Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Brun del Re Cigars 1787 Libertad Supremo in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Brun del Re Cigars 1787 Libertad Supremo

WRAPPER: Costa Rican
BINDER: Costa Rican
FILLER: Costa Rican

FORMAT: Gordo (660)
ORIGIN: Costa Rica
INTENSITY: Medium

WEBSITE: brundelrecigars.com

NOTES:
Wood | Sweet nut cream* | Black pepper

Feels a bit light of hand, eyes a bit loose of roll. All told, neither is too-much indicative of eventual performance. Notes are a woodsy-nutty undelineated soft-melange. Delivered rigidly. Black pepper & grainy-dark chocolate[evolves into chocolate graham cracker] swirl in lemony-leathery bits that in turn swirl thru the profile. 

Toasts warmly via consistent progression. Perfectly serviceable, seemingly afraid to rock-the-boat. Burn starts quick-warm. Slow-cools coming out f 1/3. Line is jagged-even; no retouches. Ash holds well, even tho it appears aerated, somewhat flaky. Dark. Smoke out-put is big-side of moderate. Smoothly-sweet aroma. Excellent draw. No impediments. Again, attainable all-round.  

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

*giggity

Ed.NOTE: this post originally included errant information as to the origin of components & product. It has since been corrected. My apologies for sucking so bad.

@kaplowitzmedia

::: very :::

Monday, March 29, 2021

Brun del Re Cigars 1787 Rainforest in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Brun del Re Cigars 1787 Rainforest

WRAPPER: Costa Rican
BINDER: Costa Rican
FILLER: Costa Rican

FORMAT: Short Robusto (3.5x50) 
Pig-tail cap, unfinished foot.
ORIGIN: Costa Rica
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium

WEBSITE: brundelrecigars.com

NOTES:
White pepper | Cocoa butter | Citrus

Warm, clean orange citrus is laid-down early. Lays there consistently, all lightly roasted smooth. White peppercorn braces, simply-kindly. Cocoa butter fleshes out the profile sweetly, perhaps a tick cloyingly at times. A retro-hale cleans via conjuring up zesty spices. Cardamom, saffron, more pepper. Excellent balance.

Nethers are bright rich earthiness, a graham flour lilt. Nice light depths, fluffy. Calm, moderate complexities. For all the fluff & richness, as well as a burgeoning & almost sparkling oiliness, there are some rough edges hither/thither. Not egregious, but noticeable. Wildflower honey.

Performance-wise, there is the lone gripe of a somewhat loosey-goosey top-leaf surrounding cap & shoulder. A fitted sheet with weakening elastic at its corners. That said, burn, build, and ash growth are quite admirably displayed. A high-point too is the cigar's sweet-spicy alluring aroma. A sedate & uncumbersome thing, all-told. Attainable and pleasing.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: A-
BURN: A-
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

::: very :::

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Drew Estate Cigars Factory Smokes Sun Grown in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Drew Estate Cigars 
Factory Smokes Sun Grown

WRAPPER: Sun Grown
BINDER: Indonesia
FILLER: Indonesia

FORMAT: Churchill (750)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:
Topsoil | Cedar shavings | Black pepper  

Cosmetically fugly. No real MSRP fair complaints, performance-wise. Distended topsoil core. Sprinkled cedar bed shavings. Black pepper retro-hale lands in a kindly waxy-grainy chocolate palate.

TASTE: B-
DRAW: B
BURN: B-
BUILD: B

FINAL GRADE: B-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Other Drew Estate reviews:

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Kaplowitz Media. Cigars of the Month (February/March 2021)

"Have you Kaplowitz'd to-day?"

Kaplowitz Media. Cigars of the Month (Feb./March 2021)

Due to the yearly last-1/2 of Feb. hiatus, what we have here is the best cigars of Feb. & March 2021 crammed in together, below. What a time to be alive, huh? #blessed 

Kaplowitz Media.
CIGARS of the MONTH: FEB./MARCH 2021
[Names are links to full reviews]

FEBRUARY 2021


:::

MARCH 2021


@kaplowitzmedia
Check out my ADVentura Cigar reviews HERE. (advert)

::: very :::

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Kaplowitz Radio Presents: In Review: Podcast Series | Audio Cigar Reviews Index

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Kaplowitz Radio Presents: In Review: Podcast Series | Audio Cigar Reviews Index

In Review:. Audio reviews & ratings of offerings concerning Kaplowitz Media concerns. Scheduled on a pop-up basis; which is to say not scheduled at all.

