I had a friend comment that it seemed like I was smoking a lot of bad cigars lately. It is true, not many have broken 90, and the majority are struggling in the low 80s. But I am not involved with sponsors, no one really sends me cigars for the blog, and I don't want them to. So if I smoke a cigar and it sucks, I can just say it sucks. But a few people who know me also know that my best cigars might never be smoked. I just don't smoke em. So from time to time when I get in a slump, I tend to go back to the pay window. I like to smoke a cigar that is good every time, all the time.
And so to came to pass that I poked around in the ice chest for a box that has barely seen the light of day since the turn of the century. The Le Hoyo line of Hoyo de Monterrey cigars was developed as something of an answer to the Chateau line from Davidoff. They are built around the classic lost sizes of havana cigars. You will not find a robusto or a churchill in THIS line. One of the cigars, the Le Hoyo du Maire is so small as to seem a bit of a ripoff when you pay for a box. Not a whole lot bigger than a cigarette, it still manages to please when you see the tiny wooden cabinet that they are packed in. And for this cigar, the Le Hoyo du Depute, things are not much bigger.
The cigar is a little longer than a minuto and about as big around as a perla. It is not blended for eye-popping changes either. It is a straightforward, woody and lush blend with a nice balance...the smoke never dries the mouth, and it is a killer mix of herbal, woody and lightly creamy flavor. I have never had one that drew anything less than perfectly, and as you can see, 13 years in a box has yielded a cigar that burns like a mathematical wonder of straight angles.
It is a pleasure to see the burn line, but even more of of a treat to smoke the cigar. It is a treat as I sit out in the back yard by the pond. There are no less than 4 spiders building webs that stretch from the azaleas to the rocks across the pond. A nice idea in a HOT spring that has produced more weeds and insects than in the last 100 years after a non-existent winter season around here. I paired it with a Ommegang Abbey Ale and it is a relaxing combination. he cigar smokes with a perfect aroma, perfect taste, and stunningly crisp flavors that belie its age, a 12-13 year old cigar. There are hints of ginger, rosemary, parsley, mint and a toasty tobacco core that is lip-smacking good. It is a physically beautiful cigar, perfect in its straight and neat construction and it's color and sheen. These are not always beautiful cigars. They do not require a large perfect leaf to wrap, so a lot of times you get two or even three cigar wrappers out of a leaf which can lead to some rumpled and veiny cigars. This smoke is just lovely to look at and it scores high...Its hitting on all the cylinders and I rate it a 91.
This is one of my favorite expressions to use in those special circumstances, kind of like Michael Scott likes to say "That's what she said". When people talk about Chuck on a "What's in your smoker" thread on the internet, I always like to say "That's where the flavor is." because chuck is such a flavorful cut of meat. Ground chuck is a flavorful ground meat, worth any extra cost. Chuck Roast is about the most flavorful meat you can cook as a roast, and it makes a good choice as a smoked cut like a Boston Butt does.
But someone was asking how to properly cut a cigar today on my favorite cigar web forum, and someone there pointed them to a video...well, here, you can see it too, and I am sure the guy won't mind the visits to his site,
http://cigarobsession.com/2011/03/10/how-to-cut-light-smoke-a-cigar/
Mind you, everything you see there is his own opinion and I do not know that person or have any thoughts one way or the other on what people might think about the video, I just add it there to show I am not making up this whole deal to hear myself talk. (although I surely do love THAT.) But he states that one should smoke very slowly and not heat up the cigar, which is excellent advice for more reasons than one.
Have you ever thought about where the flavor comes from in a cigar? A lot of people think that the end is burning, and the taste of the cigar comes from what is burning at any one time. And while that is at least 10% true, that is NOT where the flavor is. The flavor in a cigar comes from the interaction of heat and smoke with un-burned tobacco. Heat is a catalyst in almost any chemical reaction, and in a cigar, it is certainly a catalyst. The heat, combined with the smoke created by the burning tobacco, gently spread throughout the entire un-burned bunch that makes up the cigar, caressing it, passing through it, picking up nuances and perfumed oils, vaporizing others. By the time the smoke that arose from the cherry end reaches your mouth, it is richly laden with molecules that were not part of the combustion process, and which are extremely flavorful to the senses. There are flavors created by burning, but they are not the whole story, or even the main idea. They provide the barest outline and basis for everything good that happens in the few short inches they travel to reach the smoker.
