Randolph Beers

About Randolph Beers

http://www.randolphbeers.com

Randolph Beers is a passionate tobacco enthusiast, introduced to cigars in 2006, and was an occasional smoker for four years after. Following, his passion for hand rolled and manually cured tobacco, old and new preparations and techniques grew, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and complex details.

Posts by Randolph Beers:

, ,

Cigar Review: Ashton Symmetry

0 0 4.6k

Ashton Symmetry

The Fuente family constructs the Ashton Symmetry for Ashton at the Fuente’s factory in the Dominican Republic.

Blend Specifics

  • Vitola: Prism (soft box-pressed Corona) 5.6” x 46
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan

AS_3

Appearance and Construction

The Ashton Symmetry has a medium to dark chocolate colored wrapper, with a slightly reddish tint. The wrapper feel is slightly oily, very smooth, minimally toothy and velvety to the touch. It has minimal veins, tight invisible seams, and a nicely applied triple cap. With the soft box-pressed shape, there’s a densely packed bunch and an even sponginess throughout.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

Cold Aromas: In the wrapper there’s cedar, leather, and a slight meaty, jerky, saltiness. The foot is chocolate, leather, slight floral notes, a sweet cocoa, and a touch of dried fruit. After clipping the cap, the cold draw is leather, touches of spice and white pepper, a little dried fruit, a bit of farmyard / manure and leaves a saltiness on the lips and tongue. Nice firm draw.

First Third: The first third starts with a white pepper spice on the draw and settles into a leather and fig mix. The leather and fig notes are both heavy, so for those looking for this profile will be delighted. Sweet and fruity with a dewiness and dampness to the texture of the smoke; bits of chocolate are noticeable but only barely. The middle is accented with notes of barnyard while a touch of saltiness lies on the back of the tongue and lasts through the finish. The aroma off the foot is a cedar and tobacco note. The burn isn’t razor sharp but performing just fine. The ash is tight, grey and white. As the cigar progresses, the spice drops off a good amount and dried prunes complement the fig notes. The first third shows how complex the flavor profile of this cigar is, and the saltiness being reminiscent of a fishy-type saltiness. The cigar’s profile at this point is a medium to full in body, medium to full in strength and full flavored. The smoke is thick but not chewy thick, more syrupy and molasses textured. The aroma is also of a delicious chocolate and leathery mix, slightly floral, like a cherry blossom and the fig last deep and long on the finish.

AS_4

Second Third: The ash is tapped off at 1.75 inches and falls to one solid chunk. The second third sees the same notes at play with deeper leather. The fig is still very present and something of cured bacon type of meaty sweetness comes into play. Through the second third, the cigar holds consistent in its complexity and a fair amount of dry cocoa comes in on the draw with the fig. Though the pepper dropped, the smoke leaves a peppery tingle with a slightly gritty texture on the tongue. Good amount of salt lasts on the finish with the leather and notes of earthiness. The band is self-adhesive and comes off ok but slightly awkward due to the paper’s texture. At the end of the second third, the cigar is medium to full in body, medium to full in strength, and medium to full in flavor but still very close to full.

Final Third: The final third sees this cigar ramp up a bit in strength. While the overall flavor has come down, the complexity is still present. The fig and floral notes are still on the draw with a touch of very dry cocoa, with the tobacco, leather, earth and hint of spice dominating the finish. As the cigar begins to warm up, the spice also becomes a bit stronger and the leather and fig holding firm. The ligero is adding a lot of strength at this point, and the body of the smoke still holding a syrupy thick texture. The flavor is falling back but still holding with notes of leather, tobacco, and earthiness with white pepper on the finish. Nearing the end, the finish on the smoke becomes a bit cleaner and crisp and ends with slight notes of metallic licorice. The cigar finishes out at full body, full strength, and medium to medium to full in flavor.

AS_6

Conclusion

For a smaller vitola, the Ashton Symmetry is very stout, rich, and flavorful and being very complex in it’s first two thirds. In the final third the power becomes the more dominant characteristic. Throughout, the cigar carries notes of fig, leather and salt as it’s dominant notes but also has notes of dry cocoa, flora, white pepper, earth and barnyard. It’s very noticeable the cigar was constructed with very well aged tobaccos and toward the end the flavors meld nicely with a good strong tobacco core. The smoke is very smooth and creamy, with nice billows that roll off the tongue, though it does leave a gritty tingle coating the tongue. This cigar leaves a room note of chocolate and leather in the air with its tobacco aroma. There’s a good emphasis on balance and refinement early on in the smoke but toward the end and as the heat becomes stronger, that balance starts to break down.

