Memoirs of a Cigar

Antonio Maceo, the son of black Dominican woman and a Venezuelan soldier, was introduced to a group of anti-Spanish revolutionaries in the 1860′s. Soon after they invited him to join their Masonic Lodge, which served as a center for Cuban Revolutionary planning, at a time when Spain was struggling to maintain their control on their last colony; Cuba. He eventually rose to become a revolutionary hero, comander of a large multi-racial army, and became known as “the Bronze Titan”.

“El Titan De Bronze” cigars is located on the corner of 8th & 11th in Little Havana, Miami Florida. They produce good quality, low priced cigars in several blends and almost every shape imaginable; from Lanceros to Short Torpedos to Salomons to Cuelebras. Chloe and I met the owner of “El Titan De Bronze” during a recent trip to their Factory Store, who is a lively older gentleman, eager to share his knowledge and passion for cigars. I purchased almost every size and blend he recomended, and will rate them all here in the near future.

The Gran Reserve Maduro Belicoso from El Titan De Bronze is a solid smoke. It has a silky smooth, milk chocolate colored wrapper, and features flavors of earth, mild spice with just a touch if sweetness. It draws well and has a nice long finish.

After my excellent Illusione ~1~ last night I decided to start my Sunday morning off with an Illusione Eperney La Petite. It was my first Eperney, and it won’t be my last. A 90 point cigar that tasted honey sweet with flavors of wood and nuts. Amazingly, my Illusione Eperney became sugary sweet toward the end, with flavors of Graham Cracker.
I played my Bueno Vista Social Club CD, and read a few chapters of “Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba”. An excellent book which intertwines the history of Cuba, with the family who invented Bacardi Rum. It provided a pleasurable smoking experience for the eyes, ears and mouth.

The moment I found out these RJ Cigars were “Made in Panama”, I knew something was up. Secretly I was told they are Cuban Romeo y Julieta’s redistributed through Panama for the American Market. These elegant Double Coronas come sealed in Cedar Tubes and are wrapped in paper. I lit mine up at the beach today and found a expertly rolled 90 point Habano with a clean balanced flavor.

I’m back in full form, smoking a A sized Nicaraguan Puro, sipping Royal Cuvee, bumping the new David Guetta album, and iPhone Blogging. It doesn’t get any better than this!

The Illusione ~1~ is a monstorous 9.25 inches long, blended by Don Giolito from first generation Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 seed, finished with a Cafe Colorado wrapper, and a cuban triple cap. Cuban cigars this size are called “A Size”, of which I have enjoyed the Montecristo A previously. The Illusione 1 is a bold, clean cigar, produced in Honduras from 100% Nicaraguan tobacco, reminicent of the original Nicaraguan Cigars from before 1979. There are no special flavors added, just powefull tobacco, expertly rolled, for a fine, balanced smoking experience. I would give it a 92-93 point rating, although CA gave it a 89 when originally reviewed in August of 2007.

I’m also finishing up a bottle of Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvee from 2002. An amazing, flavorfull sparkling wine which was first served to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain during their visit to California in 1987. It exhibits flavors of black cherry and strawberry, blended with apple and citrus flavors. It has an amazingly long finish, and is one of my favorite Gloria’s.

Smoking a pre 1979 Nicaraguan Puro while drinking a Royal 1987 Sparkling Wine, in 2009 on MemoirsofaCigar.comMemoirsofaCigar.com, you can call me a Renaissance Man!!!

I brought back a handfull of La Gloria Cubana Artesano de Miami Torpedo’s from the El Credito Factory in Miami. These were the last cigars made by Ernesto Carillo before leaving the brand he created, and they are my favorite La Glorias. They have a honey scent to them, and smoke wonderfully. I smoked one and gave one to my friend Serge. Being straight from the factory, they do need another few months of aging before they become magical, but they were still top notch in my book.

I’m back from Florida, smoking a Habaneros, drinking a Mojito, trying to recapture that South Florida Vibe. The humidity in Florida makes smoking cigars pure bliss, so I’m doing my best on a foggy night in Half Moon Bay, California.

