Ramon Allones Small Club Corona V Trinidad Reyes

[avid toker]

Nice fight club comparo.....looking forward to more of these.

It is a close call between these two but with >5yrs of age the RASCC gets my vote.

[stever]

Great post.

Will have to try a Reyes with my espresso tomorrow morning.

[bikeguy1]

» Will have to try a Reyes with my espresso tomorrow morning.

I've avoided Trinidad up until now, as I wasn't sure if the price was justified...but this sounds like a great place to start with a Cab of 12 or 24..thanks Rob!

[shrink]

Rob, I realize you tried to be impartial, but you betray your unabashed passion for the Reyes. You're in love, boy!

Your reviews are truly mesmerizing, and make me want to smoke both at the same time, or at least one after the other.

[hoyopr]

Great review Rob thanks, how about a couple of rounds between Coronas, say Bolivar vs Paratgas or Sancho vs Diplomatico

[Colt45]

Thanks for another great review!

[Professor Twain]

Always love your reviews Rob. These are two of my favorite cigars. But in general I would flip your numerical ratings and give the RASCC the nod in a close match.

Next time you do a head to head, how about comparing the RASCC to the RASS, with a similar box code? The idea that a slightly different sized cigar, presumably made from virtually identical blends of tobacco, can taste anything but exactly the same is mysterious and worthy of your scrutiny. It would also be interesting to see you dissect these two RAs side by side.

[Claudius]

» Nice reviews.....but....Hmmm...choug....whats the white fluff on the foot of the Reyes...

The "warm full cream milk"? ;-)

I agree the RASCC deserves at least 92 points.

[bobsled]

Nice review, am very partial to the Reyes myself. Keep these reviews coming!

[Ginseng]

Fantastic!

These two babies, along with the Partagas Shorts form my ultimate triumvirate of small cigars. I could be quite happy smoking only these three in this size for the rest of my life.

Well done, mate.

Wilkey

[Mel]

»

» Your reviews are truly mesmerizing, and make me want to smoke both at the

» same time, or at least one after the other.

Hey Shrink this is nice to do with small cigars or a buddy you can swap spit with. I feel it is the only way to do a true head to head comparison. Smoking in succession or next day does not allow for a real objective duel.

[smk819]

I just got a box of each of them, I am patiently awaiting the effects of the journey from OZ to wear off. I have had about 5 boxes of RASCC in the past year, but it has been a while since I finished my last box of Reyes.

[Colt45]

» Hey this is nice to do with a buddy you can swap

» spit with.

»

I am starting to worry about you. Add to this your impassioned description of CIGARHead in another

thread, and the fact that you can't handle a Siglo I with a.m. coffee.......

[MaytagMan]

Two great reviews of two great smokes!

Awesome job!!!

[mr.harten]

Thanks for the review. Had a POS JUL 06 RASCC on the way into work today and your assesment was spot on. These just keep getting better and better.

[Mel]

» » Hey this is nice to do with a buddy you can swap

» » spit with.

» »

» I am starting to worry about you. Add to this your impassioned

» description of CIGARHead in another

» thread, and the fact that you can't handle a Siglo I with a.m.

» coffee.......

It does look bad doesn't it. Where do you think Rob gets all his photos? I had a buddy out this spring for a turkey hunt and we get up pretty early and I like to smoke at dawn or shortly after if I'm not covered up by birds. We get in the truck at 4:00am and this guy lights up a Sig II. I thought damn that's a hard core cigar smoker.

[wp2]

Great fight club reviews! The problem is, every time you review a smoke I don't have much experience with (in this case the RASCC) I end up ordering a box or two. Oh well, it has been almost a month since my last order, LOL...

[Smooth]

» Fantastic!

»

» These two babies, along with the Partagas Shorts form my ultimate

» triumvirate of small cigars. I could be quite happy smoking only these

» three in this size for the rest of my life.

»

Put me down for the same! But I will add the Boli CJ for something to satisfy my strength moods...

Great reviews rob, I am yet to sample any RASCC from 07... Might be time to jump on the wagon

[El Presidente]

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona (ABR 07) V Trinidad Reyes (OCT 06)

Yes it is fight club Habanos style as these two greats went head to head on my deck this morning. Both matched with strong black Merlo Coffee (5 bean South/centralAmerican blend, dark roasted).

Pound for pound they are currently the best of this vitola.... although the Bolivar Corona Junior can stake a claim. Cohiba Siglo 1 was eliminated due to some inconsistent efforts of late.

