Cigar Reviews

6 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

Santos de Miami by Jameson

Not many American cigar lovers found it an occasion to celebrate, but last week marked the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s Proclamation 3447 and the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba. Since February 7, 1962, Americans have either had to seek out Non-Cuban substitutes for their inimitable Cuban favorites or to skirt the law and risk possible legal sanctions. Many of us — and I won’t say who — have done both.

Whatever your political viewpoint — and there are as many points for as there are against the embargo — a positive consequence of the ban has been the development of cigar industries in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua that now rival that of Cuba’s. And this has been a huge boon for cigar lovers everywhere.

The “forbidden fruit” factor has always been an element at play in the blending and marketing of cigars to Americans, but to a certain extent this has faded with the introduction of super premiums from Fuente, Padron, Tatuaje, Davidoff, and many others. But the elusive flavor of Cuban tobacco is never far from our minds. And every once in a while a cigar comes along that gets very close to that flavor. I think Jameson has done that with Santos de Miami.

Santos de Miami is a Dominican puro with a Havana corojo wrapper, Criollo 98 binder, and a blend of criollo and corojo filler leaves. Only two sizes are made: a corona size called Alma (5 x 46) and a toro sized Haven (6 x 56). The cigars feature a box press so extreme that the sticks resemble wafers. They are presented in 10-count boxes of Spanish cedar that preserve the press. (Similar to La Flor Dominicana’s Factory Press line.)

Construction

Jameson’s Santos de Miami cigar is already distinctive with its box press and art deco band — add a pig tail cap and the distinction is complete. The claro wrapper shows some fine veins, but is otherwise clean. The draw is excellent, and the burn is only a little off kilter. This seems to be standard with box-pressed cigars, but in this case the uneven burn was a minor issue and corrected itself over time. The ash was solid, smooth, and delightfully quadrilateral.

Overall construction: Excellent.

Tasting Notes

The Haven and the Alma sizes smoke like very different cigars, though they share the same musky, earthy and Cubanesque aroma. The corona-sized Alma is a sharper, somewhat bolder smoke. It fires up with a pinch of cayenne pepper in the sinuses and then quickly evens out to a smoother but still full-flavored profile of cedar and musk. The Alma burns with a little more passion, but is also less complex than the larger vitola.

The toro-sized Haven is much less peppery and leans on the musk and cedar more heavily than the smaller cigar. The smoke texture is just as creamy smooth though, and it seems to have an additional bass note that the Alma lacks. The middle section is earthy with a sweet cedar edge, and the final third rests on its woody foundation while the earthy flavors take a back seat.

What both sizes have in common is an earthy and musky scent with a cedar note. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to Cuban cigars, but this aroma is really close to what I’ve found in many standard line Habanos. The scent is not quite as delicate, but I find it to be very similar. In any case the aroma complements the sharper character of the Alma just as well as the more complex flavors of the Haven.

Conclusion

Santos de Miami is not an easy cigar to find, but truly “boutique” cigars generally aren’t. This is one worth seeking out if your tastes run to earthy and medium-bodied Cuban-style smokes. At least you won’t have to get them from a guy who knows a guy and end up with cigars of mysterious provenance.

The retail price for the Alma is around 7 USD and the Haven sells for 8. They are available from a few online outlets, but you might as well go straight to the source at Jamesoncigars.com. Pick up a pound of Rockstone coffee while you’re at it and let me know how it is.

Final Score: 91

1 Comment Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

VegaFina Jose Seijas 2011

After 35 years in the trenches, José Seijas is hanging up his hat. For over 30 years Seijas has been responsible for some of Altadis USA’s most popular blends, and for much of that time he has been the manager for Tabacalera de Garcia, the world’s largest cigar factory.

Most of us started out smoking Altadis cigars, if only because they are ubiquitous: Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, H. Upmann — the classic Dominicans with the Cuban names. But over the years Seijas went beyond the standard name brands and brought us brands like Mi Dominicana, Onyx Reserve, and the Seijas Signature Collection.

