Sunday, November 23, 2014

601 Steel Girder (6x52)

A few years ago people in the know about boutique offerings were sucking the 601 cigars up wherever and whenever they could find them.  If you were not in the know then you were out in the cigar wasteland with the rest of the cigar sheeple, blissfully ignorant of the wonderful offering that was put together by Espinosa and Ortega with Don Pepin Garcia.  After some woeful times, there was a relationship with Rocky Patel that led to a horrific gas station cigar rebranding, Espinosa is back and making cigars bearing this frontmark again, and the branding is back to the old way, just the way I like it.  You see, I am one of the ones in the know about boutique offerings, some would even say that I am an acclaimed member of the boutique cognoscenti (self acclimation counts in my world!), and I was actually very happy to see this brand back where it belongs.  I have been hoarding my old 601 Red's and Blue's because they were just that good and they were gone forever.  Now I need not be so parsimonious because I can always get some 601 Steel, so can you by the way, and whether you are in the know or an ignoramus, you can get them here.  It's that simple, anyone can click a link...

The cigar presents with some interesting visuals.  The exterior is ruddy, much like I would envision unfinished steel, there is some roughness to the wrapper (some would call it tooth, they would be wrong).  The band has the old 601 style and a nice steel gray finish that adds oomph to the nomenclature of the smoke.  Visually I would say this resembles more of a knock around cigar than an accomplished premium, but then the 601 name comes back to mind and I realize that I am likely in for taste roller coaster.  The pre light draw shows some signs of dark fruit and pepper and the pre light aroma has some hints of anise and spice.

The cigar opens with all sorts of power up front.  I am actually a bit taken aback by this show of teeth right up front.  The core profile is full of heady blasts of nicotine and the palate tingles from the get go.  The flavors show some wonderful bursts of black pepper and black cherry and I am not sure I have had this combination present itself in a cigar before.  At the back of the palate there is a very satisfying dark wood note that combines with a licorice note that is initially interesting, but then becomes a bit too much.  The draw is superb at this point, delivering big cloudy bursts of smoke.  The burn is slightly wonky, but I don't believe I will need a touch up at this point.

The first half of the smoke proceeds nicely, though the power recedes and I wish it would have hung around for a bit.  The core profile takes on a more fruit laden quality with notes of black cherry and orange peel coming through.  The back of the palate has begun to show some more licorice type notes at this point and I would really like to have more of the dark wood from earlier in the presentation.  The draw continues to perform very well.  The burn has continued to be a touch off, but I am resisting the reapplication of flame, as I so often do, because a fine cigar should correct itself.

The final half of the cigar really comes home strong.  The core profile continues to show measured allowances of black cherry and orange, but there is some very solid black pepper coming back into the mix and taking over the overall impression.  The back of the palate really shortens up and becomes a more solid mix of earth and wood, with a slightly metallic impression that will slightly hinder the score.  The draw was solid all the way through.  The burn did have to be touched up, I hate that, I will score accordingly.

The finish was long and powerful showing pepper and dark cherry notes.

All in all I am very pleased with the return of this frontmark.

Appearance- 88 a bit rustic for me, but still not bad
Taste- 91 a fine experience here, could have used more body in the front half.  Metallic notes late hurt the score
Construction- 87 can't go any higher with a cigar that I have to put flame back to, but the draw was outstanding
Strength- 89 a very nice full bodied and flavorful smoke
Overall- 88.75 worth grabbing some ASAP

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Montecristo Relentless Toro (6x50)

It has been awhile since I have graced the retinal portions of your eyeballs with a cigar review.  Your collective sighing does not fool me, I know that I have been missed, after all I have not received any hate mail or threats of bodily harm in over a month.

For this glorious return I have been asked to review something new from Montecristo.  The name alone caused me to heavily speculate about the cigar before I even had them in my hot little hands.  Relentless as an appellation certainly allowed the mind to wander about as I waited for them to show up in the mail.  What could it possibly mean?  Was it going to be full bodied?  That would certainly be something new for Monetcristo as they are known for more mild and medium offerings.  Was it going to be expensive?  A relentless assault on your pocketbook as Montecristo has done in the past?  A million questions came immediately to mind and as I was about to retire from my day job my brain had the ability to really mull this over for several days.  I am sure you think as my wife does, and would speculate that I was wasting time while I could have been doing things around the house or whatever it is women think men should do when we have nothing else to do.  I say hooey to all of that jazz, if I am sitting around throwing cigar conjecture around in the box that I call my head then I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing brothers and sisters.

The cigar presents well, the wrapper is a nice medium brown Connecticut from Ecuador which is nice, because I actually prefer the Ecuadorian variety of this particular wrapper.  The construction appears to be pretty solid, but it is hard to tell with the overwhelmingly large band that is draped all over this bad boy.

A note on this, what is the deal with the huge bands?  What is the manufacturer trying to hide?  Or is it more about catching the eye with some fancy art work?  Let the cigar speak for itself for crying out loud!  Additionally, the larger the band the more pectin is required to secure it and the more potential there is for wrapper damage when it is finally disbanded.  Alas, on this cigar there are actually two overlapping bands! Insanity!

The pre light aroma smacks of light wood and cinnamon.  The pre light draw shows some white pepper notes and some thoughts of dry wood like balsa and cedar.

The cigar begins with a profile that has some real zest in the front notes.  There are some sharp blasts of pepper right off the bat, the smoke is a bit dry in the early stages and there is a woody note that contributes to the dry feeling.  At the back of the palate there is a slight grassy tone that is not quite off putting, but it is not the best either.  The draw is tight, at this point I realize how thick the end cap was.  One shallow snip, which is my preferred cut, will not do it on this cigar.  You will need to cut deeper, but don't get too deep and cut through the shoulder.  The burn is razor sharp and nice gray ash is forming.

The first half of the cigar moves along relatively well delivering a nice experience.  The core profile has warmed considerably and there are notes of cinnamon and other spice here over a nice under layer of white pepper that has toned down from the opening moments.  The back of the palate continues to show a nice balsa wood tone with the occasional splash of cedar.  The grassy notes are hanging around a bit, but they are not hurting the cigar at all.  The draw is now wide open, I did a little more cutting after the initial tightness, and it delivers very nice amounts of smoke.  The burn continues to be very solid.

The second half of the cigar shows some issues.  First, as I approach the band and it becomes time to remove it the wrapper starts to crack, I hate this when it happens because it will derail the experience as the cigar continues because the wrapper will unravel or not burn correctly.  As I remove the band my earlier fears are realized, it is stuck to the wrapper!  Oh the calamity!  My long experience helps me get through this without doing too much damage, but there is still some cracking and subsequent running that takes place.  The overall profile continues to be pleasant.  Cinnamon and spice notes dominate the front of the profile, I do wish there was some more complexity here, but it is a nice presentation of the flavors that are there.  The back of the palate continues to be mostly wood notes with some hints of grass every so often.

The finish was bit short and had some bitter notes, but also showed a nice warm cinnamon flavor as well.

If you would like to get some of these cigars you can buy them here and get them shipped right into your greedy paws...

Appearance- 88 a nice looking and well made cigar
Taste- 87 could use some more depth and complexity of flavor, but it was solid offering
Construction- 83 I have to take away points for the horrible band work which led to performance issues
Strength- 88 a nice medium smoke
Overall- 86  a slightly above average experience that could have been better