The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar reviews for your Mind and Spirit - The Monte Cristo White

This evening we are joined in the Man Shed by Randy's son-in-law Brett Hille. I wonder if we will ever see Brett's Uncle Richard again in the Man Shed. Tonight we are smoking the Monte Cristo White. Randy is smoking the Robusto size while Brett and I are enjoying the Toro size. These cigars range in price from around $8 to $10. But, as usual, we got ours as part of an online deal and paid $4 a stick for them. We paired the cigars this evening with the Odell Cutthroat Porter. I'm a big fan of the Fort Collins, Colorado based brewery but have not had this particular beer before.

The Monte Cristo White is an elegant looking cigar. It has a flawless light brown Connecticut Wrapper and an understated but elegant small label complete with a Fleur-de-lis. We all perceived the draw to be very good, open with just the right amount of resistance. Both Randy and Brett find the cigar to be mild. I find it to have a slight bite on the finish, but still very much in the mild category.

The cigar burns extremely well, with an almost perfect burn line. It creates a compact white and grey ash that has to be tapped off. The burn remains consistently good through out the smoke with a straight burn line and no tunneling or blooming. It produces abundant smoke that is light in color and has a pleasing secondary aroma.

The cigar maintains a very consistent mild, mellow, creamy flavor. I'm sure some would find this cigar to be relatively one-dimensional in terms of its flavor profile. It would be the kind of cigar that you might offer to a new cigar smoker (except for the price) as it is mild enough to be enjoyed by anyone who is new cigar smoking.

We found this to be an excellent smoke and rated it a 4 (out of 5). It's label earned a spot on our Wall-of-fame. This is a really good cigar. It is on the mild side of the taste profile. It burned exceptionally well and had a wonderful draw. We appreciated its consistent flavor. You could enjoy this cigar early in the morning with a cup of coffee or later in the evening with an adult beverage. The only thing that hurt its score was the price. If you could normally get them for what we paid for them we just might give this cigar a 5, but for the normal price we find it to be fairly expensive. After all, one of our all time favorite cigars the Rocky Patel Connecticut is very similar to this cigar in many ways but retails for half the cost.

It paired well with the Odell Porter, which is a London style Porter. It is a fairly rich and strong beer and may have almost been a little to much for the milder cigar. As it turned out though we liked them both so they went together pretty well.

The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar reviews for your Mind and Spirit - Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve - Corojo

Tonight Randy and I are smoking one of his son Ben's favorite cigars, The Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve - Corojo. The RP website lists the tobaccos that make up the Olde World Reserve as follows: Wrapper: Corojo, Binder: Nicaraguan, Filler: Nicaraguan. This cigar retails between $9 and $11 but we got these in a sampler. We paired these cigars tonight with a 2008 McManis Cabernet Sauvignon.

As you can see from the picture this cigar is box pressed and has two labels. It is an attractive dark brown color and is well constructed. Randy found it to not be particularly firm but nor was it soft and spongy. The pre-lite draw was very nice.

The cigar burned well. It had a fairly consistent burn line early and produced a compact ash. There was no blooming or tunneling. I did experience a bit of a runner in the second half that required a touch up, but nothing major.

I found the taste profile of this cigar to be a smooth medium. We both found it to be very consistent from start to finish. It had a spiciness to it that reminded me of allspice or cinnamon. The smoke was relatively thin and airy producing a pleasant secondary aroma. Randy indicated that he would characterize this as a Full but not strong cigar. The cigar never got harsh or bitter.

Scores: We both gave the cigar a 4 (out of 5). We thought it was a very good smoke and we would not hesitate to smoke it again or recommend it to a friend. We probably would not, however, pay the retail price for this cigar. If we were going to pay that kind of money we would probably just buy the Rocky Patel Decade instead. This cigar also comes in a Maduro wrapper and we hope we get the opportunity to try that one as well.

