#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: RoMa Craft Tobac

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

Not so long ago, Skip Martin owned a cigar shop called Hava Cigar in Galveston, Texas. A hurricane unfortunately ended that shop's physical existence, but he reopened it online to sell his own cigar creations and those of his partner, Michael Rosales, of Adrian's Cigars. Last year the two officially merged into a single company called RoMa Craft. Skip will be joining us for the entire Tweetup weekend, including his Burns Debut event on Thursday, August 23. 

RoMa Craft will be in 35 B&Ms as of 8/23/12 and Burns Tobacconist will be the first to have the entire line of CroMagnon (original and Acquitaine) and Intemperance (BA XXI and EC XVIII). Guaranteed for the Thursday night event only are the new sizes of CroMagnon, Slobberknocker and Atlatl (the second also available in Acquitaine blend).

Acquitaine Info 

Intemperance Info

CroMagnon Info

Check out the reviews that Keith and I have done of Skip's blends in the past:

CroMagnon
CroMagnon (Cigar Extra)
Intemperance EC XVIII
Intemperance BA XXI
Intemperance EC XVIII
Intemperance BA XXI

Side Note: If you're planning on being in attendance for the Thursday evening, August 23, RoMa Craft event, please leave a comment on this post, send me a DM on Twitter, or send me an e-mail. We are trying to get a good estimate of how many people to plan for at the kickoff event. Thanks!

Cigar Review: La Sirena Merlion

Robusto, 5” x 50 ring gauge / $9.45, Burns Tobacconist

Just a few days ago, the second release in the La Sirena line--Merlion--made its debut at Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As I’ve referred to it, this was a release so big and so important that it took place in two shops over two days. Okay, maybe a bit of hyperbole, but at any rate, I’m happy to see my “home shop” getting the official “national debut” of another cigar. If you are not up to speed on the whole “La Sirena” thing, here it is in a nutshell: La Sirena is Spanish for “mermaid,” which is the logo for the brand. It is distributed by Miami Cigar & Company and managed by Arielle Ditkowich. The first cigar under this brand name was blended by Jaime Garcia and made at the My Father Cigar Factory in Nicaragua. This time, Arielle teamed up with Guillermo Leon and the La Aurora Factory in the Dominican Republic. The artwork for the Merlion shows a mermaid tail with the head of a lion and symbolizes the combination of the “mermaid brand” of La Sirena with the “lion brand” of La Aurora. They are available right now at Burns Tobacconist (423-855-5200) and will be available nationwide in a month or so. There are 3 sizes: Robusto (5 x 50 / MSP $9.00), Toro (5.5 x 54, MSP $10.00) and Gran Toro (6 x 58, MSP $10.50). It features an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, Brazilian Sumatra binder, and 4 different types of filler: Brazilian Bahia, Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan ligero. I purchased half a box of Merlion Robustos and this review sample is my third stick.

I really love the way this cigar is presented. The main band you see in my pictures is the only one on the first release of Robustos. The image of the Merlion is cool and bizarre. The silver foil is classy and the whole effect is beautiful. Topping it off is the double-band effect on the other vitolas...take off the first band and the top half stays on in a much more effective manner than the double-banding scheme employed in the original La Sirena line. The wrapper is a dark caramel color with medium sized veins and a nice oiliness to it. I got a little barnyard and some hay aromas on the wrapper; the foot had nice wood and earth aromas. After cutting, the prelight draw was excellent and had notes of hay and a light, sweet natural tobacco.

After lighting, I got a nice earthiness and a creamy, sweet note on the palate along with cedar and a more intense pepper spice than I had expected on the retrohale. The Merlion was a straight medium-bodied cigar right from the beginning, which was one of the objectives of Arielle in working on this blend. About halfway through the first third, I noticed mostly cedar and earth in the foreground of the flavor profile, along with a nice sweet note to balance. The pepper spice on the nose had settled down a bit, but was definitely still present. Before the first third was over, I noticed the earthiness building and the wood notes diminish considerably.

During the second third, the body increased to a “medium-plus” state and I got a nice sweet note...almost caramel-like, but not quite. I also noticed a little of the metallic note that I think came from the Sumatra binder. Toward the end of the third I noticed the red pepper spice of the Corojo leaf starting to make its presence know on my palate. Construction so far was great; I had a very even burn line, solid ash and fantastic draw.

In the final third, the Merlion got fuller in body and a bit stronger in nicotine strength as well, both a bit of a surprise and something I had not noticed so much when smoking the first two samples while hanging out with others at the launch party. The flavor changed again as well, featuring a much stronger earthiness and an increasingly powerful red pepper spice on the palate. Throughout the entire cigar, I definitely noticed the La Aurora influence on the flavor; it is a cigar that you can identify as La Aurora if you are familiar with their cigars, but also not something that is really like anything else they produce in that it has more complexity and more intense flavors at different points. The amount of flavor change in this cigar is surprising and it is sure to delight long-time enthusiasts. It does have less body and strength than the original La Sirena so newer smokes might find it accessible, but only just since both ramp up significantly as you get to the last half of the final third.

