What an annoying smoke with such a huge ring gauge. It is difficult to enjoy a cigar when the smoke comes to the mouth with such a force and wide angle. On top of that the as usual Nicaraguan overpowering spiciness. the cigar is harsh with strong metallic finish at the back. The flavors are pretty plain tons of wood, black pepper, roasted coffee. that's all I can find from this cigar. My jaw almost fell off. Cigar suppose to be relaxing but this close to a torture. it is straight medium bodied.
I don't understand why E.P. Carrillo has to make something like this who has a good reputation to create balanced and complex blends. It is not a easy task to creat a rich, balanced and complex cigar with such a huge ring gauge. I can only recommend this for them who like big ring gauge cigars. Nothing special about it.
Lol...awesome review. I agree on the ring gauge and the affect it has on how smoke hits yor palette. For some reason, I am not a big fan of epc, even his habano blends.
I consider this as my best review LOL. I also do not like EPC any longer and this is not going to change soon. It is sad to see how he also joined with the flow. More and more cigar makers have been failing to stick with the core line. One more reason to smoke more CCs.
catfishbluezz:
Lol...awesome review. I agree on the ring gauge and the affect it has on how smoke hits yor palette. For some reason, I am not a big fan of epc, even his habano blends.
This is the last vintage cigar release from Macanudo. It was part of Macanudo Vintage 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2006. Once in a while I go back to my old collection. I do not smoke them often rather than leave them aside. Sometime it is hard to choose a cigar. I thought I will smoke this cigar tonight. It was released in 2010 and it has been aging over two years in my humidor.
This cigar comes with a 13 years aged Broadleaf Connecticut Maduro wrapper. the binder is Honduran and the fillers are Brazilian Mata fine, Nicaraguan Esteli ligeros and Dominican Piloto Cubano.
The cigar feel solid in hand with no soft spot. It has a very dark chocolate wrapper with oily surface, few visible veins. It has hay, wood(oak) scents and mild coffee and spice aroma at the foot. The cold draw is perfect has some nice black peppery spicy note.
It starts with tons of roasted coffee, black peppery spice with raising aroma at the back. It has also a wonderful molasses sweetness at the finish. The cigar is completely smooth without any harshness at the back of my tongue. It also has a coriander powdery note at the finish. It also has oaky flavor. The retrohale has a crispy white peppery spiciness through the nose. I am really enjoying the smoke. The strength is mild to medium with medium finish.
At the 2/3, the roasted coffee flavor is there but also added with cocoa and sweet dark chocolate notes. The raising aroma withcreamy molasses sweetness at the finish is still there. I am also detecting a nutty finish after each puff. The smoke is super smooth and little creamy in texture. The coriander powdery aroma is gone and taken over with bay leaf aroma. man, this is a damn good smoke. It is well balanced with wonderful complexity. I love this cigar. I am asking myself why did I left it all alone so long. general cigar also make some very good cigars.
The final third starts with more intensity of 1/3 and 2/3 complete flavors and aroma profile. the sweetness finish is more like caramel-molasses but it is crispy and clean. The bay leaf aroma also releasing some mild floral note. The oaky woody finish is gone but the nuttiness is upfront. he smoke is creamier and round. It is completely smooth without any harshness at the back. The retrohale has white:black(25:75%) delicate spiciness through the nose-wow! Though I am not detecting any new flavors or aroma but it is well balanced with changing complexity of 1/3 and 2/3 flavors and aroma. the finish is also long. The strength is straight medium. It is very consistent throughout the smoke. At the end the retrohale is 100% black peppery but still delicate.
Final Thoughts: I cannot ignore this cigar and I need to write up a full review. this is a great Maduro smoke with $9 MSRP. Lot of Maduros in the market uses fake and artificially ripen(expedite fermentation) Maduro wrapper. This is pure vintage Maduro and it delivers the true taste. I highly recommend this cigar if you are looking for medium bodied Maduro.
Ok I am halfway of the smoke. I will say that this is Pepin best cigar-why? He really reduced the overpowering spice, strength which allows to enjoy the complexity of the cigar. This is also by far the lightest cigar Don Pepin has blended. he concentrated more on flavors and aroma rather than the strength and spice. well done Pepin. I am drinking plain iced water. First one inch has the overpowering spice and mild harshness but it completely disappeared after that and taken over with mild-medium strength. This is cigar will be very popular to the smokers who enjoy flavor and aroma more than strength. Some people might be disappointed because it doesn't have as usual Pepin's spiciness and the full bodied strength.