Maybe it was meant to cap off his career, or maybe not, but last year Seijas developed a limited release blend which was introduced with no fanfare, no flashy ads in the cigar mags, and no press release that I am aware of. That cigar was the VegaFina José Seijas 2011. I saw a stack of pretty black boxes in the B&M and thought it was strange that VegaFina, a fairly mild econo-smoke, was getting yet another makeover. I grabbed a few and thought nothing of it. A few weeks later I did a little research and discovered that it was a limited edition, and by that time the remaining boxes were sold out.

VegaFina is extremely popular in Europe and might be Altadis USA’s best-selling Dominican, at least in countries like Spain and Portugal. It hasn’t done quite as well in the United States, but that hasn’t been for lack of trying. In the late 90’s it was a Honduran cigar with an Indonesian binder, then after a hiatus in production it was re-introduced as a milder cigar with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper.

But the 2011 blend is different from both of those. It utilizes a Mexican wrapper from San Andres, but it isn’t maduro, which is what I automatically think of when I hear “San Andres.” It’s criollo. The binder and filler leaf is Dominican, and only one size was made: a 6 x 56 toro. It was originally released in black laquer boxes of ten, and the first release was limited to 2,500 boxes.

Construction Notes

The wrapper on the Vegafina 2011 is darker than the Ecuadorian Connecticut on the standard line, and even with a few unobtrusive veins it is still attractive. The roll is firm and consistent — the large ring gauge is hefty, but the stick feels comfortable in the hand. The head is wound nicely, but a ragged edge to the leaf obscures the quality of the cap. It clips cleanly and the draw is effortless.

The wrapper is fairly thin and I somehow managed to chip the cigar as I transported it from the humidor to my smoking lounge. (Some people say my “lounge” looks an awful lot like a deck chair perched on a sand lot. True enough. What used to be a volleyball court now looks a lot like the world’s largest ashtray.) In any case, the chips and nicks at the foot of the cigar were soon put out of mind as the cigar was lit and turned to a smooth light gray ash.

Tasting Notes

The Vegafina 2011 starts out smooth and creamy with just a pinch of black pepper at the back of the palate. The smoke texture is pleasantly full and the aroma is complex — it’s not as floral as Connecticut shade, but it’s still mildly sweet with woody scents. It’s hard to believe a Mexican wrapper leaf can be this subtle, but it is.

A mildly dry aftertaste develops in the middle section, but the smoke is still rich and aromatic. The base flavor is both earthy and nutty — something like walnuts maybe — and the cedary aromatics add a nice balancing touch.

The dry flavor continues into the last section, but unfortunately it also tends to become a tad bitter. I was suddenly reminded of the Mexican element of this cigar, though I don’t think that the wrapper is to blame. In any case, I couldn’t smoke this one much past the secondary band.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed the first half of this cigar — the flavors are rich and complex without having to flex much muscle. But the dryness in the second half and final bitter note are an unfortunate conclusion to an otherwise very interesting cigar. I am keeping in mind that some people like that bitter note, and since it isn’t overwhelming I think there are many people who won’t be bothered by the last inch of this stick. But at around $6.00 per cigar, there are also many fine alternatives.

Final Score: 87

3 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Carlos Torano, Cigar Reviews

Torano Vault Robusto

One of the reasons I’ve always liked Toraño Cigars is that they have the consistency I expect from a large manufacturer, but they frequently take chances on inventive new blends. The Single Region (which garnered a spot on my Top Ten list last year) is one of those — a cigar made entirely with tobacco from one small region of Nicaragua.

Toraño’s Vault is almost a Nicaraguan puro (it includes a binder from Jamastran, just north of Nicaragua in Honduras) and is quite a bit more geographically diverse than the Single Region, but it shows the same kind of ingenuity. It’s also a much heavier cigar than the Single Region. In fact, it’s supposedly one of the heaviest blends Toraño has developed thus far. The name of the cigar comes from the safe which houses Toraño’s “blend book,” a history of every blend developed by the Toraños since 1982. Some of these have been commercially released, and others never made it to production.

