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WATCH: Matthias Clock on Light ’em Up World

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On Wednesday at 2pm Eastern Time, Matthias will join Reinhard Pohorec as a guest on Light ’em Up Lounge, the global virtual cigar lounge that has played host to the world’s leading voices on all things cigars.

Here’s the description from Light ’em Up World:

Our dear friends and fellows, please be invited to this week’s Light ’em Up Lounge feat. Matthias Clock, Fine Tobacco NYC

🗓 Wed 2pm EST / 8pm CET ⏰  

Matthias Clock is not only the founder of Fine Tobacco NYC, a widely acknowledged event community and communications platform, but his striking cigar photography is amongst the most sophisticated out there. He’s a “brand evangelist and digital marketer” and has hosted hundreds of cigar and spirits events, both for consumer and industry experts. We’re delighted to welcome Matthias to the Light ’em Up Lounge. Together we want to discuss:

+ Building cigar communities
+ Fine Tobacco NYC and what exactly it is
+ Responsible cigar marketing

As always, we are looking forward to your questions in person via Zoom, or on Facebook live.

You can join the event via Zoom (more info here) or watch the livestream on the Light ’em Up World Facebook page.

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Blind Review: Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut (Chapter 1)

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The Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut has exclusively reappeared and safely landed at Luxury Cigar Club and their preferred retail partner stores. The cigar is reintroduced with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The vitola adopted the name “Ranflactic” but featured a new size of 6×56 perfecto. And it is currently being produced out of AJ Fernandez’s factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. 

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut (Chapter 1)
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Size: Ranflactic (6″x56)

Blind Review: Johnny Tobacconaught

Appearance & Construction

The figurado shaped cigar has a light amber color wrapper. Visually, I do not see any blemish or even the seam of the wrapper. I run my fingers across the cigar for further inspection, and it is smooth and silky to the touch. I do come across a small soft spot by the cap, but other than that, the construction is flawless. 

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Connecticut wrapper has a floral and honey scent to it, and since most of the foot is tapered, I can’t get many scents from there. I tend to v-cut most of my torpedo-esque cap. Therefore, I decided to use my Colibri SV cutter on this one. Once the cap becomes the shape of a crown, I take a cold draw and get tangy dry apricot from it. 

I strike two matches together and slowly roast the foot. A stream of smoke slithers its way past my nose, and I immediately smell roasted barley from it. As I draw my first puff, white pepper spice floods my palate from the tip to the back of my tongue.  As I expect the smoke, I get dry hay and cedarwood as the dominant profile, followed by white pepper spice. The most shocking part of this cigar is the finish; the flavor reminds me of green grapes. I proceed to retrohale and get bombarded with red pepper spice. Once my receptors calmed down, I get honey, tanned leather, and barnyard. 

So far, the cigar is holding its shape. The burn line is even but a little wavy and the ash is still holding on past the 1-inch mark while providing a plethora of smoke from each puff. I am thoroughly enjoying this cigar. 

I reach the second third, and the cigar becomes sweeter and buttery while toning down on the pepper spice. The flavor develops nicely with hints of sunflower seeds, syrup, dry hay, and cedarwood.  As I retrohale the next puff, the cigar maintains its brightness with flavors of roasted nuts, tanned leather, honey, and red pepper spice. On a side note, the construction of this cigar is still good; it is burning well and even and there are no issues whatsoever. 

I smoked past the final third, and suddenly the flavor shifted to highlight roasted peanuts as its main profile, with syrup, cedarwood, and hay tagging along. The spice on the palate withers with each puff. The uniqueness of this cigar though returns on the retrohale: blackberry, maple syrup, roasted nuts, cedarwood, and red pepper spice. The finish on this cigar remains sweet and clean to the palate. With a final retrohale, the fruity, sweet, and nutty flavors remind me why this cigar is out of this world. 

Conclusion

Just like Matt Booth, the Johnny Tobacconaut is an eccentric cigar. While the pepper spice set the initial tone for the Tobacconaut, the journey didn’t truly begin until the second third, with the marriage of sunflower seeds, syrup, dry hay, and cedarwood. And it continues to develop from there. Lastly, to go where no cigar smokers have gone, I’ve experienced green grapes and blackberry for the first time in a cigar. Excellent.