Similar cigars would be Diamond Crown Julius Caesar, Davidoff Puro d’Oro, Ashton VSG

Smoking time on this cigar was 2 hours.

Grade: A

, , ,

Cigar Review: Cesar Cigars Maduro

0 0 3.0k

2_CCM

This review is of the second offering by Cesar Cigars and is of the Cesar Cigars Mauro. Also new to the northeast market and mostly comprised of Dominican tobaccos made in the Dominican Republic via Doral, Florida.

Blend Specifics

Vitola: Robusto 5.5” x 52

Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro

Binder: Dominican Corojo

Filler: Dominican and U.S.

Appearance and Construction

The Cesar Cigars Maduro has a dark chocolate appearance with even coloring throughout. The wrapper is slightly oily, very toothy with a paper dry feeling. It has tight invisible seams with minimal veins and a really nicely applied triple cap. There’s an even sponginess throughout the cigar and at the foot one can see how densely packed the bunching is. The construction on these cigars is very much noteworthy.

Cold Aromas

The wrapper’s aroma is earthy, dark chocolate, espresso and sweet cedar. The foot gives off black pepper, earth, cedar, a slight sweetness, dark chocolate and a touch of leather. The cold draw shows there’s a good amount of tension in the bunching, it’s not too loose or too tight and tastes of a tobacco core with cocoa, leather, a small amount of white pepper, some earthiness and cedar.

4_CCM

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

First Third: Right off the bat, there’s lots of cocoa, leather, earthiness, a little barnyard, white pepper, thought not heavy with some saltiness. Complimenting the saltiness is a Marie tea biscuit note as the cigar progresses. The cigar burns evenly to a light grey ash with spots of dark deposits. The wrapper burns with small white flecks that bubble up and this is usually noticeable on rich maduro wrapper leaves grown in Mexico and Nicaragua. The burn line is near razor sharp and burns nicely. At this point there are notes of white pepper with a strong tobacco core lasting through the finish. Also, there are some notes of bitter espresso and saltiness. A black licorice on the draw also becomes apparent but only sticks around for a minute or two. Rounding out the first third, the cigar is met with dark chocolate lasting through the finish, a smooth sweet pepper like green or yellow peppers on the retro hale with sweet tobacco and leather as the dominant flavors. The cigar is medium in strength, medium body, and medium to full in flavor.

Second Third: Starting the second third, the licorice come up more to the front, with a medium cocoa and cedar in the mix. Leather and salt are also lingering around and a white pepper begins to coat the tongue more noticeably. The ash lasted 1.5 inches before I decided to tap it off and the ash fell of in one solid chunk, continuing to hold it’s razor sharp burn line. Blasts of cocoa come right up with the leather moving back and still continuing through with a solid tobacco core. White pepper, sweet pepper and espresso are noticeable on the retro hale with salt and a touch of earthiness holding on through the finish. Also new in the fold are notes of fruit and nut adding to the chocolate, the fruit is of raisins and the nut is of almonds but these notes aren’t too strong and they don’t stick around for too long. Finishing off the second third, the cigar is still holding at medium in strength, medium in body and medium to full in flavor. This cigar also burns very cool.

7_CCM

Final Third:Transitioning into the final third, the saltiness comes to front more, still mixing with a nice tobacco and leather core. The cocoa has dropped off a bit but the espresso is still hanging around. The pepper in the nose has also dropped off a bit but is still noticeable on the tongue. As the cigar gets warmer, nuttiness comes more into play still along the lines of almond with a slight pepper tingle on the lips. The body and strength start to pick up a bit and the flavors start melding together more with a buttery nutty tobacco, earth, leather core, with a hint of white and red pepper spice on the draw and finish. The cigar still burns cool and one that can be easily nubbed if desired. Right at the very end a touch of nutmeg comes into the smoke but is also short lived and this cigar ends with a solid tobacco core with the hints of earth and leather. Ending at a medium to full in strength, medium to full in body and medium to full in flavor.

Final Thoughts

While there are similarities between both offerings by Cesar Cigars, there are many differences as well. Both are enjoyable down to the nub and stay fairly cool while doing so. The maduro shows a bit more complexity, though the notes that make it more complex don’t stick around for all that long. The main notes that comprise this cigar are deep notes of dark chocolate with a light espresso running over the top, slightly musky leather and a hefty amount of earth. Some salt, but this cigar is generally on the sweeter side of the spectrum. The white pepper spice sticks around on the finish for much of the smoke.

