Cigars

Alpha Cigar Co. Absinthe Infused Connecticut

Alpha Cigar CoNow I’m not normally an infused cigar kind of guy but since a few of our members are ambassadors for the company and a few of our DR Friendly Shops offering discounts on these cigars I figured it was time to give them a try.

The Alpha Cigar Co. Absinthe Infused Connecticut is their debut blend. Made from Cuban seed Piloto Cubano leaves make up the filler of these mild-to-medium bodied cigars, with the native Olor Dominicano leaf making up the binder and upholding Cuban traditions, the cigars are rolled in pairs, and bunched in the Cuban entubado style for optimal draw. Prior to rolling, a single leaf in each cigar is lightly infused with a premium French Absinthe.

The wrapper is milk chocolate in color. It is smooth and silky with very little veining, the seams are tight and feels well rolled and solid. No apparent dead spots and lite yield to pressure. The cap was easily cut with no damage to the delicate wrapper.

The smell from the body was a mix of botanical with a hint of sweet citrus like an orange blossom. From the foot the smell was less sweet and gave off the scent of sage and other kitchen herbs along with a punch of tobacco. The cold draw had the flavors of savory spices like rosemary and sage that was noticed in the smell.

The flavors from the first half are citric and salty with a bit of warm bread and slightly tannic. Over all it’s fairly mild smoke that, thanks to the difficult entubado rolling style they employ, it has an even easy draw with little resistance and rich lightweight smoke production.

Reaching the half-way point the botanical flavors start to jump in a bit more and help pull the flavor up along with a bit of pine but it keeps a solid citric flavor through the entire stick. While it does get a bit of spice towards the final third it remains a nice mellow smoke.

For everyone that might be worried about smoking this because it’s an infused stick don’t sweet it. Its very lightly infused and just adds a hint of flavor to the cigar, which I really enjoyed. The 15 different herbs used in the production of this Absinthe lend diverse botanical subtleties to the cigar, especially on the retrohale. Now until you’ve tried it I would run out and buy a box of them but I would say it’s a solid investment as a five pack to start. Check out the DR Friendly shop London Tobacconist to order yours with our 20% off code. (Contact us for discount code.) As always if you’ve ever had these sticks we’d love to know what you thought by commenting below.

 

Wrapper: Connecticut

Binder: Olor Dominicano

Filler: Piloto Cubano

Price: Around $36.00 for a 5 pack

Website: Alphacigar.com

Rating: 4.1 out of 5 pints

90 Miles Unidos

90 Miles UnidosAs stated in my last review of a 90 Miles Cigar I was a late to the FDG party, so I wanted to get another review up quickly just incase anyone else has been missing out on these. The 90 Miles Unidos is a lovely looking barber pole style cigar with a story behind it. The name of the company 90 Miles is, of course, the distance from Florida to Cuba. Inspired by the changes taking place both in Cuba as well as in the relationship between Cuba and the United States, the two wrappers of the Unidos are symbolic of the two countries.

The overall look of the cigar shows great construction, the seams between the two wrappers are tight, visible veining but nothing off putting to the overall appearance and it is fairly smooth to the touch. There is an interesting paly between the different oils and texture of the two different wrappers, which adds to the entertainment value of the cigar. The body feels well rolled with no apparent dead spots and gives to even pressure when pressed between the fingers. The double cap is well applied and is removed easily with no structural damage to the cigar.

The smell from the body reminds me of standing in a wheat field. It’s airy, light and gives off a grassy aroma, from the foot the grass scent is more apparent but also muddled with dried apricot, chocolate and a hint of leather.

The first half of the cigar lands a bit on the mellow side with a dry citric and coffee flavor, reminiscent to an espresso with a twist of lime. In the background is a touch of bread. The draw is on the medium side but is not a struggle, the burn line remains even and it produces plenty of smoke that weights nicely on the tongue.

Normally I don’t notice much difference between thirds and tend to keep my reviews broken into halves but, with this stick in the second third an interesting grapefruit taste kicks in adding to the citric flavors. The ash remains consistent and is charcoal in color, has nice tight rings that fall off about every quarter inch.

Reaching the second half there is a generous increase in spice and pepper. As the flavor picks up the cigar takes on a new life for me. The light citric tones drop off with the addition of these spice and pepper. In the final third the leather and chocolate flavors that were first noticeable in the aroma come in. The cigar finishes with a medium-full flavor.

This was not only a fun cigar to smoke because of the design and thought behind it but was also great in the flavor profile. With the flavor changes it’s a cigar that will keep you on your toes. Cigar pairs well with coffee, a crisp lager or, for me, a nice bourbon that has just a touch of sweetness to it. I recommend going out and picking up a few sticks and trying them out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade/Ecuadoran Habano

Binder: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Price: Around $10.00

Website: FDGCigars.com

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 pints

90 Miles Limited Edition RA Lancero

FDG RA LanceroBeing a little late to the game when it came to trying the FDG line I missed some opportunities to write about their products closer to the time they were released. After meeting Yadi at an event and trying a few of her cigars I decided to write about a few of them anyway just incase anyone else was behind like I was. I decided to start with the RA Lancero, even though this cigar has been out for nearly 3 years and was a limited production of 1,500 boxes of 20 you can still find some with relative ease if you know where to look.

The over all look of the wrapper is dark espresso in color with a slightly lighter color near the veins and has a slight oily sheen to it. Veins are clearly visible but are light, there is a small amount of toothiness but still mostly smooth to the touch. The roll looks solid and the seams are tight, the cigar feels nice and spongy through the entire stick with no apparent empty spots.

The smell from the body is sweet like smoky chocolate. The foot is covered but I remove the covering to get a better smell. From the foot the odor is very sweet and candy like with rich cedar notes, similar to a sweet unflavored pipe tobacco.

The cap has a small pigtail to it, which cuts easily and cleanly with no issues. The cigar lights with no trouble and immediately produces a good amount of smoke. The draw offers a fair amount of resistance but it isn’t a struggle.

Through the first third the flavors have a bit of spice with charred oak and fruit and a touch of pepper. These flavors slowly change to a bitter dark chocolate, leather and spice when approaching the halfway point and up to the final third.

In the final third those chocolate, leather and spice notes move to the back and all but disappear leaving a rich sweet tobacco flavor. It shoves its way to the front pulling a slight taste of graham cracker with it. Throughout the smoke the ash stays a medium to dark grey color falling off about every ¼ inch or so.

I’ve really been enjoying the catalog from FDG cigars and the lancero has been a lot of fun to smoke. It has great complex flavors that pair well with most drinks however I would recommend a nice bourbon, (I preferred mine when I had it with a Bookers over when I had Elmer T Lee) and the price point won’t break the bank. I recommend tracking these down and stocking up since once they are gone they are gone.

 

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan Habano

Filler: Nicaragua

Vitola: 7” x 38 Lancero

Price: Around $7.50

Website: Fdgcigars.com