One of the blends that fell to the wayside was the Liga A-008, which was first created in 2000. The original recipe utilized fillers from Condega and Esteli, a Jamastran binder, and a shade grown Nicaraguan binder. For the Vault, the Toraños tweaked the blend by adding some peppery ligero from the volcanic soil of Ometepe island in Lake Nicaragua. A binder from Ometepe was added to the Jamastran, and some Ometepe ligero was folded into the filler.

The Vault was released in 2011 in three sizes:

  • Toro – 6 x 50
  • Torpedo – 6 1/8 x 52
  • Robusto – 5 x 52

Construction

The Vault robusto is a solid, well-rolled stick with a glossy, dark colorado maduro wrapper. (It looks too dark to be shade grown, but that must be the variety or the aging process at work.) The head is flat and the cap is functional. It clips crisply and the draw is easy.

The cigar burns very slowly, perhaps due to the relatively high ligero content, but with no diminution of smoke volume. I needed to touch up the burn once or twice, but it wasn’t really problematic. The ash flakes a little, but it’s as solid as the roll.

Overall very good construction.

Tasting Notes

The Vault robusto comes jumping out of the gate with pepper on the palate and a bite on the tongue. This seems to be the norm for medium-to-full bodied Nicaraguan cigars these days, and the Vault is no exception. The spice is accompanied by an aroma of grilled meat and a touch of caramelized sugar.

The flavors are tempered a bit as the sharpness of the pepper fades in the middle section. The meaty tones in the aroma turn leathery but the sugary note remains. The smoke is medium in body but full in flavor and potency.

There are no big surprises in the last lap. The pepper returns, as expected, but it doesn’t drown out the other flavors as it tends to do in the first inch. The sweetness fades, but the pepper and leather lingers in the aftertaste.

Conclusion

I would be interested to see what the original Liga A-008 tasted like, because I think the Ometepe might be a little bit overdone in the Vault. It’s still a nicely balanced, full-flavored cigar, but it’s a bit sharp and a little less complex than I would like. A few more months in the box might serve these cigars well, unless you’re after that big spicy flavor — and of course there are a lot of folks who want exactly that. If that’s your preference, the Vault should be on your shopping list now rather than later.

Final Score: 88

19 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

Best Cigars of 2011

Despite all the adversity the cigar industry faced in 2011 — threats of unfair government regulation, an economy stuck in neutral, the gradual elimination of venues that permit the time-honored tradition of setting fire to tobacco — there are still fantastic cigars on the shelves. Blenders continue to be as inventive as ever, and cigar prices are as reasonable as can be expected. It was a bad year for a lot of things, but cigars helped us through them.

I didn’t get to review as many new cigars as I wanted to this year, but with the blossoming of the cigar review blog scene, it wasn’t really necessary. The quality of reviews has never been better, and many sites are reviewing blends before they’re even released. The cordiality of many cigar manufacturers, blenders, and distributors has made the blogging experience only that much more enjoyable for all of us. It says a lot about the cigar community that this is the case.

A little over a third of the cigars I reviewed this year scored 90 or better, which either means I need to raise my standards or there are some really good smokes out there. In addition to these, there are many others that I have enjoyed but either didn’t review, or didn’t review in 2011. So it’s not very accurate to call this list the Best of 2011. It’s more of a retrospective, a glance back at 2011 on this last day of the year, and a very limited one at that.

Which is to say: All of the usual disclaimers apply.

10. Alec Bradley Family Blend D3

9.  Berger and Argenti Clasico Rothschild

8.  Carlos Toraño Master BFC

7. Undercrown Robusto

6. Padilla Dominus Robusto

5. Los Blancos NINE Toro

4. JML 1902 Torpedo

3. Carlos Toraño Single Region Serie Jalapa Toro

2. Alec Bradley Prensado Robusto

And El Puro Numero Uno de 2011: 

1. La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Magnifico

Have a safe and happy 2012, everyone. 