The flavor profile is the combination of black pepper, cedar, leather, cocoa, bitter-sweet chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, clove, earth flavor and dried fruity aroma. It has a toasted almond finish. It also has a rich caramel-mild molasses sweetness at the finish. After a 1/3 of smoke it is straight mild-medium body but pick up medium body at 2/3. Finally, Pepin ruduced the mighty spicy kick amd over strength which allowing me to enjoy the complex and balanced flavors and aroma. This is cigar is extremely balanced with super long finish. the tingly feeling around my mouth is full flavored. Think about a Padron 45th and simply add 2 extra points. The earthiness has three dimensional twist with spicy, sweet and musky aroma. they changes with other complex flavors and aroma. It does have some Cuban Partagas series P number 2 fruity- floral aroma because he used the first generation Corojo 98 tobacco in it. the amount of Pelo de Oro exceeds any other Pepin's blend. I will score this 95. Six month of age will fix the initial overpowering spiciness and the harshness. This cigar does not need long aging. The smoke is creamy and round. I will buy couple boxes without any hesitation. This cigar has all the Davidoff quality with balanced strength.This is by far Pepin best cigar in terms of complex, rich flavor and aroma with reduced strength. I will talk more in my detail review in my regular review thread. I believe this cigar will be released in May/13. One more thing, this is not the one going to be released with Tatuaje. here will be two 10th Anniversary releases- one in Pepin's name another jointly with Tatuaje.
Fantastic mini review Rip and thanks for giving me the heads up on my most anticipated cigar of 2013! This will be a box buy for me without question, just wish I could get it signed by the man himself cuz that would make this truly epic!
"When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
Only 2000 boxes will be released. I will try to get three boxes if Pepin allows me. I will see how many I can get directly from him with his autographs. i am sure many people lined up already. Give me a week.
90+ Irishman:
Fantastic mini review Rip and thanks for giving me the heads up on my most anticipated cigar of 2013! This will be a box buy for me without question, just wish I could get it signed by the man himself cuz that would make this truly epic!
BTW, though the cigar is medum in strength but it has a strong nicotine kick or I might be tired end of the week. Overall, this cigar performance is top notch.
rzaman:
Ok I am halfway of the smoke. I will say that this is Pepin best cigar-why? He really reduced the overpowering spice, strength which allows to enjoy the complexity of the cigar. This is also by far the lightest cigar Don Pepin has blended. he concentrated more on flavors and aroma rather than the strength and spice. well done Pepin. I am drinking plain iced water. First one inch has the overpowering spice and mild harshness but it completely disappeared after that and taken over with mild-medium strength. This is cigar will be very popular to the smokers who enjoy flavor and aroma more than strength. Some people might be disappointed because it doesn't have as usual Pepin's spiciness and the full bodied strength.
The flavor profile is the combination of black pepper, cedar, leather, cocoa, bitter-sweet chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, clove, earth flavor and dried fruity aroma. It has a toasted almond finish. It also has a rich caramel-mild molasses sweetness at the finish. After a 1/3 of smoke it is straight mild-medium body but pick up medium body at 2/3. Finally, Pepin ruduced the mighty spicy kick amd over strength which allowing me to enjoy the complex and balanced flavors and aroma. This is cigar is extremely balanced with super long finish. the tingly feeling around my mouth is full flavored. Think about a Padron 45th and simply add 2 extra points. The earthiness has three dimensional twist with spicy, sweet and musky aroma. they changes with other complex flavors and aroma. It does have some Cuban Partagas series P number 2 fruity- floral aroma because he used the first generation Corojo 98 tobacco in it. the amount of Pelo de Oro exceeds any other Pepin's blend. I will score this 95. Six month of age will fix the initial overpowering spiciness and the harshness. This cigar does not need long aging. The smoke is creamy and round. I will buy couple boxes without any hesitation. This cigar has all the Davidoff quality with balanced strength.This is by far Pepin best cigar in terms of complex, rich flavor and aroma with reduced strength. I will talk more in my detail review in my regular review thread. I believe this cigar will be released in May/13. One more thing, this is not the one going to be released with Tatuaje. here will be two 10th Anniversary releases- one in Pepin's name another jointly with Tatuaje.
Only 2000 boxes will be released. I will try to get three boxes if Pepin allows me. I will see how many I can get directly from him with his autographs. i am sure many people lined up already. Give me a week.
