The Aspiring Gentleman » Cigar Reviews

Don Pepin Garcia JJ Maduro, for JJ

James — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:48:33 +0000

To Celebrate the life of little “JJ”, who passed away suddenly almost 3 years ago, I joined many others who follow Stogie Review and lit up a Don Pepin Garcia JJ yesterday. I had picked up the Maduro Sublime, which is a Toro at a full 6 inches and 54 ring guage. This cigar is wonderful to look at, touch and smell before smoking. The wrapper is shiny, dark and smells quite sweet and rich. The cigar feels perfectly constructed all the way down it’s length, without any noticeable lumps or veins.

Origin: Nicaragua

Build: Nicaraguan binder and filler with Maduro Corojo

Format: Toro

Size: 6″ x 54

Price: $9

This Toro pulled pretty loose, but resisted burning too fast, giving sweet mellow flavours of brown sugar and coffee. It gave off less smoke volume than I was expecting, but the smoke had a wonderful smell to it. Sometimes when I walk in a public place and catch the faint sweet whiff of a cigar, that is how I would describe the smell. As the cigar progressed past the half way mark there was a little area of slow burning, but after that the cigar started developing some wonderful richness and spice, becoming more chewy in flavour and reminding me of eating fresh baking. I started getting a little head rush just into the final 3rd and I finally put the nub to rest after just over an hour of great smoking.

Having entered the phase in my life where it seems most of my close friends and family are now married, and having children, I had lots to reflect upon while getting through this smoke. We’re thinking of you, Don, on this difficult day. Here’s to the small pleasures, and sorrows, that we share with those we love.

PIO Resurrection Toro

Luke — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:35:16 +0000

PIO Cigars (previously PIO VI Cigars), a small boutique brand based out of Miami, has recently released the Resurrection — purportedly limited to 500 boxes in 100 brick and mortar stores. Made in little Havana, Miami, the cigars feature Equadorian, Dominican, and Nicaraguan fillers, Ecuador binder, and a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. Thanks to Jarrod from Tex Cigars for sending me this stick.

At first glance, the cigar had a rugged, splotchy matte appearance, with veins featuring prominently and the foot a little bit abused. That said, the cigar felt nice and firm, with no lumps or soft spots, and the prelight aroma was very floral. The cigar lit easily, and burned consistently and smoothly throughout its duration.

Between draws the cigar continues to smoke considerably, filling the air with a peppery and earthy aromatic smoke. I would call the cigar medium-bodied, with no noticeable nicotine buzz. The smoke is chalky with bitter overtones, leaving the mouth considerably dry.

The cigar stood out as having a strong, white ash, with a dry bitter flavor profile. All in all, for $8 a stick, I would probably buy a couple more if given the chance. PIO was off the market between 2002 and 2007 due to a legal battle, so now that they’re back, don’t hesitate to try them out. They may be hard to find in your local store, so try online for your best luck.

Viaje Oro Delicado

James — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:17:57 +0000

One of the most attractive cigars I’ve smoked this year is the Viaje Oro (the j is pronounced like an h). Viaje is a smaller company focusing on making quality hand made Nicaraguan puros, the Oro being the fullest bodied smoke in their line-up. Holding this cigar in your hand and smelling the wrapper is a real pleasure, with a seemingly veinless, lumpless, chocolate scented cigar promising an interesting smoke. Also, the Viaje band is one of the most thoughtfully designed that I’ve come across.

Origin: Nicaragua

Build: Nicaraguan binder and filler with Corojo 99′ wrapper

Format: Delicado

Size: 6″ x 50

Price: $7 CAN

After slicing off the cap with my Palio, the draw was a bit looser than I would have preferred. Sometimes with a larger cigar like this I worry that if the cigar smokes too fast and draws too easy it will be scarred by the head rush it gives.

As it turned out, this Viaje never threw excessive volumes of smoke, in fact it was quite conservative in its attack. It still had plenty of flavour, just never in thick oily quantities. Those flavours were very typical, caressing the palate with well balanced earth and espresso that grew in intensity throughout the smoke until a slight creaminess at the end. The aroma had a floral edge not dissimilar from a Romeo cuban I smoked recently. There were a few burn issues that had to be fixed manually that you can see in the picture here.The ash itself was as dark as I’ve ever seen in a cigar with only slight white

accents. Thanks to Texcigars for allowing us to try one of these pleasant smokes. I would recommend a Viaje Oro to someone looking for a a cigar with textbook Nicaraguan flavours that isn’t too heavy. The thought occurred to me a few times that this cigar, with its band and lighter profile, may find an audience with women smokers. Check out this review at Her Humidor, and further reviews at Nice Tight Ash ,Stogie Life and Cigar Smoker’s Journal.

