Cigar Tasting

This fall, you are in for a treat. Introducing nine new cigars that are more than just fancy new names and bands, they are truly original. CAO wows us with bold, perfectly formed shapes while Lopar plays with unexpected blends in a filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Peru of all places! Read on, my friends!   CAO

Four newcomers to the cigar market all have one thing in common: an extra production step designed to naturally enhance their profile with new flavor. Kentucky Fire Cured cigars are filled with a blend of leaves cured over wood fires while the leaves in Davidoff Late Hours are aged six months in Scotch whisky barrels… We have tested them for

Each of the Lopar formats has a different colored wrapper and its own blend. The wrapper and binder are from Ecuador, while the filler is made up of leaves from Nicaragua, Honduras and (occasionally) the Dominican Republic. We tasted two of them for you. Lopar Corona 152 mm × 44 (17.46 mm) Price: €18 A full-bodied, fast start with a

Contrary to popular belief, wine and cigars can be paired well together. This is our selection of the best matches. By Jean Cottereau Surprising combinations occur when a cigar is accompanied by wine, as though conviviality transformed perceptions and altered tastes. The results of our tastings are presented below. —-  Which wine goes well with Nicaraguan cigars? The following wines are

Some flavors in cigars and wine are decidedly “horsey”. Like them or not, they may be caused by a lack of hygiene. So, you don’t want too much. By Bernard Burtshy Cohiba’s magnificent Esplendidos is a stunning creation. With its elegant, glossy colorado wrapper, it’s as sophisticated as an Italian supercar. The cold draw reveals spices, gamey scents and even

Quai d’Orsay N° 50 Puro Made in Cuba Wrapper, binder, filler: Cuba Robusto 110 mm × 50 (19.84 mm) Price: €9.50 Appearance: Attractive light and silky but veined wrapper. Hard to the touch. Well filled. Flavors before lighting: Notes of game, wet earth and black pepper. Excellent draw. FLAVORS AFTER LIGHTING: First third: A bold and virile start. Impressive amounts of

Montecristo Leyenda Puro Made in Cuba Wrapper, binder, filler: Cuba Gros robusto 165 mm × 55 (21.83 mm) Price: €20.90   Appearance: Beautiful silky and soft maduro wrapper. Well filled, with a little hollow at the head. Flavors before lighting: Notes of cedar with a little ammonia. Good draw. FLAVORS AFTER LIGHTING: First third: A fairly mild start where precious

  ARTURO FUENTE OPUS X Belicoso XXX 22,00 € Immediately full-flavored, with very peppery notes (black pepper) and undertones of dried fruit. The Belicoso is changing, with good complexity, and the strength builds to a crescendo. Flavors of dry earth dominate a particularly persistent, dark and tannic flavor profile. A little cigar that is full of energy.   Year 2017 Country

Montecristo Linea 1935 Maltés Puro Made in Cuba Wrapper, binder, filler: Cuba Grand robusto 153 mm × 53 (21.04 mm) Price: €18.20 Appearance: Beautiful smooth and silky colorado wrapper. Supple to the touch. Flavors before lighting: Notes of cedar, earth and gray pepper. Decent draw. FLAVORS AFTER LIGHTING: First third: Nice earthy and oily flavors with bark in the first

  CAO PILON Churchill 7,80 € The start is full and round, with a good volume of smoke. Initially very woody, the aromas quickly turn to fresher notes of underbrush and moss. The cigar then becomes smoother with a very fine, woody flavor profile. Increasingly intense roasted notes join the party. Pronounced aftertaste and slightly too strong in the finish, this

Knocked off its pedestal and stripped of its fifth band in the last edition of the Havanoscope due to a flat and muddled finish, the Bolivar Royal Coronas seems to have rediscovered its luster. Based on the very inconsistent recent samples, it wasn’t clear that it would ever regain its place in the sun. Considering how the Cuban climate has

The flavor of chocolate is still unexplained by science. There are no decent synthetic dark chocolate flavorings because scientists have never been able to reproduce its taste. But why not? By Bernard Burtschy Aficionados will remember the Partagas Serie D N° 3, with its maduro chocolate wrapper, which came out in 2006. Boasting four years aged tobacco, its maduro wrapper made

Sir Winston Gran Reserva – Cosecha 2011 –  H.Upmann Puro Made in Cuba Wrapper, binder, filler: Cuba Churchill 178 mm × 47 (18.65 mm) Price: €55 Appearance: Soft and silky wrapper. Supple to the touch. Very well filled. Flavors before lighting: Notes of mushroom and wet earth. Draw too easy. FLAVORS AFTER LIGHTING: First third: A delicate and subtle start.

Pastry chef and chocolate-maker, Arnaud Larher, divides his time between Athens and Tokyo. But it’s in his workshops in the 18th arrondissement of Paris that he tweaks his recipes and dreams up his creations, like his chocolate cigars that are a big hit with aficionados! One doesn’t venture into the creation of pastry chocolate cigar without having a certain affinity

CAO Pilon Churchill Wrapper : Ecuador Binder and Filler : Nicaragua Churchill 178 mm x 48 (19 mm) 7,80 € The start is full and round, with a good volume of smoke. Initially very woody, the aromas quickly turn to fresher notes of underbrush and moss. The cigar then becomes smoother with a very fine, woody flavor profile. Increasingly intense roasted notes join