Comparing this to the original La Sirena is difficult because they are such widely divergent experiences. Both are excellent in their own ways and would probably appeal to the same enthusiasts at different times...as well as to different flavor preferences completely. I made the comment at the event that you wouldn’t “cross-shop” a La Sirena original and Merlion any more than you would cross-shop a Tatuaje Cojonu and a Cabaiguan...both are sold by the same people, but the appeal is different. This had great construction, plentiful flavor and a reasonable price tag (okay, maybe a tiny bit high for some budgets). I think Arielle and Miami Cigar have a real winner on their hands with this cigar...something that fulfills the mission of the brand without directly competing with the earlier release.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 9/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4.5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 9.5/10

Now it's your chance to get some Merlions...

Thank you very much to Barry Stein and Matt Shugart from Miami Cigar and Company for putting together a giveaway so quickly with me. The launch party was Friday, I thought of this Saturday and by that afternoon it was "done deal."

THE PRIZE: A 3-pack of La Sirena Merlion and a La Sirena T-Shirt

We're going to shake this up a bit from our normal "leave a comment" format and make you work for it a little if you want early access to the Merlions.

For the First Entry: Watch the video interview with Arielle that I posted yesterday and pay attention. Send me an e-mail (tikibaronline@mac.com) answering this question: What was Arielle's first job in the cigar business and what was the criteria for getting it?

You must complete this step to be eligible for the drawing.

Second Entry: Tweet about it! Your Twitter post must reference the La Sirena Merlion Contest on the Tiki Bar AND provide a link to this page AND tag me (@dmjones1009). If you don't tag me in your Tweet, I won't see it...it won't count.

Max 2 Entries Per Person

Because I'm basically requiring watching the interview video to participate in this, we are going to extend the contest out to one week from today, so it will end at Midnight, Eastern Time, on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.

I will pick a winner and contact that person (since everyone must e-mail me to be eligible, that shouldn't be a problem). When the winner gives me their shipping info I will forward that to Barry at Miami Cigar who is in charge of shipping out the prize. Please allow 1 to 2 weeks for shipment.

#CHAtweetup 2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Emilio Cigars

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

A year ago, if I mentioned Emilio Cigars and you said, "Who?" you could be excused. After all, the company was fairly new and just starting on its fairly meteoric rise to fame. In the last year, company president, Gary Griffith, has become a constant presence in social media: Twitter, Facebook and his own blog dedicated to the business of Emilio Cigars. A year ago we welcomed Gary to Chattanooga for the first time and we got samples of the AF1, AF2 and Grimalkin to put in the multi-packs. In the time since, they have added AF Suave and DraigK to the line-up, the Grimalkin is being rebranded "La Musa," and 2 or 3 other cigars are slated to make their debut before the end of the year...and Gary is already working with his minions to put together a great continuing line of releases for 2013 and on into 2014. The company has also signed distribution deals with Rodrigo and Herederos de Robaina.

Gary will be joining us for the Tweet-Up once again, along with his National Sales Director, Nate McIntyre. In a side note, because both Keith and I are doing some work with Emilio in some capacity, we have recused ourselves from writing any reviews on new products so as to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. We do have someone else, though, who has agreed to handle the duty of writing those reviews those and hope to present them on these blog pages soon.

Check out these reviews of last year's Emilio line-up:

Emilio AF1

Emilio AF2

Emilio Grimalkin

La Sirena Merlion Launch Party

Burns Tobacconist of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was chosen for the National Release Party of the new cigar under the La Sirena banner: Merlion. The launch party spanned two days and two stores, starting Friday, July 27, at Burns East, and concluding Saturday, July 28, at Burns Downtown.


Friday a large group of us got our hands on the Merlion for the first time and the feedback was very positive on this new blend made by La Aurora and distributed by Miami Cigar and Company. I also got time to sit down and talk with Brand Manager, Arielle Ditkowich about her time in the cigar industry and this new cigar.





Saturday, Arielle had a luncheon with the Lady Cigar Smokers of Chattanooga before heading to the Downtown location for the evening. The party there was co-sponsored by Chattanooga Whiskey Company. A $10 ticket bought samples of both 1816 Reserve and 1816 Cask as well as a Merlion Robusto. 


We saw quite a few out-of-town visitors for the events--Leslie Levin (@LevinLesli) and Nate McIntyre (@CigarNate) from Nashville; William Campbell (@WECampbell) and Josh Phillips (@ComedianJoshP) from Knoxville; Brian Hewitt (@brianhewitt) and Nick Wiegand (@nickwiegand) from Atlanta to name a few.


My review of the Merlion will post tomorrow, along with a giveaway sponsored by Miami Cigar and Company.

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: AKA Cigars

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

The AKA in AKA Cigars is short for "American Kick Ass." True to their name, they style themselves as a patriotic outfit paying homage to the armed forces in their vitolas of the Respect line (named for branch slogans).

