If you have been reading Casas Fumando for any length of time, you would be aware that Bonita Smoke Shop in Bonita Springs, FL has long been a sponsor and great supporter of the site.  In addition to being a well stocked cigar shop, they also have created several lines of their own blends including the Value House Blends, the 18^th Anniversary, and the Time Warp series.  Daniel paid them a visit a few years ago while on vacation, and had nothing but great things to say about them.  You can read about his visit here.

The Time Warp was released two years ago in a single 6×50 toro size.  The 6×60 Big Ben appeared on the scene last year, and the 6×47 corona gorda sized Time Zone just recently made its debut.  All come cellophane, but unbanded and unboxed, and are available directly from the Bonita Smoke Shop website.  The Time Warps run from $6.49 – $7.95 as singles, and are also available in 5-packs and bundles of 20.  The toro is also available in Cuban wheels of 50.

The components of the Time Warp lines have been a pretty closely guarded secret, but the Bonita website does say that the wrapper is a natural maduro with a Nicaraguan binder and a three leaf filler.  The original blend was put together by Willy Herrera, who was at the time still at the highly regarded El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami and the Time Warp is still manufactured there.  When I contacted Bonita’s owner Jackie for specifics, this is what she, in part, had to say:

“…For Time Warp once again I had a very specific wrapper in mind, That wrapper is still a closely guarded secret. I wanted a rich complex wrapper that was naturally “Maduro”, No dye, no cooking, no anything other than the natural fermentation process to allow the leaf to develop with all it’s natural flavors intact. 

“Big Ben” was the name chosen for the larger size in Time Warp and we adjusted the wrapper to filler and binder ratio of that, Our family is Scottish and English and as a child I recall my uncle tuning in his short wave radio so we could all tip our glass (as Robbie Burns would say “We’ll tak a cup o kindness yet for Auld Lang Syne” each New Year’s Eve. So that was my first “Time Travel” and that is how the name Time Warp was born. A cigar to sit back and travel through time, anyway you’d like, past – present and future with!”

Sounds good to me!  Now let’s see where this Time Warp Big Ben takes me…

Gifted to me by Tony Casas
Wrapper:  Natural maduro, origin unknown
Binder:  Nicaraguan
Filler:  ??
Size:  Big Ben 6×60
Price:  $7.95
Smoke Time:  Two hours, ten minutes
Pairing:  Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier (just don’t make me pronounce it!)

Pre-light:

The wrapper of the Time Warp Big Ben is a lightly oily medium brown mottled throughout with darker brown areas, with a few medium sized veins and a solid triple cap.  This stick is firmly packed, with just a bit of softness toward the foot.  The scent off the wrapper is a peppery, grassy barnyard, while the foot offers up more of an earthy tobacco.  I’ve decided to go with my (cheapo) V-cutter on this large gauge stick rather than my guillotine, in order to restrict and focus the draw a bit.  The cold draw shows sweet tobacco and not much more.

First Third:

The initial puffs produce the same sweet tobacco flavors with the addition of earth, light cedar, and grass.  The retrohale shows much of the same, with some definite pepper sting in the sinuses.  The burn line has started out a bit wavy and thick, but is already starting to self-correct.  Leather has emerged and the pepper has almost disappeared in terms of bite, but not in pungency.  The body at ¾” in is at the low side of medium, with no nicotine to be felt.  An inch in, the burn has completely corrected itself and is now dead even.  A bit of a mossy aged tobacco element is now appearing, as the sweetness, earth, and leather play in the background along with cedar.  The body has backed off a little and is now closer to mild.  The ash tapped off in a solid 1-1/2” chunk.  Further in, sweet cedar now moves to the front and the body once again has shifted toward medium.

Middle Third:

The start of the second third opened with a bit of creaminess along with some lightly roasted coffee, and the cedar has taken on a very slight charred note, adding to the flavors, rather than detracting from them.  The body of the Big Ben is still at a solid medium and the burn has again gone wavy.  The pepper once again rears its head on the retrohale, along with some toasty bread.

Final Third:

Coming down the home stretch, the Time Warp Big Ben is moving into the medium-plus range with the flavors pretty much remaining consistent, but deepening in intensity.  The burn has slanted, but I see no need for a correction at this time.  Toasty cedar, musty tobacco, and earth once again come to the forefront, and there is a peppery tingle on the tongue.  The smoked has remained cool with no harshness.  With 1-1/2” left and the flavors remaining static and nicotine finally starting to show itself, it’s time to put the Big Ben to rest.

Overview:

I’ll come right out and say it:  I’m not much of a fan of large ring gauge cigars.  The Bonita Smoke Shop Time Warp Big Ben is one that I can say may be a departure from that opinion, as the first one I had was a bit of an eye opener.  Subsequent ones were not quite as compelling to me, but this is something that can be all about the circumstances in which we smoke.  But don’t let that stop you from trying the Big Ben, especially if you are among those who prefer the larger sizes.  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.  No re-lights were needed and only one minor correction near the end of the smoke was necessary.  I will say that having had a couple of the original toros, I much prefer that one.  It’s a terrific smoke.  The flavors are richer and more balanced, in my rather amateurish opinion, plus from a personal standpoint, it’s just more comfortable to smoke.  I also look forward to picking up and trying the new Time Zone size sometime soon, as that size is right up my alley.

