Tuesday, June 29, 2010

El Rey Del Mundo 1848 (7.62x52)

I recently had a birthday. No big deal really, but I’ll seize any opportunity to celebrate something with a good cigar. (Coincidentally, my wife’s birthday is the day before mine.) I began the evening meeting up with some of my wing-men at a nearby Champp’s for our weekly Friday happy-hour specials. After priming the pump with $2 pints, we rendezvoused back at the ranch were the missus was having her own little gathering. Add a neighbor and a few more of my cronies to the mix, and next thing you know we had ourselves a nice little party. Cold drinks, good friends, my own backyard on a beautiful summer night… The stage was set for a fine cigar.

I repaired to my home office and peered into my humidor* for something special, something large, something to commemorate just such an occasion. I noticed an El Rey Del Mundo 1848 Churchill squirreled away. El Rey Del Mundo translates to “King of the World”; so-named as a tribute to blender and cigar legend Frank Llaneza, who passed away last March. Frank was one of the pioneers of the premium cigar industry and was considered a trendsetter when it came to blends and wrappers. This particular cigar was the last of an El Rey Del Mundo threesome I received from the Cigar Dave Officer’s Club, April selection. (The nice thing about belonging to one of these cigar clubs is that it causes you to sample cigars that you might not normally try.) I’d already smoked the other two sticks and found them to be smooth yet complex, excellent cigars. I was saving the larger Churchill for a night like tonight.

Pre-cut/pre-light assessment presented a hefty, well-constructed log of a cigar with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, the binder and filler both being Honduran. The wrapper was dark and oily with some slight veining. The band was ornate, mostly gold and red with embossed raised seals and a crest of some sort; just the basic, classic cigar band, but nothing special. I held the foot to my nostril and inhaled deeply. Pre-cut flavor profile revealed an aroma rich with soil and cedar scents. The smell reminded me of fall camping in a pine forest several years ago. My trusty Xikar cutter rewarded me with another perfect cut, while a pre-light draw confirmed the earthy top note. Fresh beer in hand, I settled in and lit the fuse…

Ah sweet nectar, once again I suckle at your teat™. With my Xikar double-torch lighter I gently toasted the foot of this well-made cigar as if it were a marshmallow. I took those first few glorious puffs. I might as well have heard a starting pistol report because this cigar was off-and-running like a champ right out of the gate. Rich, creamy mouthfuls of smoke portended the beginning of another sublime smoking experience. Chocolate and cocoa middle notes were apparent in the opening draws, as well as some spice. The cigar became more powerful (in a good way) as I crept towards the center. Some pepper, coffee, maybe a touch of honey teased the palate. Into the finish the cigar remained flavorful without being overpowering; the earth, cedar and leather signatures held true, along with the others lingering in the background. The burn and draw remained fairly consistent throughout the smoke, and a firm grey ash held on for dear life, surrendering only on my command. (Some minor wrapper touch-ups were required, but nothing out of the ordinary for a two-hour plus cigar.) As I savored the final puffs of my El Rey Del Mundo Churchill I glanced around at my wife and friends. They were all sharing a laugh over some sort of anecdote (probably at my expense). I realized how lucky a man I am, and how appropriate a night it was to be enjoying a birthday cigar named “King of the World”.

To sum up: The El Rey Del Mundo 1848 Churchill is a must-try for any cigar enthusiast. Well-made, consistent, medium-to-full bodied yet flavorful throughout, and priced in the wallet-friendly $7.00 range, an excellent cigar for the cost. I would recommend these to any aficionado.

Grade: B+

Good day sirs!

* Much easier than rummaging around in your actual humidor, making a mess and screwing-up the humidity, is to have an online virtual humidor to keep track of your cigars; especially when your collection starts to get into the fifty-cigars + range. And on that note the website CigarGeeks.com has an excellent virtual humidor set-up for their members. Free.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Arganese Connecticut Presidente Robusto (5x50)

