“Smoked Up” No.47

Posted by Shawn

December 3, 2013

I hope every body had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty low-key. Spent most the day with the fiancÃ© and Satori. A little after lunch time, we went to her parents house for dinner. Afterwards we had a few drinks, relaxed and watched some tv. When I got home, I braved the 35* weather, watched MS State win the Egg Bowl & enjoyed a Drew Estate UF13. I really enjoyed that cigar and is quite possibly one of my favorite DE cigars I’ve had.

My weekend was pretty busy. Started after working Black Friday by going to a local cigar shop. Enjoyed some Knob Creek bourbon and had a few cigars. 1st was a Sons of Anarchy, which I figured it would be lacking for a cigar named after a TV show. It turned out pretty good actually (see below). Then I had a “highly acclaimed” 94 rated Sublimes. To be honest, I really didn’t care too much for it. But willing to give it another go later on. Saturday, I hung up more Christmas lights, worked on my “main attraction”. Sunday, me and the misses went Christmas shopping and had an early Birthday Dinner for her.

Cigar Views

Drew Estate UF13: I have been looking for these cigars for a while. Luckily, my local shop got a box in and kicked myself in the butt for not buying more than one. This is one of my favorite DE cigars I have had! Had awesome dark and “meaty” flavorsÂ that I like in a cigar. Some creamy dark caramel with charred wood notes and a hint of a dried apricot note as well. Towards the end, I got a nice chalky cocoa flavor that was a nice way to end the cigar. Had an awesome draw, great burn and nice tight ashes. This is a cigar to seek out and buy handfuls of. Reminded me of a Dirty Rat in a way. Larger ring gauge and similar flavors. I paired the UF13 with some Knob Creek Small Batch and Coke (I had to work on Black Friday morning). The only complaint I have with DE LEs is they don’t use enough glue on the caps. Seems like almost every cap onÂ DE cigar comes off too easily. Too much glue on the band, not enough on the cap.

Sons of Anarchy (by Black Crown): This turned out to be a pretty decent smoke for $6! I have not had the originalÂ Black Crown yet, but this SOA wasn’t too shabby. Had a great draw, burn and over all construction. Produced dense clouds of smoke with a pretty smooth malty cocoa with a nuttiness similar to fresh roasted peanuts. Around half way, I gotÂ a nice creamy caramel-like notes in the smoke. For a every day knock around smoke, its a pretty nice smoke. Its worth a 5pk and possiblyÂ a box split for two people looking for a good yard gar. This was paired with Knob Creek and matched quite nicely. Not my favorite bourbon, but its still good.

Rodrigo Boutique Blend G6 6×60: As you know, I am not the biggest fan of anything over a 54 ring gauge. But, I am trying to expand my horizons and tried this 6×60 from Rodrigo Cigars. The flavorsÂ I got were a fewÂ twangy wood notes with a mixed in black pepper. The “twang” didn’t sit too well with me, not sure why. I just didn’t care too much for it at all. There was a slight creamy vanilla and a very slight hint of a caramel on the back have of the smoke. The smoke left my mouth wet, so the smoke was not dry. The construction of the cigar was of a good nature; no major issues. Overall, it wasn’t a bad smoke, it just didn’t fit my tastes.

Emilio La Musa Melete: This cigar is a variation of the famed Grimalkin and the second of the La Musa series. It toasted up even and fast and quickly gave off a nice amount of spice with a faint citrus zest in the background. A bit into it, I got an earth and leather mix added to the previous flavors. Before the halfway point, I got a nice sweetness and creaminess from the smoke. The spice and citrus are more pronounced on the retrohale at this time as well. At the end of the cigar, the wood flavors took over and there was a very slight creamy caramel left on the latter part of the smoke. From a good burn came tight ringed ashes as a result of the fairly firm draw. This turned out to be a pretty good smoke. It would have been better if the draw wasn’t so thick, but it was manageable.

La Aurora 1495 Short Robusto: This is a 58ring gauged cigar which is usually out of my wheel house as far as size wise. But seeing it is s fairly short 4″, I figured I could liveÂ through it seeing I have previously liked the encounters I’ve had with the blend.Â The smoke starts out with a strong, yet smooth, leather taste along with hints of a coffee flavor as well. I was drinking some cold Coca-Cola Classic which seemed to help with the creaminess of the leather and muted some pepper hints here and there. About half way, The leather got a bit stronger, but not out of hand. I alsoÂ got a faint hint of a sweetness; most likely from the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Had a great draw, very good burn and great price @ $5.50 which made for a good cigar. I do prefer the robusto over the short (& fatter) robusto. I would really like to try this blend in a corona size. I think the smaller rg would bring out some of the sweetness, yet the leather could be less creamier though.