In terms of the pairing, I did not think this wine and cigar combination was very good. The wine turned out to be very mellow for a Cab Sav, with little tannins and a relatively sweet finish. It did not seem to match with the spiciness of the cigar successfully.

The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar reviews for your Mind and Spirit - Rocky Patel Decade

It is a crisp Autumn afternoon when Randy and I decide to venture to the Man Shed and smoke one of our favorite cigars - the Rocky Patel decade. Randy and I have both smoked these in the past - several times. Although this is one of our favorite cigars we decided to go ahead and do a review of it.

As you may remember Randy and I split an order of cigars in which we received two each of five different cigars all of which had been rated 90+ by Cigar Aficionado. We did not like most of them as much as the folks at Cigar Aficionado, but we do think they got it right with the Decade.

On the Rocky Patel website they list the tobacco that makes this cigar up as follows: Wrapper: Sumatra; Binder: Secret; Filler: Secret. It is the first time I can remember that a manufacturer did not list the types of tobacco used to make a particular cigar. We smoked the Torpedo size 6 1/2 x 52. Today we are pairing the cigar with one of our favorite single malt scotches - Macallam 12.

This is a lovely cigar, covered in a dark brown Sumatran wrapper and complimented by a simple, yet elegant double band. The construction is flawless and the cigar is firmly packed but not overly tight, leading to an Excellent draw. Although the manufacturer describes this as a meduim to full body cigar we tend to think that it is much closer to meduim than full. This cigar produces a lot of smoke and has a nice secondary aroma. It is the kind of cigar that if you smoked around people they would probably not be put off by it.

The cigar maintains a very consistent meduim body, that is smooth and mellow. It has a dry quality to its finish - like that of dry cocoa or strong coffee. Our cigars did experience some slight burn issues - slight runners and the need for a touch up. We both also experienced the need to re-lite our cigars. This was surprising, because the Decade is a cigar you enjoy smoking and do not want to put down, so it wasn't our neglect that caused the cigars to go out. Also, historically neither of us remember that burn issues were ever an issue with these cigars.

One way you know how much you are enjoying a cigar is determined by when you give up on it. Some cigars get increasingly bitter as you smoke them. You may enjoy the first half but find the longer you smoke it the harsher the taste becomes. These cigars tend to be abandon fairly early. A really good smoke, that is consistent in its taste, tends to be smoked for as long as it can be without burning your fingers or lips. The Decade fits into the latter category, you do not want to put it down. Your last draw is as good as your first.

This cigar was almost as good as we had remembered. We graded it slightly lower because of the burn issues we had. However, since we have smoked a number of these and this is the first time we have had this problem we are not going to allow it to impact the overall score.

Scores:
Randy - 4 this cigar - historically 5
Dave - 4 this cigar - historically 5

This is a great cigar. It is attractive, smokes well, and has a consistent medium bodied flavor. It is an elegant and refined smoke that we would both have as one of our favorite smokes of all time. Our experience of this cigar was enhanced by the MaCallan 12 Single Malt Scotch. They were an excellent pairing.

The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar Reviews for your mind and spirit - The Padilla Miami

It is a lovely fall evening in the Man Shed. Randy and I have decided to smoke the Padilla Miami. We have been joined this evening by our friend Richard Jensen (who is smoking a Nub Connecticut).

The following is information gleaned from the internet about this cigar. Each leaf of tobacco hails from the dark, fertile soils of Nicaragua and is grown from 1st generation Cuban seeds. The wrapper is a dark, reddish-hued Corojo. The filler, a robust mixture of Criollo and Corojo tobaccos. Three caps are applied to the head of this cigar in true Cuban fashion. This cigar was apparently previously made By Don Pepin in one of his factories, but the relationship between Pepin and Padilla cigars is now over. Thus, there are some people who seem to prefer the Don Pepin made Miami's and others who prefer the new one.

This is a medium brown colored cigar, the color is like milk chocolate. It is not particularly attractive, but only has a few minor veins showing. The cigar feels fairly tightly packed and the construction appears very good. After clipping the cigar both Randy and I find the draw to be very good.

