GUEST REVIEW: Illusione Epernay
May 29, 2009 Cigar, Guest Review
Tonight’s review is a very special Guest Review.
My buddy Barry Stein from A Cigar Smoker will be doing a guest review of the brand new Illusione Epernay series.
New from Dion Giolito, the Illusione Epernay is a new, lighter blend patterned from the original ECCJ release. Named after the heart of France’s Champagne region, Epernay is an all-Nicaraguan cigar comprising tobacco from two specific farms and finished with a shade-grown Corojo ‘99 wrapper leaf.
“Certain cigars and Champagne go together fabulously,” said Giolito. “I think that this cigar is the perfect complement to great Champagnes, so I named it after a region in France that made this grape famous.”
According to Giolito, the blend is more suited to a “European palate,” which, to him, entails using a lighter shade of wrapper, and replacing some of the spicy character of his other brands with a sweeter, more floral tobacco.
For purposes of this review, Barry will be using his own personal scoring system.
And now, on to Barry’s Review.
I was lucky enough to be gifted this cigar by Tony here at leafandgrape.com when we got together for a smoke at Cigar Inn in NYC. Being it was such an enjoyable cigar, I was asked to review it here…
Appearance/Contruction 14pts
The cigar is a vision of beauty. The wrapper has minimal veins and a fair amount of oils. This classic looking stick has a decent weight to it and no soft spots and finding the seam in the roll is virtually impossible. The cigars band looks a lot like the eccj cigar with its white and gold band.
Character- 23pts
The cigar has a flawless burn that remains even throughout the cigar. The ash is a medium shade of grey with a little bit of flake which prevents it from holding for a long time. The draw was a little loose which seems to be my only consistant complaint from illusione cigars.
Flavor- 25pts.
There are some amazingly defined notes throughout the cigar. The first third there were notes of apple cinnamon spice. Now you might think I am crazy here, but when Tony smoked on he picked up those same notes. In the middle of the second third the cigar begin to lose those notes and there was some pepper and wood which remained through the final third.
Overall : 31pts
Total Score: 93 pts.
One of the best illusione cigars I have ever smoked. The problem is they are not yet readily available and I want them now. When these come out in regular production I suggest you run out and buy a box for your humidor!
Don’t forget to visit Barry’s site www.acigarsmoker.com
Tags: A Cigar Smoker, Barry Stein, Dion Giolito, Epernay, illusione, www.acigarsmoker.com
Facebook Contest Winner!
May 27, 2009 Contest
We have our winner!
Facebook Contest winner is: Christopher Lenzo of Trenton / Princeton, NJ.
Congrats, Chris.
Chris wins his choice of:
A Bottle of 2006 Tensley Thompson Vineyard Syrah
or
A Fuente Fuente Opus X Robusto.
Thank you to all who participated.
Facebook Contest
May 23, 2009 Contest
For this Memorial Day Weekend, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to unleash a new contest!
This contest will involve our new Facebook page. All you have to do is visit our Facebook page and add yourself as a fan. That’s all.
One winner will be picked at random on Tuesday morning.
The winning fan will recieive either:
A Bottle of 2006 Tensley Thompson Vineyard Syrah
or
A Fuente Fuente Opus X Robusto.
Participants must be over 21.
Good Luck to All!
Tags: Contest, facebook, memorial day, Opus X
Fallen Heroes Benefit Today @ Barrister Cigars
Today is the Fallen Heroes Benefit at Barrister Cigars in Union, NJ.
I will be there with Barry from aCigarSmoker.com and I will be sending Twitter updates throughout the day.
You can follow us on Twitter.
If you can make it, please come down. It’s a great cause and should be lots of fun.
Rocky Patel Decade Toro
May 14, 2009 Cigar
Tonight’s review is the Rocky Patel Decade Toro.
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars turned ten-years-old and made a cigar to celebrate the milestone.
The full-bodied smoke has a soft box press and sports an Ecuadoran wrapper around a binder and filler from Nicaragua. It is made in Danlí Honduras at the El Paraiso Factory – the facility owned by Nestor Plasencia and family that has produced the Rocky Patel Sungrown cigars among others.
Each box of Decade cigars says “Against all odds” on the inside, refering to the 10 years during which the brand has been in business. The underside of each box lid features black and white illustrations of cigars being produced.
It’s hard to believe, considering the top-notch cigars he has produced in the past, but the Decade may very well be his finest blend yet.
The decade previously received a whopping 95 point score in Cigar Aficionado. Let’s see where it’s at.
And now, on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 6.5×52 (Toro)
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Unknown
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown
MSRP: $9.90
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The Decade Toro has a very dark brown, clean looking wrapper. It’s well applied and has no visible blemishes or marks. I smoked two samples of these from two separate B&M’s, but both had a sort of spongy feel to them. Not soft, but spongy. The slight box-press felt nice in the hand. Cap was cleanly applied as well.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS -
The foot had a very distinctive nose of espresso and some earthiness.
I cut using my standard punch cut. The draw was very loose. A little too much for my liking.
The Decade Toro lit evenly and quickly. It generated a TON of smoke. The loose draw certainly had something to do with this.
The Decade burned a little unevenly for most of the first 2/3 of the smoke. The ash was tight with a salt and pepper color.
The smoke seemed to be fairly light and airy.
FLAVOR -
The initial flavors I got were a Cedary sweetness with some spice in the back of the palate. There was a nice transition around the midway point where it turned to some of the espresso flavor I picked up on the initial aromas. There was then a third transition within the final third that had some dry leather flavors. Where this cigar took a down turn was at some point in the final third where it started to pickup a bitterness on the finish. I waited for it to transition away, but that bitterness remained throughout the entire final third. It thought it may have been partly due to the loose draw and the cigar burning a little hot, but I experienced that same bitterness on another sample I had which had a better draw.
OVERALL IMPRESSION -
This was an enjoyable cigar that showed a masterful blend. The flavors and in particular, the way they transitioned, shows a lot of thought and experience was put into this line. The bitter finish definitely detracted from the overall score. While not the 95 points CA gave it, it was still a cigar I would recommend and buy again.
TOTAL SCORE – 92
Tags: Decade, Honduras, Rocky Patel, Toro
