Fausto Esteli Cigar and Black Star Farms 2008 Vintners Select: Pairing

The Cigar

Fausto Esteli

Tatuaje Cigars

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 5 x 54 (F124 )

$10.49 at Smoky’s of Livonia, Michigan

Off the Light: sweet maduro taste mixed with a rich soil earthy tone.  As the smoke continues the spice picks up.  The spice reminds me of pink peppercorn (sweet yet spicy) and a good dose of white pepper.  The earthy tone is forest floor like with a mix of wood and soil.  As the cigar approaches the mid-point there is a dark French roast coffee style that builds.  I am going to give this cigar a 6.5 on my strength scale during the first half.

Second Half: as the burn enters the second half the body strength seems like a 6.  During the half the strength rating fluctuated from a 6 to a 7 then back to a 6 toward the end of the first half.  The spice is a dusty white pepper and the coffee note reminds me of an earthy coffee flavor. 

During the last couple of inches of this cigar the spice and bitterness picks up a bit.  A good beverage is needed at this point to manage the strength of the smoke. 

My Strength Rating: 6.5 overall – an interesting rollercoaster ride of spicy notes on the first half that settled to a 6 strength rating for the main portion of the stick. 

The Wine

2008 Vintners Select

Black Star Farms

Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA

Blackstarfarms.com

12% abv

$29.50 a bottle

Aroma: mixed dark berries with a nice touch of spice.

Flavors: to me blackberry jumps out front with a nice acidic touch, then throw in a dash of spice, a little smoky feel, and a bit of dark chocolate. 

My Strength Rating: 5.5 – medium and just on the edge of medium-full.

Visit WinePostings2 for the full review

The Pairing

This was a tasty pairing.  The blackberry note of the wine mingled well with the earthy coffee style of the cigar.  The spicy notes of the cigar worked well the settle spice of the wine.  And, of course the smoky feel of the wine let me know this wine would be a ringer to pair with a quality cigar. 

Curivari Seleccion Privada Royales and St Bernardus Christmas Ale: Pairing

The Beer

St Bernardus Christmas Ale

Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV.

Watou, Belgium

10% abv

75 cl bottle

$12.00 a bottle

Appearance: dark brown body with mahogany highlights shining through around the edges.  Light tan head and it is easy to pour a two finger head. 

Aroma: pouring the ale into the chalice I can smell some spicy notes.  Dark bready yeast tones, raisin, brown spice mix,

Flavors: tasty brown spice box like quality, black bready tones, earthy yeast, dark fruits like raisins, sweet caramel malt undertone, spicy and tingling hops dance on the tongue,

Mouthfeel: fine carbonation gives the tongue a fizzy feel, the spice pinches the cheeks and gums, prickly and dry texture on the palate

My Strength Rating: 6.5 – the dark bready notes, brown spice box, and raisins along with the spice makes for a good medium-full bodied ale. 

    

The Cigar

Curivari Seleccion Privada Royales

Curivari.com

The Seleccion Privada comes in three different sizes:

Robustos 5 x 50

Royales 5 x 54 I am reviewing this size

Diplomaticos: 6 ¼ x 54

The Curivari is a Nicaraguan Puro and is blended with Criollo and Corojo tobaccos.  

Here is the description on the web site:

“Perfectly balanced, with medium body, this cigar has
a creamy smooth flavor profile, woody with a touch
of vanilla, and a sweet finish”

This sounds like it should pair well with this Christmas Ale but, I have to admit that ‘I’ don’t care for the accuracy (in-accuracy) of their descriptions of their cigars. 

Off the Light: nice mild-medium forest floor like quality with some light soil, dry leafs, and wood.  About three minutes into the smoking experience I start to notice a creamy smooth texture.  On the first three minutes of the cigar I thought it was more smooth leather like.  Now, a little sweet tobacco starts to swirl around the palate.  I think I am going to call it vanilla-almond. 

The cigar holds a light gray ash. The pic shows a one inch ash.

I think it is a good time to introduce the Christmas Ale.

The Pairing: an interesting combination.  The ale has the dark fruit, dark bready yeast, and a spicy style and the cigar comes in with a mild-medium body with a slightly sweet vanilla-almond and light forest floor style.  It is like the cigar refreshes the palate after sipping the ale.  No, not ‘like’ it does refresh the palate.  The ale has a prickly spicy texture and the cigar has a smooth creamy style.  I guess this is the ying and the yang of this Christmas pairing.  At first I did not know what to think about this pairing.  It was a little too much ying vs. yang at first.  Then, it started to grow on me. 

Second Half: the light soil seems to becoming a little fuller and the wood is reminding me of a soft alder wood.  The texture is smooth but, not as creamy as before.  The almond nut note is still in the mix but, the vanilla is not as noticeable. 

With only about an inch and a half left on the cigar the flavors are becoming a little more toasted.  Toasted leafs, smoked wood, and roasted almond. 

My Strength Rating (cigar): 4 – medium-mild flavors and body. 