Both Hybrid and Respect are made from tobaccos sourced from Kelner and Elroa so you could say Davidoff and Camacho is in the company's DNA.

They also have a new line called the Solace debuting at the IPCPR show in a week or so.

We've taken a look at some of the AKA cigars; check out these reviews when you have time:

AKA Respect

AKA Respect

AKA Hybrid

Little Monsters: Wolfie

This is Part 4 of 5 of my look at Tatuaje’s Little Monsters release.

5.5" x 48 ring gauge

For the fourth installment of the monster series, Pete Johnson introduced the Wolfman, and declared it was a cigar that was supposed to look ugly, from it's toothy, mottled wrapper to the shaggy foot to the brown and red band that seems designed to make your eyes hurt. The truth is...it's not that ugly. The shaggy foot is elegantly done, the wrapper isn't that rough or veiny, and it does have plenty of oil to the touch. The band...well the band is ugly, so he did accomplish the goal there. For this Monster, we once again see all Nicaraguan filler and binder; this time Pete used a new favorite for wrapper: Sumatran (seen just before the Wolfman on the 7th Capa Especial and just after on the Cojonu 2012 Capa Especial). With other new cigars coming out using Sumatran leaf, will this Capa become this year's Ecuadorian Habano? Who knows...and that's not what I'm here to talk about anyway.

The wrapper had a sweet hay aroma and foot had a rich earthy note. The cold draw was good and the flavors of cedar, hay and spice came through. The shaggy foot lets you taste the cigar without the wrapper's influence at the beginning. I noted a strong coffee and pepper spice flavor at this point. That lasted 7 or 8 puffs until the wrapper started to burn, too. As soon as the Sumatra leaf got fully ignited, I noticed a metallic note that it seems is part of the Sumatran profile. This is not a flavor I like a whole lot, so how much I like or dislike a Sumatran wrapped cigar is dependent on how well this flavor is balanced with other flavors. On the full size Wolfman, I can honestly say I was not crazy about the flavor. Here it seems better, though, and it keeps getting better as the Wolfie continues to combust.

As I progressed into the second half metallic notes were subdued more cedar and spice. Overall, I enjoyed this vitola of Wolf more than the full size one. I actually have about 4 or 5 full size left and would gladly trade a few of them for Wolfies at this point. Fans of what Pete has done with Sumatran wrapper lately will surely enjoy these.

Cigar Review: Illusione Ultra

OP No. 4 (Robusto), 4” x 48 ring gauge / $10.50, Burns

There’s definitely something to be said for the method with which Illusione Cigars owner, Dion Giolito, debuts then grows his lines. The original Illusione brand was introduced in a dozen sizes, then he introduced a Candela in one size...followed by a few other vitolas a few months later. Then the Maduro made an appearance...followed a few months later by more vitolas...and with the banding changed. Last year the Ultra was released after the IPCPR show in the “mk” size (it also enjoyed a limited release sometime previous) and now three more sizes have joined it on the shelves of some of the best tobacconists in the country. I picked up the OP No. 4, a Robusto by any other name, at Burns to give it a whirl. These are all Nicaraguan cigars from what I can tell; information on Illusione’s website is non-existent, but one retailer says it has a Corojo wrapper leaf.

I love the way this cigar looks: dark chocolate brown with some mottling, small veins with a nice oily sheen. The band is reversed out from the normal Illusione look, white type on black background, as if to denote this was a darker, heavier smoke and newbies should beware. The wrapper leaf feels nice and oily, too, and very smooth...quite the impeccable construction. The box press on the cigar is mild, with softly rounded corners. I gave the cigar a good sniff and loved the chocolatey, slightly earthy aroma I got from the wrapper. The foot had more earth with some spiciness and cedar. As usual, my Xikar Xi provided a clean cut and great draw. The prelight flavors were of cocoa powder, cedar, and sweet tobacco.

While lighting I got quick hits of maple and licorice, but these were quickly subsumed by a strong earthiness, sharp cedar, and rich dark chocolate. The retrohale had more cedar along with roasted peanuts and a dash of pepper spice. Just a dash, though, and not nearly as much as you might expect from a Nicaraguan Puro. I had to check my review of the MK Ultra before the first third was over...I didn't remember it being this good. Sure enough, I had noted it to be a bit raspy in places and it ended up with a score that was not all that remarkable. This one, though, was really hitting me different...smoother, more flavorful, more complex. Almost as if this one had been rolled at the same time, but was left to age and mellow a bit for six or either months. I was getting full-bodied earthiness, to be sure, but also a complex mix of cedar, dried fruit, dark chocolate and even coffee. While the MK hit me in the nose with pepper spice, this one's spiciness was far more subdued and allowed rich roasted nuts and cedar to come through clearly.

Deep in the second third, I marveled at how great this cigar was tasting. It had a rich chocolatey note still, plenty of earth and enough cedar for me to know it was there. I had no construction issues of note; the draw was excellent, the ash was solid and the burn line just had to be touched up a bit a couple times.

