Pedroni

Are cuban cigars the best in the world? Well, I'm sure a lot of people certainly think so and I am probably one of them. But it is also true that there are other good producers of cigars, be that close to Habana (for example, I find Nicaraguan cigars like Nubs to be very good, as well as Dominican like Davidoff to name a few). But being Italian, I also have to talk about our own cigars... I realised in fact that I have never really blogged about Toscano, although I once dedicated a post to an excellent Italian regional edition cuban cigar here. 

So, what are really Italian cigars? Let me start by saying that they are nothing like Cubans...

Toscani cigars are made with Kentucky tobacco, fire cured and grown in Italy. Usually the wrapper is also made in Italy, but sometimes they have a US wrapper... They are made in Tuscany (hence the name) in a growing number of formats and type. Due to their fermentation and production process they don't necessarily require a humidour (although some people still like to keep them in conditions similar to cuban cigars) and their taste is quite a bit harsher. I should probably clairfy that by all means not all cuban-cigar smokers likes Toscano as much as cubans... or even at all! 

 However, they are in my view more of an everyday smoke, more affordable and easier to enjoy even in open hair, due to their somewhat stronger aroma... I haven't been smoking many of them recently, but at Christmas my friend Leonardo gave me a box of Pedroni. Pedroni are a milder version of the more traditional Toscano. While now produced in Tuscany, Pedroni only recently joined the Toscano family since they used to be owned by a Swiss company. The founder, Rodolfo Pedroni, moved to Switzerland in 1848 and only in 2008 the Pedroni cigars were bought by the current owner of the Toscano brand, Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, controlled by the Maccaferri family. One of the Pedroni cigars,  reasonably common  in Italy, is called Anisette due to its anise flavour... See picture below.

I enjoyed my Pedroni recently. The Anise version comes in half, so it's a quick smoke (say 20 minutes), not strong, with a growing aroma of Anise continuously coming out at each puff. Not a demanding smoke at all, but still pleasant as a mid-afternoon smoke. I'm sure not all of you will appreciate Pedroni but if you haven't tried them yet, you should. If you enjoy the type, you could then "upgrade" to the real toscano, including some of the hand made special edition ones (like "Il Moro"). Will have to give more details on those in separate posts...

Canadian Regional Editions

I spent sometime in Canada during the Christmas break with my fiancee and her family. Canada - not being limited by the US embargo - gets every year its fair share of regional edition. I had the chance to try a few in the past like the Bolivar B-2. This year, besides the already reviewed Bolivar B-2, I also got hold of two cigars released in 2011, the Ramon Allones Super Allones and the Juan Lopez Supreme.

Here they are in my humidour! The Super Allones is a Rodolfo size (54 ring gage x 180mm or 7.1"), the Supreme is an Edmundo size  (52 ring gage x 135mm or 5.3"), and the B-2 is a Piramides size (52 ring gage x 156mm or 6.1")

And now with a closer look at the bands.

In reality, I haven't yet had a chance to properly sample the two new Canadian regional editions cigars. Truthfully, I did smoke a Ramon Allones Super Allones for a special occasion already this year, as you can see in the picture below taken at the Montague on the Gardens Hotel, one of my favourite places to smoke which blends particularly well with the Christmas atmosphere given its overall look.

For what I can recall from that special night, spent together with my fiancee and a few close friends after a few glasses of champagne/wine, it was definitely a lovely smoke. I really like the power of Ramon Allones, not totally apparent in this cigar at first which however offered sweetness and spiceness.

(Belated) Happy New Year to everybody!

End of the year leftovers...

Here we come towards the end of another year. It has been one definitively filled with great cigars! I really do have to think hard about which one has been the best of 2011 (and perhaps dedicate another post to it), but for now I just wanted to post a few pictures that unfortunately didn't make it to the blog yet...

Hong Kong!

While in Hong Kong last summer I didn't have a chance to visit many cigar stores. However, on my last day, while grabbing afternoon tea at the world-famous Peninsula Hotel, I managed to stop by the resident Davidoff shop.

Here are a few shots documenting the well assorted humidour and accessories windows. There is also a comfortable smoking area. I bought a few Asia-Pacific edition there, none of which to be honest was absolutely outstanding (the Por Larranaga Encantos was probably the best), but you know, it's always good to try something new... 

Sautter's

Sautter's collection of aged cigars is certainly one of the best you can find in Central London. Recently, they discovered somewhere in England an almost complete cabinet of H Upmann cigars believed to be from the late 1800s.

During one of the latest visits, I was shown another outstanding box... a Larra (yes - short for Por Larranaga) which is probably from the 1950s and was produced in Jamaica (though tobacco should also be Cuban)

I just loved the little travel plastic box that was provided to allow to carry around a cigar without ruining it!

New York!

I don't have good pictures from my last visit to NYC but I feel I should spend at least a few words for a very good shop, with a reasonable smoking area which happens to be in the middle of Midtown East and therefore convenient for many office buildings... The name of the shop I'm talking about is Barclay Rex, in 570 Lexington Avenue between 50th and 51st Street (I now learned they also have other two shops, one downtown and another one close to Grand Central).

