blessednxs65
Is it Nicaraguan
Five blends that deliver what tradition says Cuban cigars are all about
One of the stereotypes attendant to cigars produced in Cuba is their strength.
If youre ready for that kind of cigar, Michael Argenti would like to meet you.
After many years in the cigar business, Argenti set up his own shop in Miami Lakes, Florida under the name of Cuban Imports to cigars that satisfy the thirst for powerful, full-bodied cigars with a Cuban heritage.
So it was no wonder that his first brands included extensions of the famed H. Upmann and Por Larranaga brands, or that he introduced a new blend under the El Rey del Mundo brand name this year. In addition, he added his own new brand Exile complete with a unique tissue wrapper that portrays a 1962 headline from the New York Daily Mirror announcing U.S. President John F. Kennedys imposition of the Cuban trade embargo!
With so much discussion recently about Cuba with longtime dictator Fidel Castro in poor health, it was time to try these cigars and see how they matched up with their U.S. counterparts made by the biggest names in the industry, including Altadis U.S.A. and General Cigar.
El Rey del Mundo Olivados:
[Honduras: available in 5 sizes]
This version of The King of the World was introduced in late July, just ahead of the recent Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade show in Houston, Texas.
Like its siblings, the standard El Rey del Mundo line produced for J-R Cigars and the El Rey del Mundo Real extension, the Olivados is produced in Honduras by General Cigar. You can tell by the quality.
Its full-bodied and has a slightly sweet, slightly spicy aroma. It starts up with a smooth, nicely caramelized taste that has a zing of spice on the medium finish. Very well made, the draw is perfect and the burn is even.
It develops a peppery bent in the second half, still with the spicy finish and finishes nicely, always under control . . . as a King should be. The Chateaux R the robusto is reasonably priced at a suggested retail of $7.99 each, with the giant Chateaux D (a double corona) topping the price scale at $11.99
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
Exile:
[Nicaragua: available in 4 sizes]
You know this cigar is different when you unravel its tissue wrapping to reveal a stylized copy of a front page of the New York Daily Mirror from 1962 with the headline President orders a total embargo on Cuban imports.
Exile itself is offered with a choice of wrappers, including an Ecuadorian-grown Rosado-shade wrapper or a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro. We tried the maduro and found it medium-to-full in body with a powerful, spicy and peppery aroma.
In fact, this is simply a powerful cigar. Theres a modest caramelized note in the flavor, but the Exile excels in bringing a spicy, peppery taste and finish to bear without being bitter or biting. Thats impressive, but this is a cigar for experienced smokers who can appreciate and respect its strength.
Its heady and for many, is a cigar that has the strength that Cuban cigars are supposed to have. But its well-blended and burns evenly. Lovers of peppery cigars will find it enticing and even dramatic, not to mention well-priced from $5.50 to $8.50 each.
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
H. Upmann Signature:
[Honduras: available in 4 sizes]
Smokers who are used to the H. Upmann brand made in the Dominican Republic are used to a medium-bodied, fairly upbeat flavor that often has especially in the hot-selling Vintage Cameroon line a caramelized and upbeat taste.
This isnt that kind of cigar.
Offered in a Nicaraguan-grown natural wrapper and a Mexican-grown maduro, both are well made. In the maduro version, the H. Upmann Signature has a medium body and offers a toasty, slightly spicy aroma and a spicy finish. Theres a mildly sweet undertone to the flavor, but a peppery note that develops on the finish becomes the signature of this blend.
The peppery flavor continues to the end as the power of the blend becomes evident. Reasonably priced at $6.00 to $7.50 each, its best suited for those sophisticated enough to understand that it is not related except by name to the Dominican-made Upmann line.
Overall grade: B+: Very Good.
Por Larranaga Cuban Grade Natural:
[Honduras: available in 6 sizes]
The Por Larranaga brand is one of the most famous ever to come out of Cuba, beginning production way back in 1834. But its no longer one of the visible Cuban brands and has only a modest presence on the U.S. market in versions made in both the Dominican Republic and Honduras by Altadis U.S.A.
The Cuban Exile version also comes in natural and maduro wrappers with the light, Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapper proving to be a real delight.
Its medium to full in body and has a spicy aroma, but offers a nicely caramelized taste with a medium finish. Beautifully constructed, this cigar burns evenly and offers a marvelous, balanced flavor. It becomes spicier in the second half, but always with a certain finesse. Its very much Cuban Grade but in a quite seductive package. And its quite reasonable at $5.50 to $8.00 per cigar before local tobacco taxes.
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
Por Larranaga Cuban Grade Maduro:
[Honduras: available in 6 sizes]
The darkly-dressed maduro version of the Por Larranaga offers plenty of flavor, thanks to the Mexican-grown wrapper. The aroma is toasty and spicy and the flavor is medium-to-full in body with a medium finish.
The flavor has a muted, sweet note with a nice spiced finish and an even burn. A light peppery tone enters in the second half, but its also reserved although theres some underlying power to the blend that youll notice towards the end.
Overall grade: B+: Very Good.
Smokers who enjoy powerful cigars will not be disappointed by the four blends in the Cuban Imports series and all of the lines are well made and reasonably priced. These are certainly not cigars for beginners, but for those who can appreciate the subtleties in the spicy and peppery tones created by master blenders of some of the planets most potent leaves, these brands certainly live up to their billing as expressed in the Por Larranaga line as Cuban Grade.
