Search the Community

Length: 15 cm Ring Gauge: 54 Factory Name: Le Hoyo de San Juan Vitola: Le Hoyo de San Juan Type: Geniales Presentation: Box of 10s & 25s Release Date: Third quarter 2014 The opening night of the 16th Habanos Festival showcased two historic brands with their latest edition, the Partagas D6 and the Hoyo De Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan. I had the opportunity to smoke my first San Juan back in February to get an idea of what to expect and saved a few cigars to review a couple of months later. The Le Hoyo line has not seen any new additions for decades until today where the Le Hoyo de San Juan is introduced to bring in a whole new different habano blend and size. According to Habanos S.A the Le Hoyo de San Juan is hand-rolled using leaves exclusively from the tobacco-producing district of San Juan y Martinez and relying only on the Volado, Seco and Ligero leaves to add a particular blend and taste this new vitola. Also the San Juan features a new large ring gauge size for the Le Hoyo line to offer a well balanced and consistent experience demanded by the current market need. Let take a closer look at this beauty... The Construction - As mentioned above, the San Juan has a large 54 ring gauge and uses the Volado, Seco and ligero leaves from the San Juan y Martinez district. The wrapper, a smooth semi-matte light brown color with very faint veins running across the body. The cigar is firm with a slight bouncy resistance, it is well packed and has a beautifully constructed cap. One other thing I would like to mention is the new Le Hoyo Series band on the San Juan. It uses the same traditional Hoyo De Monterrey band but with an additional red band underneath it which has the Series name on it Serie Le Hoyo. According to Habanos S.A. the San Juan will come in boxes of 10s and 25s, yet the Tubo is still not confirmed. Another new addition to the Le Hoyo series is the bundle ribbon which in the past used to be yellow but now will come in White with a red Serie Le Hoyo letters on top and black Le Hoyo de San Juan underneath. The Draw - for this big gauge ring I went with my wide gauge punch. The whiff of fresh shaved wood and faint peppermint sent come from the body, excellent draw with not much resistance, some sweet caramel and almond can be picked up on the pre-light taste. The First Burn - Light peppery zing from the smoke, still pick up some ammonia and fresh taste as well. After few puffs you get to sense that sweetness woody aftertaste. The dominant notes are of white pepper which probably is the ligero profile and the smoke is smooth and abundant. Whats interesting is first past is that sweet bitter after taste that is left lingering in the mouth with every puff. The Middle Burn -Slight zing continues to follow through this second part. Some sweet woody notes becomes clearer and the smoke give a pleasant nutty aftertaste. At this point I let the burn cool off a bit to try to savor more flavors from the San Juan, which brought out some nice earthy sweet notes. The dense grey ash holds up pretty well and the burn is near perfect. The Final Burn - Dry wood becomes dominant note during the final burn and the peppery taste kicks in again to his the back of the throat. But if you take your time to smoke without having a very hot burn, you can actually pick up some sweetness in the smoke. Overall, In a pleasant way you can really experience the dominance of the ligero leaves in this part. Something interesting about this Le Hoyo Serie is the robust flavors not normally experienced with the other thinner gauge vitolas in the line. I did expect a milder profile for this vitola but it sure gave an interesting kick to smoke. I strongly believe that with some time, the edge will mellow out in the San Juan which will make it more milder and closer to the Le Hoyo profile that we are used to. Hoyo de Monterrey fans will definitely find this vitola interesting... Enjoy!

