt deserved that time to yourself!

The Swiss tobacco concern Villiger Stokkebye is probably best known for their machine rolled, dry cured cigarellos, such as the Export. At least that was my primary exposure to them until I got a hold of a couple of their handmade La Libertads. The La Libertad line has been a popular and highly regarded cigar in Europe for a while now, but was only introduced into the U.S. in 2010. The American version is a totally different blend than what has been available in Europe, though. While the European La Libertad is made in Honduras from Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos, the U.S. blend is comprised of Dominican and Nicaraguan ligeros wrapped in a Peruvian grown Nicaraguan seed binder, and Peruvian grown Habano seed wrapper. It was the Peruvian part of the blend that really intrigued me, as some of my favorite cigars incorporate Peruvian tobacco into their blends. Cigars such as La Aurora’s Guillermo Leon, CyB from Joya de Nicaragua, Maldonado Dynasty’s The Mogul, and the recently released MBombay all utilize Peruvian grown tobaccos in their blends.

La Libertad comes in six sizes:
Short Perfecto – 5.25×54
Robusto – 5×52
Box Pressed Torpedo – 5.5×52
Grand Robusto – 5×56
Massivo – 6×60
Churchill – 6.5×50

So let’s see how well this very affordable stick fares…

Wrapper: Peruvian grown Habano seed
Binder: Peruvian grown Nicaraguan seed
Filler: Ligero from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
Size: Robusto, 5×52
Price: $5.50
Smoking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Pairing: Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Pre-light

The Villiger La Libertad is not the prettiest of cigars, but it’ll do. It sports a medium yellowish brown wrapper that is smooth to the touch and is well packed. There are several medium sized veins in evidence, and the wrapper culminates in a rather uneven double cap. The aroma of the wrapper displays a bit of sour and vegetal notes with a very slight barnyard. The scent off the foot is primarily tobacco with a bit of spice. The cut reveals a snug draw with tobacco, sweet spice, some lightly earthy grass, and some peppery zing.

First third

Despite the initial snug draw, La Libertad produces a good amount of smoke and opens with a mix of white and red pepper, grass, faint, citrus, and sweet spice on the tongue. The retrohale has a sharp wasabi-like sinus sting to it, along with cedar and pepper. I do not recommend a heavy retrohale with this one, at least in the first third.   The burn has started out unevenly, and the brownish gray ash is fairly flaky and is a bit crumbly. I had to do a correction at 1” in, as the burn had gone off by ¾”. A little farther in, citrus, cinnamon, and a bit of toast have emerged alongside the cedar and pepper, giving a nice complexity. The ash voluntarily and unexpectedly fell off into my ashtray at a little less than 1” before I could get a photo. At the end of the first third, the pepper has faded on the palate, but continues to be a presence on the finish of the retrohale. Unfortunately, the ash continues to flake and crumble, and the burn has again gone crooked on me.

Second third

The cinnamon has backed off and has been replaced by more of a nutmeg and coriander type of spice. Cedar is still at the core, but has been joined by earthiness, while the citrus has dissipated. The uneven burn has self-corrected, but ash continues to flower and flake. This is certainly not the tidiest smoke I have ever had, and if I were smoking this indoors, I would be a little annoyed with it. Just after the halfway point, some sweetness returns, along with some light leather notes and the wavy burn.

Down to the wire

The last third starts out with my second correction to the burn and the flavors have become earthier and rather smoky – not charred, more like smoldering hardwood – but a quick purge suppresses those flavors and brings back the sweetness and cedar, while the pepper makes a comeback. This continues until, with about 1-1/4” left, the cigar becomes a little too warm and the flavors begin to wash out, prompting me to put it to rest. I experienced just a little bit of a nicotine hit, but it was nothing that was out of the norm.

Final thoughts

The Villiger La Libertad carries some rather unique flavors that may not have quite come through in my review, as I admit that the link between my palate and brain is probably not sophisticated enough to describe the nuances of the experience, but anyone interested in what Peruvian tobacco can bring to the table would do well to pick up on a couple of these to see what it has to offer. The one I had smoked previously actually had a much better burn – although it was still not ideal – and exhibited a bit more creamy smoothness and even some floral spice. The burn didn’t really surprise me, considering that it is mostly comprised of ligero leaves. The price is certainly more than reasonable for the quality and uniqueness of the blend, if you can put up with the flaky ash. I will definitely grab a few more to have on hand.

Pairing

I decided to pair this cigar with the Night Owl Pumpkin Ale by Seattle brewery Elysian. Although I’m not big on fruit/vegetable flavored beers, this is not one of those dessert type, super sweet and heavy Imperial pumpkin beers. I felt that the nuanced pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices infused into this lightly sweet and slightly sour 5.9% ABV brew would match up well with the citrus and spice of the La Libertad. They did indeed, although the malty IPA I matched it with previously also went quite well with it.

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