My Week of Cigars: 11th to 17th October
With an Instagram live on Monday, a date with my girls on Wednesday, filming a cigar review video and visit to Central London for a club meet up, it was business as usual for this week of cigars. I more than made up for a skinny preceding week and what a variety I had. A couple of New World puros and a good range of both strengths and flavours made for a delicious week of smokes.
11th October 2021: Rojas Street Taco Barbacoa
The Street Taco by Rojas Cigars was the first in my week of cigars. Having been told that it tasted like a barbecue, but in a good way, I have to confess that I was rather sceptical. The last time I had a barbecue flavoured cigar, it tasted like I was liking the coals the day after the party.
The closed foot kept most of the aromas of the filler and binder in, but I did get a full hit of warm charcoal from the wrapper. Cutting the cigar gave me a cold draw of yet more barbeque flavours. Lighting it up revealed all the aromas and flavours that I associate with a mesquito grill. I must clarify that this is not a flavoured cigar.
During the first third, I was introduced to notes of smoked cheese and juicy beef steaks. By the second third, these had segued into grilled sausages and roasted mushrooms. As I hit the mid point I was treated to steak seasoning with cloves, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper and mixed herbs. In the final third, the flavour sweetened up a little bit an had hints of white onion and smoked paprika. It really did feel like I’d indulged in a full barbeque by the time I had finished. I will have to seek this one out when I have more room in my humidor.
13th October 2021: Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary Lancero
I love a lancero and have enjoyed quite a few Rocky Patel cigars over the years so when I saw this cigar, I thought it would be the perfect combination. I was very glad that I did pick it up and include it in my week of cigars.
After a long day of not doing what I wanted to do, I was in need of a meditation whilst I talked to the ladies of WiCC. I find that a lancero really gives me the opportunity to do this. Removing the band from the foot of the cigar, I noticed that it wasn’t as tightly packed as the rest of the cigar seemed to be. Using my straight cut, I tasted a sweet nut on the cold draw and smelt aromas of toffee and malted milk.
My first draws were of cream and walnut. The smoke was light and smooth and even though conversation was interesting and important, the Rocky Patel was constantly there whispering to my taste buds. It wasn’t long before I picked up notes of lightly toasted bread. This flavour hung around for a while before it once again changed. Toffee, almonds, cinnamon and caramel all showed up very distinctly as I smoked the cigar right down to the nub.
Despite the narrow ring gauge, I did manage at various points to achieve a 1.5 inch ash, so I was rather impressed with the construction. It was a lovely smoke, and the perfect cigar for that moment.
15th October 2021: Oliva Serie V Especial Maduro Double Toro
Friday saw me filming another cigar review for YouTube. This time it was the was a full bodied 6 by 60 double toro with a maduro wrapper that looked like the finest Italian leather. The construction and burn were exquisite and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with this cigar.
You can read my full written review here, or head over to my video channel to watch my review of this beautiful cigar.
16th October 2021: My Father Flor de las Antillas Robusto and Independencia 1898 Robusto
Saturday saw a double bill in my week of cigars. This time I was out at an in-person herf with the wonderful people of Cigar Club LDN. Our monthly club stick was the delightful My Father Flor de las Antillas, and the meet up was one I will never forget. One reason was this was the first time I had smoked the club cigar at a club meet. Secondly, we were all encouraged to light up and savour the flavour together, taking a draw on our cigars as one. This simple action turned into an act of thanksgiving to the 300 pairs of hands and 3 or so years that had gone into crafting this cigar.
Having finished my first cigar and with conversation still in full swing I lit up a second cigar. This time it was the Independecia 1898 Robusto, which is now in my regular rotation of herfing cigars. This lovely cigar took me right through to the end of my time with the club, although I would have happily stayed longer had it not been for the parking metre.
If you want to read my full review of the My Father cigar, click here, and my Independencia review can be found both here and on Rumble.
My Father Flor de las Antillas Robusto
Independencia 1898 Robusto
17th October 2021: Villa Zamorano Reserva Robusto
Hand rolled in the Meya Selva factory in Honduras, my final smoke for this week of cigars was the Villa Zamorano Reserva Robusto. I enjoyed this Honduran puro with a fellow sister of the leaf from Missouri that I had met through Instagram.
As we chatted the entire night away (I made this robusto cigar last a good 3 hours) my mind was a little more on conversation than the nuances of the flavours in the cigar. What I did taste was probably my favourite of the Villa Zamorano cigars that I have smoked. It was full of creamy cedar and leather in the first third. Almond and coffee were the predominant flavours for the middle third and as I smoked my way into the final third a rich earthiness joined the party. The construction was perfect from first light right to the nub.
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