Past Newsletters - November 2009

Featured Cigar	Shape	Size	Strength	Country	Panel Rating
601 Serie Maduro Box-Pressed Robusto	Robusto	5.25 x 52	8.0	Nicaraguan	93
The Edge by RP Toro Corojo	Toro	6.0 x 52	8.5	Honduran	92
MAXX The Fix Toro Grande	Toro Grande	5.0 x 58	7.5	Honduran	91
Sol Cubano 'B' Robusto	Robusto	5.0 x 50	6.5	Nicaraguan	88
Verdadero Organic Torpedo	Torpedo	6.0 x 52	7.0	Nicaraguan	89

601 Serie ‘Blue’ Maduro Box-Pressed Robusto

This square-pressed Maduro from 601 Master Blender José ‘Pepin’ Garcia is a beautiful cigar. As one panelist put it, “its dark, oily Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper is so toothy Stevie Wonder could read it.” The moderate veins are typical for a Maduro and the blue and gold band on the dark chocolate wrapper looks mighty regal. The prelight smell—reminiscent of hay with some sweetness—is a preview of the earthy smoke to come from this robust blend of aged Nicaraguan Cuban-seed long-leaf tobaccos. The binder is also Cuban. The body is well constructed, solid with some slight give. The draw thru the neatly triple-capped head is easy. Panelists found toasting and lighting required a bit of effort but they were rewarded with aromatic clouds of sweet, creamy, smoke and a burn that required no correction throughout the duration of the smoke. The granite gray ash is firm.

Look for sweet cocoa and coffee flavors initially which—within the first half inch—matures into rich, dark chocolate flavors. By the end of the first third, notes of leather develop, balancing the chocolate and coffee flavors in this complex, medium to full-bodied smoke. Close to two inches in, the initial sweetness returns and some spice is introduced. Further into the second third, the complexity deepens and the stogie morphs into a serious full-bodied smoke. Try it with a coffee liqueur such as Kahlua or Tia Maria.

The Edge by Rocky Patel Toro Corojo

As club members know, Rocky Patel is well known for making some of the best stogies today including his Vintage and Edge lines, all of which have received 90+ ratings from Cigar Aficionado magazine. The band at the foot accentuates the stogie’s length and beauty, if not strength, so get your favorite smoking chair ready. You’re about to experience the Edge, a well-aged powerhouse from Rocky Patel. The blend is a dazzling array of superior, aged premium tobaccos including ample Ligero. This cigar is a testament to the blending and cigar-making skills of famed duo Rocky Patel and Nestor Plasencia. Heads-up: ads for the cigar say ’for professional smokers only’—the Edge is no doubt one of the stronger cigars on the market. However, the power of this full-bodied stick is controlled, its strength extraordinarily well-balanced and its flavor extremely smooth—all significant achievements for any blender crafting such a full-tilt blend. Trust you won’t be overpowered by a potent blow to the palate. Instead the Edge’s crisp flavors mature and coalesce at just the right moment, allowing you to gradually appreciate its complexity and strength. In the end, you’re left with a full-flavored blast of spicy, well-rounded accents that fully engage the most experienced palates.

The construction is nothing short of flawless; the draw even. The wrapper is a spicy, mucho-robust Corojo leaf. Expect voluminous clouds of smoke. From the very first puff the Edge is incredibly smooth. The flavor is rich and leathery—with notes of caramel and cocoa—but without bite. A few inches into the cigar its complexity really begins—the variations in the flavor are what set this cigar apart from countless others. The finish is dry and long with a hint of pepper. It’s easy to see why Rocky Patel’s cigars are held in such high regard and score ratings in the stratosphere. After a rich, satisfying dinner, smoke this with a tawny port—Churchill’s 10 Year Old comes to mind.

MAXX 'The Fix' Maduro Toro Grande

Alan Rubin, President of the Alec Bradley Cigar Co., likes to please so for those smokers for whom bigger is better and anything under a ring gauge of 50 is wimpy, he's your man! The smallest ring in the line measures 50; the largest a hefty 60. Size does matter when it comes to maximizing flavor and strength. As Alan says, the MAXX line is "for smokers who want more – more flavor, power, and balance." MAXX may be a beast when it comes to both the size and flavor but it’s far from overpowering. This is definitely a medium-bodied smoke with balanced layers of rich, toasty flavors that evolve during the burn.

The Fix takes a hearty four-country blend of aged long-fillers – Columbian, Nicaraguan, Honduran and Mexican tobaccos – adds a tasty Costa Rican binder, and cloaks it in a dark Nicaraguan maduro leaf wrapper. The result is a rich, medium to full-bodied smoke that's silky smooth and chock-full of earthy, toasty undertones. Our panel found the burn slow and even, producing nice, thick smoke. The taste was a combination of rich espresso and woody flavors. A third of the way into the cigar, creaminess predominated and the woodiness diminished. At the halfway point there was a hint of dark, bitter chocolate complimenting the espresso flavor. Look for a lingering sweet finish. Not surprisingly for a line of such depth and complexity, MAXX received an impressive 9.4 out of 10 from Smoke Magazine and a '91' rating from Cigar Insider. This stogie deserves Cognac or Armagnac, a French brandy even older than Cognac.

Sol Cubano 'B' Robusto

Sol Cubano is a family of blends made by the famed Olivia family. As the second-largest grower of tobacco in Nicaragua, the Oliva family's generations of experience in the industry serves them well. They’re known for growing some of the finest tobaccos in the world and for using the most skilled rollers and blenders in the country to create cigars that are legendary. Series B is a smooth-smoking handmade puro. It’s carefully crafted using a mixture of long-leaf Cuban-seed Nicaraguan tobaccos wrapped by a golden-brown natural wrapper, also Nicaraguan-grown. The result is a rich, smooth-smoking, medium-bodied cigar that’s impeccably constructed. The draw is good, the burn slow and even. Look for notes of coffee and toast. For such a modestly priced stick, this is an exceptionally good handmade. Check out our reorder prices—this could become your everyday smoke! Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club members can enjoy it with the Philadelphia Pale Ale from Yard’s Brewing Company featured this month. Not a member? Enjoy it with your favorite brewski and consider putting one of our four beer clubs on your Christmas list: www.BeerMonthClub.com.

Verdadero Organic Torpedo

This one is for readers who shop at Whole Foods. It’s the second organic cigar we’ve featured this year (the other being the OneOff Perfecto in July). The 100% organically grown triple fermented fillers hail from virgin soils at the base of the Mombacho Volcano in Granada, Nicaragua—“virgin” because the nutrient rich soil that produces this tobacco has never been used to grow any other vegetation. Likewise no chemicals or pesticides are used in the cultivation of the blend. Nor are any flavor enhancers or other additives added to the tobacco.

The result is a unique cigar that offers flavors very different from most. Note the distinct raisin pre-light aroma. The cigar is balanced by an Indonesian Sumatra binder and a seamless chestnut-colored Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, both of which allow the unique flavors of the organic filler to dominate the palate. The draw is a bit tight but it gradually loosens allowing for an incredibly consistent smoke. The flavors are mellow and muted with nutty and tobacco notes. The finish is a bit fruity with a raisin taste predominating. Overall, this is a nice, simple smoke. Pair it with a quality chardonnay such as the Folie à Deux Napa Valley Chardonnay our International Wine of the Month Club members receive this month. Not a member? Well, the holidays are upon us so put us on your list! Ask Santa to call us at 800-625-8238. Our customer service reps are here seven days a week over the holiday season and love nothing more than helping folks find and create the perfect gift for friends and family members.