The good times with the Illusione Ultra OP 4 continued through the last third, where I picked up a nice bit of red pepper spice on the palate to go with the rich notes of chocolate, earth and coffee. This is definitely a full bodied cigar and has a decent amount of strength, too, so it is still off the table for newer smokers. But the difference between last year's MK Ultra and this OP 4 is, to me,  night and day. This one hit on all cylinder all the way from beginning to end making it not just one of my favorite smokes of the year, but probably my favorite Illusione period. I'm hoping my local shop has more the next time I get there.

Body: 8/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 9/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 10/10

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Epicurean Cigars

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

There is not much to be said about Epicurean Cigars...at least not yet. Their existence came as a bit of a surprise to me early this year. Matt Booth was in town for an event and his old friend, Steven Ysidron, was in Atlanta, so he decided to come up and hang out. I had heard Steven had left his old company and was working to start a new one, but the name I heard was wrong...well, not wrong...just complicated. Legal issues or something. So, he decided to rename his new venture Epicurean Cigars.

He was able to launch in the first half of 2012 with two blends, the AG and the Gonzo. Both of which will be featured in reviews here on the Tiki Bar next week.

Steven Ysidron will be joining us for the Chattanooga Tweet-Up again this year. Both the AG and Gonzo are available at Burns Downtown.

Dual Review: Torcido by Twisted Cigars

I first heard about Torcido near the end of June. Wes, manager of Burns Downtown, told me, “You need to e-mail Christian and Jessica Hutson about this new cigar I’ll be carrying downtown...oh, and they’ll be sponsoring the Tweetup.” I’m always game to try something new, so I e-mailed them. We posted their official press release before June ended and the last week of the month, I got the review samples they promised. Keith and I each received one of each size for the review process. There are 3 sizes available: Corona, Robusto, and Lancero. And they will only be available in 3 stores nationally to begin with: Just For Him in Springfield, Missouri (also owned by the Hutsons), The Humidor Cigars and Lounge West in Wichita, Kansas, and Burns Tobacconist Downtown in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m going to go ahead and put a plug for Burns in here...they are a sponsor of this blog and Burns East is my regular shop. If the following review intrigues you, please give Wes a call at 423-267-7740 and he should be able to hook you up with some stogies.

Torcido is a Dominican Puro, also made in the Dominican Repubilc at the Matasa Factory. The Quesada family had a large role in the creation of this cigar. Thanks again to the Hutsons for sending the samples our way.

DAVE: Lancero, 7” x 38 ring gauge / $8.95, Burns

I smoked the Corona and Robusto before I smoked the Lancero for this review. I will fill in some notes on what I thought of those two vitolas after I finish the review of the Lancero. Starting with the way it looked...the Torcido lancero had a nicely oily wrapper with medium sized veins, a “foldover” closed foot and a pigtail twist on the cap. All in all it was a very traditional-looking cigar. The band was black with silver foil and a scalloped design that followed the top  edge of the foil; classy, understated...perhaps a little too understated. Giving the wrapper a good sniff, I got aromas of leather and chocolate; it reminded me of when I first opened the ziploc bag with the six cigars in it...a wave of chocolate aroma poured out. With the foldover foot, there wasn’t much different there. The draw of the Lancero was just a bit snug, but it's always hard to judge exactly with a foldover foot. The cold draw flavor was sweet, with lots of cocoa and coffee notes.

In the early-going the Torcido Lancero displayed a medium to full body with a mouth-filling, oily smoke that had flavors of raisins, creamy but still strong coffee, earth and dark chocolate. The retrohale was sweet and nutty, with just a touch of pepper spice on occasional puffs. While having a decent amount of body and a complex flavor profile, this cigar never threatened to overpower in the first third. It provided plenty of flavor although the draw did tighten a bit after I tapped off the first time. Unlike the prelight, it had been very good up until this point, and I had no problems at all with either Corona or Robusto when it came to the draw.

As I got into the second third, I applied some more fire to get the burn back up to full strength and that seemed to help as I passed through the tight spot. Apart from that tight spot, the construction was perfect, featuring a very even burn line and a solid, never flaky ash. Flavor in the second third steered more toward the earthy with a stronger black coffee note playing the lead role and a very nice supporting chocolate sweetness.

In the final third of the Torcido Lancero, I found another tight spot for the draw, but the flavor continued to be fantastic, a mix of coffee, earth and chocolate. If given this cigar and told nothing about it, I would not guess from the full body (though on the low end of full) and rich earthy flavor profile that this was a Dominican Puro. Nicaraguan would be the first guess, although it lacks the spice characteristic of many Nica smokes. What it was…was simply delightful...aside from the minor construction issue, one that you will find frequently 38 ring gauge Lanceros. I found the Corona to be every bit as flavorful with an easier draw and the Robusto to be lacking in flavor when compared to either of the others. While at the bottom end of full-bodied, this cigar did not have a great deal of strength, making it easy to smoke, and the price point is very accessible.

