Blind Cigar Review: Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa

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Noel Rojas has created blends for brands such as Ezra Zion, Stolen Throne, Nomad, and several others. What really intrigued me is Rojas began by blending smaller gauge cigars bucking, the trend of 60 plus size smokes that are the fashion these days. That drew me into trying cigars he was commissioned to make, and I’ve enjoyed most of them. The Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa is a cigar under his own name and a toro size which is a classic vitola.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6”x 50 (Toro)

Blind Review: Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa

Appearance and Construction

This toro has an almost reddish hued wrapper with several veins visible. To the touch the cigar is firmly packed with tobacco and rolling it in hand the craftsmanship is evident. The triple seam cap is excellently applied.  The foot is semi closed which is makes it difficult to smell the filler however when I take a whiff, I’m picking up cedar and leather.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

My Xikar scissors give a swift cut to the cigar and as I take a dry draw there’s cedar, earth, and raisins through an airy passage. With a torch lighter I toast the wrapper and take my first puff. It’s a mild start with lots of creaminess. The airiness with the dry draw has tightened up a bit. Another draw and red pepper and leather flow through giving a weighty mouthfeel. With a retrohale more of the red pepper hits my nose along with jalapeno and oak as I release the smoke. Thus far the cigar is in the medium range even though there’s weight to it. The spice flavors are not yet rich enough to warrant a full-bodied experience yet.

At midway the creaminess returns along with cashews and a lingering nuttiness on the finish. The burn line is sharp and produces a nice white/gray ash. Another draw off this toro and the red pepper returns along with wood and espresso notes. As I take another retrohale there’s a spicy profile combined with balsa wood and graphite. The cigar continues in the medium bodied range with an excellent burn line and strong ash. I take another puff and the creamy texture returns with less spice, more wood and toasted oak rounding out the profile. The next draw is where I’m getting more spices and pepper notes with leather that dries out the finish.

This toro seems to be smoking fast although the smoke production and heat do not seem to overproduce. I take a slow draw and roasted peanuts, jalapeño and cedar on the back end give a varied blend of flavors on the last third of the cigar. Giving another retrohale there’s red pepper flakes that permeate the nose with a nuttiness on the release. The earthiness intensifies with a long puff that follows with leather and black pepper on my tongue and lips. With a final draw the spice and earth intermingle yielding another short finish. A flavorful if not overly complex cigar. 

Conclusion

This was a unique blend in that in started off with peppery notes and segued into a creaminess followed by earth and spice. The cigar burned well throughout and maintained a medium body rarely reaching anything fuller. The flavors remained the same with a back and forth of pepper, cream, spice, and earth. Changes were not drastic and the finishes rather short leaving you wanting just a little more in terms of taste. This was the first Noel Rojas release under his name I’ve had, and it was an easy smoke just not that interesting. I would suggest checking out cigars Noel Rojas has made for other brands as I’ve found they deliver a bit more.

Final Rating: 88

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Blind Cigar Review: The Vince by Blackbird Cigar Co.

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If you’ve been following the cigar scene for the last few years, you’ll know that cigar marketing is getting more and more creative, especially among boutique producers. The latest Blackbird Cigars release, an LCA exclusive, is The Vince. Named for Tom Cruises’ character in the Martin Scorsese film The Color Of Money, this cigar stands out with its dark wrapper, box pressed shape and pigtail closed foot.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: The Vince by Blackbird Cigar Co. LCA Exclusive
  • Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Blend: Dominican and Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6” x 50

Blind Review: The Vince

Appearance and Construction

On inspection, this is a unique looking boxed pressed maduro with a closed pigtail foot. The head of the cigar is slightly tapered and there are minimal veins visible. As I give a squeeze to the wrapper, I can see it is firm all the way through. I clip the pigtail foot and there’s notes of oak and cherry with black pepper hitting my nostrils.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

Clipping the tapered head and with the pigtail foot taken care of, I take a dry draw. It’s a bit airy with wheat and fruit that’s rather mild. The fruitiness that comes through lingers for a moment on my palate and the finish is buttery. Unfortunately, one layer of the wrapper comes loose early on. As I take a retrohale there’s cashews, oats, and a slight sourness on the exhale. The ash is straight as an arrow and glaringly white, with the cigar falling in the medium range.

