Ave Maria Short Cigar Review
Full Disclosure: I received this as a sample from Cigars Direct. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Brazilian Habano Oscuro | Binder: Nicaraguan Habano Ligero | Filler: Nicaragua (Esteli, Condega & Jalapa) Habano | Box of 12: $195.00 | Single: $20.00 | Torpedo | 7″ x 54
0/3: It comes in a coffin. The fact that some cigars come in “coffins” has always been a little disconcerting for me. Who wants to smoke something out of a coffin? But it’s a cool coffin because when you lift the lid there is this little piece of wood attached to top that raises the cigar from its slumber so that you can easily pick it up.
The cigar itself looks really nice. Very dark brown wrapper, almost mahogany. Looks well made and is very oily to the touch. There are some veins but what you will probably notice first about this cigar is its ostentatious band. It’s a mishmash of heraldic symbols from the Crusades. I wonder if this has gone over well with many of the brick and mortar cigar stores that are owned by people of Arab descent?
1/3: Very refined flavors hit my palette immediately. Slight black pepper on the retrohale that sticks around for a while, dry oak and a general warmness of flavors. It’s quite good.
2/3: During the second third a smoky woodiness starts to come through. The black pepper starts to fade into nothingness and there is a mild sweetness bordering on floral lurking in the background like a stalker (a fun one, if there is such a thing).
3/3: There really isn’t much of a change from the second to the final third. It’s still tastes very good.
4/3: Medium bodied with an excellent draw and a fairly even burn; this cigar is very good. Standing in your way is the fact that this is a fairly expensive cigar. The matter of value I leave up to you as I review only the cigar and not my perceived value of the cigar. All I can say is that I absolutely enjoyed it and thought it was a very worthy cigar.
4 points
Undercrown Cigar Review
What the heck is an “Undercrown” anyways? As far as I can tell, before Drew Estate got it’s hands on the name the only other time in the history of mankind this term was used was for the creation of a clothing company that is “The brand for champions.” Alright, that is kind of disappointing. I was hoping that the term Undercrown had some sort of medieval history about it; maybe the Undercrown could have been an English king in exile. Even though there is no link for this name to anything historical I think it still makes sense.
According to the Drew Estate legend this cigar is the product of the creativity of their torcedores who were told they could no longer smoke as many Liga Privada cigars as they wanted. So, they did what any other enterprising employee would do and used the same tobacco to make a different cigar: the Undercrown. My only problem with this story is that just because the torcedores put the tobacco in a different cigar doesn’t mean they are smoking any less of that tobacco. I wonder what new cigars the torcedores will come up with once the bosses over at Drew Estate cut the torcedores’ personal supply of Undercrowns.
They’re solid cigars. The first one I smoked was at a cigar lounge in Fullerton and even though the air was more smoke than oxygen the cigar was pretty amazing. And it makes sense that it would taste so good when you look at it: perfect shape, the wrapper is smooth to the touch, it’s oily, evenly packed and no raised veins. Another reason why it isn’t a shocker I liked this cigar is because those industrious torcedores over at Drew Estate were Wile E. Coyote enough to put some of that delicious T52 Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut tobacco into it. And I loved the T52.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Otapan Negro Último Corte
Binder: T52 Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut & Cured Habano
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Cuban Seed
Price:$167.00/Box of 25 | $35.50/Pack of 5
Coronal Mass Ejection Torch!
Isn’t all tobacco that is used to make a cigar cured? Don’t know why that was put in there but, hey, I just report in Cigar Stats.
When a cigar produces a tactile experience akin to smoking a pixy stick I love it. It’s almost like the flavor molecules have granulated and you can pick out each individual flavor granule. This is one of those cigars and some of the flavor granules I am picking up include: somewhat sweet spice, meat, yeasty sweetness as well and some cherry.
Pretty much the same during the second third but with some chocolate added into the mix. And that is fine. The flavors are still very good and the Undercrown is one of those easy going smokes that provides a lot of flavor.
