Andthensome

Sancho Panza Molinos SLM OCT 07

After a week in the humidor to acclimate, I decided to take the newest addition to my inventory out for test drive. The Molinos format is standard > lonsdale size: 42 X 6 1/2". Decent draw, we great pre-burn tastes. Subtle, yet sweet fruits and touches of woods. The burn was consistent if nothing else. Quick and full of smoke, I was able to take down to the nub G-boy style in under 45 minutes. Its not blowing you away like the earthy, full-bodied tones of a RA or coming at you like a bull the way a Montecristo No.2 does, but more subtle and light that is consistent all the way through. Kind of reminded me of the La Gloria No. 2 in some ways. An all around good smoke.

The Punch Double Corona

Last night I finally had a chance to try the Punch Double Corona that I had bought early last year. I shared a 50 cabinet of a 2005 vintage with a good friend of mine.  He mulled a couple back from HK where I am keeping the difference to continue to age. I love the double corona format, but must admit all my experience with the prominente has come from the Partagas Lucitanias. Additionally, the reviews on this smoke tend to be high.  Because I love the format and the decent aging on the cigar, I waited in anticipation to get my first crack at the lot. Need some time to think it over, but first impressions were mixed. It started off with a difficult draw and a slightly acidic, metallic taste. Metals is a new taste for me, but that is all I could come up with. The first third burned well nonetheless and the draw seemed to improve rapidly.  The second third was much improved. Certainly not bold or savory, but decently consistent tobacco tastes with more vegetal flavors - grasses, straw. The burn was good, no trouble spots.  Final thirds was not much different than the 2nd third, but slightly more powerful.  Still not a lot of punch. Overall, the mildness and tough start would rank this smoke as an 85.

I have been smoking some great cigars lately, so I attribute my disappointment with this cigar due to my expectations are quite high.  The people I know that smoke Punch, swear to them.  I am not sure, but my guess is for people who like a mild smoke.  Although I have had my share of mild smokes, that were more enjoyable.

Cigar Shapes & Sizes Part 2

Starting off with the parejos which would be your typical tubular cigars. There is a lot to chose from. Here are some more well known ones with a couple of my favorites thrown in. I have grouped them into three classes

Robusto Like (greater than 47 guage but less than 170mm length):

Robusto (50 X 4 7/8") 124mm
Edmundo (52 X 5 1/8") 135mm
Double Robusto (50 X 6 3/8") 160mm
Hermoso No. 4 (47 X 5") 127mm
Sublimes (54 X 6 1/2") 164mm
Robusto Extra (50 X 6 3/4") 170mm

Moderate Coronas (greater than 140 mm but less than 170mm):

Cervatnes/Lonsdale (42 X 6 1/2") 165mm
Coronas (42 X 5 5/8") 142mm
Coronas Grande (42 X 6 1/8") 155mm
Dalia/898 (43 X 6 3/4") 170mm

Large Coranas (greater than 170mm)

Churchill (47 X 7") 174mm
Robusto Especiales (50 X 7 1/2") 192mm
Prominente/Double Corona (49 X 7 5/8") 194mm
Gran Corona (48 X 9 1/4") 235mm

Torpedos and pyrimides tend to be thicker than your parejos and be slighlty flanged throughout the body. The torpedo is more tapered at the end, whereas the pyrimide is pyrimidal in shape. I don't think the structural differences are pronounced enough to warrant differentiation. So i would say there are two main sizes and I would call them both Torpedos, the shorter one called a belicosos and the longer a pyrimide. I will outline a few of my favorites in this heading as they, in my opinion tend to be of the best quality and most enjoyable smokes.

Campana/Belicosos (52 X 5 1/2") 140mm
Pyrimide (52 X 6 1/8") 155mm

The last major shape is the perfecto which has a few sizes but most noteably is the mamoth diademas.