90+ Irishman:
Fantastic mini review Rip and thanks for giving me the heads up on my most anticipated cigar of 2013! This will be a box buy for me without question, just wish I could get it signed by the man himself cuz that would make this truly epic!
Wow.... Rip that's amazingly kind and generous of you I don't know what to say, I am humbled just for the effort alone thank you from the bottom of my heart my friend!
"When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
One more thing, the tobaccos are aged for five years. I can feel with it's subtle flavor and aroma with creamy texture.
rzaman:
BTW, though the cigar is medum in strength but it has a strong nicotine kick or I might be tired end of the week. Overall, this cigar performance is top notch.
rzaman:
Ok I am halfway of the smoke. I will say that this is Pepin best cigar-why? He really reduced the overpowering spice, strength which allows to enjoy the complexity of the cigar. This is also by far the lightest cigar Don Pepin has blended. he concentrated more on flavors and aroma rather than the strength and spice. well done Pepin. I am drinking plain iced water. First one inch has the overpowering spice and mild harshness but it completely disappeared after that and taken over with mild-medium strength. This is cigar will be very popular to the smokers who enjoy flavor and aroma more than strength. Some people might be disappointed because it doesn't have as usual Pepin's spiciness and the full bodied strength.
The flavor profile is the combination of black pepper, cedar, leather, cocoa, bitter-sweet chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, clove, earth flavor and dried fruity aroma. It has a toasted almond finish. It also has a rich caramel-mild molasses sweetness at the finish. After a 1/3 of smoke it is straight mild-medium body but pick up medium body at 2/3. Finally, Pepin ruduced the mighty spicy kick amd over strength which allowing me to enjoy the complex and balanced flavors and aroma. This is cigar is extremely balanced with super long finish. the tingly feeling around my mouth is full flavored. Think about a Padron 45th and simply add 2 extra points. The earthiness has three dimensional twist with spicy, sweet and musky aroma. they changes with other complex flavors and aroma. It does have some Cuban Partagas series P number 2 fruity- floral aroma because he used the first generation Corojo 98 tobacco in it. the amount of Pelo de Oro exceeds any other Pepin's blend. I will score this 95. Six month of age will fix the initial overpowering spiciness and the harshness. This cigar does not need long aging. The smoke is creamy and round. I will buy couple boxes without any hesitation. This cigar has all the Davidoff quality with balanced strength.This is by far Pepin best cigar in terms of complex, rich flavor and aroma with reduced strength. I will talk more in my detail review in my regular review thread. I believe this cigar will be released in May/13. One more thing, this is not the one going to be released with Tatuaje. here will be two 10th Anniversary releases- one in Pepin's name another jointly with Tatuaje.
oh man, now this is EXACTLY what I was hoping for. Not many know but Pepin's aged offerings are stupendous! I agree that the pepper subsides and you're left w/ fine upfront and complex aromas of nuttiness, creaminess etc. I'm excited!
You are correct about Pepin's aged tobaccos. He is the only one who uses a room size fridge in his factory where he age his limited precious aged tobacco to maintain certain temperature and humidity. I was lucky to see it.
jliu:
oh man, now this is EXACTLY what I was hoping for. Not many know but Pepin's aged offerings are stupendous! I agree that the pepper subsides and you're left w/ fine upfront and complex aromas of nuttiness, creaminess etc. I'm excited!
A reduced spice Pepin. I must try this. BTW, I'm going to attempt to do a review this weekend. I've never done a review. This is more like an experiment though. I hope it works out.
"It's plume, bro. Nothing to worry about. Got any Opus?" The suppose to be DZR
I love pretty much anything Pepin once it hits 2-3 years. So anytime I hear about his aged tobaccos I am more interested really. I will buy this for sure, and agree with Jiunn on his aged offerings. Seems like some of te stuff he's been blending lately have even for less power which is nice. I can't wait for this, thanks Rip.
A reduced spice Pepin. I must try this. BTW, I'm going to attempt to do a review this weekend. I've never done a review. This is more like an experiment though. I hope it works out.
A reduced spice Pepin. I must try this. BTW, I'm going to attempt to do a review this weekend. I've never done a review. This is more like an experiment though. I hope it works out.
DOITNOW
I'll get there El Presidente. Again, its an experiment.
"It's plume, bro. Nothing to worry about. Got any Opus?" The suppose to be DZR
Comments
Interesting to hear about this cigar.
And I sent you a PM Rip.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.