Length: 9cm Ring Gauge: 50 Factory Name: Serie D No.6 Vitola: Petit Robusto Type: Petit Robusto Presentation: Case of 5s & Box of 20s Release Date: Third quarter 2014 Price: N/A During the opening night of the 16th Habanos Festival in Cuba last February, which was dedicated to the Hoyo De Monterray & Partagas brands, the new Serie D No.6 and Le Hoyo de San Juan (review will follow soon) was handed out for guests to sample. I have smoked one during the festival and kept the other to review for you guys, so lets take a look... The Construction - Smooth semi-matte wrapper with very few faint viens, firm body with fairly packed rolled tobacco, similar size to the Upmann Half Corona but with a wider gauge. The Serie D No.6 is Shortest cigar in the Partagas line since the discontinued 1970s Partagas Half Corona. It is intended for a quick 15 minute smoke as proclaimed by Habanos S.A. The Draw - Since this vitola is a little bit wider than the Upmann Half Corona, I went ahead with my wide gauge punch. Fairly easy draw and not to loose. The moment you take in a cold draw you can really tell it has a Partagas profile. You can pick up some fresh tobacco and earthy scent with a little sweet taste to it. The First Burn - very harsh peppery taste as you take the first couple of draws. Its like accidentally sniffing cayenne pepper through the nose. It goes without saying that this has a fairly young tobacco and that ammonia is playing a huge role in the flavor. Plus its expected that the back of the throat will be stinging from that peppery taste. The Serie D N.6 is burning quite well and is producing abundant smoke. The Middle Burn - still offers that harsh zing in the nose and back of the throat. Flavors of dry wood and sawdust with a bit of sweetness peeping through. Spiciness of black and cayenne peppers are the dominant taste I pick up in this profile. Sold light grey ash and very smoky, reminds me of the Serie P No.1s. harshness cuts down a bit but does not fade away. The Final Burn - harshness almost fades away completely and you can finally enjoy the Partagas character with that spicy black peppery and wood notes. Plenty of smoke and the ash as you can see held up pretty good. Expect your lips and the tip of your tongue to be hot as if you were eating chicken wings! Yup this cigar just made me hungry... Definitely an interesting short smoke that requires a bit of resting time to be enjoyed fully. This Partagas Serie D No.6 provides a full flavor profile of this marca and is a wonderful addition to the series. Will revisit this review later once Habanos release this line in the market and see how the flavor progresses and develops. Enjoy!

Length: 12.7 cm Ring Gauge: 58 Factory Name: Robustos Supremos Vitola: Maginifos Type: Maginifos Presentation: Box of 10 (TBC) Release Date: Third quarter 2014 Much talk was going on about this cigar being one of the widest ring gauges to come out of Habanos and rumors circulated about it might be bigger than 55! Well during the Habanos festival this year, all rumors were put to rest when they announced the COHIBA Robustos Supremos being an astonishing 58 ring gauge! These cigars were handed out during the Trinidad Vigia dinner as the fourth Habanos to be showcased to the audience... I had the opportunity to try one back then and saved the other for the review for you guy! So here it is... The Construction - Of course, the first thing you notice is the whopping 58 gauge ring - the largest habanos currently produced - a very firm and smooth dark colorado claro wrapper with no protruding veins. This cigar shows that it is well packed with tobacco from the foot held by a semi shiny body and finished off with a beautiful triple cap construction. The Draw - By using a wide gauge punch on the cap, the draw has a little tight resistant to it which is expected from a thick cigar. Rich earthy scent with hint of dark chocolate are picked up from the cold draw. Some sweet caramel is also tasted. The First Burn - Toasted rye bread smell with some sweet nutty smoke from the first few draws. Noticeably of hazelnut and light cedar notes. A slight peppery spiciness develops but not overpowering and quickly mellows out during the first burn but sticks in the background. The smoke becomes light with a citrusy finish. Ash holds on strong but with a somewhat uneven burn. The Middle Burn - Continues to follow through with robust earthy and woody notes and sometimes taste of burnt caramel and raw cocoa. The smoke continues to be light with that faint citrus taste. Not much development in profile. Ash holds up well and the burn tends to even it self out. nearing the end of this part the smoke becomes hot and the peppery taste lingers in the mouth and somewhat numbs the tongue. The Final Burn - Develops a distinctive wet wood taste with a bitter finish. The black pepper spicy notes are highlighted towards the end which also gives off an appetizing cinnamon aftertaste. The smoke heatness intensifies and continues to be light with a citrus finish. Even though Habanos overshot with this wide ring gauge cigar, it still showcases a familiar COHIBA profile. The best way to describe this smoke is like a hybrid between a Siglo VI with a Maduro 5. Rich earthiness with a sweet spicy characteristics which will definitely benefit from further conditioning and age. Must revisit these once they are out to see how it hold up. Enjoy!