INDEX
[titles are links to eps.]




@kaplowitzmedia

::: very :::

Monday, March 22, 2021

JC Newman Cigar Co. Perla del Mar Maduro (2020) in Review

lo-fi & lovely

JC Newman Cigar Co Perla del Mar Maduro (2020) in Review

WRAPPER: Connecticut Broadleaf
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Double Toro (660) soft "Tampa-style" press
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium

WEBSITE: jcnewman.com

NOTES:
Potting-soil | Leather | Black pepper (softly)

Growing up in Brooklyn, there was a bowling alley, Shell Lanes, that had a hot drink vending machine. It served coffee, hot cocoa, & chicken broth. I still remember the taste of that vending machine chicken broth, circa 1988. I do not taste it in this cigar, but wouldn't that be something?

Only slightly more brawny than its predecessor, & no more delineated. Balanced rather linearly, smoothly-so. Soft leather, toasted nut-butter. Finely-ground black pepper, slightly. Anise, heavy floral hints-bits. Bulging-bleeding potting-soil earthen core. Some in-outing semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla-lilt, attempts. French-press coffee, French-roasted, flows into profile's mids, steers (weakly) there-out, at the second-third. 

Feels unwieldy in the hand. Cap/shoulder soften, losing some-much form; draw remains calmly unimpeded. Burn-line wonks-oft. Ash flakes. Smoke out-put errs toward helter-skelter, provides somewhat muted-bland rich-earth aromas. Neither olfactory nor palate provides character. Tedium, sans burn tinkerings. My dad nursing our jalopy up the Catskills, sans the sights.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Saturday, March 20, 2021

DAV Cigars Habana Clasico Torpedo in Review

lo-fi & lovely

DAV Cigars Habana Clasico Torpedo in Review

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habana 2000
BINDER: Dominican Olor
FILLER: Dominican

FORMAT: Torpedo (652)
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-Full

WEBSITE: www.davcigars.com

NOTES:
Mulling spice | Fruit cake | Cedar

A self-assured profile. Tells you what it's going to tell you. Tells you. Tells you that it told you. Signs off w/ "Thanks for coming to my TED Talk." [mic drop] From first puff until final-rest in-tray, lock-step delivery. Smooth as in super fine-grit sandpaper, a slight Olor dryness brings the nifty tooth. Reads as decisively al dente. 

Mulling spice, heavy on the citrus rind. Always in balance. Fruitcake, yeasty-sweet & bearing dried fruits, nuts. Seriously delineated via a sweetly-seasoned cedar bracing. Rigid but not unreasonable. Speckled-bright clay earth, suede underbelly. In-between: milky-milk chocolate, a Swiss Miss packet flavored Mexicali-style. 

Performance-wise, there is an un-egregious wobbly-burn I see in many a Habana2k. Draw starts snug, eases quick. Ash clumps prior to making an inch. Smoke out-put is moderate, offers a fantastic sweet-spice aroma w/ savory back-end. A cigar that offers the best of what it is designed to offer. A superb presentation of its parts. 

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Kaplowitz Media. SPECIAL REPORT: Recently Reviewed Maduro Cigars RANKED

"Have you Kaplowitz'd to-day?"

Kaplowitz Media. SPECIAL REPORT:
Recently Reviewed Maduro Cigars RANKED

[namings are links to full reviews]

GOLD MEDAL

BRONZE MEDAL

:::

Maduro cigars. Dark but not quite Oscuro dark although sometimes almost-almost virtually just-as so and at times also curiously light-colored. It's one of those spectrum things, I suppose. Not strong as some assume, instead, Maduro offerings err to a sweet ripeness of notes. So ripe, in fact, that the word Maduro itself means "a whale's vagina" in German.