What an annoying smoke with such a huge ring gauge. It is difficult to enjoy a cigar when the smoke comes to the mouth with such a force and wide angle. On top of that the as usual Nicaraguan overpowering spiciness. the cigar is harsh with strong metallic finish at the back. The flavors are pretty plain tons of wood, black pepper, roasted coffee. that's all I can find from this cigar. My jaw almost fell off. Cigar suppose to be relaxing but this close to a torture. it is straight medium bodied.
I don't understand why E.P. Carrillo has to make something like this who has a good reputation to create balanced and complex blends. It is not a easy task to creat a rich, balanced and complex cigar with such a huge ring gauge. I can only recommend this for them who like big ring gauge cigars. Nothing special about it.
This cigar comes with a 13 years aged Broadleaf Connecticut Maduro wrapper. the binder is Honduran and the fillers are Brazilian Mata fine, Nicaraguan Esteli ligeros and Dominican Piloto Cubano.
The cigar feel solid in hand with no soft spot. It has a very dark chocolate wrapper with oily surface, few visible veins. It has hay, wood(oak) scents and mild coffee and spice aroma at the foot. The cold draw is perfect has some nice black peppery spicy note.
It starts with tons of roasted coffee, black peppery spice with raising aroma at the back. It has also a wonderful molasses sweetness at the finish. The cigar is completely smooth without any harshness at the back of my tongue. It also has a coriander powdery note at the finish. It also has oaky flavor. The retrohale has a crispy white peppery spiciness through the nose. I am really enjoying the smoke. The strength is mild to medium with medium finish.
At the 2/3, the roasted coffee flavor is there but also added with cocoa and sweet dark chocolate notes. The raising aroma withcreamy molasses sweetness at the finish is still there. I am also detecting a nutty finish after each puff. The smoke is super smooth and little creamy in texture. The coriander powdery aroma is gone and taken over with bay leaf aroma. man, this is a damn good smoke. It is well balanced with wonderful complexity. I love this cigar. I am asking myself why did I left it all alone so long. general cigar also make some very good cigars.
The final third starts with more intensity of 1/3 and 2/3 complete flavors and aroma profile. the sweetness finish is more like caramel-molasses but it is crispy and clean. The bay leaf aroma also releasing some mild floral note. The oaky woody finish is gone but the nuttiness is upfront. he smoke is creamier and round. It is completely smooth without any harshness at the back. The retrohale has white:black(25:75%) delicate spiciness through the nose-wow! Though I am not detecting any new flavors or aroma but it is well balanced with changing complexity of 1/3 and 2/3 flavors and aroma. the finish is also long. The strength is straight medium. It is very consistent throughout the smoke. At the end the retrohale is 100% black peppery but still delicate.
Final Thoughts: I cannot ignore this cigar and I need to write up a full review. this is a great Maduro smoke with $9 MSRP. Lot of Maduros in the market uses fake and artificially ripen(expedite fermentation) Maduro wrapper. This is pure vintage Maduro and it delivers the true taste. I highly recommend this cigar if you are looking for medium bodied Maduro.
The flavor profile is the combination of black pepper, cedar, leather, cocoa, bitter-sweet chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, clove, earth flavor and dried fruity aroma. It has a toasted almond finish. It also has a rich caramel-mild molasses sweetness at the finish. After a 1/3 of smoke it is straight mild-medium body but pick up medium body at 2/3. Finally, Pepin ruduced the mighty spicy kick amd over strength which allowing me to enjoy the complex and balanced flavors and aroma. This is cigar is extremely balanced with super long finish. the tingly feeling around my mouth is full flavored. Think about a Padron 45th and simply add 2 extra points. The earthiness has three dimensional twist with spicy, sweet and musky aroma. they changes with other complex flavors and aroma. It does have some Cuban Partagas series P number 2 fruity- floral aroma because he used the first generation Corojo 98 tobacco in it. the amount of Pelo de Oro exceeds any other Pepin's blend. I will score this 95. Six month of age will fix the initial overpowering spiciness and the harshness. This cigar does not need long aging. The smoke is creamy and round. I will buy couple boxes without any hesitation. This cigar has all the Davidoff quality with balanced strength.This is by far Pepin best cigar in terms of complex, rich flavor and aroma with reduced strength. I will talk more in my detail review in my regular review thread. I believe this cigar will be released in May/13. One more thing, this is not the one going to be released with Tatuaje. here will be two 10th Anniversary releases- one in Pepin's name another jointly with Tatuaje.