I made an analogy at the asylum that I liked a great deal that had to do with a gas pump. When you pull up to the pump and dispense fuel, you are charged according to an inline flow meter inside the pump and before the hose. The faster it turns, the faster the numbers go. But when it is all said and done, due to a vacuum created in the system, you only get the gas that exits the nozzle, and you leave the gas that is trapped in the hose, which you PAID FOR. Luckily, however, you DO get the gas the poor sucker BEFORE YOU paid for and did not get. So it all works out. How does this relate to a cigar? It's simple. When you puff on a cigar, you get a certain amount of smoke in your mouth. But a large portion of the smoke created by the burn is still inside the cigar. So when you puff, you are actually getting the smoke you created on the puff previously. It has been sitting "in the hose" gathering flavor and nuance in it's warm, moist tube. When you puff, that smoke is delivered to you, along with any extra smoke you get from the cherry burning like some made for TV effect. (cut to closeup of lit cigar end burning brightly) This is easy to understand when you are smoking and you find that the more gently you puff on a cigar, the richer the flavor is. That is because you are not generating too much extra smoke, but only creating that exchange of gasses. You are taking in the cigars capsule of flavor and at the same time, creating the smoke which fills the tube for your next puff. YES, from time to time, you also get a rich blast of flavor by puffing aggressively on the smoke. And yes, you DO have to occasionally puff a little bigger just to keep the fire burning at all. But your next few puffs will suffer. In fact, I have found over half a lifetime of smoking cigars, that the best results are achieved by using a 3 to 1 ratio of puffs...you should use 3 gentle puffs followed by one larger-than-normal puff to provide the correct balance of flavor delivery while still maintaining the burn necessary to keep the show moving. Not 3 little ones and a big one EVERYTIME you puff. But for every 4 puffs you take, three should be very gentle ones. The 4th puff is used to keep the fire lit before you return to the gentle puffing technique. Your own smoking will dictate what works best for you, but this method has delivered maximum enjoyment for me and focuses on the science and mechanics of flavor delivery in what I consider to be the best ratio.
I was challenged on this one day by a person that said, "That doesn't account for the fact that most of the flavor comes from the wrapper." First off, to me that has always been a controversial statement to begin with, and you will rarely get the same answer twice if you ask cigar makers. In fact, they seem to roll their eyes or sigh whenever they are asked. I was also countered with "but I know that most cigar makers add little bits of ligero in a bunch to add sections of intense flavor changes to a cigar, so flavor has to be created by them burning" It's true. Burning tobacco DOES create flavor. I am just saying that it is the much smaller proportion of flavor when compared to that created by heating and smoke mingling. Obviously the tobacco closest to the ember will volatilize more effectively, so the proximity of a little chunk of ligero to the ember dictates how much flavor it will add to the mix. But they will occur whether it burns or simply heats up. And eventually, it WILL all burn anyway, unless you toss the cigar.
So if you have never been a slow and gentle smoker, maybe you're missing out on where the flavor is.
Today I had to replace some patio tiles that had cracked. My landlady hires people to work for her that do not think about things like what might occur in the future, they do the job, collect the money and go. I have never seen anyone do a job for her the proper way. It once took a guy 10 calendar days to repair her air conditioning system. On this particular project, she asked someone to cover her patio in tile. Now some 10 years later, half of the tiles are cracked or coming up due to the ravages of winter with water getting underneath them and freezing and thawing, lather, rinse, repeat. I can honestly say I did not do a better job than the original tile man, but that was not my intent. She has no money, only spare tiles. I laid down a layer of thinset and placed the tile in by eye, with no thoughts of leveling. The patio underneath is not level, and I do not care how it looks in the end, I work free.
My reward during the afternoon was a Westmalle Dubbel and one of my older cigars, a 2003 San Cristobal La Punta. It is one of the cigars that came from a box I keep around that holds the last 5 cigars from any box I finish. Once any box gets down to the last five, I put them in a cabinet box for as long as I can wait. They go anywhere from 1998 through 2005 these days. It's nice to open the box from time to time and see what a little forgetting can get you. It's not unlike blocking out all the bad stuff that happens to you over decades, (without the serial killing at the end).
I cut off a 1/4 inch and gave it a draw test. It was a little firm, but just inside the range I prefer, so that was that on the cut. It lit a little slow, which showed me that it had absorbed the proper amount of moisture after something bad that happened that I failed to mention earlier. It's embarrassing, but true. I took a bunch of cigars to the mountains over the summer. When I unpacked my cigar box after the week, I failed to unpack the box I unpacked. Confused?? I thought I did, but I did not. I just laid the box down in a cabinet and forgot about it until the next time I took a trip. So these cigars sat in a cedar box for about ten months. This is what we in the aficionado set like to call "dry-boxing". Extreme dry-boxing. So of course, the cigars were ruined. Or were they? I tossed em into the ice chest and waited a month and decided to take one out for today. SO TECHNICALLY this is NOT one of the cigars out of the Fivers Box. It's something much worse.
