The Velvet Cigar

We hope you have a great 4th of July weekend and celebrate it with your favorite premium cigar!

Ironmeden and Elvis

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Check out Elvis’ review of the Padron Corticos at Keepers of the Flame

Update: Link Corrected

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“The only cigar in the world to the third power!”. That’s the mantra of the new line of cigars coming out for this year’s IPCPR show from Arganese. The cigars are called the CL3 and the ML3…Corojo Ligero to the 3rd power and Maduro Ligero to the 3rd power respectively, and seem to be Gene Arganese’s answer to all the newer stronger cigars on the market today. If you’ve never had one of the original Arganese cigars, which offer a Maduro, a Nicaraguan wrapper, a Connecticut wrapper, a barber pole called the Double Wrap and their premium hard-to-find Uno; a Dominican puro…you’ve missed out. All their cigars are of fantastic quality and have equally impressive tastes. Iron and I were lucky enough to attend a couple of events here in Minnesota where the man himself, Gene Arganese, attended and debuted in pre-release form these two new sticks and I am convinced these will put Arganese officially on the map of homerun cigars if they weren’t already. And if you pick up this month’s Cigar Aficiando you will see an ad for these new beauties as well as a full page congratulating Arganese on winning the prestigious award for best tobacco crop of the past year…an award that has never been won by an American until now. In hearing Gene talk about his sticks and his factories and his processes, we could really see the passion he has for this business and also could tell how giddy he is about it all like a schoolboy..even though he’s been ramping up the business for the last five years.

There are already pre-orders of close to 10,000 boxes of these new MLs and CLs and the only reason the samples offered at the events were still considered pre-release is because they were draped with some very bright and goofy looking test bands and because, according to Gene, they still needed about 20 more days of aging to help out the draw and the burn. Well, all of this aside, the flavors are ready in my opinion and Gene just couldn’t help himself in teasing event goers with a whiff of the new cigars. I am going to review the ML3 because I am a maduro lover and honestly, the CL3 was just too strong for me. But then again, I blush at the 601 series and pretty much anything made by Don Pepin. But if you like those brands, the CL3 will be much to your liking and there’s a great story behind the blend that might bring some older smokers back to their younger days. Perhaps we will tackle that review soon as well.

The ML3 robusto sports a jet black wrapper much like CAO’s MX2 or one of my favs, the Partagas black. It has a nice oily sheen to it and when I asked Gene how he attained such a beautiful wrapper he explained that they actually cook the leaves in a patented old world style with secret ingredients which add to the flavor of the rich tobacco. The flavor booms out of this stick immediately upon lighting it up. Strong, earthy flavors with a sweeter backing on the finish and notes of espresso and dark chocolate once in awhile mark this cigar. There is a very short burst of heat that fills the palate with every puff but doesn’t linger at the back of the throat like so many new cigars on the market today. There is no need to start downing water or beer to put out the fire like your classic buffalo wing would cause you to do. Instead you gradually get the strength building in your head and stomach and it’s the perfect amount of kick you would crave after a big steak. I would even recommend bringing your Cab Sauv outside with you that was leftover from the meal to go with this stick. Trust me, you won’t drown out the flavor of this hearty smoke with any wine or Scotch…it stands up to any favorite liberation and compliments it well. Then again, if you like a sweeter beverage like white wine or anything and Coke, forget about it. This is a man’s man cigar and demands a man’s drink to go with it. I can’t remember a more balanced, yet powerful cigar I’ve ever had that could stand up to the ML3. Even with 20 days more to wait until these get released to the general public…or at least to the shops smart enough to pre-order….the draw and burn were perfect on the samples I brought home with me.

If you enjoy a ramped up cigar with intoxicating flavors and none of that annoying heat in the back of your throat, look for these on your shelves and tell your local shop to get them in ASAP! I would have to give this cigar the esteemed rating of 5 out of 5…this is a Velvet Couch cigar in the truest sense!

Elvis

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So with Elvis’ advice I treked on over to Tobacco Grove to check out their new shelves. Like Elvis said they have pretty much done away with the boxes and created a tray like shelf. They do have a few boxes left on some traditional shelves, but they are still working on the humidor to give it a more polished appearance. I have to say it does make the humidor look more organized and uniform. They can pretty much double their inventory with this setup. With the way they had it setup before and now, its amazing how many more cigars they can fit in there. The one critique I would have is the middle island, the very top row is angled in a way you can’t get a good look at the cigars and the light from the ceiling reflects off the bands, washing them out from view. You have to then pull the cigar out of the tray to gather a good look at the stick. Otherwise, its a great idea for solving the ever increasing box sizes that are out there on the market.

Since it’s been a few months since i’ve last been there, I was eyeballing any new cigar I could smoke for a review. They had a new Dunhill, but it was a little out of my price range, but it did look delicious. Looking around further I looked over by the shelves that still had boxes and on the top row there was a cigar I had not heard of. It was the La Riqueza No. 1. La Riqueza stands for The Riches or Wealth in Spanish.

At checkout Joel said the cigar is from the cigar maker Pete Johnson who brings you the Tatuaje line of cigars. I’ve enjoyed the Tatuaje cigars i’ve smoked, but they are not on my most wanted list when it comes to repeat purchases.

The La Riqueza No. 1 is a slender fellow, measuring 6 1/2 x 42. Its ever so slightly boxed pressed with a triple cap giving it that authentic Cuban look. The band is quite simple and it almost reminds me of a Partagas Red label bands they have.