6 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Arturo Fuente, Cigar Reviews

A. Fuente Rosado Sun Grown Magnum R52

The original Arturo Fuente Sun Grown line is based on the familiar Gran Reserva blend, but with a Sumatra seed wrapper grown in Ecuador by the Oliva Tobacco Company. It’s a classic smoke, easily identified by the black band at the foot. It’s probably my favorite of the mainstream Fuente cigars, and I always try to have a few around.

When the original Sun Grown line was created, the wrappers intended for the blend were put aside in favor of a higher priming leaf. That cache of rejected wrapper leaf has been lying around for eight to ten years now, and it is now being put to use in the Rosado Magnum line. The lower priming leaf results in a flavor that is a little more mellow, less concentrated, and creamier than the standard Sun Grown wrapper.

The Sun Grown Rosado is distinguished from the original Sun Grown line by the white border at the bottom of the band (the original has a black border, and not so much gold.) It looks a little like the Añejo band.

Carlos Fuente Jr. told  Cigar Aficionado that “he intended to go old school with this blend, moving away from the power trend that he helped create.” (A trend that arguably began with the Opus X.) “They have a sweet, long finish,” Fuente said. “It’s very flavorful, very complex — it’s my father’s idea of what a good cigar should be.”

The Rosado Sun Grown series was launched in December 2009 in three chunky sizes (hence the Magnum appellation) named for their ring gauge size. Since their premiere other sizes have been planned, some of which have been released. For now the lineup appears to be:

  • R-52 – 5 x 52 (robusto)
  • R-54 – 6 1/4 x 54 (toro)
  • R-56 – 5 5/8 x 56 (gordo)
  • R-58 – 5 1/4 x 58 (torpedo)

Construction Notes

As expected, the highlight of the Sun Grown Rosado R52 is its gorgeous colorado maduro wrapper. I’m not sure how “rosado” differs from colorado, but this cover leaf is a dark natural shade with a touch of red. If that’s rosado, well then this is rosado. The leaf has some veining, but it’s smooth, consistent in coloration, and it shines.

The head is nearly flat and the stick appears to have a slight box press. The cap shears neatly and the draw is spot on. It burns evenly and slowly, building a solid ash that is very light gray to white in color.

Nearly perfect construction.

Tasting Notes

This robusto opens sweetly, with mildly spicy scents of cedar. The base flavor is woody and slightly nutty. The smoke is medium to full in texture, but fairly mild in strength. After an inch or so the cigar serves up an elusive taste of honey or graham cracker. I thought it was caramel at first, but it’s not quite that sweet.

The second half of the R52 is muskier. The sweetness is still present in the aroma, but the flavors get a little earthier and pick up some spice at the end. It’s a gentle transition — the flavors remain balanced even though they gradually darken. There is virtually no aftertaste at the beginning of the stick, but by the end the smoke leaves a nice earthy char and some saltiness.

Conclusion

The Fuente Rosado Sun Grown robusto is a nice find for fans of medium-bodied cigars. The flavors are interesting and well developed, though they are admittedly muted when compared to full bodied classics like Fuente’s Opus and Añejo blends. But this cigar serves a different purpose, I think.

The R-52 robusto runs around $6 USD per stick, which is pretty decent for the quality of the cigar. The superb construction qualities alone might be worth this price. As long as you’re not a dedicated ligero lover who demands power from everything in your humidor, this is a smooth smoke worth checking out.

Final Score: 90

7 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

Urbano Corojo Robusto

It is with some trepidation that I call Urbano Cigars a “boutique” manufacturer because the term has become a little shopworn. The word has become a mantra for the marketing departments of almost every cigar company, big and small, and I have consequently become wary of it.  But at this stage of the game it appears that Urbano Cigars is in truth a boutique manufacturer, and while no company wants to stay small forever, Urbano is committed to maintaining quality over quantity.