But it was not bad. A little one-noted, but not bad. It was smooth and creamy but a little thin. There would have likely been hints of vanilla and coffee-cake spices like the ones I used to enjoy from the original box. It was decent though, with some buttery notes and toast. No eggs or bacon, though. As you can see from the photos, it burned just perfectly. It offered up a little less smoke than I like, but what was there was not particularly offensive. It was obviously not the impressive cigar that a 8-year old smoke should be had I taken proper care of it. It would not be fair to rate this cigar, because I ruined it. And I can honestly say the cigars from this box were really great in their prime. There is something about the cuban belicosos that is right up my alley. I love the Belicosos Finos of Bolivar, I love the Belicosos from Sancho Panza. The only one I can't say I love is the only one I have not tried, the Romeo y Julieta model.
So perhaps unfortunately you can look forward to more reviews of the other 10 cigars I ruined from this box. And sadly, when I go on the road, I take great smokes with me. So I have no "crap cigars that I ruined" posts to make." Only sad stories. Unless the cigars are great. We should know soon enough...
I don't get much Trinidad on this spaceship. They are JUST outside the price range I tend to roll in. I ain't no playa'. They are only about 10-15 dollars a box more than comparable cigars, but I have not bought Habanos in so long, it wouldn't matter if I WAS in the market to buy, I wouldn't buy them. A friend Scott sent me a Reyes the other day, a 2011, that I have not gotten myself wound up to smoke yet. This 08 was traded to me at the Shack Herf. Some nice brother.
These are a little heftier than the usual perlas and minutos I smoke, likely closer to a minutos, with maybe another ring gauge 64th for good measure, and a nice pigtail cap. It's a fairly new brand for Habanos, part of their modern-era introductions group that includes Cuaba, San Cristobal de la Habana and Vegas Robaina. On par with the Cohiba, but less pricey...but not by much. Certainly created to bring in a rival for Cohiba's cache' and to have another brand that gins up high revenues. The quality is certainly consistent and the taste generally above par. It sports a new band design from the Trinidad of the late 90's, which is good, given that the old band was a little bland, but distinctive, in plain gold with black lettering. I am not a fan of the new logo, but it is a stylistic step up.
This little firecracker got lit after I slaved over my pond, getting it into spring shape. A perfect draw and a mouth-watering tang, it produced an oily smoke that had hints of marzipan and citrus, with a bready, toasted tobacco core. It gave me no trouble whatsoever in the burn or the draw. It lasted a LOOOooong time, too. I bet I smoked this thing for 70 minutes. It paired up well with a Hop Wallop beer. I never felt like I needed to increase my puff rate to keep it going, although it was quite moist for my usual smoking preference. It stayed cool to the band ,where I let it die. It's a shame that I have so few Trinidads on hand. I had any number of chances to get some stock in while the getting was good, but I DO have two boxes of Robustos T and a box of 12 Fundadores, so I am at least populated with excellent cigars in the Trinidad line for the near future. But this is a flavor I enjoy greatly, and it is a shame that I get to only smoke the expensive models to get my Trinidiad fix.
It's tough to rate the cigar, because I would bet it could have added 6-7 points as a dryer smoke. But as it was, it was very well balanced and delicious, I score it 85 points. It was THIS close to being what I would call perfect for a run of the mill smoke. Too small to really be epic, all too quickly over just when you are getting jazzed about it. But for a short time window, an excellent taste of the island. Buy them while you can in the greatest quantity you can..
What a night for smoking meat. The young man that lives downstairs from me got all A's on his report card this week, and I usually cook some meat for him on that occasion, as this is a regular occurrence around here. Tonight was Chicken Legs, Chicken Wings, Beef Ribs and Lamb Chops. As this was going to be a complicated endeavor, I needed a great cigar for the job. I picked this Lancero up at the Shack Herf last year. I THINK that it was Hugh that gave it to me. But suddenly I doubt it. Another case of inadequate documentation that comes with heavy drinking and 100 people all smoking and trading cigars.
I snipped off JUST a tiny portion of it's pigtailed head, creating a winking eye of a hole. It drew perfectly. Game on. I lit it up in the house and poured a pint of Arrogant Bastard Ale from an intimidating bomber and headed out. The meat went quickly onto the fire I had started 20 minutes prior. I simply gathered all the sticks from the yard and created a mound of coals from that cleanup effort. I added a few coals to that, and placed the meat on the grill. I had dredged the chicken legs in a Chipotle mojo, shook the wings in a rub, laid the ribs on naked and shook some spice onto them and saved the lamb chops for later. I closed the lid and smoked that great cigar.
It was nothing special, but very, VERY GOOD! What's more, it had flashes of brilliance that had it immediately on par with a fine havana. I tasted cream, nuts, pepper, a light baking spice and a mild toasted tobacco. The cigar burned spectacularly well with a fine draw. The beer went down very easily. It is a strong ale with about a 8-10 percent alcohol level, if I am not mistaken. It complemented the cigar very well. The smoke never became boring, and stayed lit even when I was busy with the grill.
