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Cigars - Pairings - Rum

Poolside with the La Flor Dominicana Ligero

August 17, 2017 by
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What’s the best kind of weather for smoking a cigar? My ideal factors would involve the following: a crisp 45 degrees outside, reclining by a large fire, and winding down with a Weller’s after a sustaining, wintery meal. It’s reaching triple digits on regular basis in the Texas summer, though, so we lived out the next best ideal: in a shaded pool with a glass of rum.

I’d bought four La Flor Dominicana Ligeros for a trip to Houston, where I’d planned to grill out and relax. It is a particular kind of blessing when everyone else shows up with enough cigars for your crew, and then some. So I saved the Ligeros for a good day, like this one. Steven poured out some Ron Zacapa 23 (review to come) into glasses for me, him and our friend TJ. It was the middle of the day and the sun was beating the ever-living hell out of us. We found some refuge under a cabana that overhung the pool and lit up with a regular red Bic (sacrilege, I know).

The power of this cigar, combined with the scorching heat and cold rum, put me in an ideal state of lower consciousness. You feel the hit immediately with a LFD Ligero. The flavor is robust but even. It’s an unassuming, straightforward smoke. Binder and filler leaves are, as you might surmise, Dominican, but the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Sumatra Maduro.

Easy to light, and easy to stay lit – TJ got up to get something from the apartment for about 15 minutes and left his cigar there, smoldering. When he came back he was able to puff it again easily. When you’re at the pool, you need ease of use when smoking – you might be grilling, splashing, or otherwise being a summer degenerate. The LFD Ligero is that perfect kind of smoke. Out of the three of us, there were no lighting or construction issues whatsoever, making it easy to philosophize and screw around in the pool. I recommend the LFD for an outdoors smoke for this reason – its hardiness would do you well on a walk through the woods, at a windy beach, or on a saltlicked boat somewhere.

This LFD experience lasted a good 45 minutes with the robusto size. At a price point of about $7/each, you’d be remiss not to end a summer with a pack of these to enjoy with friends. Find a body of water, get in it, have a cool drink to accompany, and light up. Let us know what you think!

Cigars

The Cigar Goes Southern: Trying out the Fertitta Christeaux Natural

October 6, 2015 by
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Fertitta Close Up

We’re always ready for something new at Cigar and Whiskey. This week’s cigar, the Fertitta Christeaux, comes from Shreveport, Louisiana — not the first place you think of when you consider tobacco and cigar production. But it’s a humid, green and leafy state, with a vivid, tumultuous history, and citizens who make an art out of The Good Life. Why the hell not?

It’s unclear where the cigar is actually rolled, though it sports fine Dominican long-leaf filler and a lovely Ecuadorian wrapper. Patrick Fertitta, the owner of the line, apparently researched dozens of cigar options before getting into the business. His diligence shows. At the time of publishing, the cigar company only produces two sticks – the Christeaux Maduro and the Christeaux Natural, both toro-sized with the latter reviewed here – allowing Fertitta to start small and focus on the details.

Stephen and I sat down on the Back Porch to try these out. He took the Maduro and I took the Natural, knowing that I would work my way to the Maduro later if the baseline Connecticut proved tasty. The packaging is simple, and a little old school, with an anthropomorphic alligator that is less cheesy than it sounds. The Natural had good give, and the cigars were sent to us with obvious care.

The Christeaux Natural seemed aged well before I lit it, with a good, grassy smell. The first third tasted pretty damn autumnal, with plenty of grass, wheat, and some cardamom or allspice sprinkled throughout. And it became clear that both Christeauxs offered plenty of smoke, with easy draws. This seems like an obvious marker of a good cigar, but I’m always surprised when it happens — it’s a true joy when the draw stays easy and the smoke comes with no effort whatsoever. The second third grew a little more complex, introducing some cinnamon and a little sweetness with the earlier grassy-spice, but the primary flavors remained constant. So did the burn — even, slow, and easy to maintain.