Diademas (55 X 9 1/8") 233mm

Cigar Shapes & Sizes Part 1

For some time I have wanted to do a summary of cigar sizes, without being exhuastive, but just to get a basic overview of the main sizes in my head. For one thing there are quite few. It doesn't help that brands like Cohiba have introduced many sizes that are just slightly different from your basic shapes. My basic philosophy is you have to know a few standard sizes and then any bespoke models that you happen to like.

Start of with the general shapes which are classified into several categories, namely, parejos, torpedo, pyrimid and perfecto. The parejos is what most people think of when they draw a mental image of a cigar, which is a consistent tubular shape. There are numerous sizes in the parejos category classified by ring gauge and length. The torpedo is tappered at one end, but otherwise resembles the parejos. The pyrimid is, of course, pyrimid in shape; gradually getting larger at the smoking end of the cigar. Finally the perfecto is bulged in the middle with a tapper at each end.

Ring guage is a measure of the circumference of the cigar in 64th of an inch increments. So a 32 gauage cigar effectively has a 1/2 inch circumfrence. Length is obviously the length of the uncut cigar in inches although more and more you people think in metric system, so it is not uncommon to see mm.

Finally, vitrola is the categories of cigars classifying all three characteristic: shape, guage and length. There are many vitrolas and as I said, cigar brands introduce there own models that are slighly non standard. In my next post I will go into the basic sizes.

Top 5 Cigars for 2009

(blogged) OK, I have reformulated my Top 5 (Go-To) Cigar selection. Emmett and I began to think about this some time back, but codified it last summer while at Macau golfing. The concept is simple enough. What 5 cigars to you always want to have in inventory (i.e. aged and ready to smoke as well as on deck). Cost and performance should be the largest consideration. For example, at 4,000 JPY a stick, the Cohiba Magicos - a truely outstanding cigar - is not on the list because performance doesn't overcome the hefty price. Second consideration would be utility. For instance, I have high expectations for the Sancho Sancho that I have in inventory. But I am not going to keep a surplus around, because it is more of a special occation smoke than a go-to smoke. With these two considerations in mind, here are my top 5:

1. Sancho Belicos (52/140) - in inventory

2. Partegas Series P No. 2 (52/156) - in inventory

3. Montecristo No. 2 (52/156) - no sure.

4. La Gloria Medaille d'Or No. 2 (43/170) - not in inventory and should be

5. Hoya de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 (50/124) - not in inventory and should be

Strong Runners Up:

Partagas Lusitanias (49/194) - aged inventory

Montecristo Edmundo (52/135) - aged but low in inventory

Romon Allones 898 (43/170) - not in inventory

Bolivar Belicosos Finos (52/140) - aged but low in inventory

Quai D'orsay Imperiales (47/178) - not in inventory, but gran coronas is

Ramon Allones Specially Selected (50/124) - in inventory but young

You will of course disagree with a couple of my placements. One, the Partagas Lusitanias has to be my favorite cigar and needs to be on the list. I guess, although I love it and keep it stocked, I don't smoke it enough to call it go to. Two, Ramon Allones 898 and the Robusto are strangley off my list. I could put them back up there, except I haven't had enough of the later to qualify as knowing it. Bolivar Belicosos lacks consistency box to box. Quai D'Orsay lacks availability. Again, could easily be a go-to smoke.

<Update>

Jim,

Good to revisit this discussion. I would add two more criteria to the list.

The first is availability. For me, a cigar must be sufficently available that you can be assured of continuity of supply. For example, the Rafael Gonzales is a great lonsdale size cigar which is tasty but light, making it an excellent morning smoke, in the same zone as the La Gloria #2. . However, you can't get the suckers any more so it doesn't make my list.

Secondly, although others could differ on this point, subject to meeting the other criteria I like to design a sufficient portfolio of sizes to constitute the go-to's. I need to have a mix of robustos, double coronas, chuchils, torpedos and lonsdales in my list, as I have different smoking occasions for all those sizes.

Performance could also be broken down further into taste, draw, consistency, color, and so on.

Finally, at the risk of stating the obvious, there is no universal answer here. We all should have our own list, which suits our taste, smoking patterns and budget.

SET