While there, I smoked in particular a very good Tatuaje Fausto, definitively worth trying for a non-Cuban. Most importantly, after walking in at about 11am on a Sunday morning while waiting for a friend to arrive, I bumped into a cigar lover friend of Ajay's at La Casa del Habano (who had been with him at the Big Smoke in Vegas - by the way, if you haven't checked out his videos about that event you definitively should do so, link on his website)! 

How small can the world of cigars be??? :)

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I would like to think that I'd be able to post again before the Holidays, but as I realise that it may in fact not happen, let me wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Vertical tasting

As I had mentioned here, during the V AMICIgar Day, I had a chance to do a vertical tasting of Ramon Allones Especially Selected. I was just going through my pictures and saw this unpublished photo below and felt the flavour of the cigar again in my mouth

What we had that night with Ajay, was a recent Especially Selected and one from ten years ago. You can notice the difference in the band between the old one on the left and the new cigar on the right hand side of the picture

A great robusto with a fuller flavour, a hint of chocolate and lots of spice and a sweet after taste. I very much enjoyed smoking the vintage one and understanding the development of the cigar. Really a worthwhile experience! Only problem is that one needs to save up for ten years (or more) a cigar already great on day 1!

Cohiba 1966 special

One of the new 2011 Limited Edition issued this year by Habanos is the Cohiba 1966. This is quite a big cigar, measuring 6 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge. I was lucky enough to receive as a birthday present one of the original Cohiba 1966 - directly from Cuba - even before the end of the cigar was cut off.

Being a pretty long smoke I had to find the right occasion for such a great smoke, occasion that finally materialised yesterday, after a great meal with red meat and Sangiovese wine...

Here is this beautiful cigar. Dark wrapper as you can see, perfect construction as well.

As you can notice, the top of the cigar shows the end of the leaves not properly cut - this probably added half a centimeter to my smoke!

What was my view of the Cohiba 1966? Well, it's a bit fresh but it's already a fantastic cigar. It has the classic Cohiba flavour with lot of chocolat aroma. It will be a classic, one not to be missed!

For a fuller review, may I recommend Ajay's video on youtube.

Partagas E2

A number of new cigars have finally made it to the UK. Over the last couple of weeks, the Limited Editions for 2011 have finally arrived. These include the Ramon Allones Allones Extra, the Cohiba 1966 and the Hoyo do Monterrey Short Hoyo Piramides (more to come on those cigars in forthcoming posts, for now I can say that I tasted the Ramon Allones enjoying it quite a bit...). More importantly, we finally got delivery of the new regular vitola introuced by Partagas, the E2.

We were expecting the launch of the E2 a the Hunters & Frankau summer party back in June. However, due to delay with the production, Hunters was unable to present the cigar and promised to send it to all participants in due course. It was September when I finally got a package with the following message via post

The wait was definitively worth it. I almost immediately tried the E2 and I smoked a few more since. This is certainly a different Partagas. It is a fat cigar, being a 54 ring gage x 5.5" (140mm long), same size as the Romeo & Julieta Limited Edition Duke from 2009. More interestingly, it is not a usual Partagas.

Like many others regular cigar smokers, I love my Partagas. Generally full bodied, they consistently offer best value in my view vs. other more well-known brand (like Cohiba, but also Trinidad). However, the E2 is a bit different. It is certainly not as strong, which means that it is easier to enjoy also after a not too heavy meal... It is a very creamy and peppery smoke, getting stronger of course as you get closer to the top; I have no doubt that it will benefit from a bit more aging but in my view it is a great smoke already.

Here it is again in more detail.



Apparently, E2s are already running short in the UK, but hopefully a new batch will be coming soon from Cuba. Don't miss out!

New humidour!

Smoking cigars is a great hobby! No doubts about it! Unfortunately, all cigars require a lot of attention: they need to be kept in proper conditions or it may be difficult to fully enjoy them. Everybody likes cigar in a different way, but clearly they should be kept in humid conditions, generally a good rule of thumb is around 70% humidity and ideally around 20 degree Celsius. It does require a lot of work to keep cigars in good conditions and that is why I often prefer to keep them in stores, where you know that they will be kept properly.

I bought some time ago a humidour which - to be fair - didn't work very well...  I was therefore often keeping my cigars at home in humidified pouch / bags... 

This is all going to change! It was my birthday a few weeks ago and my girlfriend bought me an amazing present! An Ellie Blue humidour - a real luxury object for any cigar smoker! Ellie Bleu is in fact well known for making the best humidours - perfect for keeping cigars in immaculate conditions for years and years to come!

This is the outside box it came with. Inside, there were also information about the particular type of wood used...

And here is the actual humidour! Isn't it beautiful? All Ellie Blue humidours are apparently made with wood which has been open air cured for a minimum of ten years to eliminate the possibility of sapping, cracking or warping.

And finally the personalised interior!

An amazing present! Thanks so much Lisa!