This cigar was a free sample stick from the nice folks at Famous Smoke Shop; tossed into the box with a past order. I was impressed with their generosity until I found out that the Arganese original blend was being discontinued and no longer on the market, so I guess they were trying to get rid of them. Anyway, according to their [Arganese] website, what really makes Arganese Cigars different from other Dominican cigar brands is they “only use 100% first generation Cuban seed tobacco grown in their own fields in authentic Cuban-style growing methods.” They also boast that Arganese Cigars were named one of the top 10 cigars in the world in the Robb Report’s Fine Cigars & Fine Living and featured on the Jay Leno show! (Perhaps, but I don’t subscribe to the Robb Report, and I'll take Letterman over Leno any day.) Anyway, this Connecticut Robusto had been patiently lingering in my humidor for well over a year. A recent weekend spent at the cottage found me sitting at the Tiki bar on our second-floor deck and drinking beers with my brother-in-law. Looking out over the marshlands and enjoying the evening, I decided it would be a perfect time to see what this Robusto – my first Arganese ever I might add – had to offer.

Pre-cut/pre-light inspection ceremony presented a light-brown cigar with a dry, papery wrapper. It was lightweight and had an almost delicate feel to it. The band was a somewhat ominous-looking affair with shades of black surrounded by gold trim. The center containing a red-and-blue crest of some sort with a moon and stars, a knights bascinet helmet, a crown, and finally two figures doing something or other that I can’t quite make out. (I’m still not sure what it all signifies but it looks pretty dang cool in my cigar band journal.) I slowly ran the stick under my nose and took a whiff. (I like to think of this as “foreplay”.) The olfactory profile was unremarkable for the most part - all the normal smells of cedar and my well-maintained humidor. My trusty Montecristo Samurai cutter sliced through the head with scalpel-like precision. I took a cold draw… The full-bodied cigar greeted me with notes of creamy vanilla and wisps of leather. Unfortunately, the pre-light draw also greeted me with a mouthful of short filler. Most disturbing. Beer in hand and my customary hubcap-sized ashtray in front of me, I settled in and lit the fuse…

Ah sweet nectar, once again I suckle at your teat ™! Checkered flag puffs were ambiguous as the cigar started out undecidedly. I continued to get more than the normal bits of short filler tobacco in my mouth, which annoyed me. After a few minutes cedar notes were threatening to kick in. It is at this stage, fellow enthusiasts, I am obliged to point out the serious issues I was having with the burn: The ash was very loose and flaky, and oddly enough even had little fingers of ash protruding off at various right angles (the technical term for this is called: flowering). Little cinders would then break free and flutter all over the place and it was really making a mess. The burn line was thick and uneven and needed constant touch-ups. It did not seem to affect the draw so much, but aesthetically it was a real debacle and was putting a damper on my smoking experience. In any event, I trudged along into the so-called sweet spot, and I have to say I was not impressed with this supposedly full-bodied cigar. It was a witches brew of flavors - I could detect coffee, vanilla, leather, pepper… but with no rhyme nor reason... no balance to any of it. And still the ash continued to come apart like a cheap PiƱata. Down the home stretch I got frustrated and decided to tap-out. I had already eaten an appetizer of short filler and my lap looked like someone dumped an ashtray in it. So with about ¼ of the stick left I put it out of its (and my) misery. (Not to worry – I always have several back-up cigars in my travel humi.)

To sum up: What can I say? I am glad this cigar was free! Sadly, I was disappointed with my first Arganese experience, especially since I have buried somewhere in my humidor their cigar called the “Cugine!” [Italian for “cousin”; in honor of Joe “Vito” Gannascoli of Soprano’s fame], that I have been saving for a special occasion. Perhaps this cigar was just the random, odd dud... And frankly I am usually willing to give a first-time cigar the benefit of the doubt. But the truth of the matter is this: With so many brands to choose from, and cigar prices going up, cigar companies cannot afford to be putting out duds. So for now I have to give the Arganese Connecticut Presidente a poor rating.

Grade: C-

Good day sirs!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Don Diego No. 100 Robusto

I realize Don Diego is considered more of a beginners’ smoke by most enthusiasts. But still, Don Diego has a very rich history in the cigar industry and was one of the first premium cigars I ever smoked, back when I was but a novice in the hobby. So I always like to keep a couple in my humidor for nostalgia’s sake. This mild cigar is typically a morning or afternoon smoke for me, and today was no exception. After several hours spent knocking a few items off my honeydew list (“honey do this… honey do that…”) I figured I’d reward myself with a garage smoke. It seemed a little early for the sauce, being a weekday morning and all, so I opted for an ice-cold Diet Coke. With my faithful mutt “Stogie” at my feet I got down to business.