Perhaps you think these "whale's vaginas" have been on the scene forever. You'd be wrong. Take a stab at their age.  NOPE. Try about 50yrs. That's right, there are some cigar smokers still alive who began smoking prior to the birth of Maduro. Wow. I mean it is possible. Can you imagine being that old? Horrifying. I love scotch. Scotchy scotch scotch.

The whole thing began when manufacturers took note of a changing public palate. While not strong-forward & across-the-board, this invention was, most definitely, a flavorful one in comparison to its current times -- its peers, say. The process involved in its fermentation is long, hot, and wet. No wonder so many Maduro offerings are sexy af. 

Sexy af & what else exactly, tho? Mexican SA & CT Broadleaf are leading sources that typically feature notes of chocolate, raisins, espresso, & pepper-spice.  Less-so delineated than many other top-leaves leave a smokes to be. More pleasantly plump & nuanced than intricate &/or complex. Sating. At times flirting w/ linear. To be paired w/ Port.

:::

NOTE that these occasional GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE (GSB) listicles live independently of the big end of the year list & even monthly best-ofs. Please don't hold me accountable for this. Consider these the lore, not canon, of the Kaplowitz Media. Universe (#KMU)

@kaplowitzmedia

Check out my ADVentura reviews HERE 
to find out more about this fine brand.

::: very :::

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Thoughts on Candela Cigars on St. Patrick's Day

"Have you Kaplowitz'd to-day?"

Thoughts on Candela Cigars on St. Patrick's Day 

[The following is a re-worked version of a post published five years ago tomorrow.]

Cultural appropriation be damned & blarney'd, I had my St. Patrick's Day another year & still sans a drop of Irish blood. I watched The Quiet Man, as I usually do. That's really the bulk of it. See, I'm a traditionalist, but also lazy. John Wayne engaging in once-a-year fisticuffs with Victor McLaglen is tradition enough on this, the O'Day of days. Although we all know Barry Fitzgerald stole & steals the show. 

Regardless, the takeaway from this opening paragraph is thus: I am a traditionalist. My take-away from the flick? To quote my own well-aged Facebook status "The Quiet Man is the longest premium tobacco ad ever filmed. Also: Mary Kate had to have made the rest of Sean Thornton's life a living-breathing hell of high-level tsuris. Every year, I see the movie differently. How interesting." (I was married at the time.) #HotTake

My further cigar-centric takeaway? Glad ya asked, gentlepersons. It never changes. It's hard to tell when exactly the Dbl Claro/Candela wrapper became the green beer of the cigar world, but I'm sure it happened quite early on as it is a somewhat unfortunate and entirely perfect fit -- but the traditionalist in me wants it known that Candela is a serious thing. Full-on deserving of consideration in the remaining Gregorian 364 -- not just be relegated to schtick and kitsch & shamrock-novelty of that ilk. 

Candela wrapper leaf, in fact, owned the cigar landscape of the mid-1950s to the '70s US. So much so, those Candela offerings were dubbed "American Market Selection." If that black and white flick you're watching includes a stogie -- chances are it's green green green. This might be hard to fathom in our flavor-bomb era ushered at least partially in by improper tastings and taste -- but the Candela is quite flavorful in its subtle nuances. Please don't make me discuss the retro-hale for another hour. No, I won't share a link. Look it up. It shamefully exists.

Every March 17th as my social media feeds become a dare I say kitsch-fest of Pickle Juices, Filthy Hooligans, and my otherwise mainly sane brethren in ridiculous fucking hats, I lament and am made to feel rather peeved that a once-proud American Icon is sadly relegated to this. I mean schtick is natural, schtick is good. Not everybody does it, but everybody should. However, a bit of decorum is all I ask. Lest it teeter-on-over into schlock.

Please then, allow me to act as tire chains and slow/secure the roll with a good bit of traction, gentlepersons. (An attempt.) How? By asking you to nurse your today's [day after] near-certain Amateur Hour hangover with a bit of the hair of the dog that done bit you -- and pair it with Candela smokes like perhaps an Illusione CG-4 Kaplowitz Media Candela, a Fuente 8-5-8 Lonsdale, or a Puros Indios Churchill. Yes, I did place that list in ::: very ::: particular order.