P.S. – If you’ve seen my reviews here before, you may have noticed the cool fire engine red CAO ashtray at the end of the posts.  That came to me through the generosity of Bonita’s Jackie when I won a giveaway on their currently – and sadly – dormant cigarvlog.com website.   Thanks Jackie, I love that ashtray!  I’m hoping that Jackie will revive that site, as it carried some very informative video snippets regarding cigars, accessories, and even food.

Pairing:

Like I said, I couldn’t pronounce Weihenstaphaner Hefe Weissbier if my life depended on it, but as long as I can find it on the shelf, it doesn’t matter.  Brewed at Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, it boasts a hazy yellow-gold pour, a ton of banana, clove, and wheat flavors, and an ABV of 5.4%, it’s a bright and refreshing brew that will go with just about any mild to medium cigar, and matched up very well with the Time Warp Big Ben.

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The idea here is just to give a couple short paragraphs on a cigar we recently had the chance to enjoy. They could be something we reviewed a long time ago and have some new (or the same) opinions on or perhaps something new that surprised us but we didn’t review. We’d also love to hear everyones thoughts on some of these cigars or perhaps one that you’d like to hear an updated opinion on?

Let us know if you like this idea and if we should continue with it, if the feedback is good, we’ll keep it going!

Gran Habano Connecticut #1 Rothschild – Daniel

Not too long ago Tony picked out a Gran Habano cigar to review, namely the G.A.R. Opium S.T.K. That review sparked a little discussion between Tony and myself and even came up in the comments from some of our trusted readers. It seems that both Tony and I usually enjoy the Gran Habano cigars that we smoke but for some reason we never really seem to buy them or smoke them more often.

Well, after that discussion I came across a box of the Gran Habano Connecticut #1 cigars and decided to splurge on them! I actually also tried these before on one of Blind Reviews and really enjoyed them, but for some reason I never bought any of them afterwards. So I picked up the Rothschild vitola(4.5 x 50) as a good size to enjoy while taking the dogs for a walk or even as a good driving cigar. They also offer a Lunchbreak vitola(4.5 x 40) which would also be a good choice for a short smoke, especially in these darn cold Canadian winters!

So what can you expect? At a price of of around $3 – $4 a stick, these are a very good Connecticut cigar to choose in a market with lots of Connecticut competition. Smooth creamy flavors and lots of cedar dominate this cigar that offers a mild and balanced experience. There’s no harshness near the nub and I find the wrappers to be a little more resilient than a lot of other Connecticut’s I’ve enjoyed. I’m glad I sprung for this box and would definitely buy more to keep on hand as a trusty and fairly priced Connecticut cigar.

Cohiba Siglo VI – Tony

So it’s been a while since I have done a Cuban cigar review. It’s not that I haven’t been smoking them, in fact, shortly after New Years I found just enough spare time to sit back and enjoy this heck of a pairing. Cohiba’s Siglo VI with some Samuel Adams/Weihenstephaner Infinium 2011.

This Siglo VI actually originated from the same 2006 dated box as the review that I did last year (you can see this review here for comparison). I actually have a few of these left so I have been trying to ration them, and only smoke them when I have the time, and I am in the right frame of mind. I am one who believes that you should smoke a cigar when you crave it and not save that “special” stick for that “special” day cause quite frankly, that day may never come. Anyways, back to the information. The Cohiba Siglo VI is a Cuban puro, blah blah blah, 6×52 blah blah blah, and it runs anywhere between $20 and $50 a stick, depending where you are able to get them of course.

The Siglo VI is the epitome of a great Cuban cigar through and through. The cigar boasts of salty, cedar flavors mixed with some smooth and sweet tobacco and honey flavors, and just a few added citrus notes to make things interesting. The burn, like most Cuban cigars is ugly, but manageable, but I didn’t have to touch up or relight. I’m not one that really ages my cigars. I smoke them as often as I can, but this Cohiba, while already well-aged, added another notch in its belt over the course of the last year since I did the review. I stated that early on I began getting some strong pepper flavors on my tongue and lips. Not in this last Siglo VI, in fact the cigar in general really smoothed out making each of the flavor change-ups really blend together. I really wonder what a fresher box of these would taste like. Have any of you tried this cigar? How was the age on it in comparison to your thoughts?

As for the beer, I won’t go too far into it since I will be pairing it with a full review soon. But if you can find it, DO IT! High alcohol, custom “champagne ale” style beer brewed by Sam Adams which was in cahoots with the oldest brewery in the world and one of my favorites, Weihenstephaner. This beer was actually brewed under the German purity law and was straight up, one of the best cigar/beer pairings that I have EVER HAD!

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