The Good Stuff:

By now you should all be familiar with the Padron 1926 series which has been held as a standard and quiet easily one of the best cigars ever produced. To celebrate  the founder of Patron Cigars and chairman of the company Jose Orlando Padron’s 90th birthday Padron has released a 90th Anniversary edition tubo. While it’s the first 1926 tube we’ve seen it’s also the first non-box-pressed version of the cigar we’ve seen as well being offered in a single 5 1/2 x 52 format. Like the rest of the 1926 line the 90th Anniversary is offered in both a Natural and Maduro version. Today we are concentrating on the Maduro version. You can easily scoop these up from our friends at Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert, Arizona. You can cop the Maduro Version here, and the Natural version here. Keep in mind that Fox Cigar offers Free Shipping on all their orders. That means you can order a single stick, or a 100 boxes and pay nada.

Size: 5 1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium / Full
Price: $19.50
Pairing: Saint Archer Tusk & Grain Wee Heavy (Scotch ale 11.3% ABV)

Prelight:

It’s so strange seeing a Padron 1926 in a round format. The Padron 1926 90th Anniversary starts off being packaged in a maroon and gold tubo which is as elegant as any of the packaging you would expect by the premium brand. Once opened you can take a look at the beautiful, round cigar. The Padron 1926 90th Anniversary starts out with a stunning, consistent dark brown wrapper. It’s hard to even spot an area with any discoloration. As seemless as the color, the wrapper is laid perfectly over itself coating the cigar leading up to its round, double cap. The wrapper’s texture is pretty toothy and gritty with a whole mess of thick oils. The wrapper feels very thick and dense while the cigar has absolutely no soft spots whatsoever. The Padron 1926 90th Anniversary is polished off with the standard 1926 band we’ve all grown to love as well as an added secondary Gold band with “No. 90” embossed in the front as well as Jose’s signature on both sides.

The wrapper on the Padron 1926 90th Anniversary gives off a ton of sweetness, cocoa, and spice while the foot of the cigar carries a much more natural bouquet of scents leading with some bold earthiness, moss, and natural tobacco. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw leads with a ton of rich cooca, spice, sweetness, and earthiness. A bit of pepper left my lips tingling before I even lit up the cigar.

First Third:

The Padron 1926 90th Anniversary starts out with a whole mess of cayenne pepper which left my tongue and lips tinging. After the first few puffs the pepper dies down and is now only resident on the aftertaste. The flavor profile now leads with a strong dark chocolate, cedar, sweet brown sugar, moss, and some great dark berry flavors mixed in. The draw is incredible and I don’t think it gets any better than this. Each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, white smoke which hand around for a good amount of time before fading away while the cigar releases minimal stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of bright white and light gray ash which held on for almost and inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Padron 1926 90th Anniversary and the flavors are just pouring it on. The cigar leads with the dark chocolate and cedar, backed by dark berry, spice, sweetness, some moss, and great nutmeg and cinnamon flavors. It almost tastes like a Christmas themed treat. The retrohale leads with cedar and helps bring back the pepper so I don’t really find myself retrohaling this cigars too often. The burn line is still dead even and I close out the second third with only a tiny nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Padron 1926 No. 90 and the body and strength have both really ramped up. Leading with bold dark chocolate and cedar the flavor profile hasn’t changed too much, but thats not a bad thing. Backed by dark berry, caramel, spice, moss, and a resurgence of the spice it’s a hell of a profile. The cigar burned like a dream from start to finish with no help needed from my torch. It took me over 2 hours to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness nor extended heat and it left with me with a decent nicotine kick.

Overview:

It’s hard to find a cigar that I enjoy more than the 1926 Series Padron, and the 90th is another great extension to the line. While I’m still in a bit of shock with the round format, I loved the tube aspect of the cigar. The Padron 1926 90th Anniversary is complex, balanced, and exposes you to an incredible flavor profile which lines up with just about everything I personally look for in a cigar. The price point is steep, but you are paying for the quality, and experience Padron offers which is second to none. I could easily see my buying a box of these to have on deck for those times I’m craving an uber-premium. Again, hit up our friends at Fox Cigar Bar for the goods.

Pairing:

Hailing from San Diego, California Saint Archer is one of the fastest growing breweries in California. The Tusk & Grain series featured experimental beers aged in bourbon barrels. This specific brew is their Wee Heavy, brewed with Hazelnuts and Cacao Nibs aged in Bourbon Barrels which comes in at a whopping 11.3% ABV. The beer leads with a ton of malt, hazelnut, vanilla, cocoa, and caramel with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing sweet with brown sugar, caramel, cocoa, and a whole mess of more malty goodness. While the flavors don’t necessarily match up with those in the Padron 1926 90th Anniversary they complimented each other very well. The cigar added some great spice to the beer while the beer added more malty complex to the cigar which turned out to be an amazing pairing. Anything less could easily get overpowered by the Padron.