The final third intensified only a bit. The grass transformed into a woodsier flavor. The sweetness turned into more of a dark brown sugar. The tar around the end of the cigar collected and added a nice charred taste.

For now, it is unclear on where I can purchase this line. Hopefully, the day will come soon, because this was a delightfully easy and enjoyable smoke, with no frills but also no maintenance required. I could talk at length without worrying about tending to the burn or the heat of the cigar. Be on the lookout for the purple and gold gator when it comes your way. The product excuses the fedora on the packaging.

Update: You can pick one of these up directly from fertittacigars.com!

Cigars

The Tatuaje Verocu: Firecrackers in the Fall

September 24, 2015 by
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Hey guys. Last week I wanted something new, so decided to visit our friends at Pipe World in Austin. Picked out the Tatuaje Verocu, a new Nicaraguan puro stick created at the My Father factory. Let’s get down to brass tacks.

I started at 9:30 in the evening. The summer heat is still around here so I’d poured a huge glass of sweet iced tea. Dark brown and oily, with a good give to it, Pipe World had taken good care of this cigar and I’d been excited to take it to the porch. I toasted it carefully and lit up, enjoying some red pepper and serious heat. The intensity of the heat surprised me – along with the pepper taste, a woodsy, almost charred flavor dominated this first third. Really a hell of a one-two punch, with not a lot of subtlety in between the woodsiness and spice. Along the second third, it mellowed out a little bit, lessening its intense profile but retaining the charred, nearly mesquite taste.

Despite this, the actual temperature of the smoke was not intense at all. I easily blew heavy plumes of smoke, and the draw and maintenance was quite easy. Unfortunately, though I had taken measured puffs, the Tatuaje Verocu went out just before the last third. I relit carefully, wanting to see if there was any nuance in that last bit. There may be in a less defective smoke – I doubt this is the wrapper’s fault. Could well have been a fluke. But as is usual with the tar collecting towards the last third, I didn’t perceive much taste beyond what I began with when I lit it.

The Tatuaje Verocu is a solid smoke, but without a lot of nuance. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a firecracker cigar to begin with, mellowing out just a smidge but remaining the equivalent of a delicious campfire. Normally, the lack of variety would disappoint me, but the Verocu is so direct and intense that I did not mind. A solid smoke from a great line – especially for the price point. Pick it up if you enjoy the smell of burning leaves and fields in the fall.

Cigars

La Gloria Cubana Serie R (No. 5) Natural – Appreciating a Real Classic

July 3, 2015 by
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Earlier this week, a friend brought over some cigars and handed me La Gloria Cubana Serie R No. 5, the Natural version as opposed to the Maduro. Venturing back into the smoky world of cigars, he talked about how he used to smoke them as for their reliability and excellence. He did not oversell the experience. It’s Fourth of July weekend, and my guess is that you’re looking for something tried, true, and with no fuss. You need reliability, but it’s a party, so you want something that goedkope voetbalshirts kopen packs a little more potency than usual. And if you’re bringing several cigars for friends and family, you don’t want to break your piggy bank. The Serie R No. 5 is about $6.50-7.50 well spent.

In production since 1999, La Gloria Cubana Serie R earns a solid reputation as being full-flavored without being overpowering, a workhorse of a cigar with flashes of bold and spicy flavor. The Natural has an Ecuadoran wrapper, and is stuffed with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. It’s a good mix, but maybe my taste buds are burnt or on vacation already – to me, this was quite a sweet cigar. I toasted the foot of the smoke and started off with great bitter chocolate flavors, like cocoa powder straight from the Hershey’s tub. Smoke output started slowly but consistently. I have a tendency to smoke cigars quickly and goedkope voetbalshirts they often grow hot, minimizing flavor; I slowed down and tried to focus more on the first third. Soon the bitterness moved into sweeter milk chocolate flavors. The smoke became more prevalent and plumes soon filled my entire back porch.