Padrón 2000 Natural

James — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:26:48 +0000

When you’re first getting into cigars, and you would like to try something beyond the cheap brands in terms of flavour and experience, there’s a good chance your local tobacco shop will point you towards a Padrón. This brand has established itself as the source of good value, high quality entry level cigars. José Orlando Padrón, coming from a long family history of tobacco growing in Cuba, started his own cigar company in 1964 using American tobacco. As his market changed he needed a more reliable supply of materials and took a big risk, opening a cigar factory far from home in Estelí, Nicaragua. The basic Padrón series has been made with this source since 1970. José survived some serious roadblocks along the way, with a burned down factory, civil war in Nicaragua, and American trade embargoes.

Origin: Nicaragua

Build: Handmade with all Nicaraguan wrapper, binder and filler

Format: Robusto

Size: 127 x 19.54 mm (5″ x 50)

Price: $4 USD

The wonderful thing about Padron cigars, especially this entry level brand, is that the experience builds with every point of the smoking experience. First the price, which is cheap, lowering your expectations. The outer appearance will raise your interest though, since despite being lumpy, crooked and veiny, the wrappers do have a deep colour and good sheen. The prelight aroma is suberb and rich, bringing to mind all of the volcanic material that produced the soil the tobacco was grown on and the other great produce of Nicaragua. Cocoa, coffee, rich spices and earth.

The draw is clean and slightly loose. After lighting, the cigar starts fairly full in flavour and body. Dominating the palate are flavours of ground cocoa and beef, almost like a rare steak with a rich gravy. I expected to tire of the strength but found that as I progressed through the smoke it didn’t cloy or leave bitterness in my mouth and since we had appetizers on the table it was very bearable. A predictable creaminess joined the party in the last third, and the burn was even the whole time. I didn’t get right to the nub but I left this cigar feeling very positive about it and having now tried several Padron cigars this is a brand I will continue to follow.

Romeo y Julieta Exhibición No. 4

James — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:22:45 +0000

Growing up in Canada, my first experiences with cigars were fraught with notions of history and romance. Undoubtedly this is because of the predominance of Cuban ciars on the corner store shelves and most notably of the Romeo y Julieta brand. There always seemed to be more of these than the eponymous Cuban brands of Montecristo, Cohiba and Partagas. Sometimes I feel when reading reviews of Romeos that they are slotted a notch below these brands today because they tend towards medium body and don’t have the same distinct strong flavours of many Cubans. Recently I found some aged cigars at my local shop that were discounted because of damage and when I saw a Robusto with the Romeo band I knew it was time to revisit many of my early smoking experiences.

Origin: Cuban

Build: Handmade long filler Cuban

Format: Hermoso #4

Size: 127 x 19.05 mm (5″ x 48)

Price: $15 CAN

This cigar has a few scars that betray its age, with a chunk missing near the foot and a crack near the cap. The wrapper has a distinctly Cuban aroma, that sweet earthy spice that seems to highten all senses and whet the palate. I don’t think I was quite prepared for the initial flavours it gave of pistachio nuts, mate tea leaves and Indian spices. The box code of this Hermoso #4 was 2005 and like good wine age creates a wealth of complexity. It’s tough to remember a cigar that required so much focus to distinguish the many different flavours. Never sweet and never too strong, every puff was a little bit different. Towards the end this scigar was a bit fatiguing, a problem easily solved by sipping some of your best scotch. The scotch in my cabinet really was’t up to the challenge of matching the delicacy and complexity, but I look forward to trying an aged Cuban with an older highland scotch with similar subtle richness and depth of flavor.

Punch Small Club (France Regional Edition 2009)

Luke — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:33:11 +0000

We recently reviewed the Bolivar Petit Libertador, a 2008 Habanos SA regional edition (France). As a sequel, we now review the Punch Small Club, a 2009 regional of the same size (102mm, or 4”, by 50), but with surprisingly different flavour profile. As with the Bolivar, you can buy these online from just about anywhere in the world, but you’ll be best off buying them in person in France, where they go for around 10 Euros. Strangely, this cigar isn’t included on most online lists of 2009 regional editions (edición regional), nor is it on the official French tobacco price list. Very strange; it appears they were intended for the Benelux region (Belgium/Luxembourg), but in the end they were allocated to France. Nonetheless, they are widely available for sale in cigar shops throughout France. Here’s the official blurb on the cigar.

