JohnS' Smoking Diary 2019

[JohnS]

Montecristo No.4 UEB May 2018

I'm a little past the halfway point on this superlative Montecristo No.4 box and if you've followed my reviews on the cigars smoked from herein this year, you'd know how effusive my praise has been thus far. This cigar was not in the outstanding or exemplary class, but yes, it was still good...very, very good!

This Montecristo No.4 shared similar characteristics to one I had a month or two ago that I found was quite heavy on the 'citrus' twang. The difference this time was the cocoa and coffee flavours balanced the sour tartness of the citrus twang much better. One characteristic that both these cigars dominant in citrus twang shared was their white ash and no, both times the ash-strength was quite sound, not flaky.

It all made for an interesting cigar. Not quintessential Montecristo no.4 but fine nonetheless.

[JohnS]

La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No.4 MSU Jun 2017

I had two straight from the box (or in colloquial terms, as we enthusiasts like to call it, 'right-off-the-truck') three months ago and they were both great, so why not have another? Why not indeed!

Last time I got beautiful notes of almond nut, fruit and spice in the first third, like smoking a date slice. The second third had a hint of cream until the wood took over and the last third was dry wood and white pepper until the end.

This had no hint of almond nut or creamy texture. In fact, I found it quite 'toasty' in texture by contrast. When LGC 4's are like this I find them more woody or herbal in nature, as this cigar was. There was also copious amounts of white pepper and it was still fruity, only less so than my last one smoked three months ago.

In conclusion, give me a La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No.4 that is full of almond nut, creaminess and fruit or date flavours and I'll be in heaven smoking it, give me one more akin to this drier, toasty, wood and herbal offering and I'll still respect it for what it is...a complex long-and-skinny representing the last regular production vitola in the La Gloria Cubana marca. Long may it be so!

[JohnS]

El Rey del Mundo Choix Suprême MLU Nov 2018

El Rey del Mundo, which means 'The King of the World' in Spanish, was once considered the premium marca of Habanos cigars in the mid-20th century, much like Cohiba is considered the premium Habanos marca today. Indeed, in the 1940's and 1950's, El Rey del Mundo had gained a reputation for prestige, excellence and a higher price tag. After the Revolution, the brand was still considered 'high-end', even into the 1970's. In the 1980's and 1990's trends changed, favouring stronger cigars and sadly lowering the opinion of El Rey del Mundo cigars as being 'too mild', even (incorrectly, in my opinion) more suitable for beginners.

This El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme (and please do kindly pronounce choix like the French - shwa and not choy!) was picked up in a 24:24 quarter pack offering of light-wrappered PSP ERdM CS' in April this year. I smoked my first one in June and my second one in October. The first one was superb, the second one had construction issues. Today's example was a glorious return to form, so-to-speak.

Simply put, this Hermosos No.4-sized cigar (48 ring gauge x 127 mm or 5 inches in length) had a wonderful aroma, was full of mild, sweet flavours and made me pine for a time when the El Rey del Mundo marca was more extensive and well-known. How else could one categorise the candied almond nut, shortbread, honey and citrus delicacies which delighted me from beginning to end?

At just 12 months of age, I am genuinely surprised how approachable this was for an ERdM cigar. The brand is reputed for benefiting from long-term aging and perhaps this was a major factor in its decline in popularity. However, after smoking this Choix Supreme today, I have to ask why I don't smoke El Rey del Mundo cigars more often? The answer may lie in the fact that there are only two regular production offerings left, the Choix Supreme and the diminutive Demi Tasse, but isn't it just great that PCC brought out a Tainos Churchill-sized cigar for its Asia-Pacific Regional Edition recently?

[JohnS]

Montecristo No.2 PMS Abr 2015

I had a light-wrappered Montecristo No.2 about a week ago so I figured I should compare how my darker-wrappered Montecristo No.2's were coming along. The last one I had was a bit pungent for my liking, despite being over four years old!

This was more towards medium in strength and body. It was much stronger in cocoa and coffee flavours than my light-wrappered Monte No.2 last week, although it had no leather or nut to it and cream was minimal. What it did have was a hint of that Montecristo citrus twang which I quite adore, but alas, it was only a hint, in comparison last week's sample was more citrus-laden.

Overall, this was quite a pleasure to smoke over 90 to 100 minutes whilst watching a two-hour documentary on the history of Rolling Stone magazine. I'm sure Hunter S. Thompson would have most definitely approved!

[JohnS]

San Cristóbal de la Habana El Príncipe TOS Jun 2016

I've almost gone through half this box this year in 2019 and I think the last two have been almost the same in terms of taste. At around three-and-a-half years in age, these last two have been quite strong in what fans of the San Cristobal de La Habana El Principe commonly refer to as 'pancake' flavour. Before this, I found the cocoa and coffee combination more dominant.