By midway, the amount of smoke seems to be increasing along with sour cherry and a sharp bitter finish. Taking another retrohale I’m getting barnyard notes with cedar and strong espresso creating an unbalanced group of flavors. With another draw there’s a creaminess and butterscotch followed by vanilla that touches the sides of my mouth, though in short supply. The body picks up to medium-full with coffee, black pepper and a snap of leather on the back end. Drawing on this cigar even slowly does not seem to calm down its hefty smoke production, and the wrapper is starting to become looser as the combustion builds.

The final third sees the wrapper even more undone, and there’s an acidic bitter quality forming. Leather and white pepper cause a drying and tingling sensation all at once as I take successive draws. The bitterness deters from the flavors on the finish and taking a retrohale pepper, cedar and spice come through. There’s a grittiness on the wrapper at present with earthy notes and salinity from the smoke hitting my palate. I take a last puff which delivers coffee, cedar and a short burnt finish.

Conclusion

With such unique construction, I found this cigar intriguing from first glance with its dark wrapper, box press and pigtail cap. Unfortunately, the flavors did not deliver enough to keep my attention. From the airy draw to the wheat notes, coffee, cream, and pepper, all were present but they never lasted long. The bitter acidic finish midway coupled with the wrapper unraveling didn’t help the experience. I’m not very familiar with the Blackbird Cigar Company, nor do I fully understand the homage to The Color of Money movie and the cigar. I’d be willing to try something else in their portfolio, but I wouldn’t pick this one up again.

Final Rating: 86

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Blind Cigar Review: Weller by Cohiba

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In the cigar world, collaborations are not uncommon. There are blenders working with other blenders, celebrity projects, even Chef’s having their palates challenged to create a cigar accenting the flavors they create at their restaurants (Davidoff Chef’s Edition comes to mind). Of course, cigars created to pair with spirits seems to be the biggest “no brainer”. With this in mind, General Cigar teamed up with Weller bourbon and their non-Cuban brand Cohiba to create Weller by Cohiba. This robusto was designed to work with their wheated bourbon, allowing the smoker and bourbon fan to enjoy both pleasures in harmony. It should be noted, however, that Weller doesn’t feature any barrel aging of the tobaccos like other spirits-associated blends.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Weller by Cohiba
  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Connecticut Habano
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Size: 5” ½ (Robusto)

Blind Review: Cohiba Weller

Appearance and Construction

This robusto has a dark toothy, wrapper that appears almost near black. There are a few soft spots in the middle of the cigar as I squeeze it. The foot smells damp and earthy.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

I decide to use my Xikar scissors, clipping just enough off the head. The draw dry has the right amount of resistance and offers a damp and earthy profile. I’m getting a tanginess on my lips from the wrapper and striking a long match, I begin toasting the cigar. With my first draw, there’s a grittiness along with earth and fresh tobacco. While the smoke wafts through my mouth, I’m picking up coffee with a slight minerality on the finish. Taking a retrohale there are floral notes combined with cedar on the exhale. The cigar is billowing with smoke and is medium bodied at present.

At midway, the ash is gray and quite flaky. The burn line is askew, and the smoke production is quite dense. There’s milk chocolate and oats as I take another draw, while the finish is on the medium side. The retrohale delivers roasted peanuts with buttery notes on the back end. As a few minutes go by, I’m picking up cereal and wheat as I slowly puff. The body continues to lean towards more medium with leather drying out my mouth. There’s some pronounced cedar and vanilla as more smoke coats my tongue and comes on rather strong. I’m getting some noticeable sweetness from the wrapper at this point.

As I reach the final third of the cigar, the smoke continues to become overabundant although it never runs hot. The lengthy draw I take delivers spice upfront with mustard seed on the finish. The intensity of flavors is picking up with oak, leather and peppery notes coming through.  As I take a retrohale, wheat and spice are dominate followed by a sharp minerality. With a last puff the robusto ends with earth, leather, and cocoa on the mid palate.

Conclusion

This robusto started off gritty which had me concerned. But it transitioned nicely to earth, wood and wheat notes. The sweetness that gave way during the middle of the smoke accented the nuttiness and cocoa flavors that developed as it burned on. At the last third spice, mustard seed followed by minerals ended with a medium finish.

When I found out this was Weller by Cohiba, my first thought was that the wheat notes would certainly bode well with a wheated bourbon. Although not the most complex cigar, the Weller by Cohiba was enjoyable and delivered different tastes that I haven’t had in a while. If I had another, I would certainly be sipping Weller alongside it although at an MSRP of $19.99 I caution the quality/value ratio. If you don’t’ mind its price, then I’d say it’s worth a try.