Urbano cigars are made in the Dominican Republic and limited to a total production of 75,000 cigars per year. The Corojo is their flagship blend, a Dominican puro with an assertive corojo wrapper. (The other primary blends are the Connecticut and the Sumatra.) The wrapper is triple fermented for smoothness and aged for three years.  The assembled cigars are then seasoned for at least 90 days before banding and boxing.

The rollers employ entubado bunching, a time-consuming process whereby the filler leaves are rolled into tiny tubes before bunching. This improves the cigar’s draw and eliminates the likelihood of plugging.

Four traditional sizes plus a Sixty are in production:

  • Robusto – 5 x 50
  • Torpedo – 6 x 52
  • Toro – 6 x 50
  • Churchill – 7 x 48
  • Sixty – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

The wrapper on the Urbano Corojo is a weathered, veiny, and rustic colorado maduro. The veins are a bit puckered in places, which I’ve seen on other Dominican wrappers (like La Aurora’s Cien Años) and I usually take this to be a good sign. The cap is functional but adds no aesthetic value to the cigar. I guess this cigar is meant to be smoked and not framed. Very well then.

The draw is excellent, but the burn is not. Over the years I’ve discovered there is a prima donna factor to be reckoned with when smoking certain cigars. Sometimes a difficult burn is an unavoidable side effect of complex flavors — it’s like putting up with a virtuoso’s personality defects. You rarely get an opera star without some temperamental antics. And the corojo wrapper on this cigar is a great example of that. It reminds me a little of the Habana 2000 that was used a few years back — great taste and aroma, horrible burn. It’s a trade worth making. Just keep your lighter handy.

Overall construction: Very good.

Tasting Notes

The Urbano Corojo robusto skips the overture and goes straight to the aria. That’s a diva for you. (Maybe I should say divo instead. There isn’t anything remotely feminine about this cigar.) From the opening bars the flavor is complex and hearty, spicy but not harsh. There are notes of leather, grilled meat, pepper on the back of the palate, and sweet caramel on the nose. The smoke is medium in texture but full flavored. The spice gives the illusion of greater strength, but as the cigar mellows a bit in the middle section it seems on the full side of medium.

The flavors calm down a bit in the second act, but leather and spice predominate with the addition of cocoa and a touch of citrus on the nose. The cigar winds down with charred wood and can get a bit sharp as the curtain falls.

Conclusion

The complexity and temperament of this cigar demand attention from the smoker, and that’s not entirely a bad thing.  I don’t mind touching up a cigar every once in a while if the flavors and aroma are outstanding, which here they are. How’s the phrase go? With great flavors come great responsibility? Hmm. Maybe not. In any case, the Urbano Corojo is not an effortless smoke, but in my opinion it is worth the effort.

Urbano cigars are currently available only from brick and mortal retailers or directly from the Urbano Cigars website. The price for the robusto is around $7 USD.


Final Score: 90

18 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

Undercrown by Drew Estate

I’m not sure what an undercrown is exactly. Is it like a cardinal’s zucchetto? Or more like a football player’s do-rag?  When the pontiff comes home after a hard day and hangs up his mitre, does he look a little like Deion Sanders in his undercrown?  I’m guessing no.

Maybe the only true Undercrown is Drew Estate’s recent creation,  a version of their extremely popular Liga Privada No. 9 and T52 blends. But anyone who has ever set foot in a cigar lounge knows there has to be an “interesting story” to accompany the cigar’s genesis. And no, it isn’t the one about the newly discovered bale of Cuban leaf mysteriously concealed in the cellar for fifty years. The story is that the torcedors in the Drew Estate factory were smoking up too many Liga Privadas, thereby depleting the precious Connecticut wrapper and other choice cuts of leaf necessary for building that primo smoke. Plant supervisors ordered the rollers to stop smoking the damn product, but the torcedors were so distressed by this sensible business decision that they started rolling a different but very similar blend to smoke in place of Liga Privadas. Ha! That’ll show those meddling supervisors.