In general, darker-wrappered El Principes tend to have more spice and cocoa/coffee for me, the lighter-wrappered ones tend to be more sweeter, more molasses and now (at this stage) more likely to have that pancake texture. It wouldn't surprise you to know that I favour these light-wrappered and smoking like pancakes. I don't think this box will see out five years, I envisage they'd be consumed by then if the last two El Principes from the box is anything to go by!

[JohnS]

Cuaba Distinguidos LGR Nov 2018

Cuaba. Just the name alone incites all manner of reactions from cigar enthusiasts ranging from derision to novelty acceptance. But how did we get to this point? If you aren't familiar with the full story behind the Cuaba marca, please read on. It all makes for an interesting story!

Firstly, let me quote the Brand Notes Status from Cuban Cigar Website, prepared initially by Trevor and recently updated by Alex...

Cuaba is a current post-Revolution brand introduced in 1996, specifically to produce Figurado shaped cigars. It is classified in Habanos SA's 'Other' group of their portfolio bands. In the pre-2019 classification system it was a niche brand. When first introduced, Cuaba was considered to be a premium brand, alongside Cohiba and Trinidad, and frequently appeared in exotic commemorative releases. Over the years it appears to have slipped, and today only receives occasional special releases. Unlike other 'Other' category brands, Cuaba does not appear to be eligible for Regional Editions.

Source: https://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/brand/cuaba#distinguidos

So, let me explain further. Cuaba was introduced in 1996 as a 'premium' brand. In 1998, Trinidad was similarly marketed as a 'premium' brand. Cohiba was the other up-market brand that Habanos S.A was banking on in the 1990s to revive the Cuban cigar industry. History has since proved that Cuaba never reached these intended lofty heights. Under the previous classification of brands, Trinidad, Cuaba and San Cristobal were 'niche' brands. This meant that these three brands never received Regional Edition releases. Now that the marcas have been re-branded in 2019, it's interesting to note that San Cristobal now has a Regional Edition release slated for late-2019 for Cuba. Trinidad has been re-branded as a 'Value' brand alongside Punch (2), Bolivar (3) and Ramon Allones (3) and all three of these marcas have had not only plenty of Regional Edition releases but also some Limited Edition releases (the amount of Limited Edition releases has been listed numerically within this paragraph in parentheses).

Trinidad also has had three Limited Edition releases and since re-branding it has had additional regular production cigars added to its line-up. Cuaba? It has only had a few special releases since its inception and and one critically-favoured Limited Edition in 2008. Cuaba therefore remains the only marca, outside the budget brands, to not have a Regional Edition release. Let me re-state that...the only one! But why? Is it the blend of the marca? Or is it something else?

In 2016, Simon Chase wrote (as per usual) an excellent article for Cigar Journal in regards to the Cuaba marca and its double figurado shape, or perfecto as some of us prefer to label the twin-tapered shape of Cuaba cigars at the head and the foot. I think it's best to re-quote it in its entirety below...

A special Shape – The History of the Double Figurado

The other day I decided to smoke a Cuban Distinguido. Apart from its attractive mid-brown wrapper and superb tailoring all along its 162 mm (63⁄8 inch) length, it was the shape that caught my eye. Resembling one of those airships you see occasionally advertising car tires, it stood out amongst the mostly straight-sided, or parejo, cigars in my humidor.

I cut the head 3 mm from the point and was then confronted with an aperture to light that was no bigger than a cigarette. I touched it with the light and, as I drew on the cigar, a scimitar-shaped flame leapt skywards. The taste was intriguing. Most of the flavour came from the wrapper and what filler there was inside the conical foot made a sharp, dry impression on my palate. As the burn progressed to the widest part of this 52 ring gauge vitola, the taste became rounder and richer; much more like the medium-to-full-flavour billing given to Cuaba by Habanos S.A.

For me, it was not an entirely new experience, but I was reminded of the time I had to do a crash course in smoking cigars of this shape, almost exactly 20 years ago when Hunters & Frankau was chosen to launch Cuaba.

In the mid 1990s, the Cuban industry was still suffering from the after-effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cigar production was at a 25-year low. Nevertheless, the cigar boom that had started in the United States was beginning to reach Europe, and Habanos S.A. had just been founded, bringing a new level of expertise to the time-honoured Havana trade. It was time for innovation.

The incentive for new ideas came from the very top. Fidel Castro was convinced that new brands were needed not only to enliven Cuba’s cigar portfolio, but also, given that one day the US trade embargo might end, to provide the industry with a chance to break into the US market where most of its brands were registered by competitive companies. Francisco Linares, Habanos S.A.’s president at the time, was given the task. His efforts saw Vegas Robaina and Vegueros launched in 1997, Trinidad in 1998 and San Cristóbal de la Habana in 1999, but the very first was Cuaba in 1996.

