Blind Cigar Review: Caminos El Retiro Fifth Anniversary

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Caminos El Retiro V Review

Talk about a blind review! There is little out there in terms of information regarding the Caminos El Retiro. They have a Facebook page and a website where you can buy their cigars although do not offer much else. It’s a Dominican puro that is in a robusto format and looks quite weighty. Like I do at the beach right by me I’m jumping in on this one!

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Caminos Caminos El Retiro Fifth Anniversary
  • Wrapper: Dominican Maduro
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican
  • Size: 5 1/2” x 54 (Robusto)
Caminos El Retiro V Review
Caminos El Retiro V Review

Blind Review: Caminos El Retiro Fifth Anniversary

Appearance and Construction

This cigar features a rough, imposing dark wrapper that’s very rustic. Dry to the touch and giving it a squeeze, it is rock solid. This cigar draws your attention with its girth and seamless triple cap. The foot offers nuts, spice, and a mustiness to it. Weighty in hand, the heft is evident.

Taste and Smoking Characteristics

With my Xikar Mammoth cutter I clip the triple seam cap taking a slight piece of the wrapper off the shoulder of the cigar. The dry draw is musty and tangy on my lips. I take my Lamborghini torch and toast the cigar where there’s sweet and spicy to start. The cigar comes on strong with these flavors and the spice tingles my lips like hot sauce balanced by a sugary sweetness. The retrohale is full of fresh tobacco and earth adding to the strength and showing that this cigar’s size is matching its power. Another puff and there’s a spicy character like wine aged in Slovenian oak. Currently the ash is white with a slightly crooked burn line.

At midway, there’s lots of smoke that delivers almond along with wood notes. The cigar is dense and chewy like a rich piece of chocolate cake as I take another long draw. With a retrohale I get toasted French oak, some mustiness and a finish that is overpowering my sinus. The strength is medium to full, and the ash is solid white with a continuous wavy burn line. More oak presides over the next puff and there’s some minerality on the finish. I’m getting a tangy note and some anise as the smoke begins to billow.

These wafts of smoke continue to the last third and the power is steadily in the medium to full style. There’s spice and leather combined with a short finish that dries out my mouth. With a long draw the wrapper tastes salty which gives a sharp finish to the leather the cigar imparts. Taking a retrohale it’s all spice through the nose and out the mouth with little balance. While taking another puff there’s a real oaky flavor present that coats my palate and leaves me wanting more. Undertones of earth and spice pickup as the cigar reaches the end. A final puff yields leather and the tanginess that has been pervasive throughout.

Conclusion

Having no experience with the brand, this Dominican puro delivered spice and sweetness at the start. The transition to leather and cocoa midway along with toasted oak is where the real flavors shined for me. The tangy notes were displeasing when they appeared, and the short finish was disappointing. I got more flavors on the retrohale as the smoke exited with leather and spice predominate. Not sure where you can find them save their website, but it would be worth it to pick up a single or fiver if you do come across any.

Final Rating: 88

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Blind Review: Romeo y Julieta Eternal

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Romeo y Julieta Eternal Blind Review

Altadis U.S.A released a limited-edition Nicaraguan cigar beginning this year under the Romeo y Julieta trademark named Eternal in celebration of the 145th year of the Romeo y Julieta brand. 

Through the collaboration between Plasencia and Rafael Nodal, the Eternal is built to be a masterpiece. This Nicaraguan puro cigar only utilizes tobacco from the Plasencia family. It is safe to say that there were plentiful options of tobacco for them to choose from, and per Nodal, the wrapper leaf he had chosen was fermented twice as long and aged for 26 months.  

The packaging for the Eternal is unique. A box contains 11 cigars, where 1 out of the 11 has a gold ring band on it with gold background with red lettering, while the rest are black backgrounds with red lettering. 

According to Nodal:

“Eternal’s gold ring symbolize the strong bond between the Aficionados and Romeo y Julieta… It is a love that has proven to be eternal.”

Romeo y Julieta Eternal Blind Review
Romeo y Julieta Eternal Blind Review

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Romeo y Julieta Eternal
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Size: Toro (6″ x 54)

Blind Review: Romeo y Julieta Eternal

Appearance & Construction

The cardboard box-colored cigar feels almost weightless between my fingers. The wrapper is thin enough for me to feel the lumpiness of the filler tobacco. Visually, there are a few minor veins scattered throughout the cigar, but I can’t feel any by touch. 