To the Point (cigar): a tasty medium-mild cigar.  I am looking forward to smoking my second cigar that I purchased of this cigar. 

The Pairing: the ying and yang experience is over at this point.  The toasted notes of the cigar are mixing with the raisin and dark bready yeast notes of the ale.  This is a very interesting pairing if you are paying attention. 

Merry Chirstmas from Cigar Postings

La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Chisel and 2008 Leorie Vineyard

The Cigar

La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Chisel

Wrapper: Habano

Binder/Filler: Dominican

Size: 6.5 x 54
laflordominicana.com

$10.19 Smoky’s of Northville, Michigan

I don’t recall ever smoking a cigar with this chisel shape.  When I bite on it, it reminds me of the plastic tips on those drug store cigars.  I imagine that those guys who like the V-cut should like this shape. 

Off the light the cigar displays a nice earthy style (dried leafs), a mild-medium coffee, and a touch of spice.  I think the chisel shape does control the smoking experience like a V-cut would.  Here on the first third of this cigar I think the chisel shape makes the smoke a little cooler, the amount of smoke is controlled of course, the overall body feel comes across milder so to say.  I would guess with a normal round butt there would be more smoke thus more body.  I am going to say the cigar is a 4 on my strength scale and that would place it in the mild-medium range. 

Mid-Point: the earthy style still makes me think of dried leafs and soil, the coffee is medium bodied, and the spiciness is showing some green and black peppercorn like qualities. 

Down the Stretch: The mouth feel seems fuller at this point in the smoking experience.  The cigar has a good Habano spice quality.  The earthy notes seem to be soil mixed with some oaky tones.  There is some bittering to the taste at this point.  I’ll have to give it a 5.5 on my strength scale here in the stretch. 

My Strength Scale: 5 overall.  Starts off mild-medium and builds to a solid medium through the mid and finish. 

The Wine

I paired this Air Bender Chisel with a red wine.  The wine is Black Star Farms 2008 Leorie Vineyard.  It is a blend of: Merlot 76% and Cabernet Franc 24%.  This is a Michigan wine from Suttons Bay. 

Appearance: garnet body with a ruby edge.

Aroma: fresh red berries with a dusting of earth.  Light overall.

Flavors: Red currant, plum, spice from the oak, cocoa powder, and black soil.

Visit WinePostings2 for the full review.

The Pairing

This was a very pleasing pairing.  The spicy notes from the cigar played off the oak and spice qualities of the wine for a delicious experience.  The earthy tones and the coffee note of the cigar mingled with the fruits of the wine to add some good body to the overall mouth feel of this pairing. 

The cigar did not overpower the wine.  The two seemed to work well together. 

Curivari El Gran Rey Emperadores: Review

Curivari.com

This Nicaraguan puro is made with Cuban seed Criollo and Corojo tobaccos.  Here is the skinny according to their web site on the El Gran Rey: this ‘full-bodied cigar is rich and spicy, exquisitely balanced, with a core of sweet spices, caramel, honey and a long, complex finish.’

The El Gran Rey comes in three different sizes:

Emperadores 5 x 50 which I’ll be reviewing

Belicosos 5 3/8 x 52

Prominentes 6 ½ x 50

College Football Bowl Games start today. 

Here are my picks for the games today. 

Temple over Wyoming; Wyoming is going to need more than the 6-1/2 points. 

Ohio over Utah State; Ohio is only getting 2-1/2 points but, I think they show up today to finish the game.

La.-Lafayette over San Diego State; I think the 5 point spread gets Lafayette the win. 

I bought two of these Emperadores and I smoked one of them yesterday.  Let’s see how it reviews today. 

11:52 am

Off the Light: light soil and a hint of floral.  As the smoke continues that hint of floral has a little perfumy taste.  About four minutes into the smoke a touch of spice starts to appear.   As the spice starts to develop some character it reminds me of green peppercorn.  I am looking for the sweet notes that they used to describe this cigar and I don’t notice any yet (20 minutes into the smoke).

The cigar is holding a slightly ruff salt and pepper colored ash.  The picture shows a ¾ inch ash.  I removed the ash at the one inch point. 

The floral note that I noticed, off the light of the cigar, seems to come and go.  I am not getting that perfume note thank god.  During this first half there is a nice rich soil and dry leafs that swirl around that green peppercorn spicy quality.   I’ll have to give this a 5.5 on my strength scale.

Second Half: as the smoke enters the second half the floral note is a little more consistent but, it is not strong.  One might make an argument for a roasted caramel note.  It is so settle that I don’t think it is much of a factor.  There is a toasted rye bread quality along with that soil, dry tobacco leaf, and that peppery style is reminding me of a dusty white pepper at this point.  The strength rating is still in the medium range.  I’ll give it a 5 on my strength scale. 

My Strength Rating: 5 overall.  Medium bodied at best. 

To the Point: an okay smoking experience.  I liked the second half better for I did not get that perfumy note as I did during the first inch or so.   