Made this review a little over 2 weeks ago and forgot to share it on FOH. my bad fellas.. here is it Length: 11 cm Ring Gauge: 54 Factory Name: Vigia Vitola: Torres Type: Petit Robusto Presentation: Box of 12 and Tubos of 3 (TBC) Release Date: Third quarter 2014 During the Trinidad Evening in the 16th Habanos Festival last February 2014, they gave out the Trinidad Vigia and Cohiba Robustos Supremos EL 2014 for sampling with our dinner. The cigar was great to smoke along with the a wonderful evening that made it so memorable! That is why I kept one to review for you guys! Before we get started, below are some pictures I took during the Trinidad event: Ok so where were we... The Construction - This is the first in the Trinidad line with a wonderful 54 gauge ring. Smooth with a matte colorado claro wrapper and very faint veins running throughout the cigar. The body is soft to touch which bounce right back feel giving the illusion of a loosely rolled cigar, but its well packed and the cap continues to carry the classic pig-tail Trinidad cap. Since This came out of the Tubo, I should also mention how beautiful and elegant the tubo design was. With its classic vibrant mustardy gold Trinidad color, which is a little bit longer than the Montecristo Petit Edmundo tubo, it has the Trinidad logo and the cigar name Vigia printed on the pull-away cap while the bottom (inside lined with a cedar sheet) showcases a gold stamped Trinidad logos all around it. The Draw - Again, using a wide-gauge punch to cut the pig-tail carefully, the cold draw offers just enough resistance to pick up some soft earthy notes with hints of wet grass and roasted nuts. The First Burn - Surprisingly, once light there were no harsh taste to the smoke which you would expect with a fairly young cigar, instead it quickly gave off that noticeable Trinidad characteristic of grounded nuts and earthy taste with hints of cloves. In other words, it started out great, but... this quickly disappeared and then came along that dry woody notes and spicy kick that you would get in the back of the throat when you drink cinnamon tea. Not that I remember, but this made me wonder if I experienced the same thing when I smoked it during the festival! This flavor profile continued all the way to the middle of the cigar. The burn is even and the smoke is light. The Middle Burn - Now to try explain this further, the dominant character is wood with a clovey/cinnamony spice, which sometimes turn sweet. Again, when I say its woody, the flavor starts out with dry wood then shifts to wet or moist wood. The nutty notes kicks in, then by the end of the middle half the Trinidad characters come out again with its fresh grass and damp soil scent leaving a very creamy finish on your palate and soft spice that of nutmeg. The ash holds up pretty well and smoke is silky smooth but by this end the burn becomes uneven which I had to drop the ash to make sure i can quickly correct it. The Final Burn - The flavor profile continues to follow the last of the middle part but with intense earthy taste and spiciness comes and goes. The woody notes can be very distinctive during this part as well but the sweetness and nuttiness of the smoke make this cigar such a joy to go all the way to the nub! A wonderful size cigar which has potential of developing with time. It is great for an after dinner smoke and I will definitely revisit this again after a couple of months (since I managed to score two more Vigia cigars during the festival) to see if the profile holds up the same. Enjoy!

Length: 15.3 cm Ring Gauge: 53 Factory Name: Sidon Vitola: Sobresalientes Type: Robusto Extra Presentation: Box of 25 cigars (Only 4000 Serial Numbered) Release Date: 2013 The Habanos importer Phoenicia Trading has once again paid respect to Lebanon's heritage by commemorating the historic city of Sidon (Saida as known today) with its latest release. This major southern Lebanese city has played an important role in the country's history as well as during the ancient Semitic civilization in the region. It was also believed that Jesus Christ has visited Sidon and has many biblical references. Having faced of many conquests, Saida today houses many historical monuments, landscapes and artifact dating back more than 4000 years. The Sea Castle - Courtesy of http://www.ashefaa.com Habanos S.A note on the release "The Phoenician city of Sidon was inhabited in 4000 BC where it was an important commercial port during that era. The city was well known for its glass manufacturing & the production of the famous purple dye from murex shells. Sidon surpassed all other Phoenician cities in wealth, commercial initiative & religious significance. Due to its prominence it was the target for a succession of conquerors. When Alexander the Great tried to invade the city, Sidonians locked their gates & immolated themselves rather than