A brand new size for this French 2009 Regional Production. Released in 8000 boxes of 10 cigars, this ‘Petit Robustos’ type cigar smokes very directly and heats up to an intensity rarely found in Cubans today.

Here’s what we thought: The construction is nice at first glance, but closer inspection reveals several large veins just below the surface (more on this later). The pre-light aroma is balanced, with nice cedary tones. Starts off sweet, with a healthy dose of pepper, and finishes off even stronger. Definitely one of the strongest, pepperiest cigars I’ve ever had my hands on. Despite the strength, many other flavours come and go throughout the cigar’s duration, ranging from a light floral sweetness to a woody earthiness.

Where this cigar faulted was the burn. At one point it began to tunnel (inside burns, but wrapper does not) so badly, that it had holes in the wrapper. The cigar took continual touch-ups to keep from burning smoothly. That, combined with the overly intense body near the end, left me glad when this cigar was over. Perhaps the burn issues are a results of poor storage on the part of the retailer, but for this price there are many cigars I’d prefer, for instance the Bolivar mentioned above…

Flor De Copan Short Robusto

Luke — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:09:07 +0000

Cigars vary considerably in appearance, from unbanded and deformed cheroots to the most elegantly packaged boutique brands. The Flor de Copan brand falls nearer the latter, with each cigar delicately wrapped in its own cedar sheath held together by two bands on either end. This cedar wrap is in addition to a more traditional band near to the cigar’s foot. While this could potentially be used as a tactic for hiding flawed wrapper leaves, this was not the case for this cigar, whose construction and aesthetic beauty are superb; the taste, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired.

Flor de Copan cigars, an Altadis brand, are hand-made in Honduras with Honduran wrapper, binder, and filler, with a little Nicaraguan filler thrown in for good measure. The cigar reviewed in this article is the Short Robusto, coming in at 50 by 4” in a tube, and costing about $8, although some online shops sell bundles for much less.

After removing the cedar sheath, a light wrapper free from imperfections was revealed. Pre-draw was cedary, with a light earthiness, and the cut and light were without issue. The cigar started off exceedingly mild, with moderate volumes of smoke. While I expected cedar flavours in abundance (given the cigar’s packaging and pre-draw), I was sadly disappointed that the cigar offered little more. After the first third, little had changed; second third, more of the same. Last third, a rise in bitterness, but otherwise the same. All in all, this stick was beautiful both in its appearance and construction, but its good looks just aren’t enough to compensate for its boring, one-dimensional flavour profile.

Davidoff Entreacto

Luke — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:06:45 +0000

I’m a fan of big cigars; I like how they burn cool and evolve, I like how they feel in my hand, and I like how they force me to slow down and relax. Once in a while, however, circumstances arise in which I want to enjoy a cigar in a fixed time slot, perhaps at lunch or during a coffee break. I hate to take one of my prized toros, churchills, or even robustos, and smoke the first third. Rather, I prefer to keep on hand some smaller cigars, but it can be tough to find small, quality cigars. I don’t mean Rothschild small, or even petit corona small, I mean 3 ½” by 42 small. Enter the Davidoff Entreacto.

Coming in at $7.50, the Entreacto may seem pricy for the miniscule amount of tabacco in it, but given the “Davidoff” label, this is to be expected. I thought I’d give one a shot anyways, and I was glad I did. The cigar is very well made, with a nice oily dark wrapper. The pre-light aroma is nutty, with a pleasant earthiness, and the band peeled off easily. The cigar lights nicely, and holds a sturdy white ash.

As it burns, it gains some nice caramel flavors with a burnt wood taste appearing in the second half (while I usually characterize a cigar in thirds, I think this one warrants being labeled in halves…). Also present for the cigar’s duration is a coffee undertone, becoming blacker as the cigar reached its nub, but never quite becoming bitter.

This cigar was medium bodied, both in flavour and buzz, and left a nice mouth feel following its 25 minute smoking duration. All in all, this is a pleasant small cigar. There are arguably better cigars for the price, but there’s very little with this level of consistency, at this size, and with this pleasant of a flavor profile. If you’re looking for a quality small cigar and have some spare change to burn, look no further.