CAO Italia Ciao: Review

Wrapper: Honduran Habano-seed

Fillers: Nicaragua, Peru and Italy

Size: 5 x 56

Some of the tobaccos are grown in the Benevento region of Italy.  When you think of Italy you think of fine wine – well now you can think of this fine cigar.  Thinking about it – this should go well with a fine Italian Wine. 

Now, this five pack of Italia’s is interesting in the fact that the wrapper is a brown color instead of the very dark brown/blackish like wrapper on the ones I have smoked in the past.  I wonder how this will affect the flavor profile.  I know with the La Gloria R Series Maduros that I do not like the stick that have a brownish look compared to the black color on the wrapper. 

I just smoked two of these Ciao’s back to back and this cigar wass pretty consistent from start to finish.  It has a rich sweet soil earthy style with a brown spice box quality and a mild coffee note.  I have to say that I like this stick but, it is not what I remember an Italia to taste like. 

I just looked at my last review of the Ciao and it sounds completely different than this one.  Maybe the color of the Habano wrapper does have a big impact on the flavor profile. 

Man O’ War Ruination Box-Press: Review

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador ligero

Fillers: Nicaraguan and Honduran ligeros

Size: 5.5 x 52

Special size from their sampler tin

Off the Light: toasted tobacco and sweet wood.  Then the spice hits on the 3^rd and 4^th puff.  Full peppery spice.  Pepper on the taste and more pepper on the finish.  

Past that one inch mark a toasted oak and rich composted soil earthy tone mingles in with the peppery style.  The peppery style did relax a bit here. 

Late in the first half the toasted oak is still pleasing, the earthy tone is mixed with a medium roast coffee note.  The peppery style tingles the palate and plays with the sinuses with each puff.  The texture is soft wool like. 

I smoked one of these, the other day, on the way up north to my summer place and the peppery style had me going crossed-eyed. 

Second Half: the cigar seems to have mellowed a bit but, that is not saying much.  The taste makes me think of earthy coffee and toasted grains.  The oak seems to a bit smoother.  Deep into the second half the toasted grains remind me of toasted rye bread with a dusting of white pepper on it.  The texture is definitely wool like. 

My Strength Rating: 6.5 – hearty and robust

CI Blend Lab YP-5754 Cigar and Black Star Farms 2008 Leorie Vineyard: Pairing

The Wine

Black Star Farms 2008 Leorie Vineyard

Blend: Merlot 76% and Cabernet Franc 24%

Old Mission Peninsula

Black Star Farms

Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA

Blackstarfarms.com

13% abv

$45.00 a bottle

Opening the bottle has the heart beating a little fast because the cork has a lot of seepage and it looks like the wine has made it way to the top of the cork.  The cork does have a wax topper.  I smelled the cork and it does not smell bad and then a quick whiff from the bottle all seems well. (see cork at the bottom of this posting)  I pour a little into a wine glass and it seems okay.  No outstanding nasty taste.  Okay, let’s set up to do the review. 

Appearance: garnet body with a ruby edge.

Aroma: fresh red berries with a dusting of earth.  Light overall.

Flavors: Red currant, plum, spice from the oak, cocoa powder, and black soil.

Mouthfeel: smooth on the delivery and then a bit jammy on the finish, lingering berries on the palate, full-medium body overall,

The Cigar

CI Blend Lab YP-5754

Cigars International web site recommends to pair this with a Port Wine but, I don’t have one and I already had this bottle selected for reviewing.

Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro

Fillers: Esteli Ligero, Condega Viso, Jalapa Ligero

Size: 5.75 x 54 Figurado

I smoked one the other week and enjoyed it so, let’s see how it reviews. 

Off the Light: rich soil with a hint of spice in the back.  As the smoke continues the spice starts to come through.  The spice has a good black and green peppercorn likeness. The soil earthy tone seems to be mixed with a touch of hardwood.  The draw is perfect and the mouthfeel is wool like.

The Pairing: the soil and black peppery spice quality of the cigar contrasts the smooth delivery, red berries, and black soil like qualities of the wine nicely.  What I found interesting was the jammy mouth feel did not seem a full as when I had the wine by itself. 

Mid-Point: as the smoke enteres the mid-section of the stick the bold black pepper profile seems to be settling.  Now, it seems like the green peppercorn is still present, but a dusting of white musty peppercorn is in the mix.  The rich soil and hardwood notes seem to be the main profile here in the mid-section compared to the black pepper in the first third.  The mouthfeel is a little smoother than the first third. 

The Pairing: with the earthy qualities of the cigar standing out here at the mid-point this seems to help to bring out the earthy notes of the wine.  The oaky note and the hint of spice from the wine is a little more noticeable during this point of the experience.  This has turned out to be a very good pairing.

Down the Stretch: Pretty much like the mid-section with a touch of a bitter note on the palate. 

To the Point (cigar): a very good experience. Worth the 7 bucks.