One of the stereotypes attendant to cigars produced in Cuba is their strength.
If youre ready for that kind of cigar, Michael Argenti would like to meet you.
After many years in the cigar business, Argenti set up his own shop in Miami Lakes, Florida under the name of Cuban Imports to cigars that satisfy the thirst for powerful, full-bodied cigars with a Cuban heritage.
So it was no wonder that his first brands included extensions of the famed H. Upmann and Por Larranaga brands, or that he introduced a new blend under the El Rey del Mundo brand name this year. In addition, he added his own new brand Exile complete with a unique tissue wrapper that portrays a 1962 headline from the New York Daily Mirror announcing U.S. President John F. Kennedys imposition of the Cuban trade embargo!
With so much discussion recently about Cuba with longtime dictator Fidel Castro in poor health, it was time to try these cigars and see how they matched up with their U.S. counterparts made by the biggest names in the industry, including Altadis U.S.A. and General Cigar.
El Rey del Mundo Olivados:
[Honduras: available in 5 sizes]
This version of The King of the World was introduced in late July, just ahead of the recent Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade show in Houston, Texas.
Like its siblings, the standard El Rey del Mundo line produced for J-R Cigars and the El Rey del Mundo Real extension, the Olivados is produced in Honduras by General Cigar. You can tell by the quality.
Its full-bodied and has a slightly sweet, slightly spicy aroma. It starts up with a smooth, nicely caramelized taste that has a zing of spice on the medium finish. Very well made, the draw is perfect and the burn is even.
It develops a peppery bent in the second half, still with the spicy finish and finishes nicely, always under control . . . as a King should be. The Chateaux R the robusto is reasonably priced at a suggested retail of $7.99 each, with the giant Chateaux D (a double corona) topping the price scale at $11.99
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
Exile:
[Nicaragua: available in 4 sizes]
You know this cigar is different when you unravel its tissue wrapping to reveal a stylized copy of a front page of the New York Daily Mirror from 1962 with the headline President orders a total embargo on Cuban imports.
Exile itself is offered with a choice of wrappers, including an Ecuadorian-grown Rosado-shade wrapper or a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro. We tried the maduro and found it medium-to-full in body with a powerful, spicy and peppery aroma.
In fact, this is simply a powerful cigar. Theres a modest caramelized note in the flavor, but the Exile excels in bringing a spicy, peppery taste and finish to bear without being bitter or biting. Thats impressive, but this is a cigar for experienced smokers who can appreciate and respect its strength.
Its heady and for many, is a cigar that has the strength that Cuban cigars are supposed to have. But its well-blended and burns evenly. Lovers of peppery cigars will find it enticing and even dramatic, not to mention well-priced from $5.50 to $8.50 each.
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
H. Upmann Signature:
[Honduras: available in 4 sizes]
Smokers who are used to the H. Upmann brand made in the Dominican Republic are used to a medium-bodied, fairly upbeat flavor that often has especially in the hot-selling Vintage Cameroon line a caramelized and upbeat taste.
This isnt that kind of cigar.
Offered in a Nicaraguan-grown natural wrapper and a Mexican-grown maduro, both are well made. In the maduro version, the H. Upmann Signature has a medium body and offers a toasty, slightly spicy aroma and a spicy finish. Theres a mildly sweet undertone to the flavor, but a peppery note that develops on the finish becomes the signature of this blend.
The peppery flavor continues to the end as the power of the blend becomes evident. Reasonably priced at $6.00 to $7.50 each, its best suited for those sophisticated enough to understand that it is not related except by name to the Dominican-made Upmann line.
Overall grade: B+: Very Good.
Por Larranaga Cuban Grade Natural:
[Honduras: available in 6 sizes]
The Por Larranaga brand is one of the most famous ever to come out of Cuba, beginning production way back in 1834. But its no longer one of the visible Cuban brands and has only a modest presence on the U.S. market in versions made in both the Dominican Republic and Honduras by Altadis U.S.A.
The Cuban Exile version also comes in natural and maduro wrappers with the light, Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapper proving to be a real delight.
Its medium to full in body and has a spicy aroma, but offers a nicely caramelized taste with a medium finish. Beautifully constructed, this cigar burns evenly and offers a marvelous, balanced flavor. It becomes spicier in the second half, but always with a certain finesse. Its very much Cuban Grade but in a quite seductive package. And its quite reasonable at $5.50 to $8.00 per cigar before local tobacco taxes.
Overall grade: A-: Excellent.
Por Larranaga Cuban Grade Maduro:
[Honduras: available in 6 sizes]
The darkly-dressed maduro version of the Por Larranaga offers plenty of flavor, thanks to the Mexican-grown wrapper. The aroma is toasty and spicy and the flavor is medium-to-full in body with a medium finish.
The flavor has a muted, sweet note with a nice spiced finish and an even burn. A light peppery tone enters in the second half, but its also reserved although theres some underlying power to the blend that youll notice towards the end.
Overall grade: B+: Very Good.
Smokers who enjoy powerful cigars will not be disappointed by the four blends in the Cuban Imports series and all of the lines are well made and reasonably priced. These are certainly not cigars for beginners, but for those who can appreciate the subtleties in the spicy and peppery tones created by master blenders of some of the planets most potent leaves, these brands certainly live up to their billing as expressed in the Por Larranaga line as Cuban Grade.