Stories aside, the Undercrown is evidently designed to be a less exclusive blend that still bears some similarity to the Liga No. 9. Instead of the Connecticut broadleaf that torcedors love beyond all measure, a Mexican San Andres wrapper is employed, and a different priming of the same Connecticut broadleaf is used as binder. The filler is a blend of Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano seed.

Sounds good to me. I prefer San Andres to Connecticut anyway.

Five chunky sizes are currently in production:

  • Robusto – 5 x 54
  • Gran Toro – 6 x 52
  • Belicoso – 6 x 52
  • Corona Doble – 7 x 54
  • Gordito – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

The wrapper on the Undercrown Robusto is perfectly even in hue and much smoother than most Connecticut broadleaf. It’s an oily dark maduro that in some cases might arouse suspicion because it’s so even and consistent. But the roll is almost as perfect — firm and even as a dowel rod but with an excellent draw. The head of the cigar is simple, just a single cap that needs no fancy winding because the edges of the cap are almost seamless.

The burn is remarkably even for a maduro-wrapped cigar, and the burn line is extremely sharp. It burns slowly, perhaps due to the robust ring gauge, and the solid ash is smooth and light gray in tone. It doesn’t really act like a maduro — it’s far too civilized. But its civility only goes so far.

Overall construction excellent.

Tasting Notes

The trademark characteristic of the Undercrown is an immense amount of resting smoke. The room scent is very powerful and it starts up almost immediately, so if you want to clear the room of non-smokers light up an Undercrown and watch them fly.

The initial flavors are smooth and somewhat dry with just the right amount of pepper on the palate. The main flavors are typical of maduro style cigars — cocoa and chocolate, but there is a note of cedar buried under all this. The smoke texture is so full in body that it is almost palpable on the tongue. The volume of smoke this cigar produces is  astounding, but the taste is not overwhelming at all. This is another example of a cigar with a full-bodied texture that is not a nicotine shillelagh.

The taste of this cigar is quite concentrated, but the flavors are not terribly complex. The smoke is almost too rich to carry a whole lot of subtlety, but in the last third I detected some raisins and increasing spiciness swirled in with the chocolate and cocoa-based flavors. It’s certainly complex enough to keep my attention, and probably more complex than most maduros.

Conclusion

Anyone who appreciates a good maduro will get a kick out of this cigar. Those looking for a high octane thrill may need to look elsewhere, but if rich, thick, chocolatey smoke with a pinch of spice — all in a moderate strength package — strikes your fancy, you’ll want to check this one out.  Prices are in the $7-8 USD range, which falls outside my everyday smoke zone, but I could fit this guy in once or twice a week easily.

Final Score: 91

5 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro

Team La Gloria is back again with an addition to La Gloria Cubana Artesanos series. This time it’s the Retro Especiale, inspired by an old humidor that they found in the El Credito cigar factory. This is the third entry in the Artesanos line, which also includes the dual-wrapper Artesanos de Tabaqueros and the pyramid-shaped Artesanos de Obelisco.

The Retro Especiale looks like a plain old cigar when compared to the eye-catching Tabaqueros and Obelisco, but the band and box design give it plenty of class. Each frontmark has a different box design, and like the band the images harken back to the early days of cigar making in Miami and Cuba.

The centerpiece of the Retro Especiale is a Connecticut seed hybrid wrapper that is grown in Honduras. It reportedly took eight years to develop the blend, which features Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers held in place by two binders: one from Nicaragua, and one from (gulp) Mexico.

Four sizes are in production:

  • Club 5 3/4 x 47
  • Taino 7 x 52
  • Habanero 6 x 52
  • Cubano 6 1/2 x 58

Construction Notes

The wrapper on the LGC Retro Club is an attractive milk chocolate color, a touch darker than is typical of standard Connecticut Shade wrappers. The wrapper is thin, allowing the rough texture of the binder to show through. The head is rounded, which is not unusual for General Cigar products, and the roll is solid. The burn is fairly slow (although one stick canoed a bit) and the ash is surprisingly dark.

Overall good construction, with a little concern about canoeing.