As you near the end of this cigar the spice retreats into the background and leaves an earthy tableau in its place. Chocolate, meat and some sweetness for character. Each puff reveals some nuances to the flavor profile that puts a nice spin on the flavors I mentioned. Sometimes the flavors are more chocolaty and then at other times they are more meaty. I hate to say that the granulated effect has worn off now and in its place is creamy smoke, which is better than fine.
Ironically, this was the cigar that my friend found too strong when he first started smoking it. Personally, I think this is right in the middle of the medium bodied range. Keith, over at Tiki Bar Online, pegs this as a full-medium bodied smoke, which I think gives more credence to the thesis that strength is subjective. The draw was good and the burn was good as well, requiring a couple of minor touch ups at the end. Drew Estate’s Undercrown is a complex cigar with good smoking characteristics and enough variability in the flavor profile to keep even the most jaded cigar smoker interested for a couple of hours.
92 points
Strength can be Subjective
You have a friend who is asking you about this or that cigar. You know that this cigar is right smack in the middle of the medium bodied spectrum and that is what you tell him. But then, much to your chagrin, your friend doesn’t like the cigar because it is too strong. What happened here?
One thing that could have happened was that your friend is a newer cigar smoker and their idea of medium bodied is your idea of mild. After they have smoked more cigars and become accustomed to the strength of different cigars their perceptions might also change.
Another thing that might have happened here is that your friend just hasn’t had enough to eat throughout the day. Cigars, like liquor, affect you differently based off of how much you have had to eat during the day. If you are smoking a Joya de Nicaragua Antano in the morning and on an empty stomach you are not going to like it all that much unless you have some serious amount of tolerance built up. Even then, it is the rare person who can smoke a cigar with that kind of heft without feeling much if any of its strength.
On the other hand some cigars just affect people differently. Some people might be able to smoke a Camacho Coyolar without any problem but when they light up a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel they tend to get a little queasy. My guess is that there is something unique going on with a person’s physiology to account for a difference like this. Some people can drink a lot of whiskey but when they drink a little vodka they get sick, same thing with cigars. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the only way you are going to be able to find out about these differences for yourself is by smoking more cigars.
So, what is the point of all this? Well, I guess the first point would be to be self aware. If you know how you react to different kinds of cigars you will know what cigars to pick in the future. This would hopefully prevent you from picking a cigar that is just too strong or too weak for your taste.
Having a better grasp of strength in cigars will also help you give better recommendations to your friends. For example, your friend asks you about this cigar you know to be in the medium-full bodied range. You like it and it is comfortably within your strength range but your friend, who has been smoking a couple of cigars a week for a couple of years, probably would not like this cigar because he sticks with cigars medium bodied or milder. What you could do in this situation is tell your friend to smoke this medium-full bodied cigar after dinner; hopefully, the meal will help ameliorate the affects of a strong cigar.
Basically, the moral to this story is that the more you know about your and your friend’s cigar smoking preferences the better the smoking experience for everybody.
Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Maduro Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar as a sample from Cigars Direct; my reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 24: $100.00 | 5 Pack: $24.00 | Robusto | 5″ x 50
0/3: To me, Don Pepin Garcia is the Samuel L. Jackson of the cigar industry. You know that he is great but he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves from some people. Don Pepin Garcia makes some delicious cigars and the DPG Series JJ Natural is one of them. But what about this cigar?
Well, it feels tightly packed and it looks good enough with only a couple of largish veins marring the appearance of the wrapper. A fair amount of oils gives the dark brown wrapper a nice sheen. The triple cap (just like the Cubans do it!) looks solid.
1/3: I like puros not because I’m some sort of tobacco supremacist – far from it – but because it gives you a better idea about how the tobacco from a certain area will normally taste. Sure, I know, there are many variations within countries and the kind of tobacco leafs you get from one farm can be significantly different than the leafs from another farm a few miles away. But, still, I think that there are some trademark differences between countries; like with this Nicaraguan puro with its bold spicy notes that relentlessly remind the nerve endings in my nasal passages that they recently blew by.
