FOH'ers Daily Smoke

[fokker4me]

Punch 48 in a shotty photo

[JohnS]

Saint Luis Rey Marquéz 2016 - Edición Regional Cuba SGA Oct 2016

I had smoked a Saint Luis Rey Marquez at the beginning of 2020 and the background notes I included for that review is included below as they serve as a background reference to this release...

Saint Luis Rey, it's not a marca many of us identify with. After all, when was the last time you had one? Well may you say that there's only one regular production cigar left in this marca, the Hermosos No.4-sized Regios (48 ring gauge x 127 mm or 5 inches in length), precluding enthusiasts from enjoying Saint Luis Rey cigars more often. Why is Saint Luis Rey such an undistinguished marca...especially if you compare it to well-known marcas such as Montecristo, Cohiba, Partagas and H.Upmann?

Saint Luis Rey was introduced prior to the Cuban Revolution, which greatly streamlined and altered Cuban Cigar manufacturing in the early sixties, in 1940. It was mainly marketed to the United Kingdom, where I'd argue it enjoys its greatest popularity to this day. It's also a complex and nuanced cigar with a propensity for aging to gain benefit from its blend. This was certainly true of the Serie A and Double Corona before they were deleted six or seven years ago. The Regios defies this trend. It's a cigar that has a bread and apple citrus core flavour which is best enjoyed in its youth. Thus, it bucks the trend in regards to Saint Luis Rey being a marca that benefits from long-term aging. Perhaps this is a reason why the Regios is still in production.

So it's intriguing that Habanos S.A chose Saint Luis Rey for its fourth Regional Edition for Cuba in late 2016. Since this time there's been another two releases for six overall (La Gloria Cubana Deliciosos, El Rey del Mundo Infantes, Diplomaticos Excelencia, Saint Luis Rey Marquez, Punch La Isla and San Cristobal de la Habana La Cabana). There have also been only five Regional Edition releases in the Saint Luis Rey marca since the program was initiated in 2005, but surprisingly none of these have been targeted for the United Kingdom. (The five were Asia-Pacific, Peru, Spain, Cuba and the Middle East.)

The Saint Luis Rey Marquez is a Geniales size (or commonly a Robusto Extra) at 54 ring gauge x 150 mm (or 5⅞ inches) in length.  It was released in 7500 Semi boite nature boxes of 10 cigars each (so 75000 sticks in total). There have been nine Regional Editions released in this vitola, two regular production cigars and two Habanos Specialist releases. These include the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan, H.Upmann Connossieur B, San Cristobal de la Habana Torreon and Montecristo Open Eagle. Reviews for this cigar were mixed upon release. Some enthusiasts favoured it, others found it bland. I would advocate that after four years this would still be the case as Saint Luis Rey is a marca that is polarising...you either love it or you don't. It's definitely not for everyone.

The Saint Luis Rey Serie A, when it was around, was not an easy cigar to define, especially if you compare it to defining a Montecristo No.4 or Partagas Serie D No.4, for example. Two main flavours stood out; stonefruit (or apricot or peach) and molasses or honey sweetness. It was a cigar that was complex, subtle and nuanced and was best smoked with some time down. It was noted for developing chocolate and/or coffee notes after significant aging whereas most Habanos cigars diminish in these flavours with long-term rest.

Similarly, this Saint Luis Rey Marquez, being now a bit over four years old, had a sweet hay, dried apricot or stonefruit and cedar complexity to it. It developed a powdered cocoa into the middle third. Unlike my last Marquez around ten months ago, this did not have the same light coffee and baking spice notes; however, this cigar was still every bit as soft, nuanced and subtle as a well-aged Saint Luis Rey Serie A. It took me just under two hours to smoke, when I nubbed it after approximately 110 minutes.

Whereas some may find this cigar bland, I found it simply and utterly delectable. I have one more Saint Luis Rey Marquez cigar resting in my humidor and I intend to smoke it within the next twelve months. If you have this Regional Edition cigar in your humidor similarly resting, I suggest now is the time to reward yourself!

P.S. The Veuve Clicquot Champagne paired rather nicely with it too!