With the last third, the sweetness of the La Gloria Cubana Serie R receded and settled down into earthier, woodsy effects and flavors. It did require a little bit of tending than earlier, but I found it worth the effort. I was happy to take part in my friend’s tradition and have already committed to making it my own.

Photo credit: stogiegeeks.com

Pairings

Weekend Pairing: Alec Bradley Fine & Rare/Red River Rye

June 20, 2014 by
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Fine&Rare

The Alec Bradley Fine & Rare was released late fall of 2012. I knew that I wanted to find one right off the bat, primarily drawn to it because of it’s interesting band and perfect torpedo voetbalschoenen sale shape. After a few weeks of searching I finally found one, and it was as impressive in person as it had been in the promotional pictures.

And then I promptly put it into my humidor and forgot about it until this week.

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Photo credit: Red River Whiskey Facebook Page

I decided to pair the cigar with a bottle of Red River Rye which has recently come into my possession. The Red River Rye is a Texas whiskey that I had not been familiar with before physically receiving the bottle. Nevertheless, I love a good rye and hell, I’m from Texas so I was willing to try this pairing untested.

I went with my preferred method for the whiskey: two fingers with one large ice cube. I gave it a try before lighting the cigar and found it very rich with hearty notes of caramel, cinnamon and woodsmoke. This was not a timid whiskey, but I trusted the Fine & Rare to hold it’s own.

For a second after first light, I was afraid I was wrong. The Fine & Rare came out of the gate with a grassy, hay-like flavor that was billiga Nike fotbollsskor dominated by the character of the Red River Rye. However, after that initial taste dissipated it become much more hearty, with a black-pepper and cedar flavor mingled with leather. Taking a puff immediately after a sip of whiskey really brought out the woodsy flavor and subtle sweet notes in the cigar smoke.

The second part of the cigar continued to deepen, and added little touches of dulled cayenne spice while keeping the primary flavors introduced in the first third. the Red River Rye at this point became sort of a flavor highlight, brightening those more potent cigar flavors and enhancing the more subtle notes.

If the second third signified a deepening of flavor, the final third saw it touch bottom. Now the wood had melted into a maple-syrup flavor, and the cayenne had fotbollsskor webshop transformed into black pepper. It was rich and delicious, made all the more decadent by the Red River Rye, which was now singing in perfect harmony with the cigar, complementing it perfectly.

This ended up being a delicious pairing the whole way through. The cigar performed almost perfectly (minus one small tear in the wrapper that occurred when I pulled off the band – it was no big deal) and the whiskey was top-notch. Although I think it would be difficult to find a 2012 Alec Bradley Fine & Rare nowadays, I believe you should definitely try out the Red River Rye at your earliest opportunity!

 

Cigars

Rocky Patel 50th Anniversary

June 17, 2014 by
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Let me come right out and say this: I have had mixed feelings about Rocky Patel cigars almost since I started smoking.

That is not to say that I haven’t enjoyed some of their cigars, but I had not discovered anything that blew me away. I also experienced a fairly significant amount of inconsistency in construction and performance that have sort of steered me away from the brand despite it’s popularity.

I say all this because when I was told by a trusted source that the Rocky Patel 50th Anniversary was a spectacular cigar (in his words, “one of the best cigars I’ve ever had”) I was a bit skeptical. Nevertheless, I filed the information away, and a few weeks later billige fotballsko Nike when I saw a box of 50th Anniversary cigars at a local vendor I picked one up despite the slightly exorbitant price tag ($20.00 in my case).

The cigar itself is, admittedly, pretty regal. The wrapper is appropriately thick with just a hint of tooth that gives it a pleasantly rough feel like stingray boots. The color is uniform and the wrap is perfect with only a few pronounced veins and tight construction. The band is attractive, if a bit garish for my taste, with a bold “RP” inscribed on an orange bed surrounded by a simulacra of round diamonds. If you are looking for something that will announce your stick from across the room, this is the band for you.

