Past Newsletters - Jan 2009

Featured Cigar	Shape	Size	Strength	Country	Panel Rating
Cuvee Blanc Robusto	Robusto	5.0 x 50	7.0	Dominican	91
H. Upmann Signature Monarca (Natural)	Presidente	7.0 x 54	6.0	Dominican	92
La Cuna Bin No. 85 Connecticut Torpedo	Torpedo	6.5 x 52	7.0	Nicaragua	89
La Herencia Cubana Robusto	Robusto	5.0 x 50	8.0	Nicaragua	90
Natural by Drew Estate Dirt Torpedo	Torpedo	5.0 x 54	7.5	Nicaragua	91

Cuvee Blanc Robusto

You're probably familiar with the term "cuvee" from the wine industry. We note it mostly (though not often) on champagne bottles, but you'll occasionally see "cuvee" on wine bottles, as well. Note the label on this cigar, with its gold star and trim, is similar in style to labels often seen on champagne bottles. The word is used to indicate a vintage blend—one made from only the finest grapes. "Cuvee" on a label means it's a high-quality wine or champagne. Cuvee Blanc Robustos are produced with a very limited super-premium tobacco that undergoes a painstaking blending and quality control process. Thus the name.

The cigar's blend consists of aged Honduran and Dominican long-filler leaves that have been hand selected and represent the top ten percent of the crop. The wrapper is a toothy USA-grown Connecticut Shade. Note its beautiful oily sheen. Toast the foot and smell cedar and spice. Panelists found the first few draws loaded with flavor. Look for large volumes of smoke, a firm ash, an excellent draw, and an even burn. At the start, we noted a distinct floral flavor, but it fades a bit around the half-inch mark. The Cuvee Blanc then settles in to the creamy and luxurious smoke it is. A slight spiciness adds character to the overall experience. It's not by any means a full-bodied cigar, but it is a solid medium-bodied smoke that unquestionably delivers lots of flavor. This is a great after-dinner cigar and worthy of a V.S.O.P. cognac.

H. Upmann Signature Monarca (Natural) Presidente

The legendary H. Upmann brand was founded in Havana by German businessman Herman Upmann back in 1844. After 164 years in the business of creating premium cigars, they know their stuff, as you can imagine. This well-aged blend was developed so that this cigar would present the flavors characteristic of Havana's legendary brands. Skillfully made by master blender Jose Piñeda Henríquez at Altadis' factory in Honduras, this stogie is a rare blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Peruvian filler tobaccos with a flavorful Nicaraguan binder. It's rich and hearty but smokes smooth and clean—reminiscent of those Cuban classics. Upmanns are medium-bodied cigars with a touch of sweetness. They're steady, dependable, and consistent. Look for herbaceous, cedary notes in the finish. Enjoy this one with dark rum, neat.

La Cuna Bin No. 85 Connecticut Torpedo

The La Cuna Bin 85 is a creation of master blender AJ Fernandez, maker of such premium lines as Rocky Patel Fusion, Rocky Patel Signature, and Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet. It's the original house blend made at Tabacalera Fernandez, and its quality explains why top cigar makers such as Rocky Patel and Ernesto Padilla are enamored of this factory's premium cigar-making abilities. The concept of the brand is the same as the Cuvee brand: to make fine small-batch cigars, extraordinary blends that might otherwise never see the light of day. When creating blends, cigar makers are usually constrained by the ongoing availability of a given tobacco, which means many potentially exquisite creations never make it to market. If a maker has one or two bales of a fine tobacco—say enough for 15,000 cigars—that's simply not enough material for regular production runs. Factories need consistent, steady, daily production; and most consumers demand that their favorite blends remain consistent year after year.
La Cuna flies in the face of that practice by making fine small-batch cigars from different varieties of small-batch tobaccos. Compare La Cuna to a seasonal microbrew or a special vintage wine. Each blend of limited run tobaccos is assigned a unique "bin" number to identify the extraordinary small batch. Batches are made in limited numbers and hail from a variety of top factories. The blessing is that these blends are unique and of high quality; the curse is that when each bin is gone, it is gone forever. Your Bin No. 85 consists of a complex mix of long fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic encased in a creamy Connecticut leaf wrapper. This medium-body cigar has a full flavor that balances perfectly with its core of earthy notes. Look for hints of wood and leather as well. Try it with a coffee liqueur such as Kahlua or Tia Maria.

La Herencia Cubana Robusto

La Herencia Cubana is Spanish for "Cuban heritage." This smoke is another product of cigar maker AJ Fernandez, maker of a few Padilla and Rocky Patel lines, plus the exquisite Man O' War blend so you know you're in for another special smoke. With its seamless appearance and its oily, slightly toothy, leathery texture, the Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed wrapper is positively sultry. Take a whiff of its nice pre-light aroma for a preview of the fillers—a well-balanced collection of long-leaf tobaccos from three of the major growing regions in Nicaragua: Jalapa, Condega, and Esteli. The medium-to-full-body smoke begins with a feisty burst of black pepper. After about an inch, it's tamed by a smooth core of rich tobacco flavors and an underlying creaminess that's maintained throughout the duration of the smoke. The opening is quite creamy, with a heavy dose of toast and wood. Every now and then some hefty spices enter the fray, but they are quickly diminished by the smooth, lingering aftertaste. After about an inch, the flavors seem to mellow a bit, but the strength does quite the opposite. The flavors are balanced but rich, releasing a deep, aromatic smoke with body behind every puff. Look for a lingering peppery aftertaste. This is a satisfying stogie that will go well with your favorite single malt.

Natural by Drew Estate Dirt Torpedo

The Natural line by Drew Estate was introduced at the turn of the millennium and offers a truly jaw-dropping array of tobaccos from Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Syria, Turkey, and two places in the United States, Connecticut and Louisiana. Each and every one of those tobaccos is used somewhere in this line's extensive roster. With so many different cigars in the lineup (all rolled by hand in Esteli, Nicaragua) there's simply no way we can offer you one of each, so we're offering one of our favorites. If you like it as much as our panelists did, we encourage you to contact us to order more of the Dirt Torpedo. (Hey, why leave yourself off your holiday gift list?) It's likely we can get you the other shapes and blends, as well (see below for ordering info). If you're able to smoke the entire line, you'll have enjoyed tobaccos from no fewer than eleven countries!

The tasty treat featured here sports a dark, espresso-like maduro wrapper leaf from Nicaragua that's rough, yet vein-free. The pre-light aroma will not go unnoticed; it's slightly sweet and hints at a rich, chocolaty smoke waiting. Contrary to its name, Big Dirt doesn't have an earthy taste. Look for notes of smoky sweet mocha blended with firm coffee flavors, all smoothed out by a long-lasting oaken finish. Impressively, the coffee and mocha flavors in these mild-to-medium-bodied cigars are due to Drew Estate's unique fermentation methods, not the result of flavor-infusions (as in their ACID line). Pair it with a robust red Cabernet or Shiraz.