Final Rating: 89

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Watch: Matthias Clock on the Cigar Talk Podcast

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In mid-November, Matthias joined Rob on the Cigar Talk Podcast to talk about Fine Tobacco NYC, how the team has built the cigar community in NYC, and the general history of the organization. They also talked about the trend of micro-batch “meme” cigars, irresponsible cigar marketing, etc.

About Cigar Talk Podcast:

Lite up a cigar, pour yourself a drink and sit back and enjoy the fastest growing Cigar show with your hosts Rob Jones & Bryant Falconer. They bring the lounge to you each week, talking cigars, bourbon, scotch, coffee, great interviews, and great giveaways.

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Blind Review: AVO Improvisation Series LE 2021

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Each year, Davidoff releases a special limited edition blend honoring the late cigar maker Avo Uvezian. I look forward to these releases–they are where AVO blends get tweaked via variations in wrapper, filler, and binder. The result is a slightly different flavor profile while keeping the heart of a blend.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Avo Improvisation Limited Edition 2021
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian 702
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Dominican
  • Size: Double Corona  (50” 7 ½)

Blind Review: AVO Improvisation Series LE 2021

Appearance and Construction

This is a nicely tanned large cigar with an oily sheen to it. To the touch it is silky and smooth with a few veins running the entire length of the cigar. I give the smoke a roll in hand and can feel the construction is spot on. With a slight squeeze across the wrapper, I see there’s a well bunched roll to the filler tobaccos and the cigar appears well packed. The aroma off the foot reveals less than anticipated, with some oak, almond and cherry which take some effort to identify.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

With my Xikar Mammoth cutter I clip just enough off the cap for a clean draw. The dry draw is airy and loose and as I pull I can identify cedar, must and an earthy quality. I’m feeling a combination of sweet and spice on my lips that seems to be prepping my palate for the smoke. Using a long cedar taper, I gently rotate and toast the cigar, and the first puffs bring spice and an intense fruitiness that lingers on the finish. With another puff I’m getting a creaminess intertwined with almond paste and underlying fruits at its core. There’s also a bit of drying on my lips.

As I take a retrohale, brioche and other toasty notes come through with a slightly sour finish.  Whereas my lips have a drying sensation, the effect of the cigar is now leaving me with significant sweetness. I take another draw which delivers vanilla bean and nuts with an earthy finish. The sour notes return and contrast the previous sweet profile, though it doesn’t appear to last long.

Midway through this long vitola I notice the gray ash is splayed and flaky. The burn is consistent and with another puff there’s milk chocolate and toasted oak leaving a pleasingly long finish. In addition to the above flavors I’m picking up that underlying fruitiness that seems to linger throughout this cigar hiding in the background. Taking a long draw with a retrohale, I get a large helping of earth and cocoa, with a musty note on the exhale. At this point, this is a medium bodied smoke which appears determined to remain so.

This cigar has been smoking at a steady pace giving me time to recognize the flavors. In its final third the wood and vanilla come forward with sweetness on the lips. Right around the corner the fruits return with a finish of almond paste. I take another retrohale where mushroom, must, earth and leather rush in. While I’ve been smoking slow and the cigar has been accommodating, it’s now burning a bit hot. With a relaxed draw that seems to tame the smoke, cedar dominates with an earthy finish. The cigar has leaned a bit fuller from its consistent medium range in body. The amount of smoke production I’m noticing has increased as well. Another draw and a note of cherry and vanilla rounding out with wood on the end seems to accent the overall style of this cigar.

With a final puff I’m getting that toastiness and spice that lingers on the palate with a bit of a sour note to end. A large size cigar that delivers in its format.

Conclusion

This blend is well suited for the large size. It’s not so full flavored that it exhausts your palate, nor is it too light where it becomes dull. This cigar delivers consistent flavors of toast, spice, and sweetness. A real interesting note was the ongoing fruits I kept picking up while smoking this as it became a secondary theme through the entire cigar. The flavors kept me interested, though the sour notes off and on were the biggest issues I had. I believe this cigar smokes well out the gate, but I would like to see what a year of age will bring as I feel there’s more sophistication waiting to come forth.

I wasn’t surprised when I found out this was is an AVO LE 2021. The quality is there, and I enjoyed the profile. I would recommend picking up a few or even a box as I think there’s even more improvisation for us to appreciate.

Final Rating: 89

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