Body: 8/10

Strength: 5/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 9.5/10

KEITH:  

Corona, 5.5x46 /  $8.30, Burns

I would also like to thank the Hutsons for sending us these samples for review.  I smoked the lancero and robusto before I smoked this corona for review.

The wrapper on the corona was definitely lighter in color than the other two samples.  It was a milk chocolate brown with some medium veins to it.  The wrapper on this cigar was slightly oily in spite of not having cello on it.  It also displayed a fair amount of tooth to it.  I do agree with Dave that the band may be a little bit too understated.  All of the samples were fairly firm to the touch and didn’t have any soft spots.  I was able to get a slight milk chocolate aroma from the wrapper, and maybe some leather and barnyard from the closed foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got notes of cocoa powder with an ok draw.

The cigar starts off with leather and cocoa powder with a slight amount of spice on the retrohale.  The cigar started off medium bodied.  After a short way the spice did start building and I started to get flavors of cinnamon with a slight sweetness on the finish.  The draw was ok, but not as open as I like and the burn was a little off.  I did get a slight sourness (more on that later) but it luckily went away after a few puffs. 

As I moved into the second third the flavors brought more of the coffee, leather and earth flavors with the sweeter ones dying down.  The spice did lessen in intensity as well.  There wasn’t much change in the construction.

The final third didn’t see much change in the flavors.  The spice did start coming back but it really never got out of the upper end of medium range in my opinion.  The draw did open up a bit and the burn almost evened itself out.

Over all this was a pretty good cigar.  I enjoyed the flavors but they didn’t seem to really wow me like they did Dave.  To get back to the sourness I brought up earlier, on the other two samples I smoked there was a really intense sourness, so much so it kind of messed up my palate for the rest of the evening that I smoked them.  I don’t know if it was because of more age needed, something in the samples I smoked, or simply how they hit my palate.  Since I didn’t experience the body Dave did I would say that most smokers should be able to enjoy this cigar and to give Wes a call and pick some up to try for yourself.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 6/10

Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 3.5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8/10

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Miami Cigar & Co.

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

There is so much to say about Miami Cigar & Co. that I hardly know where to start at this point. They were one of our sponsors last year and one of the companies that signed on first to be a return sponsor this year. Not only that, but have taken steps to have a bigger commitment to the Chattanooga Tweet-Up by partnering with another of our sponsors, Emilio Cigars, to produce a double-coffin box featuring two brand-new cigars that will only be available in limited quantities at the Tweet-Up. You can read the details of the Añoranza and La Musa Box Set HERE. 

Besides Añoranza, it is a busy, busy year for Miami Cigar & Company as they prepare to release a veritable flood of cigars under several popular brand names. From the La Aurora brand, we will see the Preferidos Diamond (with a Broadleaf wrapper...one of my favorites!), Fernando Leon, and the re-release of the Cien Años, as well as the partnership between La Aurora and La Sirena known as Merlion, a cigar about which I will have more information this Friday when it gets its official release party at Burns Tobacconist. More details on these Dominican releases can be found HERE.

They have another batch of cigars hailing from Nicaragua and arriving under the Nestor Miranda Collection brand, including the Special Selection Connecticut, and this year's installments of the Grand Reserve and Danno lines. More details on those can be found HERE. 

And before I post a list of Miami Cigar stogies we've reviewed in the past, I'll post one more link to their blog so you can see exactly what "Añoranza" is all about. We will be joined by Jason Wood and Barry Stein of Miami Cigar at this year's Tweet-Up, as well as our area sales rep extraordinaire, Matthew Shugart. (Update: as of July 27, Jason Wood will not be able to join us)


Check out some of the following reviews when you have time:

La Aurora 100 Anos (Cigar Extra/CRA Saturday)

La Aurora 100 Años Lancero

La Aurora 100 Años Preferido

La Aurora 107

La Aurora 107 Lancero

La Aurora 1495

La Aurora 1495 (Cigar Extra)

La Aurora Broadway

La Aurora Cameroon

La Aurora Corojo

La Aurora Corojo

La Aurora Escogidos Maduro

La Aurora Guillermo Leon Signature

La Aurora Guillermo Leon Signature (Cigar Extra)

La Aurora Guillermo Leon Signature (beer pairing)

La Aurora Imperiales Clasico

La Aurora Imperiales Maduro

La Aurora Leon Jimenes Prestige

La Aurora Leon Jimenes (Cigar Extra)

La Aurora Para Japon

La Aurora Preferidos Maduro, Robusto

La Aurora Preferidos Maduro, Lancero

La Aurora Preferidos Silver Tubo

La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003 (Cigar Extra)

La Aurora Puro Vintage 2004 (Cigar Extra)

La Aurora Thompson 95th (Cigar Extra)