Pre-light I got notes of oak and dried cherries. First light revealed these to be the dominant flavors, and they continued to mingle throughout the billige fotballsko på nett på first third. They were lightly interspersed with sweet notes, though they were fleeting and difficult to pinpoint. Think sparks of vanilla.

The second third gradually slacked off the sweetness to present the woodsy flavors in full force. These were highlighted by a gradually growing white pepper flavor that added a counterbalance to the majesty of the oak. Towards the end of the second I got a taste of leather.

That leather taste grew to rival the wood in the final third, adding back in a sort of deep, fruity sweetness like aged dates. These chaussure de foot Nike pas cher actually became a bit tart towards the finish of the stick, like the dates had been given a light coat of blackberry jam. It was a luxurious flavor.

Throughout the smoking experience the cigar performed very well, with no burn issues to speak of. Smoke production was medium-heavy and overall very complimentary to the aesthetics of the cigar.

I was impressed with the Rocky Patel 50th Anniversary, to the point that I will probably have to reintroduce Patel sticks into my lineup. That being said, I don’t think that they are quite worth the price I paid. Pick one up if you get the chance because this is indeed an excellent cigar, and increasingly hard to find this far out from its release.

Cigars

Kind Words From A Contest Winner!

April 7, 2014 by
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A while back, we ran a contest for Cigar & Whiskey fans that gave them the opportunity to win a free Liga Privada Feral Flying Pig. I had not given that contest much thought recently, until I received an email from one of our winners, Jim Luisser. He was kind enough to send a detailed email with his personal thoughts on the cigar. I’m excited to post his message here, because even though we have reviewed the Pig before, it is incredibly valuable to get feedback on others’ tastes!

Hello Steve,

 

The weather finally gave me a break so I could enjoy this smoke. I tried to do this Thanksgiving but it was too cold. Then just before Christmas it warmed up sufficiently so I could step outside and light up. I took your advice and made a Cappuccino and then followed with a nice French brandy, Original Gangster. I wish I had a few more so I could smoke another at the shore after a beach day followed by a seafood meal and let the other age in my humidor for a year. I am not a connoisseur and will apologize in advance if I miss some of the tastes and flavors in my description. I do enjoy a good smoke and believe that is what matters in the long run. Like wine, whiskey, etc. everyone tastes something a little different than everyone else.

I like to start by feeling the texture and fill of the cigar. Next I enjoy a whiff of the body and the foot. A quick snip and the tail is gone ready for the first draw to insure it is open and ready to smoke. Toasting the cigar then lighting produced a cloud of thick smoke and some interesting aromas. It seemed very strong at first and made me wonder if it was too strong, but it settled down and was enjoyable.

The first third had notes of coffee and a slight sweet taste. There was a lot of smoke and I wondered how long it would have lingered and traveled if it had been a hot humid day. I finished my cappuccino and next sipped my brandy.

The next part worked well with the brandy and seemed to enhance the flavor. It also had a sweetness and coffee flavor which may have been due to just finishing the cappuccino. I was glad I waited until I had a warm day because it took almost two hours from start to finish. It was a great way to spend a nice day outdoors in late December.

All in all I would look for a Flying Feral Pig again and pick up several to smoke on warmer nights after a relaxing meal with good company. Thank you Steve for the opportunity to try it and sorry it took so long to give you the review. Sometimes life gets in the way of pleasures. I hope this is something you can use and look forward to more contests and information from you in the future. I really enjoyed winning something for a change.

Cordially,

Jim Luisser

 

This type of feedback is so fantastic to hear, and I think we can all agree that Jim did a great job describing his experience with the cigar!

Along that same token, we would love to hear cigar reviews from our readers even more. Please feel free to send your reviews and pictures to Cigar & Whiskey either through our Facebook page at facebook.com/cigarandwhiskey or right from this site! Odds are we’ll feature it on the site. We are a community and we welcome the input of others!

In the meantime, keep your eyes out for new cigar contests and content from Cigar & Whiskey!

Cigars

Cigar Rituals

November 22, 2013 by
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