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The wrapper has a faint fruity smell, and it becomes more prominent as I get closer to the foot. Due to the thinness of the wrapper, I decide to use my Colibri SV cutter and give the cap a shallow v-cut. With just the right amount chipped off, I take a few puffs of cold draws and taste a hint of sweet hay without any fruitiness from the scent. Unfortunately, tragedy hits early with this cigar. The wrapper is so thin it sticks to my lips as I pull the cigar away from me, and part of the wrapper rips off from the cap. Thank God the cigar is still intact! And to prevent any more wrapper sticking to my lips, I reluctantly over dampened the cigar.

Knowing how thin the wrapper is, I begin toasting the foot with long matches instead of a torch lighter. As soon as I take my first puff, I notice my mouth dries out immediately, followed by a tingling sensation on my lips; assuming pepper spice from the wrapper but not on my palate. Pulling smoke, I taste butter toast, lightly roasted coffee, and a sweetness that carries into the long finish. I found all the missing spices from the palate in the retrohale, with white pepper flooding my nasal passage. Once my senses come to, I am greeted with a cup of morning coffee (light and sweet) and cedarwood at the back end. 

Arriving at the second third, the cigar is smoking well, but the ash can’t hold itself for more than half an inch. The burn line is even, and there are no draw issues, and the smoke is plentiful and becomes creamier. I get the taste of black tea with milk, milk chocolate, hay, and light leather. The pepper still resides in the retrohale, along with cedarwood and medium roast coffee.

As I approach the final third, there’s a small canoeing on one side of the cigar but it fixes itself after a few puffs. The flavor profile evolves even further, as it fully transforms into a cup of afternoon tea with milk with added sugar, along with toasted peanuts and cedarwood. When I finally get to the nub, the finish becomes very tart, as if someone squeezed a lemon wedge into my mouth. Ultimately, I take that as a signal to put down the cigar. 

Conclusion

Not sure whether it is a common characteristic with this type of wrapper, or because of the extra time it received during the fermentation stage, the thinness of the wrapper leaf almost ruined the whole experience right out the gate. However, looking past that, I tremendously enjoy the evolution of flavors the Romeo y Julieta Eternal offers. Not only is it complex, but the flavors are balanced. It paints a complete picture of afternoon tea time with flavors of milk tea with freshly baked bread. Regrettably, the conclusion of my experience was not a good one. Almost as if this cigar didn’t finish etiquette school and added lemon to a cup of tea with milk and sugar already in it.

Final Rating: 88

Blind Cigar Review:Pichardo Clasico Sumatra Toro

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Pichardo Clasico Sumatra Review

ACE Prime Cigars founded by Luciano Meirelles has been making cigar lines at the Tabacalera Pichardo Factory in Nicaragua. I have only smoked a few from this fairly new company and I’ve thus far have been impressed with the tobacco and blend, in particular their tasty lancero Luciano The Dreamer.  One of the latest blends is the Pichardo Calsico Sumatra  toro.  I’m a fan of the Sumatra wrapper and a toro size can be a great way to showcase a blend with its ring gauge and length. As with all blind tastings all I know is what am seeing so I need to get to the fun part and smoke!

Pichardo Clasico Sumatra Review
Pichardo Clasico Sumatra Review

Blind Review: Pichardo Clasico Sumatra

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Pichardo Clasico Sumatra Toro
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
  • Binder Nicaraguan
  • Filler Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6.5”x 50

Appearance and Construction

This toro wears a claro wrapper with few veins and a curiously rounded head. The firm packing shows there is plenty of tobacco in the filler. Rolling it in my palm shows this cigar is well crafted with excellent construction. I give the foot a smell where there is pungent notes of barnyard and steel cut oats.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

Grabbing my Xikar I go for the classic straight cut and take a dry draw to start. There’s earth and cedar with pepper and balsa wood that touches the back of my throat. I toast the cigar and take a draw where pepper and sweet and sour hit my palate with a predominantly sour taste.  Notes of leather combined with honeycomb and cashews linger with another puff. As I take a retrohale I pick up bing cherry and a flintiness on the exhale. The ash is white and flaky with a straight burn line. Thus far the cigar is falling into the medium bodied category.