Bolivar Petit Libertador (RE France)

Luke — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:49:59 +0000

Every year Habanos SA releases a set of regional edition (edición regional) cigars; if you’re lucky, there’ll be a few in your country. While the worldwide global brands (Cohiba, Montecristo, RyJ, Partagas, and Hoyo de Monterrey) are excluded, these cigars generally include some great offerings from Bolivar, Punch, Ramon Allones, and other Habanos SA brands. While most will only ever sample their own country’s regional editions, the internet now makes it possible to sample just about any of them. However, I have seen a 10 pack of the Bolivar featured in this review on the net for €460, yet I paid about €10 at a shop in Paris.

The Bolivar Petit Libertador is a 2008 France regional edition and comes in at 4” (102mm) by 50, making it a petit robusto. If you can find them in France, they’ll be just under €10. Given its form and its claro wrapper, this cigar should probably cost a couple bucks less, but the extra “Exclusivo Francia” band just feels so good in your hands.

The cigar has a bit of a rough look, lacking the smooth oiliness you’d find in a Cohiba, say. The foot on this cigar looked a bit scattered to start, but the pre-light aroma was rich, like pure dark chocolate, perhaps a bit vegetal. The cigar immediately hit with strong flavors and dense pepper, with leather undertones like an old boot. Ash held very long and tight, and the cigar burned cool throughout its duration. Nearing the end it gained some woody and tannin flavors, and added a nice sour overtone. Despite becoming quite strong, I smoked this thing to the smallest of nubs.

I was very impressed by this cigar, and thoroughly enjoyed it, even if Denis over at Cigar Inspector thought otherwise. You can buy these cigars online for a huge markup, or alternatively buy a flight to Paris…

Bucanero El Capitaine & Full Sail

James — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:56:47 +0000

Cigar marketing tends towards its own particular niche, capitalizing on the image and lifestyle of figures like Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemingway and Rudyard Kipling (Gentlemen?) Cigar advertisers usually target their premium lines to promote this image, yet Swisher Sweet owns 20% market share in the US. Other similar products have taken completely different approaches. Wine marketing uses cute animals on the labels to give the buyer comfort about a product they know little about, or labels that broadcast the producers’ environmental sensibilities. The current trend in men’s products is to prey on insecurities like they’ve been doing for women’s products for years – just go to youtube and search for axe commercials. In this light, Bucanero has a very unique image. Is a pirate the opposite of a gentleman? Yarr.

Bucanero has been here since the mid 90′s based on good quality cigars and great service; this was my first experience smoking one of their products as they are not common in my local tobacco shops. Ordering these from Canada is a breeze and they arrived promptly. The two cigars I smoked first were the Full Sail and El Capitaine, both Belicosos at 5×54. The Full Sail is a Habano seed maduro wrapper with Nacaraguan, Connecticut and Costa Rican filler, aged for 5 years. The El Capitaine is a Costa Rico maduro wrapper with Dominican and Nicaraguan long filler.

Format: Belicoso

Size: 5″ x 54

Price: $4.50 USD

Holding these cigars, their superb construction is immediately evident. They are box pressed with no lumps or soft spots. The wrappers are smooth, dark and oily on both cigars. The pre-light aroma is where these two cigars veer way off course from each other. The El Capitaine has loads of typical maduro aromas like roasted coffee, dark chocolate and earthy notes. The Full Sail is literally another animal entirely. Have you ever walked into a log cabin with a fire in the hearth and a bear rug on the floor? That is what this cigar smells like. I personally don’t consider this smell to be a fault although I let a few friends smell it and some were put off.

The smells of these cigars were echoed in their flavours. I smoked the Full Sail, while an associate took the Capitaine. Both cigars burned very evenly. The Full Sail was very full-bodied, with very peppery, chewy smoke and the animal aroma lingered in the mouth. After a full pulls I knew that I needed an accompaniment and got a glass of Lagavulin 16. This cigar was downright aggresive in its character and left my palate a little abused and my head a little light. In the final third the smoke smelled like pure cracked peppercorns. The Capitaine was full bodied and peppery as well, but put forth slightly sweeter smoke with hints of menthol. These are cigars that deserve your respect and are probably not for moments of peaceful contemplation. I have a few more of these in my Humidor and I often pick them up just to get reacquinted with that unique smell. I’m hoping a little more aging will temper them a little. I think further reading on Bucanero is in order: World of Cigars, Cigar Obsession, and Puff.com all have worthwhile reviews.