Tasting Notes

The most interesting aspect of this cigar is the Honduran grown Connecticut-seed wrapper, which gives the Retro a nice creamy body from the start. Cedary spice is evident as well, with a touch of vanilla on the nose. The aroma is slightly sweet but quite pungent, and the aftertaste is very dry. The flavors become a little bolder toward the middle of the cigar, but for the most part this is a medium bodied cigar.

The second half serves up an interesting combination of sweet cream, earth, and astringency. The flavors on the palate are dry and earthy, bordering on bitter at times. I’m not sure, but I’m going to guess that’s the Mexican binder in there. The aroma doesn’t have the same floral character that I expect from Connecticut Shade, but it stays creamy and assertive to the end of the cigar. Toward the band the flavors get a little darker and pepper vies with the dryness on the palate.

Conclusion

Despite good construction and considerable inventiveness, I’m afraid this cigar just isn’t for me. Maybe the dryness on the palate could be remedied by a good lambic or witbier, but I would not smoke this cigar straight up or with anything that might add to the bitterness. It needs something sweet to cut the astringency.

But again, there is a market for this style of cigar, and the wrapper on this blend is quite nice. I’ll be interested to see if Team La Gloria uses this Honduran-Connecticut leaf again in a cigar that is more my style. The Club size can be found for around 4 bucks a stick, so there’s definitely no complaining about the price.

Final Score: 82

A special thanks to General Cigar for the review samples, and for so generously engaging the blogging community.  

7 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

Morro Castle Robusto

I remember buying a bundle of Morro Castle cigars about a decade ago before the brand was swept out with the tide. I don’t remember who made them, but they were relatively decent yard ‘gars. A good everyday smoke is a necessary commodity in today’s economy, and that’s how I remember the old Morro. It was not a subtle or enlightening experience, but it was a good everyday stogie. And though this Morro Castle is an entirely new incarnation, my sentiment remains the same.

Made by A.J. Fernandez for Cigars International, this Morro Castle has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper that surrounds a blend of Honduran tobacco from Jamastran and Nicaraguan leaf from Esteli and Ometepe. (Ometepe is the volcanic island that sits in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.)

The cigar is offered in five sizes:

Robusto – 4.7 x 52
Toro – 6 x 52
Churchill – 7 x 50
Belicoso – 5 x 52
Torpedo – 6.5 x 52

Construction Notes

One look at the robustos pictured above and you can see there might be some consistency issues here. I bought two sticks for this review, and if they didn’t have bands I would have sworn they were different cigars.  Somebody in Quality Control must have been seriously distracted when the one on the left rolled off the assembly line and into the box. It’s pale and weathered and looks as though it went through the wash.

On the other hand, the golden brown wrapper on the other cigar is far more approachable. Attractive even. The wrap and roll was otherwise pretty solid on both samples. Both burned well and were trouble-free.

Tasting Notes

Obviously there was something wrong with the wrapper on the first cigar. Aside from its anemic appearance it made the cigar taste like tar and black pepper. It started rough and didn’t get much better. When the flavor didn’t improve after twenty minutes I tossed it. As the Stranger says, some days the bar eats you.

The second sample was much better. While still fairly aggressive (in a friendly Nicaraguan way) it calmed down after an inch or two and allowed the woody and slightly creamy aspect of the wrapper have its say. The spice continues through the rest of the smoke, but it mellows considerably and turns out to be an outspoken but still medium-bodied cigar.

Conclusion

I didn’t hold out great hopes for Morro Castle, and I wasn’t hugely surprised by an average showing. Assuming that the washed out robusto was truly a mistake that won’t often be repeated, I got about what I expected. But for 3 to 4 bucks a pop this could be a nice pickup for someone who likes A.J. Fernandez-style Nicaraguans. It’s a tasty medium-bodied smoke that starts out with a dramatic burst of pepper and then mellows into an above average yard ‘gar. It’s not really for me, but there’s definitely a market out there for this style of cigar in this price range.

