javajunkie
BoM July '12
there is a decent amount of love on the board for the Pinar Del Rio brands (myself included), and so far i have talked up this cigar, bombed out this cigar, and smoked quite a few. i figure someone needed to actually post up a review of one, right?
the Flores Y Rodriguez line is one of, if not THE, first lines produced entirely out of the new Pinar Del Rio factory. named after the PDR crew (Abe Flores & the brothers Rodriguez), the line consists of four vitolas, each available in a habano or maduro wrapper, and all with a MSRP of about five bones. yup, for anyone watching the wallet, $5! boxes come SLB uncello'd with 24 sticks per box. anyway, on with the smokin!
BEFORE: a 5x52 robusto, this is actually a really sexy cigar, with clean lines, a nice ruddy aspect, good cap, good cut at the foot, just all over nice curb appeal. there IS some vein structure going on, but in a good way, like it belongs with this wrapper. feels solid enough, nice presence in the hand, and the prelight aroma is really really faint musty barn, in a very good way. cuts easy and clean, and the prelight draw is just firm enough to be promising, with a dense strawberry and loam taste. cigar takes to the torch easy, giving off a toasty and spicy smell.
FIRST: a middling amount of spice immediately melts into a sweet meatiness, malt, and charred oak, like the first nose of a bourbon, maybe Knob Creek. smoke production on the draw and rest is good; not liga level entertainment, but still nice to watch it drift, and no struggle to taste or smell. the retrohale has a little spice and some floral quality, maybe rose petal? towards the end of the first third, a slight sour quality slips in, which is welcome to balance the sweetness. the smoke texture is, and remains, on the softer side of dense, with an unctuous thing; no cream here, just smooth oil.
SECOND: the retrohale spice just randomly pops back up like a curtain call for act two, and the favors drop down into the meatier side, with a clean cedar or pine wood to balance. the ash plops off unceremoniously (previous smokes have held ash to the band, but setting it down and scribbling are not conducive to a long ash contest!), but the burn is abso-damn-lately perfect. has been, will be. only oddity to the burn was an eensy bit of charred wrapper cowlick, curled up with one of the veins for about 5mm. the sweetness has never really left, just stepped aside or back, but comes through to close this bit out.
THIRD: a little spice comes back, but with the sweet and clean wood, it has more of a baking aspect, maybe cinnamon. the meatiness and sweetness just kinda merge at this point, getting chewy and roasty, bringing back more traditional spice as it focuses down toward the end. at the last gasp, the cap was starting to get slightly messy, and the smoke itself was more than a little warm, but this was well past the band, and all on me. o)
SUMMATION: medium in both body and power, superlative in construction, not crazy complex so much as an alternation of a set motif, this was just a really easy to like cigar, and easy to recommend. and I PAID FOUR AND A QUARTER AFTER TAX. a lot of us don't have the jack to chase everything, but still know good. AND these are by a guy who is on the board , Abe having just done a cool contest, oh, and the previous BOTL cigar release. AND i think these are B&M exclusive, sso hopefully you will be supporting good people by buying. there is really no down side to trying this smoke. the only criticism i have is that it currently comes in no smaller than a 52RG, and that is just me being wishful.
happy smoking! o)
the Flores Y Rodriguez line is one of, if not THE, first lines produced entirely out of the new Pinar Del Rio factory. named after the PDR crew (Abe Flores & the brothers Rodriguez), the line consists of four vitolas, each available in a habano or maduro wrapper, and all with a MSRP of about five bones. yup, for anyone watching the wallet, $5! boxes come SLB uncello'd with 24 sticks per box. anyway, on with the smokin!
BEFORE: a 5x52 robusto, this is actually a really sexy cigar, with clean lines, a nice ruddy aspect, good cap, good cut at the foot, just all over nice curb appeal. there IS some vein structure going on, but in a good way, like it belongs with this wrapper. feels solid enough, nice presence in the hand, and the prelight aroma is really really faint musty barn, in a very good way. cuts easy and clean, and the prelight draw is just firm enough to be promising, with a dense strawberry and loam taste. cigar takes to the torch easy, giving off a toasty and spicy smell.
FIRST: a middling amount of spice immediately melts into a sweet meatiness, malt, and charred oak, like the first nose of a bourbon, maybe Knob Creek. smoke production on the draw and rest is good; not liga level entertainment, but still nice to watch it drift, and no struggle to taste or smell. the retrohale has a little spice and some floral quality, maybe rose petal? towards the end of the first third, a slight sour quality slips in, which is welcome to balance the sweetness. the smoke texture is, and remains, on the softer side of dense, with an unctuous thing; no cream here, just smooth oil.
SECOND: the retrohale spice just randomly pops back up like a curtain call for act two, and the favors drop down into the meatier side, with a clean cedar or pine wood to balance. the ash plops off unceremoniously (previous smokes have held ash to the band, but setting it down and scribbling are not conducive to a long ash contest!), but the burn is abso-damn-lately perfect. has been, will be. only oddity to the burn was an eensy bit of charred wrapper cowlick, curled up with one of the veins for about 5mm. the sweetness has never really left, just stepped aside or back, but comes through to close this bit out.
THIRD: a little spice comes back, but with the sweet and clean wood, it has more of a baking aspect, maybe cinnamon. the meatiness and sweetness just kinda merge at this point, getting chewy and roasty, bringing back more traditional spice as it focuses down toward the end. at the last gasp, the cap was starting to get slightly messy, and the smoke itself was more than a little warm, but this was well past the band, and all on me. o)
SUMMATION: medium in both body and power, superlative in construction, not crazy complex so much as an alternation of a set motif, this was just a really easy to like cigar, and easy to recommend. and I PAID FOUR AND A QUARTER AFTER TAX. a lot of us don't have the jack to chase everything, but still know good. AND these are by a guy who is on the board , Abe having just done a cool contest, oh, and the previous BOTL cigar release. AND i think these are B&M exclusive, sso hopefully you will be supporting good people by buying. there is really no down side to trying this smoke. the only criticism i have is that it currently comes in no smaller than a 52RG, and that is just me being wishful.
happy smoking! o)
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