El Rey de los Habanos

It's been a long, cold winter free from anything of note, cigar-wise. So here's a review of a stick that's been sitting in my humidor of several months now . . the El Rey de los Habanos, Inc. in the torpedo size.

This cigar hails from Don Pepin Garcia's own Miami factory (of the same name). Here are the specs:

Contents: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Corojo Rosado Claro
Size: Torpedo 6 1/8 X 52
Body: Medium
Acquired From: Outlaw Cigar Co.
Price: $7.00 a single
Smoke Time: 1.75 hours


Pre-light
A fine looking, well made cigar, it smelled sweet and spicy. The wrapper is a beautiful rosy-brown. The cigar is tight and fully packed with no lumpiness. A quick clip of the head found the draw a bit tight; often typical of a torpedo. The cold draw flavors were sweet, spicy and a bit peppery tasting. We're off to a good start!

First Third
After firing it up, the first puffs were mild and earthy with none of the expected spiciness. Where was that characteristic Pepin pepper? No matter, the flavors were butter-creamy smooth with notes of mild cinnamon up front. The draw was still a bit tight throughout, but the body was easily in the mild-medium range. The ash was firm but a bit flakey and the ambient smoke had a pleasant, earthy aroma.


Second Third
The flavors picked up a bit with a hint of citrus coming ahead of the rich tobacco taste. As I moved through the second third, coffee flavors began to settle in along with the mild citrus. Body remained in the mild-medium range. Only one minor burn correction was needed in this third.


Final Third
The citrus flavor was growing and getting somewhat sour in this last third, but not unpleasantly so. Removal of the band took some of the wrapper leaf with it (a pet peeve of mine) but it didn't result in an unraveled leaf. The draw remained a bit tight so I clipped a little more off the head, with no effect. The body moved into the medium range and although there was now bitterness in the flavor it was not objectionable. Even by the end of this third the cigar never went "bad," there was just not much "good" left.


Conclusion
I'm not a fan of citrus flavors in cigars, so I was not thrilled with this smoke. That's just me. I was a little disappointed that there was none of that Pepin "kick" to this stick. There's really nothing wrong with it, just not anything really great with it for me.

Would I smoke this cigar again? No
Would I recommend this cigar? Sure, if you like mild flavored, citrusy cigars.

Spring is HERE! (I hope)

LOTS of events happening in the coming weeks!

This friday at Cigar & Tabac . .



Grand opening at The Outlaw Cigar's south location . .



And the March party for Craig Cunningham of Esteban Carreras the following weekend at BOTH Outlaw locations! (More info HERE!)



Busy busy !!

First Party at The Outlaw South

Saturday was the first monthly party at the new Outlaw Cigar Co. location at 137th and Metcalf. Michael Chiusano (of Cusano Cigars) was the guest of honor. Sorry, no pics, but I have a good reason . . turnout was HUGE and all you'd see in the photos would be a bunch of people packed into the store! Standing room only after 12:00! Great food, great cigars (I had two) and a great time with Mr. Chiusano. Frankly, I think he was blown away by the size of the place and the incredible turnout, but he managed just fine. If you missed it, don't worry . . they'll do it all again next month!

IT'S ALIVE!

The Outlaw Cigar Co's south location is NOW open! Aaarrrggghhhhhhhh! (Homer Simpsom Impression.)


13700 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS. 913-814-9000
Hours are 9am - 10pm Mon thru Sat. Sunday 10am - 7pm. It's a trek for me, but it looks WELL worth it!

Scarritt Cigar Lounge?

Yes, the Scarritt Cigar Club needs a lounge. Preferably somewhere in the neighborhood! 39 degrees with sleet is not the proper outdoor atmosphere in which to enjoy a finely crafted stogie. Ideas? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

Spreading the word . .

Ashton Cigars at the Outlaw Cigar Co. this saturday! This may be last party to be held at the north location this season!

Camacho Triple Maduro

It's been a while since I've done a full review so I thought I'd do something special . .

There's been a trend lately toward producing specialty cigars with a "gimmick" (for lack of a better term). The Cain all ligero comes to mind. Most of these, in my opinion, are designed purely with marketing in mind. A hook, if you will, to get you interesting in trying it. The Camacho Triple Maduro would seem to be one of these. If you like maduros, how about a TRIPLE maduro?

Maduro isn't really a leaf, but a process that produces a darker, richer flavor much like the difference between dark and light chocolate. Maduros are more time consuming to produce so are usually reserved for just the wrapper of a cigar. In the Camacho Triple Maduro, however, the wrapper as well as the binder and filler are made with maduro-processed leaves.



Contents: Honduran
Wrapper: Honduran
Size: 50/4.5 or 4.5x50
Body: Full
Acquired From: Famous Smoke Shop (online)
Price: $11.30 a single, $33.90 per 5 Pack
Smoke Time: 1.5 hours

Pre-light
The wrapper was dark, thick and a little lumpy. The cigar felt firm and well packed. The aroma of the cigar reminded me of chocolate brownies and compost. Composted brownies, maybe? The draw was perfect, with sweet chocolate flavors leaving a little pepper on the lips and tongue.


First Third
After lighting it up, the initial flavors were of mild, smooth coffee and sweet brownies, with a dark tobacco finish and none of the pepper I'd noted in the pre-light. The cigar produced lots of smoke with an aroma of sweet baked chocolate. After the first inch, the flavors toned down to a cream-and-sugar iced coffee profile with mild pepper in the finish. The burn was near-perfect and I was enjoying long, slow, savory draws throughout the first third.


Second Third
The cigar began to increase the intensity of flavors and added a nice bit of spiciness with a hint of roasted nuts. The ash was firm and grey and the body was approaching the full range. By the end of the second third the burn was getting a little too wavy, necessitating the removal of the rather large band and a burn correction. The ash hung on, and by the end of this third the body was solidly into the full range, leaving me a little light-headed.


Final Third
The flavors were moving into a dark roasted coffee profile as the ash finally fell off. Mild pepper remained on the finish. While I smoked it until it became too hot, the flavor never turned overly bitter.

Conclusion
This cigar surprised me. There was not "too much of a good thing" at any point in this smoke. I have to say that if you like maduro cigars, the odds are good that you will love the Camacho Triple Maduro!

Would I smoke this cigar again? Yes
Would I recommend this cigar? Absolutely, despite its high price tag.