Final Score: 83

6 Comments Posted on by cigarfan Cigar Reviews

JML 1902 Torpedo

JML 1902, from Miami’s La Tradicion Cubana, is named for José M. Losa, the grandfather of LTC founder Luis Sanchez. The JML was the first cigar from the new factory in the Dominican Republic after the original factory in Miami was destroyed by fire in 2006.

The JML 1902 uses a Pennsylvania wrapper, which is unusual for today but historically well grounded. In the nineteenth century so many cigars were made in Pennsylvania’s Conestoga River Valley that the word “stogie” became common usage throughout the United States. In the past few years the leaf has experienced a resurgence, especially Pennsylvania broadleaf, which has been used by Rocky Patel and A.J. Fernandez in several different blends. Like Connecticut Broadleaf it is often used as binder, but it is less commonly seen as wrapper.

Both Connecticut and Pennsylvania broadleaf are grown from Cuban seed, but apparently there’s something about Lancaster County that adds some fight to the leaf. It is generally acknowledged that Pennsylvania leaf is more robust in flavor than the Connecticut variety, and it takes longer to process and mature. These characteristics may be why Penna leaf is less commonly used.  The resurgence may be due to the fact that cigar smokers have become increasingly curious and more open to new experiences — sometimes it seems that the rarer the leaf, the better. But the cigar, however refined or rare its components, must still perform well. And the JML 1902 does just that.

That said, I don’t think the Pennsylvania wrapper on the JML 1902 is  actually broadleaf. It’s thinner, more attractive, and in my opinion more subtle than broadleaf. In combination with a Honduran binder and Dominican seco and ligero fillers, the wrapper adds a sweet sharpness that balances out the blend very well.

Four sizes are currently available:

  • Petit-Cetro – 5 3/4 x 44
  • Corona – 6 1/2 x 44
  • Churchill – 6 1/2 x 50
  • Torpedo – 6 1/4 x 54

Construction Notes

The vintage appeal of the umber-colored band sets the tone for this cigar. It looks like something you might find in your grandfather’s junk drawer, along with a dried out can of Kiwi and a stitching awl for fixing baseball mitts. The band is offset by the dark smooth wrapper, a little darker than colorado maduro but not quite maduro. The veins are pronounced enough to make the wrapper rustic without being rough.

The roll is solid, though the cigar feels light in the hand. The cap is finished nicely and the tip clips cleanly with a guillotine cutter. It draws perfectly, burns evenly, and the ash is only slightly flaky.

Overall excellent construction.

Tasting Notes

The JML 1902 torpedo starts up with a sweet bready aroma, something like freshly baked cookies. (And I know how odd that sounds.) Beneath this fascinating aroma are earthy, mineral-like flavors. The flavor is high-toned, sweet but not creamy, and very well balanced. The smoke texture is medium in body, but it has plenty of strength.

Coffee flavors predominate in the mid-section, with sugary, almost maple syrup-like accents on the nose. Earthy flavors continue to occupy the lower register but they gain in strength, as does the aftertaste.

The peppery aftertaste takes over in the last part of the cigar, becoming quite strong, even though the sweetness of the wrapper is still detectable. I found I had to slow down considerably in the last lap to keep the cigar in balance.

Conclusion

There is a whole lot to like about the JML 1902. It’s complex, flavorful, and for those who like a good kick in the pants, it’s got one in reserve. The balance of subtle sweetness and earthy power is quite impressive. Based on these things alone I’d recommend this cigar to any seasoned smoker, but the best part comes last: the price. The JML is a 3 to 4 dollar stick. $60 to 75 USD per box at LTC’s online shop. That’s a screamin’ deal.

This is one of the best cigars I’ve smoked all year, and without a doubt the best cigar in this price range. I can think of no excuse for anyone not to try this cigar. None. Well, maybe one. Some reviewers have reported that these can be a little heavy-handed when fresh. That wasn’t my experience, but it you prefer a gentler smoke, just put them away for a few months and let them mellow. Like any good investment, patience will pay dividends.

Final Score: 92