Final Rating: 92

Ragi Cigar Co Releases Year of the Tiger Nicaragua TAA LE 2022

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Ragi Cigar Co.—an ultra-premium cigar brand utilizing only the finest tobaccos for its cigars—is celebrating the Lunar New Year with the bold, innovative and completely unexpected release of the Ragi Cigars Year of the Tiger Nicaragua TAA Limited Edition 2022. The cigar is produced at the legendary Mi Casa Factory in San Juan del Sur by a single skilled torcedor who once rolled Cohiba for Fidel Castro and also OpusX at the Arturo Fuente cigar factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

“For this release, we wanted something truly special—a blend that would appeal to cigar smokers across a variety of overly tired branding schemes,” an executive at Ragi Cigar Co said anonymously via a collect call from Nicaragua. “We’re late to the party on Nicaragua, and we don’t have any relationships at TAA, but we know that the combined power of the Nicaragua, TAA, and Zodiac trends will make this cigar stand out in a market saturated with a revolving door of trendy branding.”

The cigar will debut in limited markets with an initial production run of 112 cigars and come with an MSRP of $25 per cigar. The cigar will come in two sizes, a 7 1/2 x 38 lancero geared toward “smokers who think lanceros are automatically better” and an 8 x 80 vitola the company said is sure to satisfy cigar smokers who “just need a large, arm-sized phallic object in their mouth.”

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Blind Review: Choshi by Luxury Cigar Club

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Luxury Cigar Club (LCC) is a monthly cigar subscription service for the smoker, seeker, and collector of fine, rare, and boutique cigars and cigar brands. The two owners, Chris and Ben, pride themselves on their work ethic, superb customer service, and overall integrity. Because of these traits, they have created and maintained a strong bond with many cigar companies.

One of these cigar brands is Artesano del Tobacco, the maker of Viva La Vida, whose been here since the beginning. Because of this relationship, LCC was the first company to feature Viva La Vida in their subscription box. They were also the first company to obtain an exclusive vitola of Viva La Vida. To top it all off, they became the first company to create LCCs very first cigar – Choshi.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Choshi
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
  • Size: 5″x54

Blind Review: Choshi by Luxury Cigar Club

Appearance & Construction

The habano wrapper is quite oily, giving it a darker look than it otherwise might have. Two visible veins run down on the side of the cigar. The filler tobacco fills the cigar to the brim without it feeling dense. 

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

There is a scent of chocolate and raisin coming off the wrapper. When I trace my nose down to the foot of the cigar, I get a scent of dry tart stone fruits and old books. I slowly insert the head between my Xikar XO cutter – just enough to shave off the cap. I then take a cold draw and taste creamy cocoa, tree bark, dry hay, and a slight sweetness on the finish; pepper spice is starting to settle on my tongue and lips. 

After introducing some flame to the cigar, I take my first draw and instantly my senses are awake. The smoke itself is creamy, tagging along with notes of dark cocoa, caramel, cedar-wood, and red pepper spice. To conclude the whole experience, sweet chocolate lingers on my palate. The retrohale acts on its own contrasting with the flavors on the palate: citrusy berry, cedar-wood, and an ample amount of red pepper spice. 

So far, the only negative thing I can say about this cigar is the uneven burn line. However, I have to mention that I am smoking the cigar outside on a cool early winter morning which can be a factor in the issue. With that being said, the ash is stacking evenly, and the cigar produces a good amount of smoke. 

Arriving at the second third, I notice two flavors become MIA: cocoa and spice. The character of the smoke becomes even creamier, and I get flavors of pistachio, cedar-wood, dry hay, tan leather, and caramel. On the retrohale, I’m tasting a little floral with almond and warm baking spice. 

I have to restrain myself from constantly puffing on the cigar, hoping slowing down would fix the burn line issue. Even so, one side is in a constant battle with the other, but not bad enough for me to intervene with my lighter.  

As I get to the final third, the battle of the burn line concludes, and the cigar evens itself out. To my surprise, the flavor keeps evolving, and embraces me with flavors of creamy oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, cedar-wood, and sugar in the raw. This time, the retrohale amplifies the flavors with cedar-wood, roasted peanut shell, and baking spice. I continuously drown myself with the aforementioned flavors, hoping the next puff would not be the last one. I knew I was on my final puff when my fingers got pricked by a burning sensation.