Nestor Miranda 1989 Oscuro
Nestor Miranda 1989 Rosado
Nestor Miranda Art Deco
Nestor Miranda Art Deco (Cigar Extra)
Nestor Miranda Danno 2010, Buckhead Edition
Nestor Miranda Dominicano, Oscuro
Nestor Miranda Dominicano, Rosado
Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve
Nestor Miranda Special Selection, Corojo
Nestor Miranda Special Selection, Oscuro
Nestor Miranda Special Selection, Oscuro (Cigar Extra)

La Sirena
La Sirena

Cigar Review: Perdomo ESV 2002 Maduro

Epicure, 6” x 54 ring gauge / approx. $7.50

One of my favorite Perdomos was the ESV 91 Maduro; a couple years back I bought the remainder of the Corona sized sticks at an event at Burns in Chattanooga and have been judiciously spreading out their reduction to ashes since they just are not available anymore. Last summer, Perdomo’s National Director of Sales, Chris Harper, told me that all was not lost, that they were producing a new version of the Estate Select Vintage...the ESV 2002. Knowing how much I like Perdomo’s Maduro wrappers, he gave me an ESV02 Maduro at the Chattanooga Tweet-Up last year; I smoked it and meant to get around to reviewing it when it showed up at the shop, but then forgot about it...because it never did show up! I spotted this one on a trip to Knoxville when I stopped at the Old City Cigar Shop in downtown...and then a couple weeks later Burns finally got them in. The ESV02 is available, like most Perdomo offerings, in 3 wrapper varieties (Connecticut, Sungrown and Maduro, in this case) and 4 sizes (Churchill, Epicure (a Toro, really), Robusto, and Torpedo...all are 54 ring gauge with varying lengths). The Maduros are Nicaraguan puros, using fillers from the 2002 harvest year. I’ve had at least two of these before this review sample.

The band of the ESV 02 Maduro is a variation on what the company did for the ESV 91: in this case is has silver foil rather than gold, and the “2002” is not printed on the band like “1991” was printed on the old version. The wrapper had a classic Maduro look: just slightly darker than milk chocolate, with a bit of tooth and a few medium to medium-plus sized veins running down the length. The cigar was oily to the touch and had an aroma of leather with a bit of barnyard. On the foot, I got a whiff of chocolate and a more potent earthiness. The cold draw was excellent...come to think of it, it is exceedingly rare that I have found Perdomo cigars with draw issues. The cold flavor was earthy with a little cocoa powder and some cedar notes.

When lit the Perdomo ESV02 started off with flavors of semi-sweet, dark chocolate; black coffee; and earth on the palate. I noted more cocoa powder and black pepper on the nose. The rest of the first third became very earthy, with just touches of the chocolate and coffee flavors I got earlier on. There was a bit of anise note from time to time as well as a rich sweet, natural tobacco flavor. 

As I got into the second third, the couple of larger veins in the wrapper contributed to a ragged burn line that had to be touched up a couple times. Other than that, construction was very good with a decently strong ash and fantastic draw. The flavor continued to be very earthy at its core, but started displaying some more of the coffee that I got at the beginning, as well as more woody flavors, too.

The ESV02 Maduro showed some additional complexity in the last third with the introduction of some raisin and more anise notes; earth and strong black coffee continued to dominate the majority of the time, though. I continued to have trouble with the burn line, adding fire several more times to keep it somewhat even, and the ash in the last half proved to be a bit flaky, ending up in my lap or on my magazine. I liked this cigar, but just can't help thinking that the large ring gauge size does not work to its advantage. As mentioned before, every vitola has a 54 ring gauge, which is larger than the 50ish I prefer to use for review purposes, and has the effect of dumbing down the blend to a certain degree. Sadly, it seems Perdomo has abandoned smaller ring gauge cigar, at least at this time. As I was smoking this review stick I noticed an advertisement for Grand Crus in 60 ring gauge and felt discouraged. In my mind, the majority of these big cigars are mostly suitable for newer smokers who have not developed a discerning palate yet; there are exceptions to that, of course, but that is just my opinion...take it for what you will. This cigar had a medium to full body and about the same amount of nicotine strength, making it fairly unsuitable for those newer smokers I just mentioned. Long time aficionados will likely enjoy this cigar, though. Judging from my love of the Corona sized ESV91, I think this cigar would be markedly better in a smaller ring gauge, even if it were just a true Robusto at 50.

Body: 8/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 1.5/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8.5/10

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Nat Sherman

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

The early years of the Great Depression might not seem like a great time to start any business, but it was the right time for Nat Sherman to start out in the tobacco business. Over the years the Nat Sherman store in New York became famous for its high quality cigars and cigarettes. Check out their website at www.NatSherman.com for the whole story, which is far too long to print here, but far too interesting to not read.

Wes Thornton, manager of the Downtown Chattanooga branch of Burns Tobacconist, brought in the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection earlier this year, so if you are coming to the Tweet-Up, make sure to plan on picking up a few of those when you get to the Downtown shop.