surrendering to the invader. The temple of Eshmoun, The Sea Castle & Khan El Franj are witnesses on the importance this old city had. the modern city of Sida is the capital of south Lebanon & the 3rd biggest city in the country. As a tribute to this heritage Phoenicia Trading named its regional edition for the year 2013 after Sidon - a special cigar for a special city." Sidon Sea port Courtesy of http://www.ashefaa.com The Sea Castle today - Courtesy of http://www.ashefaa.com Eshmoun Temple in Siada Courtesy of http://www.ashefaa.com Lets take a look at this RA Sidon tribute and see how it smokes... A graphic depiction of the Sea Castle in Saida on the outer box of the Ramon Allones Sidon The Construction - Sidon has a good firm construction with a semi-matte Colorado wrapper with tiny faint veins. The soft shine of the wrapper my give a look of dryness but firmness of the cigar and resistance is just perfect. It is well packed and the robusto extra size offers an appetizing smoke. The Draw - With a wide punch, the draw had a little resistance to it from the well packed tobacco but not that obscured to not be able to smoke it. Very light notes can be picked up from the draw but nothing worth noting except the deep earthy scent and a woody accent of the Sidon which probably came from the packaging it was in. It is fair to say that this tobacco is fairly young and hasn't developed solid characters yet. The First Burn - As expected the very first draws offered a light woody notes and a lot of ammonia taste which is an indicative of a fresh tobacco. Smoke is also very light but has a sweet and leathery taste and you get that zing in the back of the throat from the ammonia as well. The Middle Burn - Continues to delivers the same woody notes which is very cedar like in taste. The zing still lingers in the mouth with a light peppery spice but not much development til the end of the middle part. The Final Burn - That ammonia zing still comes through but the concentration of flavors finally showcases the Roman Allones characters towards the end. Light black pepper with hints of cocoa and lots of dry cedary wood are to be savored in this part. It sad that the last inch of the Sidon is quite enjoyable. Unlike its predecessors, the Sidon does not stand out to be a ready to smoke cigar with fully developed flavors, yet it is a great size cigar with potential of character development with aging. Will definitely need to rest those for a minimum of two years until we can see if there is some favorable character change. Hoping for the best, I know the Ramon Allones Libano (lebanon) Regionals will not disappoint, Just give it some time. The Sidon reminded me of when I first smoked the Bolivar Emiratos fresh out. For a sublime size it was not joyful at all to smoke for having such young tobacco, but if you smoke them today, oh my lord they truly stand by their reputation... absolute pleasure and sublime smoke! The Pairing - With the fairly neutral character of the Sidon, you can either go with a Medium body coffee roast or a light one to balance the zing in your mouth and complement the cedary taste. I preferably would go with the Nespresso Cosi, at intensity level 3, it balances out the ammonia taste and woody notes with its citrusy fresh aroma. Enjoy!

Length: 18cm Ring Gauge: 54 Factory Name: Poderosos Vitola: Double Pyramid Type: Rodolfo Presentation: Box of 25s (Only 2,000 Serial numbered) Special Presentation: Jar of 25s (Only 100 Serial numbered) exclusive to LCDH Knokke & Gent Release Date: Last quarter 2013 The Poderosos is the second exclusive release for the 2013 BELUX region (Belgium and Luxembourg) following its predecessor the amazing La Gloria Cubana Belux No.1 back in 2011. They hale with an awesome new size of a double pyramid and a ring gauge of 54. Named "Poderosos" which is Spanish for The Mighty and Powerful, I can only imagine what I am in for...I have been resting those Poderosos for 8 weeks now but I can't wait any longer to try them... so lets take a look. The Construction - A dark matte Colorado Claro wrapper with a few visible protruding veins giving a rough texture and feel to the cigar. Quiet firm and resistant with fairly packed tobacco and finished with a near perfect pyramid cap. It is long and thick so clear your schedule. The Draw - with a double blade cutter, a 7mm snip off the cap gave this cigar the perfect draw. Not much resistance yet not too loose and in fact it shows that it will be a long slow smoke. Notes for the cold draw gives a roasted coffee taste with hints of dark cocoa. Slight hints of dark wood and meaty taste. The First Burn - a sweet smoky flavor with a light peppery taste on the very first couple of puffs. Little tingle as your let the smoke out of the nose and taste of light ammonia which quickly dissipates. Once you get an even burn then you can really pick up on some of that