Cigarando... back with the new Cuban Italian Limited Edition

Apologies for the lack of postings over the last few months... I have had a few very busy months at work which meant having limited time to dedicate to cigarando....

This is not to say that I have not been able to enjoy a few great cigars of course... only that I had to dedicate the limited spare to sampling and enjoying new (and old) cigars rather than blogging about them :). But here I am, finally, back and ready to report on the latest and greatest smokes... and not only.

My last post was around Pedroni, the Swiss/Italian toscano style cigars. To restart, I want to talk about the new Italian Limited Edition, La Escepcion Selectos Finos.

This picture show the cigar in all its beauty, it's a panatela size, 6.5" in length x 38 ring gage; this is a different ring gage from the ones I usually smoke; it's the perfect contemplation cigar! I enjoyed it earlier this month in Italy, where I was for the baptism of my nephew Michele - by the way, congratulations to my sister in law Anna and my brother Marco for the beautiful baby boy!

If you didn't hear of La Escepcion brand before don't worry - neither did I before this Limited Edition came out - which effectively brought back to life this old Cuban brand. Take a look at the beautiful band below

I learned with a bit of research that La Escepcion is one of the oldest brands, introduced in the late 1850s by Jose Gener. Apparently it is believed to be a sister brand to Hoyo de Monterrey, given that both brands were started and owned by Jose Gener.

As for the cigar? Well, it is in fact stronger than a Hoyo I would say. The draw was excellent and the smoke was peppery with a little bit of spice. One thing to consider while smoking panatela style cigar is that they require a lot of concentration - you need to be careful not to draw too quickly or the cigar can get easily burned given the small size!

I enjoyed the cigar on its own, after lunch, just with a sip of water. It built up nicely with a little bit of chocolate hints towards the end. This is indeed an excellent afternoon smoke and I would recommend people to try them if they can. In Italy it should still be possible to find them in the best cigar shops; as for London, Ajay of La Casa Del Habano is also able to source them (in fact, I bought mine at his shop in Teddington) 

Cigarando back in Milan

During the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday, my girlfriend and I decided to visit Milan. I'm not a big lover of the city but as my girlfriend had never been there, and my best friend Matteo recently moved to Milan, it was a good opportunity to spend some time visiting the Duomo, the Castle and of course the Quadrilatero d'Oro, an area in the centre of Milan which is supposed to have the highest concentration of fashion boutiques in the world. 

With regard to smoking lounges, I already posted some ideas here. This time, thanks to the nice weather, I smoked at the Bulgari Hotel both inside their internal lounge (picture below while enjoying a nice grappa) and in their garden.

My first smoke was a Partagas D3, 2006 Limited Edition. This cigar is not easy to find anymore, I think - I got lucky to find a few at a local cigar store in my hometown (when I was actually looking for Toscanos!). The cigar is a re-release of an original 2001 Limited Edition, corona gorda in size (46 ring gage for 5.6" in length). I was not blown away by this cigar which is spicy as you would expect from a Partagas, though a touch light to start with. It certainly improved in strength as the smoke went by and I deserve my final judgment after having smoked at least another one...

In addition, as mentioned, the Bulgari Hotel also has an amazing private garden which is of course a great venue to enjoy a cigar - see pictures below



The cigar in question was a present from my girlfriend from last August. A Petit Unicos (50 x 5.0") by Ramon Allones which was released exclusively for the Canadian market, as a result of a consumer survey. Very much an excellent choice, being an enjoyable smoke with a good draw and leaving
a complex flavour in the mouth!



And here is me! Enjoying the Ramon Allones Petit Unicos! For these sort of experiences, I wouldn't mind going back to Milan!

 

Italian cigars... not only Toscano

I was having an interesting debate a few days ago with some fellow cigar smokers? Is it possible to  "sample" every day a cigar you have never tried before? The answer is certainly yes, if only because being hand made every cigar is unique; more importantly, however, one can always try his/her favoured vitola from a different year but also sample one of the more and more Limited and Regional Editions... Not all exceptional by all means, but a new cigar is always a new cigar :)

During the winter break, I had the opportunity to put my hands on the Italian Regional Edition released in 2009, the Punch Diademas Extra. The story goes that the cigar was meant to be released in 2008 but only hit the shelves in late 2009 as the first batch of gold foil used to wrap the cigar was lost, the second batch was simply of an unacceptable quality and when the last batch finally arrived the cigars were almost aged by up to two years...

The wait was in my view worth it, at least to the eyes. The box looks astonishing - see picture below (this picture is not mine, but I took it from www.cubancigarwebsite.com)

What else can I add? Well, I have to thank once again Ajay at the La Casa del Habano, who managed to find a few more of these big smokes - they are a 55 ring gauge for 9.2" in length. As mentioned, the cigar is beautiful and although the smoke is not necessarily the most amazing you will try, it has a nice peppery and creamy taste. I think the Diademas Extra is overall not too strong but the sheer length of it means that you will feel it all :)

A nice touch is certainly given by the bands outside the cigar, more visible in the picture below

So, next time you hit a cigar shop in Italy you should try your luck. Not many cigars are still around (total production was 10,200 cigars) but if you are looking to smoke something different from a Toscano (the traditional Italian cigars), these are certainly worth the experience