Distinguished Ruffians

601 Black From Espinosa Cigars
601 Black

With Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s a day that can bring back the memories that we love and sometimes within the cigar industry a certain cigar may be brought back to remind us how much we missed and loved that particular cigar. 

Here we have the 601 Black Connecticut.  The 601 Black had been out of production for several years.  In 2020 this cigar was reintroduced as an annual limited editiion.  The 601 Black is a cigar that traces back to EO Brands, the partnership between Espinosa Cigars founder Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega.  601 Black was one of the original 601 blends released in the EO portfolios.  At the time it was released, it was considered a groundbreaking cigar in that it was one of the early Connecticut Shade blends to break the mold of traditional, milder Connecticut Shades and as Espinosa Cigars Director of Operations Hector Alfonso quoted, “the 601 Black was a cigar ahead of its time”. 

The 601 Black is certainly a cigar that might change your view on Connecticut Shade cigars.  Underneath the Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf is a core of perfectly aged Nicaraguan long filler and binder tobaccos, yielding a more powerful and bolder smoke than an old-school Connecticut smoke. 

Getting ready to light this cigar up I take a few dry pulls to get the FULL aspect of the experience I am about to have.  In my dry draws I was able to pick up some caramel, toasted nuts, and cedar notes.  The cigar definitely started to get my glands active with saliva which was all before the cigar was even lit. 

As I began to light up, right off the rip, I was getting some very rich and flavorful pepper, cream, cedar, toasted nuts and dried fruit.  I can immediately understand why this cigar is typically not your traditional Connecticut Shade cigar.  As I continue to smoke the first 1/3 of the cigar it was staying strong with robust flavors of caramel, toasted nuts, cedar with a hint of floral notes to enhance my experience.  Continuing on with the second 1/3 of the cigar a nice frothy latte with some cocoa powder came to mind; coffee, cocoa, hints of sweetness, and molasses certainly surprised me yet the transition was certainly enjoyable.  As I continue with the last 1/3 of the 601 Black the strength and flavor really became prominent; molasses, espresso, cocoa, with hints of brown sugar.  

This cigar certainly illustrates why it stands out above most traditional Connecticut Shade cigars.  This cigar will absolutely pair well with your drink of choice.  The 601 Black is offered in boxes of 10 and ONLY in a Toro Size.  This cigar is most certainly one you want to hunt for. I would rate this cigar 4.9 out of 5 which say’s a lot because I can be quite picky on a cigar from start to finish but this cigar was absolutely delicious and almost flawless.  I did have one tiny burn issue half way through but it didn’t last long and the flavor profile was impeccable. Check out your local B&M to track some of these down!

Wrapper –  Ecuadorian Connecticut

Binder – Nicaragua 

Filler – Nicaragua

Price: Around $9.00 a stick

Website: www.espinosacigars.com

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 pints.

Room 101 Farce Maduro
Room 101 Farce Maduro

The Room 101 Farce Maduro has been on my radar (and in my humidor) for a minute or two now so I decided to slip on some open toed sandals (you’re welcome Matt) and get to writing. We all know in 2017 Booth said he was taking “a break” from the cigar industry, or maybe you didn’t know, but it feels like it was kind of a big deal at the time. That “break” lasted for all of about 10 minutes. During 2017’s IPCPR he was there giving the brand a fresh start and working on some projects with others. In 2018 he began laughing his own ideas under the Room 101 name including the brands own premium line, Room 101 Farce. In 2019 he released Farce Maduro which is what we have here today to review.

So, just for kicks, let’s start with how Boofy describes this cigar. “Look at me. The visual of my decadent and oily wrapper triggers a salivary response within your mouth hole. A brilliant spring of neurotransmitters rushes from your midbrain and dives head first into your bloodstream at the nanosecond your eyes make contact with my succulent and inviting exterior. Can you only imagine what may happen once you taste me? Don’t think about it – be about it. FARCE Maduro is the taste grenade you have only dreamt could be real. zzz” Now how do you top that description? Not sure that’s possible but here’s what I thought.

I found the over all look of the wrapper to be dark chestnut in color with a bit of tooth to it. It has tight seams, some slight veining and more of a flat finish. While it might not pair up exactly with the afore mentioned description I found it to be very visual pleasing. The cigar is very pliable between the fingers but feels full with no apparent dead spots. It has a very pleasant odor of cedar, leather and spices. It reminds me of the way an antique book smells when you open it. From the foot I pick up sweat dried fruit and tobacco. The cold draw is easy to the point of feeling too open (which caused an uh-oh moment of concern) and gives flavors of apricot with some sneaky pepper.