I do believe you'll then have a deeper appreciation of the leaf. You might not end up loving the green as much as Ms. Piggy and/or Donald Trump each do, but then again, you just maybe-might. And next year, do schtick not schlock... I'll be ever so happy to simply point & laugh at your choice of head-wear alone, ya maniacs, ya. "You know [fill in name] he's such a wildcard!" & "Remember that one time..."

I'll leave you w/ this, then... I am not as old as the coming yarn might make me appear, but I come from a poor and cheap family. As such I recall vividly my first colored TV. My inaugural taste of it was the opening credits of Little House on the Prairie. Green rolling hills with bright yellow flowers. I recall too, screaming-hurling down the highway at nearly 40mph in my Hyundai Accent some decades later. My phone rang and I received my first picture thusly. It was a photo of my sleeping daughter wrapped in pink, sent by her mom.

You see,  I at first did not have a picture. Then my phone 'rang.' Then I had a picture, materialized. Amazing! (I was late to that game, too.) My second MMS followed quickly on its heels -- it was a shot of her mom's, pardon my French, tiddies. Such a beautiful language, French. Romance. I killed my A/C, pulled a Huey post-haste, and managed to gun the thing up to 43 -- pointed in the direction of breasts and the promise thereof.

Yes, I watched The Quiet Man today. On something called Netflix. You may not have heard of it yet, but it's a thing. A thing new (late) to me. Oh, time. Oh, another trip around the sun. I do hope you had a good one, gentlepersons. With many more coming down the pike. 

Ultimately, as I suppose my aforementioned finality was merely penultimate in the 'end' -- nevertheless, here goes: some things should never be schlock. Off the top of my head? Nudies and Candelas for two (three?). Why? They, in the cases provided, mark moments that should live larger in memory than any single day. 

McL'chaim!

@kaplowitzmedia

PS: Did you like this return to longer-form content not of the review/rating genre? Let me know in the comments below. PPS: Comments have been disabled prior to publishing.

::: very :::

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Rocky Patel Cigars The Edge A-10 in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Rocky Patel Cigars The Edge A-10 in Review

WRAPPER: Honduran Corojo & Maduro
BINDER: Honduran
FILLER: Panamanian, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (652) Barber Pole
ORIGIN: Honduras (El Paraiso factory)
INTENSITY: Medium

WEBSITE: www.rockypatel.com

NOTES:
White pepper | Leather | Dirt

Bitey-sharp w.pepper. Finely-ground + herbaceous-minty lilt. Domineering, that. Underneath it, sneaks out leathery-earthiness, fleshy nuttiness. Milk chocolate keeps trying, trying. Combustion-construction leaves something to be desired.

Becomes more&more imbalanced via tingly-nigh-abrasive progression. Lemony-linear, mostly, thin-shallow repetitive depths. No complexities. Wayward burn-line, flaky ash-stack. Smokes a bit like SCREAMING into a pillow. 

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Other Rocky Patel reviews:

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Toscano Cigars Anno Domini 1492 in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Toscano Cigars Anno Domini 1492 in Review

WRAPPER: Fire Cured Kentucky Seed Tennessee Grown
BINDER: none
FILLER: Fire Cured Kentucky Seed Tennessee Grown

FORMAT: 640 Cheroot "wide belly"
ORIGIN: Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, Italy
INTENSITY: Medium-full

WEBSITE: www.toscanocigars.com

NOTES:
Campfire | Jasmine | Earth

Bold, bright, brightly-casting shadows in its own forest floor-earthen campfire depths. Jasmine, tea leaves steer top-notes. A Chinese restaurant cuppa homage? The food's slathered in Korean BBQ sauce, tangy-spiced-sweetness. Focus? The dry-mouthed taste-feels, not delineating particular note(s). A binder secures even-keeled combustion; this cigar is rolled sans binder (ipso facto). 

TASTE: B-
DRAW: B
BURN: B-
BUILD: B

FINAL GRADE: B-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Other Toscano reviews:

"Meanwhile, I caved into a weird craving and got some Toscano 1492s. I'm knee-deep in dry-mouthed regret." I write to a friend named ShitFuck while reviewing.

The weakest link in a portfolio I generally appreciate, visit occasionally.