The cigar consists of a naturally dark USA Connecticut Broadleaf and Nicaraguan Binder and Filler. The Tatuaje lines are all Nicaraguan tobacco’s, so it seems the difference here would be the Connecticut wrapper. I’m not much of an expert on that line to say if it tastes exactly like those line of cigars. I would do a poor job on comparing the lines.

I made a v-cut to the head and lit it up with a wooden match. I got a slight harshness from the cigar, but it went away quite quickly. The flavors opened up and I was getting a dirt taste followed by toffee.

At the 1/4 point the complexity changed and the dirt taste went away but the toffee was still there. There was a nice floral taste that reminded me of a Gurkha.

The cigar didn’t change at all as it went towards the end, there was a hint of spice at the 3/4 mark, but it would come and go.

The ash is gray throughout and it is quite flaky and soft. It seemed to fall off at the slightest movement of the cigar.

This is a good cigar, I was a little nervous about since Joel at Tobacco Grove compared it to a Padron Maduro, which I’m not a fan of. So I was quite surprised by the flavors. Price point on this cigar was about $12 here in Minnesota. Taking price into account for my rating I would have to give it a 3 out of 5. If it was a little less expensive, it would certainly reach a 4 rating.

For another review of this cigar check out Cigar Command and Her Humidor

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Thanks to Cigar Jack for this picture…this cigar is so new, they have the only picture of it!! Just proves how ahead of the game Jack is!

It’s Father’s Day and I have been neglecting all my cigar blog children for too long. It’s not that I have stopped smoking cigars…I’ve just been too lazy to put my thoughts to “paper” lately. I’ve had a couple of new cigars lately worth blogging about and tis the season with RTDA right around the corner and all the new sticks coming out. I know they have new call letters, but they has too many digits for me to remember! The IPCAHKFORBFJK or something.

Anyway, about a week ago I ventured into Tobacco Grove here in Minnesota. I don’t get out there too often because it’s a bit of a haul and I don’t care for their operating hours. They close at 8pm, so after coming home from work, eating dinner, and fighting traffic, I’m not about to drive a half hour for 10 minutes of smoking time. I know most shops close early during the week, but if you are going there to truly enjoy the experience as opposed to just making a purchase, then they need to think about staying open until 10pm. I guess it depends on what they feel the draw is of their clientele…the selection of smokes or the attraction of their lounge. Tobacco Grove without a doubt caters to the former….they have perhaps the greatest selection in the Twin Cities for cigars and they recently remodeled their entire humidor with custom made wooden trays….yes, that’s right…you will not find any cigar boxes from various sticks lining the humidor shelves. The whole thing is packed with these awesome wooden trays which effectively doubled or tripled the capacity they can now hold. Now, this makes it a little tougher to identify all their offerings, but for me, that’s also pretty fun..that way I don’t miss anything because I have to zoom in on every little compartment. And it wasn’t until I did my second perusal of their stock that I stumbled upon something new….the Alec Bradley Tempus. The clerk told me he smokes the hell out of these and they remind him of cinnamon buns when he lights one up. Good enough for me.

Now, Alec Bradley and I have a history. I tried one of their old school Tri-Press Maduros once upon a time and totally started buying them because they were damn cheap and they were just plain unique. But I overdid them and got sick of them after awhile. In fact when the Maxx came out, I didn’t even bother trying one. But this new, re-branding they have done with the Tempus really makes them stand out. And the gorgeous, complex wrapper the Tempus sports just makes them look like a far more premium cigar sitting there on the shelf gleaming with oils. The band is also much more high class looking that the primary colors of their early days.

I’m not going to rehash the work of all the other blogs who have covered this cigar and go into the history of this re-branding and in particular, this new leaf and the wrapper that has been aging since 1997. But I should mention it has both Criollo and Corojo blended together…two tobaccos that on their own, I’m not always a big fan of. Instead I want to focus on the taste and the one amazing quality I’ve never seen before in a cigar.

First, the flavors. BIG. This cigar is full of complexity that just lights up your mouth and all of your senses….the smell isn’t quite cinnamon buns, but there is a really pleasant fresh baked from the oven aroma of either bread or pie or something…wow. There is plenty of chocolate and coffee notes and a really wide variety of spices that my palate couldn’t quite name, but all of them mingling together creates an awesome experience. It’s got a little strength to it, but it keeps your head balanced because of one thing that Mr. Bradley has done I’ve never experienced. He has some magic ingredient that makes this thing smoke incredibly slow. I’m not kidding….I’m puffing on this torpedo just like I do any other cigar and the cigar just doesn’t go anywhere. The draw is great, the burn totally even. But it’s not vaporizing as quickly as your normal cigar. And the proof of this is in the ash. When you finally need to tap the end, the ash falls off in pure powder fashion. There is no tight spiral of tobacco leaves now turned gray. There is only cigar powder. I don’t know what he’s done to make the contents burn so perfectly and so completely, that only pulverized ash remains are left. A really rewarding experience and worth way more than the $12 I spent on it in tax heavy Minnesota. Probably be $7 anywhere else.

I immediately started trying to find a box of these online to see what they would go for and I’ve got to say Tobacco Grove is well ahead of all competition in the world out there. I don’t like to support buying cigars online, but no other shop has them in town yet. I only found one site that seemed to have the stick up for grabs and it was some obscure site I’ve never heard of. So until the rest of the world catches up, I’m going to stop by this shop and pick up a few more soon. Happy Father’s Day everyone….I would give this cigar the highest rating in some time…a full 5 out of 5 couches….the elusive Crushed Velvet Couch award!!

Elvis

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