Gerard Geneve Cigar: Review

Steve mailed me this cigar

Size: 4.5 x 54 is my guess

I can’t find any information on this cigar.

Off the Light: light earthy tones of: toasted leafs and soft soil. Very smooth and mild-medium body here at the start. 

As the smoking experience continues the toasted notes start to pick up in body strength. A dry coffee tone starts to develop. 

As I finish the first half let me call it a dry (not a bad dry) earthy coffee profile.  The only problem was it was not longer. 

Second Half: as the burn entered the second half of the experience is a good medium bodied smoke that is smooth in its delivery.  While the flavor profile seems simple it is very tasty and satisfying.  Now, I am wishing I had a second one to pair with a tasty red wine. 

The forest floor like quality of toasted leafs and soil makes for a good robust experience here in the final half.  The medium roast coffee tone is still enjoyable. 

Gurkha Ancient Warrior Vintage Presidente and Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout Ale: Pairing

The Ale

Dark Horse Plead the 5^th Imperial Stout Ale

Dark Horse Brewing Co.

Marshall, Michigan, USA

Darkhorsebrewing.com

Late Winter Seasonal

No dates on the bottle

Must be from last February

That’s when it’s released

Bottle Size: 12oz

Abv not available (darkhorsebrewing.com)

12% abv on beeradvocate

Appearance: black body with a ½ finger dark tan head, don’t forget to swirl the last inch of ale to mix in the sediment, looked thick on the pour, dark tan curtain with each sip, does not leave much on the glasses except some syrupy legs.

Aroma: dark roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, burnt sugars, not powerful but pleasing

Flavors: espresso with roasted molasses, dark chocolate character, bitter notes on the mid and finish but it does not stand out, these notes all come together for one tasty Imperial Stout. 

Mouthfeel: thick, almost syrupy, silky slide, this is a sipper

My Strength Rating: 7.5/8 – a solid medium-full bodied stout, the dark roasted notes linger on the palate for a tasty aftertaste.

To the Point: A very good Imperial Stout, not overwhelming as some Imperial Stouts can be, has some solid flavors to sit back and enjoy. 

The Cigar

Gurkha Ancient Warrior Vintage Presidente

Special Edition

Wrapper: Habano

Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Size: 8.5 x 52

I would be surprised if it was a 50 ring gauge

I got 10 sticks for $40 on CI

Normally $65 for 10

I have not seen this one in years.  This was one of my favorite Gurkhas back in the day.  I always had a good stash of these in the humidor and it was a favorite to pair with a quality red wine.  Let’s see how it is now that they brought it back on the market. 

Off the Light: earthy start, soil like; a delicate floral note evolves and a toasty sweet tobacco.  Let’s see how it goes with this Imperial Stout.

The Pairing: after a few puffs on the cigar I introduce the Stout.  The Stout has a smooth and syrupy style with a sweet creamy coffee finish.  This is going to be one nice pairing. 

I then rest the palate for a moment and then take a sip of the ale before taking a puff on this big stick and the cigar flavors are focused on the rich soil earthy tones and the toasted tobacco leaf quality.   

Mid-Point: a good hardwood note develops (reminds me of hickory) with the rich mineral soil earthy tones, toasted sweet Russian bread, I have not noticed that delicate floral note since the first inch of the cigar, toasted tobacco leaf

The Pairing: As I said earlier that I use to enjoy this cigar with red wine, well I now think I’ll have to enjoy this stick with some Imperial Stouts.  The earthy notes, tobacco leaf, and sweet Russian bread qualities of the cigar match up perfectly with the ales dark chocolate, espresso, and roasted molasses profile.

Down the Stretch: the smoke is still rich in its earthy and toasty tobacco style.  The sweet bready note has stepped to the side and the overall smoking experience now is more roasted like. 

The Pairing: truly, I don’t know if this can get any better.    

Pinar del Rio Seleccion Toro and Vino Nobiledi Montepulciano 2003: Pairing

The Wine

Vino Nobiledi Montepulciano 2003

Denominazione Di Origine Controllata Garantita

Capoverso

Siena, Italy

Vinicapoverso.com

Uswineimports.com

13.5% abv

Appearance: deep dark garnet with a little ruby around the rim.

Aroma: dark berry, the alcohol is happy that the cork is popped; later the aroma was dark berry and earthy, the alcohol got a chance to burn off, so to say.

Flavors: heavy on the dark berries, it reminds me of a mixed dark berry pie filling, there seems to be a little bit of an inky note, firm soil note,

Mouthfeel: leathery, dark berries cover the tongue,

My Strength Rating: 7.5 – medium-full feel from the thick berry profile and the earthy tones. 

The Cigar

Pinar del Rio Seleccion Toro

Reserva  Limitada

Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro

Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Size: 6 x 50

I have smoked a couple of these sticks in the past month and it seems to be a pretty good smoke overall.  So, let’s do a review and a wine pairing with this one today.

