Saturday, April 25, 2015

Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. (Fat Perfecto)

From Regius Cigars of London, we have the Exclusivo U.S.A. Fat Perfecto, purchased at Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, Illinois (one of the only places stateside that this cigar can be bought). These are rolled in the Plasencia Factory.  

The Fat Perfecto is a classy looking cigar.  It has a pig tail cap, and a nice leathery wrapper that is fairly light in shade.  I went with a straight clip and a torch to start things off.

1/3:  Good draw.  Right from the get-go, I recognize an unusual, grassy after taste.  I can't put my finger on it, but it seems to be muted roughly 10 minutes in to the smoke.  At this point, the draw has gotten a little more loose, but there is still some resistance.  The cigar seems to be well-constructed.

2/3: That funky, grassy aftertaste is still present.  While this vitola is dubbed the "strongest in the range" of the Exclusivo U.S.A. line, I find it to be mild to medium both in body and strength. 

3/3: The cigar is advertised as one where the "bouquet of flavours and aromas really open."  Not so much for me.  I found the cigar to be quite consistent.  It was pleasant, but the slightly unusual flavor has me debating whether or not I want to try another Regius, possibly in a different vitola at some point.  The burn line was slightly jagged, but resulted in no issues besides cosmetics. 

For me, the best part of the smoke with the final 2 inches.  At this point, I picked up a fullness that I hadn't noticed previously. 
  
Size: 5-3/4 x 60 x 5
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler:  Nicaragua

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Asylum 2012 (torpedo)

Here we have an Asylum cigar from Tabacaleras Unidas, who also runs CLE, amongst a few others.  Christian L. Eiroa and Tom Lazuka founded the Asylum brand in 2012 (as evidenced by text on the band itself, which either references the founding year or the release I'm smoking).  There are 4 sizes of this cigar, however I've chosen the torpedo to sample on this occasion. 

Pre-light, there's a scent of molasses.  The wrapper has a leathery brown appearance, and some veins are visible.  I cut it with a V-cutter and used a torch to toast the foot before putting it to my mouth.

1/3:  The first thing I notice is the great draw.  Notes of mild pepper, and plentiful "at rest" smoke.  The 1st third is pleasant and consistent, although I find the flavors are difficult to identify besides a typical, quality tobacco taste.

2/3: The burn line (as evidenced in the photo) is a little uneven, but not awful.  During the 2nd third, it developed a crack in the wrapper just below the band.  Fortunately, these things didn't translate into draw issues.

3/3: In the final third, the draw has remained good.  The cigar did start to come apart a little towards the end.  It maintained a medium body and medium strength from start to finish. 

This stick certainly had consistent flavor, and I'd say it was a decent smoke.  Others have been able to hone in on more specific flavors, however this particular stick didn't behave that way for me.  This can be due to the humidity/temp it's been kept at (usually 65/65 in my humis), or it's even possible that my palate has weakened as a result of my decrease in cigar smoking since pneumonia a few months back.  The weather is improving, so there's no doubt I'll give another Asylum a try sometime soon.

  
Size: 6 x 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
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