Cigars of the Week: 27th September – 3rd October
I don’t formally review each and every one of the cigars that I smoke. A lot of the time I just smoke for myself. That doesn’t stop me from making notes on them. This helps me keep track of which ones I rate and would smoke again, and which ones I will know to avoid in the future. So here you will find my capsule reviews of the cigars I have smoked during the week. If I have a full review, I will link through to it.
Monday 27th September: Caldwell Lost and Found One Night Stand 2016
Every Monday I go live with my good friend Karen Hunter on Instagram. We invite a guest on to smoke and chat with us and often smoke the same cigars. This time we invited David Taylor and Ray Prodnoff on with us and smoked the Caldwell Lost and Found One Night Stand – a 6 by 52 Dominican puro.
The first thing I noticed about this cigar was the difference in colour between the filler, binder and wrapper. The centre of the cigar where the filler is, was a light brown. This was enveloped by a darker brown binder and encased in a light, oily and shiny claro wrapper. Aromas of toffee and cedar tickled my nose.
Flavour wise, the first third was dominated by black tea and a metallic mineral undercurrent. The middle became more creamy and sweeter but I felt as though my mouth was being coated in tannins. The final third returned to the mineral flavours. It reminded me of warm, sparkling mineral water, which I really don’t like. The smoke was sweet and light but this wasn’t enough for me to want to smoke one of these cigars again. I didn’t smoke right to the nub.
Wednesday 29th September: Cigar Obsession Final Third Torpedo
Wednesday evening is my girls night in. Even when I’ve had a really bad day, I can rely on the ladies of the Women’s International Cigar Lounge to bring a smile to my face and often have me giggling so hard that my sides hurt. This evening I discovered the Cigar Obsession Final Third Torpedo hiding in the bottom of my humidor. This 6.5″ by 54 box pressed Nicaraguan puro looked beautiful as I slipped it out of the cellophane and felt firm and oily in my fingers. It oozed aromas of cedar and the cold draw was easy with a light pepper spice.
The first third gave me smoke that tasted of silky pepper and left notes of leather, cream, cedar and almonds in my mouth. The construction was just about flawless and the ash sat neatly in two inch sections in my ashtray. These flavours hung around right through to the middle and I was hoping for a change in profile at the final third, but alas, the flavour got dirty and bitter. This wasn’t improved much by a purge and blow through but I still smoked it down to the nub so it wasn’t all bad.
Friday 1st October: El Viejo Continente Maduro Lancero
This is now a mainstay in my humidor, and if you have smoked it you can probably understand why. So beautifully made, and extremely elegant. It was the perfect cigar for the moment and I’m so glad that earlier in the day I had ordered a handful more from Boutique Smokes. If you want to read my full review of this cigar, click here.
Saturday 2nd October: Partagas D4
Back in 2018 I god a box of these beauties and have been looking after them ever since. After a long and stressful week, and hearing other peoples opinions about the D4, I decided that I had earned a treat. Once again, this didn’t disappoint. Those same familiar aromas and tastes swirled around me as I caught up with an old friend I hadn’t heard from in over a decade. Check out my full review of the Partagas D4 here.
Sunday 3rd October: Villiger Export Pressed Cigar 2004
Villiger tubos were one of the first brands of cigars I smoked. During a recent visit to Barbers Tobacconist up in Harrogate, I noticed a couple of mini tissue paper wrapper Villiger cigars in the humidor. Whilst chatting to Rosalie, I found out that these were the last two from a box dated 2004. This happened to be the year that I got married so I couldn’t resist buying them.
The 4″ by 37 cigar was firm to the touch and looking at it end on it was a perfect rectangle. It was already cut and ready to go and I noticed that the wrapper was very distinct from the binder and filler. The cold draw had a subtle menthol flavour and once I lit up, I was transported to an old library in a stately home. The hint of menthol was still present but joined by a soupcon of cedar, old leather and just a little bit of dustiness. The burn was perfect and I ended up with neat 1cm ash balls in my ashtray.
When I came down Monday morning to dust and vac my smoking lounge (aka my dining room), I was greeted by a deliciously sweet aroma of pipe tobacco. Definitely one that I am looking forward to having again, and possibly get myself a small box and allow them to age a bit.
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