green peppery, earthy taste with fresh tasty leather scent. I can't tress more about how perfect the draw is. Smoke is warm and smooth while the ash is crumbly soft and has a few dark shades of grey. The Middle Burn - character development starts to kick in with distinctive dark cocoa and light roasted coffee highlighted with leather notes. Some bitter aftertaste but probably from the tar build up near the cap. If you are a slow smoker like me, be prepared to relight this cigar once or twice during this part. As I take my time, I am trying to make sure I have a slow burn on the Poderosos so I can savor those many flavors that can be shadowed from these different characters. Smoke tends to be light but full on flavor and ash holds on pretty well. The Final Burn - Coffee roast flavor deepens and the leathery taste turns rubbery. Some sweetness to the smoke but the dark cocoa hints somehow comes and goes. The spicy pepper has faded away and can hardly get picked up from all the sweet coffee and leathery/rubbery notes This is where you really feel the powerful taste of this Bolivar Poderosos, full flavor and full bodied. Smoke is rich and smooth and smells magnificent. The bitterness at the cap is expected since this is a long cigar and the tar keeps building up. To avoid much of this bitterness try to not wet the cap with your saliva or cut the tip before lighting it up a centimeter or so and you should be fine. A truly full flavored cigar and that is just the beginning. The Poderosos will definitely refine its character with time and is a perfect candidate for again as well. I am in love with this size and can't wait to revisit them again once they hit a one year mark! This is another smoke which I really hate for it to end... The Pairing - With such a flavorful smoke you need something as full bodied to balance it out and truly savor the cigar character. The Nespresso Roma, with intensity level 8, complements the Poderosos with its sweet and woody notes that will keep the palate tasting fresh and not over powering your taste buds. Enjoy!

Length: 10.2 cm Ring Gauge: 50 Factory Name: Petit Robustos Vitola: Petit Robusto Type: Petit Robusto Presentation: Box of 10 cigars (Only 3,500 Serial Numbered) Release Date: Planned for 2010 but was available end of 2011 As I was debating on what to smoke for my night cap, I wanted something full bodied yet short with familiar taste to end the day but nothing came to mind. So as I was reaching for the Upmann half corona, I knew this wasn't gonna cut it! Then I remembered I have these firecrackers resting in my humidor and it is exactly what I was looking for. If you have smoked these before then you will know whats coming... The Construction - Smooth matte colorado claro wrapper with a couple of tiny veins running through it. This Petit Robusto is not tightly packed but has slight firm resistant body with an almost evenly constructed cap. The Draw - Good loose draw with the help of the wide punch. You can pick up the very distinctive earthy scent and a hints of leather. The First Burn - brings in a taste of raw leather with a peppery finish. A mixture of cloves and nutmeg are dominant with a liquorice candy notes as I let the smoke come out of my nose and mouth. Smoke if silky and light, the ash is dark and grey. The Middle Burn - cloves continue to be present and gives that tingling sensation in the back of the mouth, taste of antique wood and spicy raw peppercorns that finishes with a somewhat bitter aftertaste once you let the smoke out. Yet, you can still pick up on that ever so lightly sweet liquorice candy notes as well. The smoke continues to be smooth and ash is holding up pretty good The Final Burn - welcome back the raw leather along with spicy peppercorns and cloves taste. This smoke continues to leave a bitter aftertaste on the tongue probably from the excitement of flavors coming out. I swear its like eating a jalapeno pepper! As the ash continues to hold on strong, I just had to drop it before I get carried away... those who know me, I would totally keep it till its nubbed! but that's not for tonight. Although not much character development towards the end except for the intensification of notes I have mentioned which keeps juggling back and forth. pretty straight forward with its characteristics and full body flavor, this Petit Robusto is a beautiful firecracker to be enjoyed by people who love spice! The Pairing - to properly balance this heap of spicy notes, Nespresso's Rosabaya de Colombia is the way to do it. With intensity level 6, the Rosabaya complements the Petit Robusto profile with its subtle acidity and winey notes. Enjoy! P.S. I hope I dont screw up with the format again

Anyone attending this year's festival? I know I am and would love to meet up with anyone who is going to be there. lemme know and we might do a little get together after the events