The extraordinary complex notes that come into the fold, and are nice when they do so, are black licorice, Marie tea biscuits, a bit of raisin and almond shown together, and a hint of sweet green pepper here and there and finishing off with a bit of nutmeg at the end. A tobacco core is dominant in this cigar throughout the smoke and is complimented with the chocolate and leather for the duration. The cigar ends at a medium to full in strength, medium to full in flavor, and medium to full in body, which kicks up to a syrupy thick smoke. Burn is consistent throughout and holds it’s light and ash well the whole time. This cigar is another that shouldn’t be rushed and rather sipped to catch its nuances.

Similar cigars would be the Original Release Don Pepin version
 of La Sirena, Hispaniola Tres Carabelas, Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Maduro, Quesada Oktoberfest Original Release, and La Reloba Seleccion Mexican.

Smoking time was 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Grade: B+

, , ,

Cigar Review: Cesar Cigars Habano

0 0 3.5k

This is the first cigar review by avid New York City cigar reviewer and friend of Fine Tobacco NYC, Randolph Beers. Welcome Randolph!  Cesar Cigars is a recent Fine Tobacco NYC event sponsor, so I’m very happy to see a community member contributing a review on such a relevant cigar. Now I’ll pitch it back to Randolph:

1_CCH

The Cesar Cigars Habano is a cigar new to the northeast market out of the Dominican Republic via Doral, Florida. Let’s jump in to the review.

Blend Specifics

Cigar: Cesar Cigars Habano
Vitola: Torpedo 6” x 54
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Dominican and U.S.

Appearance and Construction

This cigar has a milk chocolate complexion or can also be classified as a medium to light coffee with cream. Very even coloring throughout. The construction is very good, with only noticeably small veins, a tight, almost invisible seam, a slight even sponginess but very densely packed. The wrapper has a nice velvety, slightly oily touch that is smooth and with minimal tooth grain.

Pre-light Aromas

The wrapper is grassy and hay with dry cedar. The foot gives off a bit of cocoa, on the sweet side but not like milk, a red / cayenne pepper spice that lingers in the nose for a while, with hints of cinnamon. The cold draw gives off more cedar, grass and cocoa.

3_CCH

First Third

Starting the cigar off, the burn is slightly uneven but is most likely due to my lighting and is not indicative of the cigar. The cigar evened itself out pretty quickly and did not require any touch-ups. The first third sees notes of dry cedar, touches of cocoa, and notes of cashew with the finish being a medium white pepper lingering on the back of the tongue. As the first third progresses, grassiness and salt come into the fold with notes of an oatmeal kind of bread. The cigar itself is medium to full in flavor, medium strength and medium to full body smoke. Smoke pours freely off the foot and burns to a light grey to white ash, which is slightly flaky but holds on fairly well. The initial ash was 2” before I decided to tap it off and fell as one solid chunk.

Second Third

In the second third, I begin to notice how nice of a tobacco aroma this cigar gives off to the room, very classical and traditional. The saltiness and cashew nuttiness come to the front and the spice falls to the far back. The cigar is very mellow and smooth at this point, the smoke is thick and creamy. Bread moves to the front more as well a presence of earthiness that complements the grass notes. Reaching the halfway point, a good tobacco core makes itself more known and as the cigar warms the nuttiness comes up. Salt moving back and the finish is a nice clean cocoa with the cashew nuttiness.

5_CCH

Final Third

The band comes off nice and easy and is a self-adhesive. Transitioning from the second to final third, an herby sort of spice enters, along the lines of oregano or thyme. Adding to the grassy notes that are still apparent. Also coming back into the fold is a white pepper that lingers with a buttery nuttiness. Also, a decent amount of saltiness comes from draw that lasts through to the finish. The cigar finishes off a solid medium in strength, medium body, and medium to full in flavor but closer to the medium side. Toward the end, the cigar also leaves a peppery tingle on the lips and loses some of its smoothness, as the smoke gets warm.

Final Thoughts

This cigar carries thick plumes of rich, flavorful, chewy smoke. Though not overly complex, there’s more than enough to keep one interested. No one flavor becomes dominant or overpowering but rather the flavors have a great interplay with one another. Every few draws switches around the profile from grassy, to salty to cashew nuttiness, cedar, touches of dry cocoa, bready with touches of white and red peppers. A clean, anytime of day smoke and rather refreshing in it’s finish. The finish never lingers too long but doesn’t die short, either. The cigar burns evenly and smooth and stays lit very well to be sipped on leisurely.

Similar cigars would be Puros Rocha Toro Especial, Hispaniola El Trabuco 1844, Vegas de Santiago D8, and Jose Blanco Senorial

Smoking time was 2 hours and 10 minutes but I’m generally a slow smoker.

Grade: B+/A-

1 2 3 4