The Pastor and the Shrink - cigar reviews for your mind and spirit - Ambos Mundos 1 and 2

2-21-10 This evening we are smoking the Ambos Mundos #2 and as we smoked the Ambos Mundos #1 last week we are combining our reviews. The name is Spanish for "Both Worlds" and the cigars are from the creator of the Tatuaje brand of cigars Pete Johnson. Now I have not had a Tatuaje cigar yet but I have yet to hear anyone say anything but good things about them. Like the Tatuaje brand these are blended by Jose Pepin Garcia.

One of these comes with a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper AB #1) and the other is wrapped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper (AB#2) - hence the two worlds reference. These cigars are apparently made with the same tobacco that the Tatuaje are just not as high of grade tobacco is used. It should be noted that these cigars earned scores of 90 and 91 in Cigar Aficionado with the Ambos Mundos #2 being ranked #18 in Cigar Aficionados Top 25 cigars of 2009. Both cigars also made Cigar Aficinado's Best Bargain Cigars of 2009.

Neither of these are particularly attractive cigars. They only come in two sizes Robusto and Toro and we were smoking the Robusto size. Both cigars had very prominent veins visible in the wrapper - this may be because of the lower grade tobacco used. They are endowed with small and plain labels. I remember when I picked these up at Centro Cigars in Lawrence thinking that compared to the other cigars available in the humidor these were sort of plain and cheap looking. Now it should be noted that I paid about $5 a stick for these retail and most other cigars at Centro were at least double that price so I was not complaining. After all, we are going to smoke them not stare at them.

The construction on both cigars was good. They were fairly compactly packed but not to tight. They were slightly spongy toward the back half of the cigar. The draw on the AB#2 we both felt was a little loose. The AB #1 on the other hand had a great draw with just the right amount of resistance.

The first half of the AB #2 burned really well with a tight ash and only a slight waviness to its burn line. But in the second half it developed some significant burns issues needing to be both touched up and re-lit. The AB#1 burned better. It also had a tight burn line early on that got somewhat more wavy in the second half. It had much less significant burn issues than the AB #2.

The Ambos Mundos #1 was a medium to full bodied smoke with an initial peperriness and spice that although it mellowed continued on the finish. We thought it was pretty good and gave it a 3. It was not one of our favorites but we would smoke it again. We paired it with an Avery Brewing Company Imperial Stout - The Czar. The beer was rich and flavorful with vanilla and carmel notes - very nice.

The Ambos Mundos #2 had much more spice and pepper that did not mellow. It was not overwhelming, but it also did not smooth out much. It was fairly consistent in it's medium body presentation. It was good, but not great, we gave it a 3 as well. We paired this with a Boulevard Irish Ale - which was very crisp and clean and had an abundance of hops. We finished the cigar with the MaCallan Fine Oak single malt scotch, which was very nice.

In the end we liked the Ambos Mundos #1 slightly more than the number two. We would smoke either of them again but we could easily think of other cigars we would reach for first. Although their $5 price point is pretty reasonable we generally order our cigars online and for that price we could get a Rocky Patel Decade or a CAO Soprano both of which are much better cigars.

The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar reviews for your mind and spirit - Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story

Randy and I smoked this cigar the same evening we smoked the San Cristobol (2-12-10). As you may know the San Cristobol smoked very quickly for us. We decided that as the night was young and the Man Shed warmed up that we might as well have another smoke. It was then that I remembered that I had two Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story cigars in my humidor. In the interest of full disclosure I love these cigars and had been saving those two for a special occasion.

Because of its distinct shape this is a more challenging cigar to roll. It has a Cameroon wrapper and Dominican binder and filler. I paid just over $5 apiece for these retail. I have not seen them online as part of a special.

The cigar is very light brown in color and the wrapper is rather dull without any sheen. It appears very well constructed and you can tell that it is made with great skill. It was firmly but not overly tightly packed. It has a somewhat unusual "nipple" on the foot of the cigar. It concentrates the area by which the cigar is lit into a very compact space. Thus lighting is very easy and generally fairly quick.

