Nice Tight Ash » Rare Ash

Tatuaje L’Esprit de Vérité Robusto – 2009 Vintage

Ben — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:36:20 +0000

Editor: Due to technical difficulties with blip.tv, this review is airing later than expected. It was supposed to air before my Top Cigars of the Year list. Never the less, here it is.

Pete Johnson has started a pretty interesting concept with cigars that has been used in France for decades. Pete visited one of the first farms the Garcia’s owned and was really impressed with the tobacco they were growing there. He had an idea about making a cigar using only tobacco from this one particular farm and sell futures on the cigars like you can buy futures on Bordeaux wine. Like Bordeaux futures, they are sold in different tiers with time limits on each tier. After the time has expired on each tier, the price goes up. Each year, Tatuaje will release these cigars in a churchill and robusto size with slight changes in the blend depending on the crops. This year, the robusto blend is 50% Habano Nicaragua, 40% Criollo ’98 and 10% Pelo De Oro. This is an amazing concept for a cigar and one I wish would catch on with other companies as well. Pete even put an A. O. C. designation on the back of the cigar band. Only 20,000 of these cigars were made and quickly sold out, although you can still find a few from some retailers. So, how did this cigar turn out? Watch the video and find out.

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Casa Magna Domus Magnus Optimus

Ben — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:36:40 +0000

Quite a name isn't it? It almost seems like that should be the name of a Roman caesar instead of cigar. Quesada Cigars released this cigar under the Casa Magna line, which won cigar of the year for that lifestyle magazine a few years back, but this cigar has an extremely low production of only 5000 boxes which was released at this year's IPCPR. Blended by Manual Quesada and Nestor Plasencia, the cigar is a Nicaraguan puro with a special sun grown wrapper from Jalapa. So does this cigar live up to that royal name (Transformers?) or do you need to beware the ides of March?

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Arturo Fuente Short Story Maduro

Shawn — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:00:10 +0000

Company: Arturo Fuente
Line: Hemmingway Short Story Maduro “AF SSM”
Size: 4 x 46/49 Perfecto
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Price: As low as $6.50 up to $9.00

The Arturo Fuente Hemmingway Short Story Maduro are one of Fuente’s rare and limited cigars. If I am not mistaken, the last time it was released was in 2002. During the 2011 IPCPR show, if retailers bought twenty or more boxes of Fuente, they could purchase one of only 1,000 boxes (of 25) of the Short Story Maduros.

I have always liked the Hemmingway line which was released in 1980 in an all perfecto line. The Hemmingway was one of my first cigars to smoke and really enjoy, thus it has turned into a staple in my humidor. I particularly like the perfecto vitola of the Hemmingway lines and the Short Story & Best Seller have been my favorite sizes. I like the smaller vitolas due to they are a great quick smoke that has very nice flavors that aren’t too bold and a nice medium smoke that can be enjoyed anytime of the day.

1st Look: A nice deep dark brown broadleaf leaf drapes the SSM. A small slight vein runs through the cigar with no tooth to it. The feal is firm with a slight give to it. The small foot of the perfecto smells of chocolate, a chalky powdery chocolate aroma. This time, I chose to use a V-cut to cut the cap. This makes a nice draw, thats a little tight but should open up once the closed foot burns off. The prelight draw reveals a chalky flavor, similar to that of the aroms of the foot, but less announced. Lets toast the “nipple foot” and see how it smokes.

1st Half: I like the perfecto vitola for the fact that they light up quickly witht the small “nipple foot”. They usually burn evenly if toasted properly. The first few draws, I get a slight bittersweet chocolate, with a faint untertone of cinnamon. The draw starts off a little tight, but one the foot opens up, the draw gets alot better. If you get to try one of them, don’t try to overdraw on it, let the cigar’s draw open itself up. The tangy and somewhat bittersweet cocoa lingers into the first quarter of the cigar and stays pretty consistant. I still get the faint taste of cinamon or cedar during the very first part of the draw that quickly fades out. The ash on the SSM is very tight with a white/grayish ash. No flakes and no “lap ashing” issues.

For years, I didn’t care for too many maduro cigars. Now that I look back as to why, I realize its was due to the fact of smoking alot of “not so good” maduros that tainted my tastes towards them. Since then I have tried a good number more of better maduros and have grown fond of them. The SSM is a medium body/flavored smoke so far. Getting towards the halfway point, the tangy/bitter fades off and more of the sweetened cocoa shows through.

2nd Half: The chocolate tone gets slightly darker going into the last half of the SSM. The flavors stay pretty consistant between the halves. Not an overly complex smoke, but deffinately consistant. Working into the final part, it seems like the chocolate fades out and the bitter cedar-cinamon tastes hits the tip of my tongue. I’ve only had this cigar for about a month. Maybe with a bit of rest, the tangy-bitterness tones would ease off. They aren’t bad, but would be a little better if they were not there at all. Then the chocolate/cocoa/cinamon notes would shine through nicely.

Final Thoughts: Fuente makes mostly natural Cameroon wrapped cigars, the Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro is a very nice change of pace. The Short Story Maduro is a nice 45 minute or so smoke that would be nice during any part of the day. I wish they would have came out with it earlier this year. The shorter smokes are more my speed for the Summer time heat. But I think I will let the rest of these that I have rest till next summer. If you like the regular production Fuente lines, ever see them in a Maduro, grab more than one! They are good right off the truck, but probably even better with some age to them. The SSM is not my favorite maduro, but with some age, I am sure it could make its way to the top of the list.