Michael Herklots, Nat Sherman's Executive Director of Retail and Brand Development, will be joining us for the Chattanooga Tweet-Up this year and he and Wes are co-sponsoring the After Party at Envy Ultra-Lounge. While on that subject, I would like to let all who were in the Tweet-Up know that last year our group set a record for attendance at Envy, but that record has been surpassed in the last few months. Plan on being there for the After-Party this year to destroy that record and take it back for the cigar-smokers! :)

A Few Minutes with Litto Gomez

Last Thursday, Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, TN, hosted Litto Gomez, founder and owner of La Flor Dominicana. This was an event I was anticipating for three years...seriously, the first year I was a customer at Burns, manager Matt Allen told me he was expecting Litto to be visiting that fall...then it became the next spring...then the next fall...and so on and so on. Turns out Litto visited the shop about 10 years ago, the resulting sales were...well, "less than encouraging" would be a kind way to describe it. After a decade of building the brand into one of the premier lines in the industry and acquiring a dedicated group of fans, the reception last week was very, very good.


I got a few minutes to sit down with Litto to talk about how he got started, how the business has grown and what he has planned for this year's IPCPR show. Later in the evening, the owner of Burns...and the Chattanooga Billiards Club that Burns is part of...challenged Litto to a game of pool. Phil Windham did start the business as a "billiards" club and is rumored to be a "pretty decent" player, so I thought the outcome would be a no-brainer. In a "Best to 3 Race" Phil won the first game, Litto won the next two, then Phil came back to win the final two games to win Litto's hat. Litto signed it for him: "7-12-12...Today Phil kicked my ass at the pool table. Litto"


Enjoy!

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Ortega Cigars

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

Around the beginning of this year, Eddie Ortega announced the formation of his own cigar company after several years under the "EO Brands" banner. His initial release was the Serie D featuring a Mexican Maduro wrapper and made by the folks at My Father Cigars. This was followed soon after by a Natural version and there are a couple more new releases in the works.

In the meantime, his partnership in EO Brands has been dissolved and the cigars sold under that label split up. Eddie is said to be taking the Cubao, REO and Vibe brand names (read the whole story at halfwheel).

Eddie Ortega himself will be "in the house" for the Tweet-Up this year, so this will be a perfect time to meet him and get to talk with him about cigars.

Both Keith and I have looked at the Serie D Maduro. Since the Cubao name will still be associated with Ortega, I'm including reviews of those products in the following list, too:

Ortega Serie D Maduro

Ortega Serie D Maduro (Cigar Extra)

EO Cubao

EO Cubao Maduro

Little Monsters: Baby Face

This is Part 3 of 5 of my look at Tatuaje’s Little Monsters release.

4.375" x 50 ring gauge

I got to try The Face when Pete Johnson came out to Burns during the Monster Cigar release tour two years ago. I liked it so much, I ended up splitting a box with Keith. I still have a couple of those and have smoked them fairly recently...they are better than they were at the time of purchase. Like most products of Tatuaje and the My Father factory, this cigar features Nicaraguan filler and binder, but this time they finished the blend with a Mexican wrapper. The small bit of natural (shade?) wrapper than serves as the band is decorative only...I have never noticed it actually changing the flavor of the cigar as it burns.

Like the full sized Face, the Baby Face is a rough and rustic looking cigar...mottled in color, veiny, and featuring a foldover closed foot and a Sleestak pointy head. It drew well cold and lit up easily, delivering a nice mix of earth, spice and semi-sweet dark chocolate. This blend was one of the first times I tasted how great a Mexican wrapper could be when used right and it was great to see that it held up in this smaller size.

While it started great, though, Baby Face did not finish as well. Not that it was bad...just lacking when compared to the full size version. The flavors just did not come through as well, which is one argument for releasing a cigar in only one size: produce it where it works best. A small disappointment in a collection that has been stellar otherwise...so far.

#CHAtweetup2012 Sponsor Spotlight: Perdomo

Between now and the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, we will be featuring "spotlight" posts on each of the sponsors of the event. The order was chosen randomly.

The Perdomo name was proudly associated with cigar-making in pre-Castro Cuba, so it was natural for the family to take up the craft when they came to America as well. Today Perdomo is known for great cigars built upon "three distinct pillars: Quality, Tradition and Excellence."

I would add they that the company is also known for consumer-friendly pricing for the vast majority of their lines (the Edicion de Silvio is pricey...but so good!) and for being fair to the consumer whenever possible, for example, when they decided to absorb the price of the S-CHIP tax hike rather than pass it on to the consumer.