After clipping and lighting the cigar Randy and I got our first real sense of the draw. Both Randy and I found the draw to be nearly perfect. It had just the right amount of resistance.

The cigar started with a very pleasant mild nutty flavor that had a little sweetness at the end. It did not have any of the spice or bite that the previous cigar (San Cristobol) had.

Tonight we paired this cigar with one of our new favorite Irish Whiskeys. Tyrconne/l Single Malt Irish Whiskey. I brought a bottle of this home from a trip to Topeka. We really enjoyed it and now it is one of our staples.

The cigar burned perfectly. It kept a very thin burn line and developed no runners, did not need to be touched up or re-lit. It had a very tight ash that came off in one piece and demonstrated very little coning and no blooming. It produced an abundance of smoke that had a wonderful secondary aroma.

The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story held a very consistent flavor and burn. Although on the mild side it was complex and had a wonderful flavor. It was also a really good pairing with the Tyrconnell Single Malt Irish. Both were complex in their flavor profiles with hints of sweetness.

As I said at the beginning this is one of my favorite cigars and this smoke lived up to my memory of it. We both scored this cigar a 5. That makes it one of our all time favorites and one we think everyone should have in their humidor. That means I will have to keep my eye out for them as I need to make sure there are at least a couple in there for the next special occasion.

The Pastor and the Shrink - Cigar Reviews for your Mind and Spirit - San Cristobal

Randy and I have been looking forward to smoking this cigar ever since his son Ben told us how much he liked it. This cigar is an Ashton product. This following information is from their website. San Cristobal is a boutique cigar handcrafted in Nicaragua by Jose “Pepin” Garcia. Blended entirely from rich, well-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos, these cigars feature dark, oily Nicaraguan wrappers. The flavors are rich and full-bodied, exhibiting a perfect balance between strength and complexity. Hearty notes of earth, cedar and spices are accompanied by lighter notes of walnuts, espresso, black cherries and dark chocolate. Each cigar is constructed impeccably and finished with a traditional Cuban Triple-Cap.

This is a dark brown cigar with a large, colorful and ornate label. It's construction is seen as generally good, however, Randy did find a couple of soft spots and it is not firmly packed, thus giving it a sort of spongy feel. After clipping and lighting the cigar we sat back to enjoy this smoke.

Both of us found the draw of this cigar to be loose and easier than we preferred. Randy joked that we might be able to smoke these in a half-hour as loose as the draw was. As these are blended with Nicaraguan tobaccos and made by Jose "Pepin" Garcia we expected to experience the strong spiciness that usually accompanies this type of cigar. Whereas it had some spiciness it was more subtle and underplayed than most Garcia cigars especially those made by Jose's Father. We both liked the flavor and the bite - Randy compared it to Rye bread - like a pumpernickel.

Tonight we are pairing this cigar witha bottle of Brother David's Double Abbey Style Ale from Anderson Brewing Company. I saw this in a liquor store in Lawrence and how could I pass it up. It seemed made for me.

The burn of this cigarr was actually pretty good. We were a little surprised because of how loose the draw was. It held a pretty tight ash that came off in one piece and held its shape. The burn line was somewhat wavy and a little inconsistent, but again given the draw it was not to bad.

At the midway point Randy felt like it was a good mild and yet flavorful cigar. I found it to be more in the meduim range and enjoyed the light and yet consistent spiciness that it had.

Generally a cigar of this size (Robusto) takes us in excess of two hours to to smoke. We were both somewhat amazed that we were done in around an hour. The draw was so light that we smoked through the cigar in about half the usual time. The good news was that it held a consistent flavor, a pretty good burn line, and never went out. We really enjoyed the cigar and although it burned quickly it did not seem to get overly hot or acrid which can occur when the draw is to loose.

We both gave this cigar a 4. It was not a strong 4 and the loose draw hurt it, but overall it was a very enjoyable cigar that we would recommend and gladly smoke again. We liked the cigar much more than the beer. Even though its name seemed to have all of the signs of a great beer we found it to be to light and to sweet.