Off the Light: nice mild-medium earthy tone that has a forest floor likeness.  As the smoke continues there is a good spicy quality that develops.  The earthy notes seem to build with each puff.  The spicy notes remind me of ginger and white pepper. 

The Pairing: boy this cigar makes this wine seem tame here on the first few sips.  I think it is the spicy quality of the cigar that mellows the wine.  The dark berry notes start to show up in the wine during the next few exchanges. The earthy styles of these two seem to complement each other. 

Mid-Point: the mouthfeel seems leathery and the earthy notes dominate on the aftertaste.  The forest floor character comes across as complex; mineral soil, toasted vegetation (toasted tobacco leaf), wood notes that remind me of a mixture of hardwood and some spicy cedar.  Thinking of spice it now seems like a mixed pepper mill grind, a little white, green, and black pepper mix.  At times I get that white pepper musty taste and then I get that coarse black pepper citrus bite. 

I think I am enjoying this cigar more so than the ones that I just sat back smoked the other week.  With that statement right there proves my point that ‘reviewing’ a cigar is completely different than just sitting back and smoking a stick.  This is also true for wine and beer reviews that I do as well. 

The Pairing: I think I enjoy drinking the wine first and then taking a few puffs of the cigar.  I enjoy the flavors of the wine first and then the cigar complements the wine.  When I would take a few puffs of the cigar and then sip the wine the cigar seemed to override the wines flavors. 

Down the Stretch: a robust mixture of soil, dried leafs, and smoked hardwood.  The mouthfeel is leathery and dry.  This cigar does need a quality beverage.  I think a quality pilsner or lager would be a good contrast to this robust smoking experience. 

My Strength Rating (cigar): 8 – firm earthy tones with a complex spice profile. 

To the Point: Don’t just smoke this stick – experience it – take your time and think of the flavors you experience.    

Ave Marie Ark of the Covenant and Sirius Red: Pairing

The Wine

Sirius Red

Grape Dessert Wine

Black Star Farms

Old Mission Peninsula

Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Blackstarfarms.com

18% abv

375 ml bottle

$28.50

Appearance: deep dark burgundy with ruby highlights

Aroma: dusty baker’s chocolate powder, mixed nut shells, light earthy tone, slight alcohol scent

Flavors and Mouthfeel: almost syrupy, little dusty and slightly grainy feel to the mocha, spice from the alcohol so, it has a light peppery tone, slight medicinal feel also coming from the alcohol, black cherry, hint of anise and/or horehound, I think I like the idea of horehound here because it has a spicy style that is bittersweet and this wine has that style.  Now, it all comes together, black cherry, horehound, alcohol with a slight medicinal feel – this sounds like the perfect cough drop lozenges. 

My Strength Rating: 5.5 – a good medium body dessert wine.

To the Point: May not be for everyone. The slight medicinal style may be at issue; while I like it … my wife did not. 

The Cigar

Ave Marie Ark of the Covenant

Short Gordo

Wrapper: Habano

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 4.5 x 60

5 pack for $36.00

I did a review on this cigar yesterday to prepare for the pairing today but, today the experience is a little different.  Yesterday the first half of the cigar was on the milder side with a very pleasing complex earthy quality.  Today, right off the light it has a more medium body style and the oak flavor is right there front and center where yesterday the oak did not appear till I was past the halfway point on the stick.  I have not smoked enough of these Ave Maries to know if it was something from the cigar or was it my palate. 

So, let me deal with what I have today.

And, this Short Gordo has a good medium oaky tone with a firm walnut like quality here in the first inch of the cigar.  This is my third Ave Marie Ark of the Covenant cigar that I have had and the first one tasted like this one and the one I did the review on yesterday had a different smoking experience (but, I liked it).  Today, the first half of this cigar is a 5 on my strength scale.

Pairing this cigar with the port style dessert wine from Black Star Farms should work well.  The oaky, nutty, and dusty earth style of the cigar should match well with the black cherry, dusty mocha, and spices of this dessert wine. 

The first few exchanges confirm that this is going to be a good pairing.  Both of these have this dusty, earthy thing going on.  The oak from the cigar matched well with the black cherry and horehound like qualities in the wine.  The flavors from the cigar and I think it is the dusty earth style that blankets the alcohol spice and helps to manage that slight medicinal feel of the dessert wine. 

The second half of this cigar starts to move to a 6 rating on my strength scale.  The oak is a little firmer, the earthy tone deepens, and the walnut note is more like ‘walnut shell’ than the nut (slightly bitter). 

The Pairing: I enjoy the cigar to wine exchange more than tasting the wine first then the cigar exchange.  The cigar first seems to manage the flavors of the wine.  The black cherry and spice flavor comes thru more so with this exchange.  Likewise, the cigar is slightly bitter toward the end here and the wine in return helps to manage this. 

Overall, this was a good pairing to me.