These are some of the reasons why we have ended up smoking and reviewing a lot of Perdomo Cigars here on the Tiki Bar:

Perdomo 2, Cameroon

Perdomo 2, Maduro

Perdomo 10th Anniversary, Criollo

Perdomo 10th Anniversary, Champagne

Perdomo 10th Anniversary, Maduro

Perdomo Cabinet Reserve Cameroon (Cigar Extra)

Perdomo Edicion de Silvio, Natural

Perdomo Edicion de Silvio, Maduro

Perdomo ESV 1991

Perdomo Exhibición Maduro

Perdomo Grand Cru Corojo

Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro (Cigar Extra)

Perdomo Habano, Connecticut

Perdomo Habano, Corojo

Perdomo Habano, Maduro

Perdomo Lot 23

Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro

Perdomo Nick's Sticks, Connecticut

Perdomo Nick's Sticks, Maduro

Perdomo Nick's Sticks, Sun Grown

Perdomo Nick's Sticks, Sungrown

Perdomo Patriarch, Connecticut

Perdomo Patriarch, Corojo

Perdomo Patriarch, Maduro

Perdomo Patriarch Maduro (CRA Saturday/Cigar Extra)

Perdomo Reserva Champagne Noir (Cigar Extra)

Perdomo is a returning sponsor and we would like to thank them for their support of last year's event as well as this year's. The company's National Director of Sales, Chris Harper, will be at the even as well.

TN Spirits: Chattanooga Whiskey Company

Three months passed since the Chattanooga Whiskey Company started selling their 1816 Reserve and 1816 Cask. In that time I have personally drained two bottles of the former and almost a bottle of the latter, so I thought I would revisit both at this time for a proper review.

1816 Reserve, approx. $25/bottle

The CWC 1816 Reserve is a medium to dark amber in the glass with a rich nose of vanilla, oak and citrus. It is a medium-bodied dram that pairs quite well, in my experience, with almost any cigar I could pull out of my humidor. Not surprising, since this whiskey does meet the federal legal qualifications to be called a Bourbon. It has a bit of a bite when sipped initially and the alcohol vapors do burn a bit on the back of the throat from time to time, but overall I have found it to be smooth and quite flavorful, exhibiting loads of vanilla and sweet corn flavors, along with more subtle floral and orange notes.

The combination of full flavor and reasonable price tag has quickly vaulted Chattanooga Whiskey Company 1816 Reserve into the top spot in my liquor cabinet, regarded as my favorite "everyday" whiskey.

1816 Cask, approx. $40/bottle

I generally have a "$30" rule for any liquor product. I am not a "man of means" so if a bottle of whiskey costs more than $30 I usually won't bother (I'm not destitute, either, so I just as rarely go below $20). The rule of 30 doesn't work well for 1816 Cask, though. It costs $40 per and is in fairly limited supply, so I bought two when I first found them for sale. Is this ~113 proof beverage really worth close to double the price though? Yes...absolutely.

This is bottled at the same proof that it came out of the barrel, so naturally it is darker in color. Nosing it, I got most of the same aromas as the Reserve--vanilla, oak, citrus--but a slightly floral note, too, and some additional alcohol vapor...big surprise there, huh? Taking a sip, the 1816 Cask is big and bold in the front of the mouth, with an intense vanilla and pronounced citrus quality. Sliding across the tongue it set my taste buds on fire and left the back of my mouth with a nice numbing, cooling sensation as the alcohol evaporated into my mouth.

Everything there is to love in the 1816 Reserve is dialed up a few notches in the 1816 Cask. After I had my first glass, I knew I had to have a bottle to be able to keep this experience on a more long-term basis. In a nod to its fuller body and more intense experience, I paired this with an Oliva Serie V Double Robusto, a full bodied, intense smoking experience. Take a puff, take a sip...and the sweet orange-like citrus flavor rushes through the middle of it all.

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In preparing this article I had time to talk to one of the owners of the Chattanooga Whiskey Company, Joe Ledbetter, about how the launch of the company has gone so far. He said that because neither him nor his partner, Tim, had done something like this before, their expectations were low to non-existent: hope for the best, but expect nothing. Athens Distributing says this is the fastest they have ever seen a product sell during the first 60 days of a roll-out. 

While they were initially expecting to be on sale throughout Tennessee within a few weeks of the big launch party, Chattanooga proved thirsty and ended up buying a lot more than anticipated. So the whiskey ended up debuting in Chattanooga and Knoxville before making its way to Nashville. They have since been picked up by the second-largest distributor in the country, Republic National, who will have them placed in 6 states initially with an expected 15 total by September 1.

I had trouble finding the 1816 Cask when it first came out, but it will be a regular, if somewhat limited, product, and Joe says it should be available in decent supply throughout their distribution region.

When asked about the laws in Hamilton County prohibiting the making of Chattanooga Whiskey in Chattanooga, Joe responded, "We are working hard to get the laws changed, and are optimistic that it will happen soon."

Ticket-holders for the 2012 Chattanooga Tweet-Up will get a taste of Chattanooga Whiskey Company's products as they are our liquor-tasting sponsor. The latest I've heard on the issue is that everyone will get a sample of both 1816 Reserve and 1816 Cask. As of now, it is not too late to buy your tickets for this great event: lots of cigars, lots of great folks, lots of fun! Go to www.BurnsTobacconist.com to get yours.