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona (ABR 07)

Great looking cigar with a sweet tobacco and pimento smell at cold. Very well constructed as was evident when I cerrated the cap and took a long deep draw revealing both a perfect draw + toasted tobacco and a hint of cream on the lips.

Fored up the foot and a medium bodied lushness made its mark. The RASCC has a funky taste which is peculiarly Ramon Allones. Rich tobacco interspersed with sour crean mixed with a little sweet paprika. The Sour cream is not offensive but evolves before long into a rich milk coffee. The sweet paprika remains evident on the outskirts of the flavour profile but the heart and soul is the Vuelta Abajo toasted tobacco.

Truely satisfying cigar in a medium bodied format. It just delivers and delivers its core flavours with no element of harshness or bitterness. At this point of development there is little earth shattering complexity but nor do I think that is what these cigars are meant to deliver. They have 35 minutes to make a definitive statement of their marque and vitola and that is what RASCC does. It is without doubt a Ramon Allones. It is flavoursome blended with high quality tobacco and it delivers pure tobacco flavour, cream and a sweet paprika edge. It feels no need to go outside what it does best and it does it beautifully.

90/100.

Trinidad Reyes. (OCT 06)

I know Trinidad Reyes better than perhaps most other cigars. It is my go to choice for an early morning cigar with coffee. It pairs with coffee better than any other cigar because it is essentially smokeable version of a great cup of espresso with a dash of warm full cream milk.

The cigar selected was like every other Trinidad I have ever had. Almost flawless construction with a smooth quality tobacco aroma. It is only when you clip the little pigtailed cap and place it to your lips that you get a hint of thick cream and long stalks of fry grass. The draw on this one is spot on and there are few cigars which consistently have such a fine draw.

Fired up the foot and I am immediately back in the world of San Sebastian Tapas bars having an espresso while reading the morning paper. This is medium bodied and a pure mix of thick cream, dry grass and strong milk coffee. This blend just never appears to change and please God do not it do so. Excellent amount of smoke and a balance which just lets you know that the Reyes KNOWS what its role is. There is no bitterness or harshness to this cigar which you can always smoke to the nub. It shows a quality of tobacco which is I think just a shade above any other half corona/perla. The Cohiba Siglo 1 is stronger and can have a deeper richer flavour but it is also inconsistant. I preper the Siglo 1 as an after lunch short cigar when time is at a premium. In the morning nothing beats the clean flavours of the Reyes. The coffee and dry grass flavours hit the palate first and are then just washed with cream. The further I smoke this cigar the stronger the coffee elements become...blacker, darker, richer but always balanced out with the cream and ever decreasing stalks of dry grass.

The Reyes always starts off medium bodied and ends just a shade toward medium full. I always enjoy this transformation and it did not fail me again today.

To me it is the finest of all the Trinidads.

92/100

[COJ]

Nice reviews.....but....Hmmm...choug....whats the white fluff on the foot of the Reyes...

[shrink]

» Ramon Allones Small Club Corona (ABR 07) »

Excellent reviews. And quite accurate, too, IMO. I have a box of RASCC MAR07 that is all that you claim, and perhaps a bit more. Dark, oily wrapper, and a cold aroma that is everything that I want in a young RASCC... funky, skunky, strong and spicy, with just a hint of cocoa. And it really delivers the flavors. This is a young RA at its very best: medium to full bodied, and full-flavored. While you describe yours as one-dimensional, mine are already showing a latent complexity, with obvious cocoa, cinnamon and other spices, with the bittersweet and fruity RA profile already beginning to peek through.

I have never tasted a better young RASCC, and I expect these to age magnificently, since they've got the depth and strength to go the distance. The question is: how to keep from smokin' them up!

As I'm feasting on 'em, I think to myself, "If these were rolled into lonsdales, and they put an RE band on 'em... well, they would sell out in a heartbeat, and claim a small but memorable place in Ramon Allones history." Yep, they're that good...

[brownpeter335]

I found a dry, cedar taste with some spice that builds to include notes of black coffee and cashews. Which I like most.

[Habana Mike]

Would love to see this play out today with sticks from those same boxes. Back then I'd have put my money on the Reyes but after so many years I believe the RASCC would win the day.

[ayepatz]

Nice. You and Ken should do a Fight Club video review once in a while. With cigars. Not against each other.

[klassikkasp]

Reyes all the way! Even though I am smoking a rascc as I type this, I am in the last third and I'm wishing it was a Trinidad Reyes.