Contest Winner:

And we have another winner! First of all, thanks again to everyone who entered. We wouldn’t be doing these reviews if it wasn’t for the support from all of you. And the winner is…

Jeffery Hilker

Shoot your address to casasfumando@gmail.com and I’ll get your Hit and Run 5pk out to ya! Stayed tuned though as Fox Cigar has been in beast mode with these giveaways and I am sure we will have more coming up soon!

The post Padron 1926 No. 90 Maduro + Contest Winner appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Espinosa Alibi is the first of a new series called “The Backroom Series” which shipped to 3 lucky Espinosa retailers who feature Espinosa Lounges in December. The Alibi is a 6 x 48 cigar which features a Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper along with some undisclosed binder and fillers produced at the La Zona factory in Nicaragua. The Alibi comes in a single size, packed in boxes of 10 running $90 a box with only 200 boxes produced. The 3 retailers who carry the Alibi are Casa Belicoso in Walnut Creek California, Cordova Cigars in Pensacola Florida, and Smoke Inn VI in Margate Florida with more to be expected as Espinosa Lounges are established across the country. (Thanks to Halfwheel for the info) Samples were sent to us from our friends at Espinosa for review.

Size: 6 x 48
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9
Pairing: Founders Backwoods Bastard (Bourbon Barrel Aged Scotch Ale 10.2% ABV)

Prelight:

The Espinosa Alibi starts out with a very dark, very beautiful toothy, veiny, web wrapper. Seriously this thing feels like it’s wrapper in sandpaper. The wrapper is very a very dark, very consistent brown and feels very dense with little give as I squeeze it between my fingers. the long body leads up so a shallow, round, double cap. The Alibi is polished off with a simple, elegant beige band with the word “Alibi” on the front, “Backroom Series” on one side, and “Espinosa Lounge Exclusive” on the other while the foot sports a simple black band that blends in with the darkness of the wrapper.

The wrapper on the Alibi gives off tons of pepper, spice, and raisin while the foot of the cigar lets looks a generous blend of spice and tobacco. The cap cut clean and easy using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some really bold raisin, spice, sweetness and a whole mess of pepper left my lips tingling.

First Third:

As I expected the Espinosa Alibi starts off with a strong black pepper boom which leaves both my tongue and lips with a tingling sensation. The pepper began to simmer down a bit after about a half inch in and the Alibi’s flavors began to take shape with a really strong raisin leading the pack backed by some dark cheery, leather, spice, and sweetness on the finish. The draw is a bit loose but I can dig it as each little puff produces a ton of thick smoke. The burn line has a few slight waves, but nothing too serious as it leaves behind a trail of medium gray, compacted ash which held on for a bit over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The black pepper is still quite resident into the second third of the Espinosa Alibi. The raisin is still rocking solid with the cherry and sweetness backing while the spice has ramped up quite a bit. The Alibi started in the medium category but is now venturing into the full-bodied zone. The retrohale is very sharp and much to spicy/peppery for my liking. The burn is still slightly wavy but hasn’t needed any extra attention from my lighter while I am feeling a slight bit of nicotine while closing out the second third.

Finish:

The pepper has finally cleared way for the other flavors in the final third of the Espinosa Alibi. The flavors are pretty consistent leading with the raisin and cherry backed by sweetness and spice with a ramp up in leather and oak. The draw is been a bit wavy the entire time but I never once had to touch up or relight the cigar so I’m not complaining. It took me about an hour and forty five minutes to smoke the Alibi down to the nub and while the strength really stepped it’s game up towards the end, there was no harshness or heat finishing very bold and proper with a beautiful little nicotine kick.

Overview:

The Espinosa Alibi is a solid cigar in every category. I usually gravitate towards full-bodied cigars and this is the perfect example on full-bodied done right. The flavors are bold, yet balanced while I wasn’t overpowered by the higher strength this cigar yields. The size chosen is incredible as I usually go for smaller ring gauges as I feel the wrapper, in most cases, delivers more of the flavors I look for. This probably isn’t going to be something that novice cigar smokers are going to be chasing down but I think it’s perfect for the seasoned smoker looking for a great full bodied experience. My only gripe is the availability but that was the whole idea behind this series.

Pairing:

Yeah, this pairing rocked. Simple as that. The first time I smoked the Alibi I knew that I would be choosing Founders Backwoods Bastard as it’s partner. The Backwoods Bastard is a 10.2% ABV Bourbon Barrel Aged Scotch Ale and one of my favorites in the Founders portfolio. This particular bottle was from a 2013 haul I brought in. The beer leads with some strong Bourbon and caramel with a very heavy and thick mouthfeel finishing strong with lots of sweetness, malt, and cajeta with a good amount of booze. This cigar would pair perfectly with any wee heavy, spiced rum, our tawny port.

The post Espinosa Cigars Alibi – Backroom Series appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: (taken from the 13th Floor Website)

“Established in 2009, 13th Floor Cigars was created to bring a new and innovative brand to market while delivering a premium Cuban style smoke. Our cigars are hand crafted in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana by some of the most experienced rollers in the industry. We use only the finest tobacco and our cigars are carefully inspected to ensure quality and consistency. Our first line, Foundation, has been met with rave reviews from the most experienced aficionados to those who enjoy an occasional cigar. We are hard at work bringing 13^th Floor to fine tobacconists, cigar lounges and clubs nationwide.