Randy finds the cigar initially to be medium in body leaning to the milder side. I find it much more of a medium flavor with, some spiciness and a little bit of a Nicaraguan-zing. We have paired our smoke this evening with some Glendronach 12 year old Single Malt Scotch that Richard brought over.

For the most part these cigars burned well. Randy thought his burned extremely well, with an even burn line and needing very little tending to. Mine was a little more temperamental and it developed a slightly uneven burn line and needed a slight touch up, but nothing I would consider problematic. It produced a fairly compact ash with only a little blooming and no tunneling.

Scores:
Dave - 3 - I enjoyed this cigar. It was a nice medium cigar with some spicy flavors that were not overpowering. It smoked well without needing a lot of attention and it stayed fairly consistent from beginning to end.

Randy - 3 Randy also enjoyed this cigar. He found it a little milder than I did. He characterized it as mild and smooth with pleasant woodsy overtones.

We both thought the cigar paired well with the scotch. Their taste profiles played off of each other very well. The Padilla Miami Band made it to the Board and we would definitely smoke it again.

It should be noted that Cigar Aficionado gave this cigar a 94. The brothers-of-leaf who reside in the Man Shed liked this cigar but we did not love it.

A Cigar Review from the Shrink - Rocky Patel Vinatge 1990

For tonight's review I am on my own. I'm in Topeka for a Committee meeting and thus I'm without my friend and fellow cigar enthusiast Randy. But I did bring a cigar with me, a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. I have smoked these many times in the past, but it has been quite awhile since the last time I lit one up.

Here is what the Manufacturer says about this cigar - This cigar is highlighted by a 12-year-old Honduran broad-leaf wrapper that has softened in strength over the years yet gained in complexity and flavor. The Vintage 1990 is made with the following tobaccos -
Wrapper: Honduran Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan

I smoked the Churchill size coming in at 7 X 48. The price point on these are $6 - $8. You can frequently find them for much less in online specials, as I did.

Although it has a lovely dark maduro wrapper this is a medium body smoke that is closer to the mild than full side. It is an attractive cigar with two small bands. This cigar is flawless in its construction. It is box pressed and is essentially square in shape. After clipping the end I find that this cigar has an effortless draw.

After lighting the cigar I sit back and take a couple of long pulls. This cigar is a delight, flavorful but not harsh. It produces voluminous amounts of effortless smoke. The secondary smoke has a nice odor that is not overly strong. I'm pairing this cigar with a glass of a Red Table wine from Spain (Este De Bodegas Alto Almanzora).

The cigar is burning well with only a slight waviness to the burn line. It is producing a tight compact ash. It has a nice flavor like a cup of really good coffee, smooth but with just enough bitterness at the finish. I'm really enjoying this cigar and I am able to set it down while I read without it going out.

The cigar remained very consistent from the beginning to the end. It was a good reminder of how much I liked this cigar and how I should not wait so long between now and when I smoke it again. It reminds me of the Rocky Patel Decade but not as refined.

I did have a few minor burn problems but nothing I would be overly concerned about and for the most part they were self-correcting. The medium body held through out the smoke but it was not boring or bland. This cigar had nice flavors with a dry, slightly bitter finish - like the tannins of a nice dry red wine. I had to abandon the cigar prematurely to deal with a work related issue. When I got back to the cigar, after about an hour, I ran into some burn issues and bitterness. As these may be related to the fact that the cigar sat for an hour I do not want to be overly critical.

Score: 3 - I was very close to giving this cigar a 4 and reserve the right to do so after I smoke another one. The most concerning issues that I had with the cigar came after a re-lite and thus, may not be directly related to the cigar but rather how I smoked it. I would certainly recommend this cigar and would never pass up the opportunity to smoke another.

Tomorrow I'll be back at home and hopefully enjoying a cigar with Randy. As good as a cigar is, it is always better when smoked with a good friend.