I wasent able to Live Blog my Florida Cigar Smoking Adventures due to a iPhone bug I encountered where I couldn’t save pictures. I could take them, but couldn’t save them. It really sucked. For that I appologize, but I will do my best to write up all my cigar stories from the past few weeks, as I spent close to $1000.00 on cigars in FL and went to all the big shops and factories.

I can say with absolute certainty that I was able to blog my most significant cigar discovery; the Habaneros Brand of cigars available at Lost City Cigars in West Palm Beach. I’m smoking their Maduro Torpedo right now, which is a impecably rolled, soft & sweet smoke.

MARK MY WORDS: “You will one day soon see a 90 point plus review of Habaneros in Cigar Aficionado”…and remember that you heard it here first!!!

Chloe’s Mom, Estelle, has been telling me about this new cigar shop they opened at City Place (cool outdoor city mall) in Palm Beach where she would see guys drinking coffee, smoking cigars and playing dominos outside. I thought it was nice of her to think of me, and that I would check it out the next time I was in Florida. I did not expect it to be such a comfortable atmosphere, and for their own housemade cigars to be so spectacular!

LOST CITY CIGARS @ City Place in West Palm Beach has fantastic house made cigars, called “Habaneros”. I’m even thinking of using them for my own branded Memoirs Cigars in the future! They have a factory nearby in Florida, and have a Master Roller from Cuba, from the Romeo y Julieta Factory, who has created their blends. Master Roller Yojanny Nistal has been rolling in the Romeo y Julieta factory since 16 years old!

I smoked a Lancero with a Conecticut Wrapper in the store and it was one of the best light cigars I have ever had! When i first picked it up in their walk in humidor and smelled it, it immediately reminded me of a Monte #2, with its light fresh vanilla bean scent. Smoking it provided more of the same…perfection. Cigar Aficionados, such as myself, will love the Habeneros line, as they are clean, refreshing, floral, vanilla scented cigars, with a perfect draw & burn. Top quality! Rubin, who was in charge of the store, was friendly, knowledgable, and a great cigar smoking buddy.

The prices were out of this world too! I picked up a lancero for around $4.00, and a Cuelleba for only $12.99. A Cuellebra is 3 cigars twisted and tied together, and go for $50.00 – $150.00, but at lost city, these phenomenal masterpieces go for $12.99!!! Outstanding!!!

So I’m sitting on the terrace over looking the Palm Beach Bridge right now in Florida. We just returned from a 2 hour, early morning walk on the beach. We ar here for a 1 week vacation, and plan to relax, smoke cigars, drink Mojhitos, and relax.

I’m actually going to be checking out a bunch of Cigar Stores in the area, and staying 1 night at the Shore Club in Miami. The Shore Club has an amazing swimming pool on the beach surrounded by Palm Trees, with a Rum Bar, and the best frozen Mojhitos in the world. I will be the judge of that, along with a cigar of course. Stay tuned…

I also brought a stash of cigars from home to smoke with my friend Pablo. Included are La Gloria Cubanas 2006 Gigante, Rene Sanchez Trifecta, Juan Lopez Special Selection #2, Trinidad Limited Edition 2007 Ingenios, and an Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial. I broke out some of my special cigars, because honestly, there is no better place in the U.S. to smoke a cigar, then in South Florida, with friends and familly. Amen.

A few weeks ago I met up with my friend Serge at La Bodeguita Del Medio, in Palo Alto, for a lunchtime cigar. I purused the walk in humidor stocked with Padrons, Graycliffs, little Pre-Embargo Cubans, and La Bodeguita’s own brand of cigars. I ended up selecting the Emerald Green Box with a Candella Wrapper Graycliff Robusto PG inside. A great choice as it turns out, as the Candella Wrapper was wonderful sitting out back in the sun under the trees.

Graycliffs are made in the Bahamas, but are managed by former Cuban Cohiba Expert, Avo Lina, so their quality is outstanding. I have smoked 3 different Graycliffs, and all 3 have been excellent. They honestly taste like they have been aged 10 years, and clearly have that finesse that only comes with aged cigars. They are a bit on the pricey side, but you pay for their amazing smoothness.