Conclusion

Billy and Gus (Artesano del Tobacco) hit another home run with Choshi. The transition from a heavier profile like cocoa and leather to a lighter one with almonds and sunflower seeds is simply brilliant. And all the while carried by a sugary sweet finish on the palate. The complexity was very engaging and kept me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, the burn line had a negative impact on my overall experience. As mentioned however, this may have been affected by outside elements. Overall, I would recommend this cigar to anyone interested in experiencing bold flavor, transitions, complexity, balanced profile, or anyone wanting to smoke a great cigar.   

Final Rating: 91

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Blind Review: Davidoff Chefs Edition 2021

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Davidoff Chef's Edition 2021 Blind Review

Davidoff released their third installment of the Chef Edition this year. This time Davidoff assembled an elite team of 4 world-renowned chefs who share the same value highlighting the focus on purity of the ingredients, local sourcing, sustainability, and attention to detail and quality. The following chefs created the 2021 Chefs Edition along with Davidoff’s Master Blenders:

  • Juan Amador – Restaurant Amador, Austria: 3 Michelin stars
  • Norbert Niederkofler – AlpiNN, Italy: 3 Michelin stars
  • Masa Takayama – Masa, USA: 3 Michelin stars
  • Jorge Vallejo – Quintonil, Mexico: 24 out of 50; The World’s 50 best restaurants.

With 9 Michelin stars and the 24th best restaurant in the world, let us see what comes to fruition “when kitchen pioneers meet cigar visionaries.”

Davidoff Chef's Edition 2021 Blind Review

Blend Specifics:

  • Cigar Reviewed: Davidoff Chefs Edition 2021
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Hybrid 238
  • Binder: Mexican San Andres Negro Seco
  • Filler: (Dominican Republic) Piloto Seco, San Vicente Ligero, Piloto Visus, Hybrid 192 Seco
  • Size: Churchill (7″ x 48)

Blind Review: Davidoff Chef’s Edition 2021

Appearance & Construction:

This Churchill size cigar has a very smooth and dry chocolate shaded wrapper leaf. There are no blemishes on the surface, except for one visible vein, and it also gives off a sheen when exposed to the sunlight. Lastly, the tobacco is filled evenly from head to toe. 

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

There is a slight mustiness on the wrapper and a fruity and floral scent when I trace my nose down to the foot. After shaving off the cap, I do a cold draw and take a few puffs of the cigar, and taste cocoa powder on my tongue with a burning sensation on my lips. So far, I find myself being slowly addicted to the cold draw. 

Once lit, I find this cigar being very forward with black pepper spice. The black pepper spice lingers on the tip of my tongue for a while before fading away. Getting past that, I get a strong taste of cocoa powder, tree branch, dark leather, and black pepper spice. The combination of the flavors reminds me of a cup of hot chocolate made with water instead of milk. 

I should’ve taken the spiciness I experienced on my palate as a warning when I retrohaled, as a plethora of white pepper spice jam-packs my nostril. It made me tear up as I forced every breath I took out through my nose, trying to recover from the spice attack. After a few minutes, my sense of smell returned, and I got more cocoa powder and oak wood through the retrohale. The finish on this cigar is as long as the cigar itself. The finish gives off a natural sweetness, and it is fighting against the lingering spice for my attention.

I can tell this cigar was rolled by an expert, the construction up to this point is excellent. The burn line is razor-sharp. The ash holds on until 1.5 inches in and would probably be longer if I was indoors and sitting, instead of walking. 

I arrive at the second third. The flavors have been pretty consistent so far. On the plus side, the spiciness on the palate becomes much more manageable as it mellows out; and I taste hot chocolate, oak wood, dark leather with cinnamon spice. Unlike what I had experienced on the palate, the white pepper spice is still very much alive when I retrohale the smoke; still stinging my nostril, yet I am able to get a hint of cocoa cedarwood. 

I finally get to the final third and notice the smoke becomes quite floral. Halfway through, the floral scent becomes more and more distinguishable with each puff until it suddenly takes a turn for the worse, and I got a mouth full of ammonia taste that overpowers any preexisting flavors on my palate. Needless to say, that became the last puff I took as it joined the rest of the nubs in my cigar graveyard. 

Conclusion

I was honestly a little bit shocked when I learned the identity of the cigar. It explains the high-quality looking wrapper, as well as the construction. Despite that, the flavor profile was very un-Davidoff-like, especially with the overpowering amount of spice on the palate for the first third and throughout the whole retrohale experience. Unfortunately, the ammonia in the final third became the nail in the coffin for my experience and really hurt the score.

Final Rating: 87

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