The cigar ignites with no issues and as soon as torch hits tobacco that loose draw tightens up and provides the proper amount of resistance canceling out any fears of the cigar being too loose on the draw. The first third brings in flavors of dark chocolate, coffee and pepper. I found more pepper on the retrohale. The cigar burns well and even, the smoke production is plenty to fill “your mouth hole” as Booth puts it.

Reaching the second third the favor settles into a more mellow feel with the cedar remaining but becoming more earthy in taste and a nice bit of pepper on the finish. The retrohale moves to a nice spice flavor. Construction is impeccable with a sharp burn and smoke that doesn’t quit.

For the final third I found it to be nice and mellow with dark chocolate, coffee and nut flavors along with good spice on the end. Now, by mellow I do not mean that it doesn’t have much flavor, it has plenty of that. By mellow I mean the flavors are not fighting with each other and marry nicely so the cigar never tastes harsh while smoking it. The burn line stared even for the duration of the smoke and smoke never fails to satisfy.

The Room 101 Farce Maduro was a lot of fun to smoke. It has a lot of great flavor and the construction is tip top. While the flavors are plentiful I think this is a great cigar for either the novice or the veteran smoker. Take a look in your local B&M and if you see these don’t pass by them you won’t be disappointed to have them in your collection. Along with the Room 1010 Cigars Matt Booth also has Room 101 Brand jewelry line. If you’re looking for some new accessories hit up his site for that too!

Wrapper –  Mexican San Andres

Binder – Ecuador 

Filler – Connecticut, Nicaragua, Pennsylvania

Price: Around $10.00 – $11.00

Website: www.Room101cigars.com

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 pints.

Protocol Themis
Protocol Themis

“Themis (/ˈθiːmɪs/; Ancient Greek: Θέμις) is an ancient Greek Titaness. She is described as “[the Lady] of good counsel,” and is the personification of divine order, fairness, law, natural law, and custom. Her symbols are the Scales of Justice, tools used to remain balanced and pragmatic.” Now when Protocol Cigars named the Themis after this a female version of Thanos, wait that’s the wrong type of Titan… Originally released at the then named ICPCR in 2017 the Themis is an addition to their line blended in part by one of Cubariqueño’s partners William Agathis who worked closely with Hector Alfonso Sr., Director of Operations at Espinosa Premium Cigars. Naming this cigar Themis is a pretty bold statement given what she stands for, balance, equality, order. This cigar has a lot to live up to for this name, lets see how it does.

The look of the cigar is a muted light brown color, like tea with a bit of cream added to it. The wrapper is mostly smooth with some visible veining and a soft powdery finish. The seams are snug, the body is firm to the touch and there are no apparent dead spots. The smell from the body is faint and there’s nothing much that can be described there, from the foot I notice a some floral notes and light spices. The cold draw gives flavors of bread and butter with a hint of pepper.

For the first third there I notice some creaminess to the cigar, a bit of toasted wood and a light pepper flavor on the back. The cigar burns evenly with no issues and the smoke is light and plentiful.

Moving into the second third more of the creamy goodness from the first is there, this cigar is almost like smoking butter. The pepper does start to stand out a bit more on the back of the pallet. It’s not over powering just enough to let you know it’s there. The burn stays true and the smoke production is plentiful.

In the final third the spice picks up a bit, and the buttery toast flavor with cream remains consistent. The burn is sharp throughout the entire cigar (only one out of 4 did I have an issue with and it was a particularly windy day so I will name that as the culprit) and the amount of smoke is more than satisfying.

For me I found this cigar to be around a medium in intensity and is a great morning cigar or if you’re looking for something a bit on the lighter side to smoke in the evening. It has a flavor profile that can be easily appreciated by both the novice and seasoned smoker and would pair well with just about anything you put it up against. While I did not find much flavor change from start to finish this is not a bad thing. Perhaps that’s why it was named Themis, it’s a well balanced cigar that carries its flavor and texture from start to finish. Or maybe I’m like Mr. Fantastic and that’s a stretch. (Sorry everybody, we’ve been re-watching all the Marvel movies again recently.) Either way when you see these make sure to pick some up because you won’t regret having these on hand.

Wrapper –  Ecuadorian Connecticut

Binder – Nicaraguan

Filler – Nicaraguan

Price: Around $10.00

Website: https://www.cubariqueno.com

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 pints