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Viaje Oro Reserva Edicion Limitada Double Torpedo

Ben — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:28:02 +0000

That name is a mouthful, huh? Viaje released the follow up to their No. 2 cigar of the year last year for Cigar Aficionado, Viaje Oro Reserva. This year, its in a special shape. The Double Torpedo. This has become one of Andre Farkas’ favorite cigar shapes. Enough that it will become a regular shape in the Oro and Platino line up next year. This cigar has been kind of lost in the plethora of Viaje limited released so far this year because so many have been released. This is great news for me as the Oro Reserva was one of my all time favorite cigars. I was released in June with the 2011 TNT, C4 and Summerfest 2011. There were some reports of construction issues on these from some other cigar smokers and retailers. Did mine have these issues? Watch the video and find out.

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Camacho Liberty 2009 – Ben’s version

Ben — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:23:04 +0000

While readying for another cigar review, breaking news came across my TV. Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed by US Navy SEALs. Because of that, I decided to change my review cigar to something more fitting for the occasion. That cigar was the Camacho Liberty 2009. I have a few 2009s as some friends had sent them to me after the birth of my son in 2009. I don’t have as much experience with the Liberty as I would like because they haven’t been available to me locally until recently and the price was a little off putting. I figured, though, this was a good occasion to smoke one. Chris did this cigar last year for the 4th of July, another fitting occasion, here, so here is my take on the cigar with another year of aging. So, is this cigar worth the price? Watch the video and find out.

Editor’s note: J. Shepherd Cigars is running a deal on 2009 Libertys right now. You 6 Liberty 2009 cigars and a free CAO America for only $65! That’s one hell of a deal considering these retail for $18. You can call Jason at 502-741-9125 or email him at jshepherdcigars@gmail.com. Tell them Nice Tight Ash sent you for the deal.

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Zino Embassy 2010 Limitied Edition Belicoso

Ben — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:53:51 +0000

It seems like every year someone release yet another limited edition cigar especially around the holidays. Zino has their Embassy which I missed out on last year and will how well it was received, I knew I couldn’t miss out on it this year. The Zino Embassy is released in a box of 10 with an MSRP of around $10. It uses the same Selection 702 Ecuadorian Sun Grown that was on the Davidoff Seleccion 702 Limited Edition in 2009. Pretty amazing price for what you get and a Zino at that. Doesn’t really matter though if it doesn’t live up to its and Zino/Davidoff’s standards. So, the question is it an international star or an international incident? Watch the video and find out.

Zino Embassy
52 x 5 1/2″

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun-grown Selection 702
Binder: Piloto Domincan Republic
Filler: Piloto and 3 types of Ligero from Domincan Republic
Vitola: Belicoso
MSRP: $10
Reviewer: Ben
Date: 2/25/2011

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2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro Torpedo

Ben — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:00:48 +0000

This time of year is my favorite for many reason, but one reason is the release of the 2010 Serie V maduros from Oliva. The Serie V is on my all time favorite smokes and a special maduro version just gets my heart racing! I still have samples from each year just sitting and aging for that right time to smoke them. This year, Oliva decided to throw their fans a curve ball and use a San Andres maduro wrapper from Mexico instead of the normal Connecticut Broadleaf maduro. Was this a good idea or a colossal mistake? Watch the video and find out.

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Tatuaje Anarchy

Chris — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:37:17 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! There are a number of things I’m thankful for, but one that I’ll share with you is being able to try the new Tatuaje Anarchy. This Limited Edition cigar is only available at Smoke Inn and will be available for pre-order at midnight on Black Friday (November 26, 2010).

Name: Anarchy
Company: Tatuaje
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $149.85 per box
Comes in: Box of 15
Vitola: 6 1/8″ x 48-52 Figurado

Final Thoughts

No bones about it, the Tatuaje Anarchy is one hell of a cigar. Full-bodied, full-flavored and reasonably priced for a limited edition cigar. Not to mention the unique presentation which features a delicate figurado shape and a pigtail cap that wraps around the head like a cinnamon bun. Despite a tight draw on the cigar I smoked during the recording of this review the cigar produced ample amounts of smoke that delivered a well balanced flavor profile. The Anarchy started of an aggressive blast of black pepper that significantly mellowed by the midpoint of the cigar. Other flavors I was able to pick up included wood, hay, earth and cocoa.

Often times when a Limited Edition cigar is introduced to the market it’s met with a tremendous amount of attention. In this case the attention is well deserved. If you taste in cigars is in line with mine then I would highly suggest seeking out a fiver of these, if not a box.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig

Ben — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:59:30 +0000

The Flying Pig is a limited edition cigar from the Liga Privada line which has a limited production of only about 125 cigars per day. The blend is also different from the Nicaraguan Puro like the other Liga Privada No. 9s.

4 1/8″ x 60

Wrapper: Dark Connecticut Broadleaf ligero
Binder: Plantation grown Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan Cuban Seed

Wrapper aged for 18+ months
Cigar aged 1 year before release

I received this cigar from from the Drew Estates crew at IPCPR in 2009. I paired this cigar with a new coffee I’m trying out because the flavor profiles seemed to compliment each other. How did it work out? Watch the video and find out.

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La Flor Dominicana Limitado IV

Ben — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:49:24 +0000

La Flor Dominicana puts out a Limitado cigar yearly and each version is met with much enthusiasm. This version, IV, comes in at 6 1/4 x 52 and sports an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper ( I mistakingly say its a Nicaraguan Oscuro in the video). This cigar is released in a limited a number of 2000 boxes of 48 cigars each. So, how does this cigar stack up to other limited cigar and especially its brothers like my beloved Double Ligero 660 Maduro? Watch the video and find out.

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