Candella Wrappers are green, and have a unique grassy, smokey taste to them. Candella Wrappers used to be called “American Market Selection”, as they were the most popular cigars in the U.S. back in the 60′s & 70′s. Legend has it that the H. Uppmans that President Kennedy stockpilled before the Cuban Embargo had Candella Wrappers. As far as Candella Wrappers go, the Graycliff Emerald PG was the best I have ever had.

First I must note that almost all of the information here has been provided by the book POST REVOLUTION HAVANA CIGARS by Min Ron NEE, the worlds definitive source on Cuban Cigars. Never before has someone attempted to provide such a complex guide to aging Cuban Cigars, and attempted to provide a minimum aging guide for all the Cuban brands.

Aging Cuban Cigars is a much discussed, but seldom understood art, that is only achieved by trying cigars as they progress in years. In fact, true cigar collectors age cigars in decades, something that my love of cigars may never let me fully accomplish, as I will be hard pressed to make it pass the 10 year mark on any of the cigars I currently own.

Cuban Cigars age in 4 overlapping stages, starting with the Sick Period, folowed by 3 Stages of Maturation. I will probably mostly enjoy my Habanos in the Sick & First Maturation, which can be in the first year, up to 3, 5, or 8 years, depending on the cigar.

The Sick Period is mostly within the first year, and it is said that cigars should not be consumed during the Sick Period. Tobacco leaves are moistened when being rolled into a cigar, which invites accelerated fermentation, which generates alot of Ammonia. The Ammonia taste and smell is very unpleasant, and overwhelms the taste of a newly manufactured cigar. Good Ventilation is key to getting rid of the Ammonia taste, and so Breathing Cigars helps them get to the smokable periods faster. Of course aging them sealed for years will yield a more perfectly aged Habano, however if you don’t want to wait for years before smoking your cigars, breathing them often is preferred.

Also important to note is that a newly manufactured cigar tastes extremely Bitter, due to the high concentration of Nicotine. As the years go by, the Nicotine levels drop, and so the bitterness dissapears along with it, leaving only the pleasent flavors of the cigar behind for you to enjoy. The cigar continues to generate pleasant flavors as time goes by, as flavors merge and change, and a soft finesse like quality appears in later years.

I will attempt to illustrate the benefits of Cigar Aging by using a Montecristo #2 as an example, and recording the score of the cigar over the various time periods, as I have been lucky enough to enjoy this cigar over the following time periods:
-At 9 months old the Montecristo #2 has just become smokable, but is still a strong cigar. The Nicotine Bitterness of the cigar is very much still present, and I would rate this a 88 point smoke.
-At 1.5 years old, the Montecristo #2 is a good, enjoyable smoke. The Amonia taste has evaporated, and the Nicotine Bitterness although still present, is not so overwhelming. I would rate this a 90 point smoke. I personally try to smoke only 90 point cigars, as these are good cigars.
-At 3 years old, the Montecristo #2 is ready. The Bitterness is almost completely gone and the flavors can shine through. This should probably be the baseline of aging for this excellent cigar, which I would rate at 93 points.
-At 8 years old the Montecristo #2 is phenomenal! An amazingly flavorful cigar, with an ethereal finesse to it, and a sweet long lasting finish. I would rate these at 98 points, which is the highest rated cigar I have ever smoked.

Sunday night I picked up my friend Dave from the airport, as he has just flown back from a week long vacation in Spain. I decided to commemorate his return from the ‘white isle’ by breaking out 2 Romeo Y Julieta Limited Edition’s from 2007.

Officialy called the “Escudo”, they are essentially large robustos, and they look and smell wonderfull. We smoked our 2007 RyJ Edicion Limitada’s by the pool watching a slide show of vacation pictures.

The Romeo Y Julieta Limited Edition 2007 is a full flavored cigar that is rich and deep. So much so in fact, that you might guess it was maduro in a blind test. The flavor profile was dominated by a strong tobacco, wood, and earth taste, with additional notes of coffee and cocoa. These cigars are geared toward those who enjoy a full flavored powerhouse of a cigar, reminicent of old style Habanos.