There are also notes of nutmeg, barley and maple. The first parts of the beginning third were amazing but it begins to slide backwards a bit by the end of the first third.
2/3: Even though it has regressed somewhat from the beginning the plateau from which it started was very high. Spice is still the main flavor but now the biggest supporting flavor is a sweet floral flavor. And then at about the halfway mark my enjoyment of the cigar picks up again.
Deep, soulful flavors centering around maple with a fringe of spiciness that sticks around all over. It has a lot of complexity to it – other flavors include floral notes, earthiness and cocoa – and the flavors work extremely well with each other.
3/3: And there is a change back towards that floral flavor, which, while disappointing, still isn’t a bad flavor. But that floral flavor is not all there is. There is mesquite, which is not a flavor I get all that often. It doesn’t end amazingly though, with the flavors dying somewhat.
4/3: “Perplexing” is the best word to describe this cigar. One moment I am in love with it and the next I am confused. Alternating between the great and the merely good is something that I have not encountered too much but, still, this medium bodied cigar with a good draw and burn is a cigar that you should try. Personally, I think the version with the natural wrapper has the edge.
3.5 points
La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale Cigar Review
I received some samples from General Cigar for this review. My reviews are my own because I’m a moral person and because if I sold reviews no one would trust me. But mostly because I’m a moral person. Enjoy!
La Gloria Cubana has injected some nitrous into it’s line of cigars recently by launching line extensions like the La Gloria Cubana Serie N. It’s true, I didn’t particularly care for that cigar. But what about this cigar?
First off, here’s a little background info from La Gloria’s website:
Team La Gloria set out to break the mold with the blend of the Artesanos Retro Especiale by cross-breeding a Connecticut seed, which was then cultivated in Honduras. The maiden crop yielded a hearty, golden wrapper as noteworthy for its color as it is for allowing each of the cigar’s components to enjoy equal bearing on the overall taste of the cigar. Each of the frontmarks is uniquely packaged with a different design and bears a classic name that hearkens back to El Credito’s early days.
If this is a good cigar then some credit must go to Mendel for his pioneering genetic research with peas, Ricardo for providing the economic rationale for growing seed developed in Connecticut in the tropical climes of Honduras and most of the credit should go to the children because it is for them that we all smoke. Without their contributions this cigar and most of the others would not get made.
It’s a good looking cigar but I do not think that the wrapper is “golden.” Sienna maybe, but not golden. Oh, but that doesn’t really matter; nor does the tightness with which this cigar is packed. The two largish veins do give me some pause for concern but with all the samples I have smoked as of yet there have not been any problems with the draw or the burn; at least nothing too bad to make note of. Alright, now onto the review.
Cigar Stats
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Seed
Binder: Nicaraguan & Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican
Price: $7.25/Single | $101.00/Box of 25
Legendary Smoke!
The first flavor to greet my palate is bright spice that is bolstered by flowery sweetness. In the background there are rich maple notes that gives the flavor profile some heft and balance. Even with the maple this cigar is very light and refreshing; solid start.
Transitioning to the second third and the biggest difference is not in the composition of the flavors but rather in the intensity of the flavors from the first third. It’s sort of like when a car gets a super charger installed, the flavors are just more robust. And that is a good thing because, while these flavors are not extraordinary, they are very good. It’s a cigar that piques your interest and, even though there hasn’t been any evolution in flavors, it is able to keep my interest.
Unfortunately, as is sometimes the case with cigars, the final third was a bit of a letdown. It wasn’t bad, per se, but it was just a little flat with the spice vanishing like a Randy Johnson slider and the maple getting watered down. The floral flavor was still pretty strong and it did provide the lone bright spot for the final third.
Even though the final third did have its problems the first two thirds of the cigar were really good; a solid 91 point cigar. When counting the final third and taking into consideration the fact that this medium bodied cigar had a good draw and burn I am going to have to bring down the final score a little.
89 points