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Friday, March 12, 2021

Casa Robles Cigars Arasibo Gran Reserva in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Casa Robles Cigars Arasibo Gran Reserva in Review

WRAPPER: San Andres Maduro
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Puerto Rican

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Puerto Rican
INTENSITY: Medium-full/Full

WEBSITE: casa-robles-cigars.company.site

NOTES:
Black pepper | Earth | Coffee

Smokes like two smokes, in terms of delivery. One, up-top, smoky-taut. The lower, slack earthiness. The back-end joins the combative pair in coarse black pepper-led bitter-sweetness, lingering fuggy-led bits. The notes are selfsame gate-to-wire/top-to-bottom. Ristretto, nutshells, faraway-dusty potpourri. Brown sugar sidles into finish, briefly-apologetically. A can of Coke left on a summer dashboard.

Charred steak grows-grows thru-out; imbalances-some. Abrasive(charcoaly) olfactory. A ballsy-gruff offering, brashly-so. Interesting under-tones are hidden too dry-rigidly-much. Chicory, licorice attempt, only somewhat influence. Burns quickly-wobbly. Mid-point re-direct/re-light. Dry-flaky ash. Quite-open draw. Admirable assemblage. An image persists -- scraping burnt toast into kitchen sink w/ butter knife.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

A tick-bit about Casa Robles (et al). This brand, and others of its kind, can be seen as representative(s) of a small and easily romanticized cigar world take on wine’s Garagistes. This moniker is originally in reference to Bordeaux-based winemakers who crafted "garage wines" in oft solo always indie revolutionary-reaction to the more traditional styles of those offerings.

Other Casa Robles reviews:
Casa Robles A Knight's Tale
Casa Robles The Seventh Seal

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Acosta Cigar Co. La Lujuria in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Acosta Cigar Co. 
La Lujuria Double Robusto

WRAPPER: Mexico San Andres Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: 6.5x56 "Double Robusto"
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full

WEBSITE: acostacigars.com

NOTES:
Espresso | Semi-sweet chocolate | Buttery oak

Consistent not-linear. Balanced, well-delivered. Stubbly-smooth. Dense. Ray-of-light[roasted orange]allowance. Dessert-ish. Mnemonic device: remember 'ss'? Everyone wants 's'econd helpings (dessert. Plus-size Barbie). CHOCOLATE, semi-sweet capitol b-i-g; typical vanilla-addition. Espresso, fresh-pulled, admirable/memorable crema.[clean

Front-end on-back,] structured via sensational buttery-oak. Superb|delineations. Mid-palate: second-verse, same as the-first. [I am I am] forest floor earthiness savorily-injected. Leather, oils. Nutty-creaminess grows-grows. Black walnut. +Pumpernickel. 2/3 brings emboldened (still calm) black pepper, smoked paprika. Finishes longly -- top-note+spice.

Lip-smacking. Burns tick-quick(1/3), slight-wobble. Un-egregiously. Soft-spot north-of-band. Draws excellently. Moderate smoke out-put, lighter-than-expected sweet/savory room-note. Goodly ash-stack. Simple, well-served fare. Two-pairs well-handled makes a full house fold.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Monday, March 8, 2021

Casa Robles Cigars The Seventh Seal in Review

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Casa Robles Cigars The Seventh Seal in Review

WRAPPER: Sun Grown Ecuadorian
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Dominican, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Puerto Rico
INTENSITY: Medium

WEBSITE: casa-robles-cigars.company.site

NOTES:
Almond paste | Allspice | Mocha latte

Nicely balanced. Rich delineation. Maltiness touches most notes. Spice-sans-pepper creamy mid-palate -- surrounded by marzipan front, mocha latte back. Cereal grain swirls. Honey, caramel sweet-lingering tidings.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

A tick-bit about Casa Robles (et al). This brand, and others of its kind, can be seen as representative(s) of a small and easily romanticized cigar world take on wine’s Garagistes. This moniker is originally in reference to Bordeaux-based winemakers who crafted "garage wines" in oft solo always indie revolutionary-reaction to the more traditional styles of those offerings.

