Club Is Family

Traficante El Paso – Cazadores

Traficante El Paso CazadoresAs the popularity of Traficante Cigar Company grows so does their line of available cigars. While they add new products to their catalog they also like to offer small batches of limited releases as well. The El Paso – Cazadores happens to be one of those pieces. Unlike most companies limited editions which are usually somewhere in the 10,000 range only 915 of these cigars will be produced.

The cigar is covered in a silky, oil rich wrapper that is the color of espresso and has medium veining but is smooth to the touch. The seams are nice and snug with a well-filled roll that felt consistent through the majority of the stick.

The odor from the foot is of heavy dark roasted coffee beans and from the body there are notes of wood and leather. The prelight draw is easy and offers a sweet fruitiness, which leaves me with high hopes for what the overall flavor of this cigar will be. The cap cuts with no problem and the cigar lights easily, the draw after being lit offers an appropriate amount of resistance.

The first flavors noticed are bitter dark chocolate and almonds with a long enjoyable finish that seems to last for days. As I continue through the stick the flavor intensifies offering some rich tobacco notes to the chocolate and almond. The burn is even, the smoke production is nice and full as well it produces a tight brownish grey ash that falls off easily when tapped.

As I approach the second half the flavor has really begun to intensify with the tobacco flavor becoming more noticeable and a dash of spice being added in. The finish is still long but now has an added sweetness to it helping to balance out the spice.

For a triple maduro this cigar isn’t for the casual smoker. It has a rich full-bodied flavor that is incredibly enjoyable. I would run out and grab some now while there’s still a few left, and don’t forget all DR members get 15% off on their website. Just contact us for the discount code.

 

Size: 6×52

Wrapper: Classified

Binder/Filler: Classified

Price: $10.08

Website: Traficantecigar.com

Rating: 4.4 pints out of 5

Tatuaje’s Skinny Frank

Tatuaje Skinny MonstersAs is the case with the S&M Smoke Shop (AKA DR Headquarters) Different things are always popping up. This time they managed to get their hands on the entire Skinny Monster series from Tatuaje so I figured why not try a few and see what I thought. For my first go around I decided to try the Frank, since I had had it in other vitolas, it seemed like the right place to start.

The cigar wrapper is a dark espresso color with some noticeable veining, however this doesn’t detract from the overall appearance but seems fitting for the cigar name. There are some oils present on the wrapper but it has mostly a matte finish to it. The seams look tight and flat and it has the usual dense feeling of a lancero with little give when pressure is applied.

The smell from the body is barnyard or hay with a sweet jasmine floral scent and hints of milk chocolate; from the foot it has more of an anise odor, with the jasmine floral scent as well. The cap cuts with no damage to the body, which with lanceros I prefer to cut a bit heavier to open a decent airway to prevent the draw from feeling too tight.

From the cold draw it has a (what I would consider typical) lancero hard draw but is not off putting, the flavor is rich tobacco and cinnamon. The cigar lights easy and burns evenly from the start. The first few draws have a deep smoked meaty flavor with a long red pepper finish that lingers until the next draw.

Through the first third the meatiness of the cigar stays and a bit of cedar comes in accompanied by the long pepper finish. The burn remains even and it produces a loose greyish ash that holds on for about an inch at a time before falling off on its own accord. Smoke production is good and is a medium weight on the tongue.

Entering into the second third the meatiness drops off leaving the cedar flavor and now leather enters the profile, the peppery finish is still there but has nearly disappeared. Reaching this point I was starting to classify the entire cigar in a mild in flavor category.

Reaching the final third the flavor becomes a bit fuller with the cedar still the forerunner yet roasted pine nuts and bitter dark chocolate are joining in. There is also the return of the long peppery finish, which was nice to have back.

In all I did enjoy the cigar. While the draw was tight I found that it was not as tight as most lanceros and there was no struggle in smoking it. The flavor profile changes kept me on my toes trying to find a good description for the flavors I was tasting. The ash held tight and the burn was even for the whole smoke showing that the construction was quality and their was the overall novelty of smoking a cigar named after one of my favorite classic horror movies. If your new to Tatuaje and are wondering where to start you can’t go wrong with the Skinny Frank.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (My Father Cigars SA)

Website: Tatuajecigars.com

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints

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