This aromatic Robusto was one of a fiver special from Famous and rested in my humidor for well over a year. It came wrapped in cellophane; which I tend to leave on for reasons that I will go into another time. After carefully unsheathing the stogie, a pre-cut inspection revealed a silky smooth Connecticut shade wrapper with no obvious flaws -- typical since Don Diego’s are known for their consistent construction quality. Since I know from experience that this particular cigar is notorious for a very free draw, like a skilled surgeon I expertly cut off as little of the cap as possible. The pre-light sip revealed a smooth creamy flavor with just a touch of spice. I lit the fuse…

Ah sweet nectar, once again I suckle at your teat™. From the get-go this Don Diego Robusto lived up to its reputation as a mild-to-medium bodied smoke. It was exactly what one would expect from a smooth Dominican cigar. Near the mid-stick sweet spot I performed the nasal exhale to experience a pleasant peppery and toasty flavor. The cigar burned well throughout the smoke, with just a very minor wrapper fray near the end. The finish was subtle with sweet notes of spice and lavender, and almost no bitter aftertaste. I relaxed in the glow of my post manual labor, and all was well with the world.

To sum up: At around $5.00 a stick, if you like to keep something mild in your humidor that provides a consistently mellow smoking experience with a subtle finish, I highly recommend a Don Diego No. 100 Robusto.

Grade: B

Good day sirs!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Rocky Patel Renaissance Robusto

Although many aficionados consider Rocky Patel cigars to be overrated, I personally think he is putting out some of the finest blends in the industry. The Decade is one of my top-five favorites, and The Edge, Connecticut and Vintage 1990 continue to impress. At any given moment I’ll have three or four different types of Rocky Patel cigars in my humidor. The Renaissance, introduced in mid-2008, has for some odd reason eluded me. Meaning I have been remiss in getting around to smoking one. Odder still is that I have had three Renaissance Robustos squirreled away in my humidor since last February (’09). So after a respectable 15-month hibernation in the humi, I figured Memorial Day would be an appropriate occasion to finally smoke this beauty. After a sweltering backyard dinner and drinks at a friend’s place, I was happy to find myself back home in comfortable clothes, relaxing in my “man cave” (the garage). Sporadic afternoon thunderstorms brought a nice reprieve from the hot, muggy weather here in the metro Detroit area, and a cool breeze was coming in.

Pre-light/pre-cut inspection revealed a skillfully constructed cigar with a nicely formed cap and consistent firmness throughout. This cigar uses a “four-year aged Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua and a blend of rare tobacco from Nicaragua, along with ligero from an undisclosed region of Central America.” The wrapper was more of a Colorado Maduro in color with some brown speckles mixed in. The cigar band itself is an ornate affair, with shades of brown, white and gold; exactly what you would expect to find on a cigar named the Renaissance. (You could almost imagine Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo sparking one of these up over a glass of port.) The guillotine cut was swift, exact and without incident. A pre-light draw enticed me with an earthy flavor with subtle hints of nuts, vanilla and a touch of spice. I settled in and lit the fuse…

Ah sweet nectar. Once again I suckle at your teat! ™ Right from the first few puffs, I suspected that this cigar was going to be a champ. The smoke volume was nice and billowy and the draw was cool and effortless. Initial flavors were plainly distinct with strong notes of rich coffee, vanilla and spicy pepper. I coasted into the sweet spot, tasting hints of cinnamon and sweet raisin, along with a slight roasted almond flavor. Exhaling through the nostrils produced that nice peppery “zing” I have come to appreciate. The burn was razor sharp and the ash held tight well beyond the one-inch mark. The cigar showed balance and smoothness and rewarded me with a politely protracted finish. It goes without saying I smoked this rope to the nub. What a great cigar to usher in the unofficial beginning of summer!

To sum up: Overall, another medium-bodied hit from Rocky. The Robusto is priced in the tolerable $7.00 - $8.00 range. I would without hesitation recommend this cigar to fans of the Rocky Patel line, or connoisseurs of a notch-above a medium-bodied stick.

Grade: A-

Good day sirs!