Why 13^th Floor? What is the meaning behind the name?

We get this question a lot and I love to explain the meaning behind our brand. The 13^th Floor represents a place that is very special to my family and I. It’s a place that I have visited since I was young, a place that I waited to go every year, a place that I could not wait to put the key in the elevator and get up there to look out over the Pacific Ocean and watch the waves roll in. A place that we shared some of my greatest memories growing up and I am now able to share with my own family. There is the legend and superstition of the 13^th Floor, does it exist, is it re-numbered, is it skipped? In our crazy pace of life, it’s easy to “skip” over or “re-number” our priorities to keep the pedal down and engines roaring.  Enjoying a great cigar is a quick relaxing transport to that special place at least for a brief period of time.”

Size: Robsuto  5 x 50  –   Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra  –  Binder:  Ecuadorian  –  Filler: Nicaraguan

Prelight: The Thirteenth Floor cigar is a wonderfully constructed, consistently light brown complected cigar. There are only a few spots of a darker brown color near the foot of the cigar. Ecuadorian wrapped cigars always scare me a bit due to their delicate nature, but this cigar is pretty sturdy and tough. The cigar is tightly packed and give a nice little bounce when squeezed. There are no soft spots, and only one larger vein running the course of the cigar’s silky body. The Thirteenth Floor Foundation is then topped off with a beautiful, rounded triple cap. The biggest stand out item n this cigar has to be it’s band. I am a huge fan of all Thirteenth Floor’s more untraditional marketing and the band pairs in well. The Band is chrome and accented red with bit of black. The Thirteenth Floor crest is embedded in an almost 3D bed of leaves, accented by two small shields with two white keys on them. I’m assuming these keys are then ones mentioned in the story about the brand.

The wrapper gives off a very light cedar and spice aroma and a more pronounced cedar and tobacco scent with a bit of spice from the foot of the cigar. The Thirteenth Floor Foundation cut clean using m double bladed Palio Cutter. The cold draw emitted by this cigar gives off a very light, creamy ginger flavor with hints of tobacco and other spices.

First Smoke: The Thirteenth Floor Foundation lit up with easy under my triple flame butane torch. The first flavors I was greeted with was a very creamy cedar flavor, matched up with soft spice and just a kick of pepper. The Thirteenth Floor Foundation produces an extremely effortless draw that produces a fair of amount of heavy, thick smoke. The burnline started off with one big wave that shot out like a race horse while the rest of the ash played catch up. After about an inch in the burnline corrected itself and started to burn dead even. The ash produced is a very bright grey and tightly packed with only a few flakes and held on just over two inches before giving way.

Halfway There: Into the second third of this Thirteenth Floor Foundation I find it intriguing just how smooth this cigar is. I usually find myself only retro haling a few times each cigar, but I can’t stop doing it with this cigar. The retrohale is producing an amazing crisp cedar prime that really helps bring out the smooth flavors of the Foundation. The main flavors are a strong cedar, spice, and what I could best describe as a heavily creamed coffee. Burn line is perfect, and at this point I am feeling no nicotine kick at all.

Finish: The last third definitely picked up a bit in body. Not enough to really feel much nicotine, but the ramp up was there. The creamy flavors began to take a back seat to the tobacco and spice flavors while the cedar still remained the main contender. The Thirteenth Floor Foundation Robusto only took me about an hour to smoke from start to finish. There was no harshness into the final end but the cigar did burn slightly hotter than I expected seeing how I really took my time to smoke this guy. Outside of the initial waves, the burnline stayed dead even the entire time and there was no need for any type of touch ups or relights. And the big, hefty looking band…Came off with ease. Gotta love that.

Overview: Again I am really impressed with yet another lighter shade cigar. The Thirteenth Floor Foundation has just enough complexity to satisfy my needs, while the creamy experience and balanced flavors made for an enjoyable smoke. The best part about this cigar has to be the retrohale. Worst part? The cigar burned way too fast and kept me wanting more. This is an ideal cigar for any novice, or seasoned smoker. If you are interested in finding out more about Thirteenth Floor Cigars you can visit their site here, Facebook here, twitter here, or you can visit our sponsor Bonita Smoke Shop to place an order for a few of these bad boys.

Pairing: I decided to go a little bold and pair this cigar with a favorite of mine, Belhaven’s Wee Heavy. I say I went a bit bold because the samples I smoke previous to this review were so rich and smooth I would normally pair it with coffee, tea, a nice tripel, or even a light Pilsner. Belhaven’s Wee Heavy is an in your face, spicy, fruity, woodsy Scottish Ale. And quite frankly, the decision worked out well. The fruits, malt, and spice were just enough to really pull the spicy tones from the creamy cedar of the cigar.

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