[Shatner's Bassoon]

R y J Churchill MSA ABR 19

 

[Sir Diggamus]

A Monte no. 1 today BOE DIC18. I started off with some of these thinking they wouldn’t be as good as a few other 2019 samples I tried. Well it turns out after a couple of months rest this one is fantastic. Nice flavors and transitions. I enjoyed it with a Ruby Oolong tea


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[havanaclub]

7 hours ago, Wookie said:

Topes 

You prefer the topes over vigia or esmeralda or media Luna? How do they compare to the others?


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[FatherOfPugs]

Finally something after being quite busy for a while. 

[Wookie]

2 hours ago, havanaclub said:

You prefer the topes over vigia or esmeralda or media Luna? How do they compare to the others?


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I cannot tell the difference from Topes to Vigia to Esmeralda...they are all excellent to me. The Trova is more mercurial. Fundadores are great but sometimes construction is bad. Haven't tried the media luna yet. I've had less luck with the smaller gauges. 

[SigmundChurchill]

[Bijan]

Partagas MF and PCE.

[JZBdano]

ULA ABR 14 Superiores

UTE ENE 17 Half Corona 

AUT OCT 15 No. 3

I can't remember my last 3 cigar day.  All 3 represented their marcas very well.  

Edited November 30, 2020 by JZBdano
Wrong box code on Monte 3

[LLC]

UPE MAR 13 HU Noellas. Always enjoy these.



Last RASS from a UTE MAR 17 50 cabinet graded HQ. Next cabinet up is the same box code but graded PSP. Will be interest to see if I see any difference in how the PSP cab smokes.




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[TheFullMontecristo]

Esmeralda w some Elijah Craig bourbon watching Trubisky and Bears struggle

[jvd1291]

Ending my Thanksgiving vacation on a high note, illusione Haut 10 toro!

[KnightsAnole]

 

given to me many many years ago, and I’m afraid the donors name has been lost to time. Thank you my friend, whomever you may be. 

[GVan]

Dip # 2 (LGR DIC-18) from our host.  Been in the humi now for 8 months and smoking brilliantly!  First half sweet nutmeg and ginger bread second half all capsicum - love these.

[havanaclub]

2019
 

UAO ABR 19 E2

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[BoliDan]

Tonight's retreat. Mag 46. 

 

[Raskol]

C&C time. RYJ SC (2017) - 24:24

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[CampDelta369]

JL1 with an easy draw. This is off a PSP 12er I picked up last year. 18 months on it and fantastic. ? 

[CampDelta369]

13 hours ago, GVan said:

13 hours ago, GVan said:

Dip # 2 (LGR DIC-18) from our host.  Been in the humi now for 8 months and smoking brilliantly!  First half sweet nutmeg and ginger bread second half all capsicum - love these.

I have same box code and have not sampled for a few months. First 2 were very good but decided to rest them in humidor as well. I will revisit them now thanks. One of my favorites 

[Bijan]

CoRo on last night of nice weather for a while.

[JohnS]

Fonseca No.1 UTL May 2018

I can't believe it's three years since I've had a Fonseca No.1! I can assure you, it's not because I don't like them but I guess I've been distracted by the great variety of so many other Habanos cigars in the meantime!

I'd like to thank @Bijan for this Fonseca No.1 today. Coincidentally, I noticed that Rob and Ken released a review on the Fonseca No.1 recently and Rob stated that FoH would account for quite a few sales more than the worldwide average, which is most probably on the lower side of things.

This Fonseca No.1 was very mild and definitely not complex. It was mainly cedar/wood, a little marshmallow and some vanilla from beginning to end. Easy to smoke, this represented a great change-of-pace cigar for me.

If you're looking for a mild Lonsdale-sized Habanos option why not give the Fonseca No.1 a try? Just remember to remove that obligatory tissue-wrap prior to smoking!

[99call]

27 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Just remember to remove that obligatory tissue-wrap prior to smoking!

we need to come up for a name for this...   'Cherry's choice'?    'The Greenhorns Gambit'?   

 

[Trimming]

 

 

[prshah25]

Awesome cigar with amazing floral notes..