Other Casa Robles reviews:

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Casa Robles Cigars A Knight's Tale in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Casa Robles Cigars A Knight's Tale in Review

WRAPPER: Connecticut Broadleaf
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Honduran, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Puerto Rican
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-full

WEBSITE: casa-robles-cigars.company.site

NOTES:
Cedar | Dark chocolate | Grains

Cohesive roasty-toasty buttery cedar & dark chocolate inter-play. Smoothly balanced particularly in bitter-sweet savory (leathery-oily) aspects. A bit of a narrow profile, but softly delineated enough to dissect. Structured by that cedar, which when standing alone gets sweet-spice attachments. Dark grains. Butterscotch. French roast coffee & molasses notes flow in. Silky.

Greater than the sum of its cushy parts.Synergy. All are delivered as all -- meaning there are no front/mid/back palate notes, particularly. Remains lively 'nuff, however. Black pepper. Neither spectacular nor rare insofar as menu but well-handled. Finish is sweet w/ a tick of salted minerality. Pleasant & attainable. Earthy af core.

Some intriguing shadow-work in its supple depths. Performance-wise, it draws easily & burns straight (although a tick stop&start in pacing). Holds its form admirably-so. Smoke out-put is less than moderate, thus not allowing for a terrific amt of aroma; what's there is sweetdarksavory. Burns quite slow, coolly sedate. Nice.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

A tick-bit about Casa Robles (et al). This brand, and others of its kind, can be seen as representative(s) of a small and easily romanticized cigar world take on wine’s Garagistes. This moniker is originally in reference to Bordeaux-based winemakers who crafted "garage wines" in oft solo always indie revolutionary-reaction to the more traditional styles of those offerings.

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Sy Cigars Barber Pole Gordo in Review

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Sy Cigars Barber Pole Gordo in Review

WRAPPER: Connecticut Shade/Mexican San Andres
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Dominican, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Gordo
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium

WEBSITE: sycigars.com

NOTES:
Milk chocolate | Maltiness | Lemon 

Egg Cream. Whoppers. Imbalanced Lemonheads. Fun! -- ultimately dull. Novelties wear-off[borders|collapse], tedium. Imbalance-grows. Spices are hidden-by sourness, Cheerios dust ::: A depressed man in an Aloha shirt.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B-
BURN: B-
BUILD: B

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

A thought. So much is made about Barber Pole cigars offering-up greater complexities. OK, a couple thoughts. Firstly, perhaps if this format is/was ||| in terms of strip(p)ing. However, we're talking ///* in usual BPs. Wrap that around a cylinder & you are always tasting both at once. Muffled cacophony. 

Secondly, & in re to tasting both at once. Many a portfolio is made by placing different wrappers over the exact same guts (binder & filler). To that end, one can see a BP as pairing a cigar with another cigar. I'm simply not as big a fan of pairing as others seem to be. Why? Because one thing inevitably detracts from the other.

*\\\ depending on your POV.

Other Sy reviews:

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Sy Cigars Torpedo in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Sy Cigars Torpedo in Review

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Dominican

FORMAT: Torpedo (6.125x54)
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:
White pepper | Acacia honey | Lemon zest

Dense & dusty-bright layers. Malty & lovely-musty. Not greatly delineated, but pleasant and smooth. Excellent balance. Contemplative if not fascinating. Cedar structure is softly enveloped in clotted cream. White cracked peppercorns crisp. Soft honey sweetens. Lemon zest keeps it all honest, clean. White chocolate.

Mid-palate features muffled notes of cardamom, cereal grains, lightly-roasted coffee. Creamy there, too. Malty. Almost in a hypnotic manner. Tranquil. A cigar to pair with a daydream? The tobacco is soft, pliable in delivery; exhibiting nice aging. A back-end & finish of sweet/sour suede savoriness. Lingers.

Packed well & brimmingly. Heavy in the hand. Loads of 'baccy. Draws a tick snug, un-egregiously. Stacks ash admirably & then-some. Burn wavers a tick, self-corrects. Smoke out-put is moderate, with a fusty room-note akin to finish. An enticing if not titillating cigar, easy like a Sunday AM, growing in an intriguing creaminess thru-out.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

kaplowitzmedia@mail.com

::: very :::
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