The second half has more of a sour and bitter profile to start and minimal smoke production despite a fairly easy draw. I look to take a long puff where I’m getting salted pretzel and sourdough. There’s some baker’s chocolate on the back which adds to the sharpness. While I take another retrohale the tobacco stings my sinus and is coming off a bit raw. I ease back on the draw and pepper and must combined to balance out the residual bitterness. There’s seems to be more cocoa at this point which gives some sweetness and a lengthier finish than previously. The ash is a piercing white as I watch it casually fall off.

Almost immediately I get a bitterness with another draw followed by earth and oak. The smoke production on the last third of the cigar is moderate and steady. The honeycomb that developed earlier has returned bringing a pleasant, prolonged sweetness.  A retrohale brings black pepper, oak, and almond with a long finish. The profile is heading towards a medium to full body as the strength appears to be building. I’m getting burnt toast as sourdough and char end in a sourness along the sides of my mouth. A final puff allows more wood and nuts to show that is lasts a bit as I put the cigar down.

Conclusion

To start this cigar had some overly sour notes that seemed to return all throughout the smoke. The honeycomb, nuts and cocoa were quite enjoyable and only wished it lasted longer. When I took slow and steady draws salt and sourdough emerged that gave more overall balance. The construction was quite good and the body of the cigar was steadily medium. Finding out this was a Pichardo Clasico Sumatra I was pleased to have tried another cigar in their line as I’ve only had a few. I would suggest picking one or two up and laying them down a bit before getting into them as I feel they may benefit from further aging.

Final Rating: 87

Blind Cigar Review: Quesada 1974 Toro

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Quesada 1974 Toro Review

Quesada cigars makes not only some choice lines, but their factory creates blends for many other brands as well. I’ve enjoyed much that comes from them in addition to the companies they’ve worked with. The Quesada 1974 honors the year their factory opened in the Dominican Republic. This toro is a new size to the line that adds to their extensive portfolio. The toro size can give a lot of opportunity to put together several tobaccos in a blend to create wonderful flavors. Read on to see if that’s what happened in this blind review.

Quesada 1974 Toro Review
Quesada 1974 Toro Review

Blind Review: Quesada 1974 Toro

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Quesada 1974 Toro
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
  • Size:6x 52 (Toro)

Appearance and Construction

This toro has a sizable milk chocolate wrapper with a rounded cap. There are several veins running alongside and to the touch the cigar is firm from top to bottom. In hand this a hefty cigar and rolling it across my palm it glides swiftly having very good construction. The foot is earthy and woody with a faint mustiness.

Flavor and Smoking Characteristics

Using my Xikar VX, I make a V-cut to the head and take a dry draw. I’m picking up mushroom through the filler and salt from the wrapper. I torch the foot and it is airy with pencil lead and salinity. With another puff oak and forest floor bring an earthy almost damp profile. I retrohale and the wood continues with raisin and dark fruits pushing through. The body is medium, and the ash is white with an uneven burn.  For a smoke this size and what seems like a lot of filler tobacco the flavors are appearing quite faint. Graphite, yeast with a short bitter finish come forth as the smoke production is increasing.

The burn continues to be uneven midway, and a slow draw brings a vegetal and perfumy character to the cigar. I’m getting more cedar than oak now on top of cocoa and graphite. A retrohale brings a spicy character that finishes rough through the nose leaving a green taste on the palate. The body maintains its medium profile, not deviating from the beginning. The wood is sharp as I allow the smoke to resonate siding with a nuttiness that emerges. Even at the halfway mark the cigar appears rather linear.

Reaching the toro’s last third the burn line is slanted and there’s notes of yeast and barnyard with burnt notes on the back end. Taking another a retrohale, the mushroom and dampness return with some floral and that underlying vegetal taste that’s rough on the tongue. Charred oak emerges from a slow draw with a waxiness on the finish. The cigars continues to be medium in body with discernible flavors only increasing slightly. A final long draw more char develops with a short earthy ending to the  cigar.

Conclusion

This cigar had several issues that muddled its flavors. The bitterness along with its vegetal notes were rough to taste which is too bad as the mushroom, pencil lead and salt gave a pleasant earthy quality that seemed to be the base of the profile. The floral and woody notes in the last third we’re overshadowed by an unpleasant waxiness that lingered on my palate. I was surprised when I found out this was a Quesada 1974 Toro as I was looking forward to trying one but perhaps, I’ll look toward other cigars in their profile which I find quite enjoyable.

Final Rating: 85

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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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