After 90 minutes or so of smoking, I opened up the vents and added some coals in order to finish the cooking of the meat at an accelerated pace. I accidentally burned through my supply of coal before I finished the lamb chops, so I finished them under the broiler to a PERFECT doneness. I also had dredged them in olive oil, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper.
A superb meal, a fantastic cigar, and a wicked buzz that I am still feeling as I type this review. That Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing is pretty strong. It was actually 11.2% ABV. The bottle is as big or bigger than a bottle of wine, and it is every bit as strong as wine, so I guess I drank a bottle of wine with the cigar, so yeah, I ought to have a buzz. I was wondering. I rarely drink at home, and only elsewhere when I have nowhere to drive. It is rare indeed when I have a bomber of beer for myself. Great Beer, fantastic even. As for the smoke, I don't rate non-cuban cigars, but this was a really nice smoke. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the long and thin smokes.
What a beautiful Sprummer we are having in the middle of the USA. It's Spring on the calendar and Summer on the thermometer. Today it's not so bad, breezy and bright, with lighter pollen than the trees would indicate might be around to breathe. It SHOULD be there, but I do not see the evidence that it is a huge problem. Yet. I had to rebuild a treehouse, install a window air conditioning unit and smoke a cigar. I selected this cigar based on my recent less-than-spectacular experience with a Edmundo from 2006.
This is a machine-made cigar that most people don't care for, but to me, it always delivers great flavor, although you need to concentrate and enjoy it in the first half, because the second half is ALL machine-made blah....hot, mushy and one-noted. It is as ugly as a cigar can be with it's reject wrapper, natural leaf, but that's about the only good thing to say about it. That and it's Cuban after all. And it's filler is nothing but chopped tobacco from the factory floor. And yet somehow, the taste is similar stick to stick. I stripped this one of it's cellophane and took it downstairs.
The first puff was excellent: bright, sweet, herbal and thin, with a perfect draw and balance. It offered a mouth-watering smoke that is so important for the thorough enjoyment of any cigar. I have nothing negative to say about it. Actually, that's not correct. I have one negative on the cigar. I have but 30 left and no replacements available. There was a short time in the early part of this century where you could pick up 50 of these "spent and unwanted" smokes for about $35. Aged, Cuban, delicious smokes for about 60-70 cents apiece. I think I picked up about 250 of them, and as with any cigar, I gave so many away that I just lost count. And then I began to feel a little worried that I would run out soon, so I buried the rest deeply. I will enjoy the rest of these like Scrooge, a miser of the hard to find. As the smoke progressed, I tasted more herbs, chocolate, a little cinnamon and some citrus notes, too.
As expected, once the cigar reached the middle point, it got hot and squeezy, and the smoke became very bland and boring. Usually there is not much of a problem when that happens because I tend to smoke a cigar way too fast, and even the finest hand-rolled Cohiba is going to be ruined by the halfway point. I simply have no discipline where my puff rate is concerned. When a cigar is 50-60 cents, what's to worry about? It is sad, however, when you realize my dollar cigar absolutely destroyed a 6 year old Montecristo from the other day. Even at twice the age and many times lower in price, even handicapped by it's machine-made pedigree. So in the end, I have no problem awarding this Delirios a 82, it could be higher but for the fact that it did not go into the second half with much of anything to recommend it.
No one has to tell me that I have slovenly habits these days with the blog. Embarrassing is not really a good enough word. But there is no sense in saying much about it if I am willing to do the hard work of smoking a cigar to bust out of the rut. Today I flash-cooked about 6 thin cut pork chops. I would never buy such a thing had they not been marked down to a buck-fifty. They cooked in a minute or two, then I laid in a heap of coals and fired up some chicken legs. They had been marinating in some Goya Chipotle Mojo sauce, and I put a few nice chunks of apple wood on top of the coals once they got ready to roll.
Then I popped the cap off of a Delerium Tremens, and cut and lit a 2006 Montecristo Edmundo. I spent most of last Saturday cleaning all of fall out of my fish pond, and it was only now looking good again after a week of settling. All was right in the world.
The smoke settled in to a nice thin, blue wisp and I realized how alike the pit and my Edmundo were at that time. The Montecristo was mild, yet flavorful, a bit thin on flavor. I expected a bit more after laying off for so long, and as the stick was 4+ years old, I thought I would enjoy it more. It stayed steady in the weak flavor profile throughout the smoke, but in it's defense, it burned exceptionally well and the draw was perfect. STILL, small comfort given the weak flavor. There was a little toast, some MILD spice and a little wispy cocoa in the far background.
The chicken was great, just cooked to perfection, with a spicy outer crust and a superb, moist inner core. The dogs gave me the "what's up?" face, so I burned my fingers on one ripping it into pieces for them.
The cigar must be rated, and Habanos isn't going to be happy with this one, MAYBE a 72?? The chicken??...I give that a solid 88 pernts.
