Quick touch base: new lounge at the Bulgari hotel in London and aged R&J Belicos

Just a quick update to signal the opening of a new great place to sample cigars in London: Edward Sahakian of Davidoff has opened a cigar lounge in the new Bulgari hotel in Knightsbridge (click here for more details).

The lounge is great, very spacious and comfortable and it offers a good - and growing - selection of current and aged cigars. It will deserve a proper post in due course, in the meantime I just post a quick shot (apologies for the low quality as it comes from my blackberry) of the first cigar I sampled there, the new Cohiba Piramides Extra that only recently made it to the UK, a 54 ring gage for 6"3 in length, still a green smoke but showing great potential. You cannot see it well from this picture, but the cigar also has a lovely new band, full of details (and less subject to counterfeiting).

Mike, the lounger manager, does a great job in serving and entertaining customers and I bet that this shop will become a new favourite amongst the London cigars fans.

Separately, I wanted to report that I smoked a very pleasant cigar tonight, an aged (not sure how aged, but at least 5/6 years old) Romeo Y Julieta Belicos, in the picture below.

This is a very sweet cigar, not very strong that can certainly appeal to non regular cigar smoker.

Happy smokes!

2011 Limited Edition from Cuba

Since 2000, Habanos launched every year Limited Editions cigars (Edicion Limitada), introducing to the market cigars not in regular production, in limited quantity, of course, as the name says. Usually these cigars have been issued for the most well-known brands (Cuaba possibly being the exception with their 2008 Piramides).

I understand that initially they were made using regular tobacco and with two-year old tobacco for the wrapper, which was also selected from the upper part of the plant (was it the famous medio tiempio tobacco currently used for the Behike? We will never know! :) ). However, since 2007, all the tobacco used in Limited Editions is at least two-year old. This should contribute to a more enjoyable cigar as the tobacco has had longer time to develop its unique flavour, although not in an assembled cigar (which means that it may still be good not to smoke Limited Editions straight away).

Over time, there have been some magnificent Limited Edition. One I'd certainly like to mention is the Partagas D No. 1 from 2004. Or maybe the Montecristo Sublimes from 2008 (by the way, I felt that these cigars were really good when they first came out, they then lost somewhat strength for a couple of years but they seem to have gained again in flavour over the last 12 months... the power of aging!)

In 2011, Habanos issued three Limited Edition. In classic cuban style we only saw some of them in 2012 but here they are in the picture below:

They include:

1) Hoyo de Monterrey - Short Hoyo Piramides, a 5 3/8 inches long, 46 ring figurado

2) Ramon Allones - Allones Extra, a  5 5/8 inches long, 44 ring gauge

3) Cohiba - Cohiba 1966, measuring 6 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge

They are still relatively fresh and they need further time to develop. Generally, I have not been too impressed by them, particularly the Allones Extra which seems to be very much a hit or miss (ie they don't seem to have consistent quality). The Cohiba - which name was chosen to commemorate the 45th anniversary since the launch of the brand - seems to have great potential but it needs a bit of time and it certainly comes at a significant price. The other two are interesting because the Hoyo is a bit stronger than the traditional Hoyo while the Ramon Allones is a bit lighter than the traditional Ramon Allones. But then, why would I buy a Hoyo or a Ramon Allones? I think I'd rather have brands that stick to what they are good and known for, but perhaps time will prove me wrong and with aging I will be praising all of these cigars... In the meantime, I would suggest to stock-up if you can, particularly on the Cohiba. You can most likely expect those prices to go up and once the cigars have run out you will find some major aficionado (or some wealthy newcomer) ready to spend money to still smoke them (assuming that you will have the strength to sell them!). Enjoy!

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) 

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!