The concept of creating a brand that would consist entirely of Double Figurados, or Perfectos as some people call them, was one of many around at that time, but it was not the simplest. True, once upon a time, virtually all Habanos came in that shape, but that was in the 19th century. Old catalogues in Hunters & Frankau’s archive indicate that straight-sided surpassed Double Figurados in the mid 1930s, though many were still produced. By the 1990s there were just three vitolas left in the Cuban portfolio: Romeo y Julieta Celestiales Finos, Partagás Presidentes and Fonseca Invictos. As a result, there were hardly any torcedores (cigar rollers) working in the industry with the skills to roll such complicated shapes.

The project became feasible only because of the commitment of one man, a 60-year-old torcedor at the Romeo factory named Carlos Izquierdo. Generations of the Izquierdo family had worked at Romeo, and Carlos had started there in 1950, rising quickly to become a top-grade roller. The cigar he most loved to make was the Romeo y Julieta Romeo, which, incidentally, was exactly the same vitola as the Cuaba Distinguido. When it was discontinued in 1978, Carlos was so upset that he vowed that every time he met anyone from Habanos S.A., or Cubatabaco its predecessor, he would plead with them to reintroduce Double Figurados, which he viewed as the pinnacle of the cigars roller’s art.

Consequently, Linares knew exactly where to turn for help with his new brand. Overjoyed, Carlos set about training a special cadre of 14 cigar rollers at Romeo. I remember meeting them around that time and being surprised at how young they all were. Clearly, Carlos was determined to pass on his skills to an entirely new generation.

In 1995, Linares paid his first visit to England. He toured many of London’s top cigar merchants, where he saw their collections of old and rare cigars, but what stopped him in his tracks was one of Hunters & Frankau’s heirlooms. It is a gilded and glazed frame that contains the actual cigars made by La Corona in 1885, or thereabouts. As every cigar is a Double Figurado, Linares concluded that the only place to launch his fledgling Cuaba brand was London.

So it was that, on 19th November 1996, Francisco Linares, president of Habanos S.A., and Nicholas Freeman, chairman of Hunters & Frankau, hosted a black tie dinner for 200 guests at Claridge’s Hotel. Seated quietly at one of the tables, his bow tie slightly askew and looking as if he would prefer to be at his factory bench, was Carlos Izquierdo, the man who was most responsible for the event taking place at all.

Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/a-special-shape-the-history-of-the-double-figurado/

So, again, in summary what Simon is telling us is that the double figurado size was once the most popular size for Cuban cigars but by around the 1930s Parejo or straight-shaped cigars took over. Double figurados diminished in popularity and availability, mainly due to the skill required to produced quality constructed examples.

I think, therefore, that what has effected Cuaba's reputation over the years is a combination of the quality control due to the difficulty in rolling them and the blend too, in my opinion, has to be absolutely 'spot on' to support the shape of the cigar. This cigar today (that I smoked) was solid in its construction. Ash-length was perfect, clearly defined ridges per draw and a slight coning per ash, which was also consistent at a good length, was all plain to see but inexplicably I had to re-light the cigar once or twice. Flavour-wise, yes I got some wonderful roasted peanut and orange citrus essence combined with a nice shortbread but at points in this cigar it seemed that I got wafts of plain toasted tobacco and honestly this is what Cuaba can give you...an inconsistency that frustrates both in construction and flavour.

Overall, I did enjoy this Distinguidos but I have to admit that I've had better. The only issue is, I haven't had them better often enough. I hope you've now come to appreciate where and why Cuaba stands a marca, thanks to Cuban Cigar Website and the excellent research of Simon Chase (long may we remember him!).

[JohnS]

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for taking the time to peruse and support this blog. Let me tell you, it turned out to be quite an undertaking but I think I have come to appreciate that nothing is worth doing well without some sweat and sacrifice. I'm quite proud of the reference material gathered here. I hope this blog can assist our members with their cigar smoking well into 2020 and 2021.

In 2020 I intend to scale back the number of reviews I will do, but I intend to maintain the quality. Until then, I wish all our members a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2020!

[Connoisseur Kim]

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for taking the time to peruse and support this blog. Let me tell you, it turned out to be quite an undertaking but I think I have come to appreciate that nothing is worth doing well without some sweat and sacrifice. I'm quite proud of the reference material gathered here. I hope this blog can assist our members with their cigar smoking well into 2020 and 2021.

In 2020 I intend to scale back the number of reviews I will do, but I intend to maintain the quality. Until then, I wish all our members a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2020!

Happy new year too JohnS! I found your CC review interesting! Keep it up mate!

나의 SM-N950N 의 Tapatalk에서 보냄
 

[Thirds]

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

 I hope this blog can assist our members with their cigar smoking well into 2020 and 2021.

I, personally, and I believe the community as a whole, benefits from this blog.  We appreciate the effort it takes and the expertise you provide.  

Happy New Year to you.  

[mtd057]

Thanks for putting the time and effort into this John, I really enjoy reading your work.  Happy New Year!