"Many cigar brands celebrate the places where they were born-great cigar cities such as Havana and Miami. The Angelenos cigar may be the first to honor a city where cigars are not produced, but enjoyed with gusto and enthusiasm matched nowhere else. I am referring of course to Los Angeles, home of many of the world's most passionate cigar lovers. Countless movie stars, titans of business, musicians, athletes, writers, and politicians call Los Angeles their home. The city's flourishing population exhibits an unmatched love of life, inspired both by the culture that surrounds them and by the natural beauty and idyllic climate of their chosen home. It is no wonder they have so fervently embraced the cigar, a product conceived by artisans, formulated from painstakingly-cultivated natural ingredients, rolled by skilled torcedors using techniques passed down from generation to generation-and unsurpassed in the subtleties and satisfaction of flavor it offers. Every year, I co-host a charity cigar dinner for children in need at Hotel Bel-Air. When I sit down for dinner on the front lawn of Hotel Bel-Air where our charity cigar dinner is held, I am always touched by the passion and enthusiasm of the attendees for cigars and helping the underprivileged children in our communities. Despite the passion and enthusiasm of the Angelenos for cigars, this is the city where many anti-smoking measures have started. We must hold our annual charity cigar dinner on the front lawn because we are not allowed to enjoy our cigars indoors. Furthermore, California has one of the highest state tobacco taxes in the U.S. Angelenos cigars are created to salute the connoisseurs around the world who, despite all these obstacles, continue to enjoy cigars with incomparable passion. We might not like some of the things our governments do, but we must still love our communities and countries. Cigars create camaraderie among us, and I am sure that this world will be a better place if we can share our cigars together. Made with Ecuadorian wrappers and Dominican fillers and binder at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic, Angelenos cigars combine the smoothness and sophistication of the City of Angels with a touch of the boldness that made the city what it is today." - Keith K. Park, Founder and President: Angelenos - Prometheus - God of Fire - Sencillo.[Source: Angelino Cigar] The cigar feels heavy in hand. The black band is very elegant with embossed silver color A at the middle. Interestingly, though the band is made of paper but it looks like leather band. The wrapper is toffee color, silky smooth, has slight oily sheen with few visible small veins. The cigar has a spongy feel on the surface. It has woody and mild floral, earthy aroma on the foot. The cold draw is open and releases some dry fruity aroma with tea and mild mint notes. The flavor and aroma profile is the combination of wood, earth, dry cracker, eggnog latte coffee, cream, white pepper powder, aromatic cardamom flavors with almond nutty, mild floral, nutmeg aroma at the back. It also has a mild aromatic cinnamon kind of spicy sweetness at the finish. The cigar has mild to medium strength. It is fairly complex with medium finish. The smoke is cool, super smooth and silky. The draw and burn is perfect- sign of rolled in Arturo Fuente's factory. It is a completely relaxing and easy smoke.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican 1/3: It start with a soft touch of wood, earth, dry cracker, white pepper powder flavors with almond nutty aroma at the back. Within few puffs, I am also detecting creamy flavor. The smoke is soft, subtle but very thick. During retrohale the delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is amazingly pleasant. My entire mouth is full of thick, soft, round smoke. The top of my tongue has a tiny bit of white peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue can feel the creamy texture smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue is clean. It smokes with elegant silky touch- it has a wonderful mild floral aroma with a mild aromatic cinnamon sweet-spiciness at finish. It also has a underlying creaminess in each puff. This is nothing extraordinary but very pleasant. Ecuadorian grown Connecticut has one advantage over American grown Connecticut wrapper. Somehow the Connecticut bitterness is less powerful and has a slight floral sweetness. The strength is mild, fairly complexity with medium finish. 2/3: The cigar really wakes up at this stage. The strength is mild-medium with strong musky earth, distinctive eggnog latte coffee, cream, white pepper powder, aromatic cardamom flavors with strong almond and nutmeg aroma at the back. There is also the presence of a slight floral note. During retrohale the delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is stronger but it pleasant. The cigar adds additional two points in complexity at this stage. It also has the mild aromatic mild spicy sweetness at the finish end of each puff. The top of my tongue has a crisp and zesty white peppery spicy zing, the middle of my tongue is mouthful smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue has slight tobacco bitterness. We can't simply avoid the tobacco bitterness with Connecticut unless it has a long age. The underlying creaminess after each puff is still there. The strength is almost medium now but still mild-medium. I am really enjoying it because of its smooth, silky touch. Overall this is a good smoke. Final/3: Until now, the draw and burn have been very impressive. However, I am not detecting any new flavors and aroma. It has more or less 2/3 flavors and aroma profile which is good but at the same time also boring. The strength is still mild-medium. The bitterness increased a little more and the back of my tongue can feel it. However, the smoke is still mouthful with thick and round smoke.
Final thought: This is a good smoke but again nothing extraordinary. With $10+ price tag, the market has many good Connecticut cigars. Most probably I will not buy it again but won't refuse if anyone offers me one to smoke. It is a very relaxing smoke but does not deserve the price tag. If you haven't smoke one then you did not miss anything special. Los Angeles is definitely a great city but the cigar doesn't represent the overhyped marketing. It is not glamorous as the City of Angels.
Thanks Daniel. It took me an hour and 15 minutes but i was smoking slowly. Good observation, the cigar starts with slow burn until 1/3 then it burns fast. BTW, how are you doing...long time no see.
danielzreyes:
Lovely review Rip. Question, how long did it take you to smoke that? I've had a few of the box pressed, and they all smoked really fast.
Thanks Daniel. It took me an hour and 15 minutes but i was smoking slowly. Good observation, the cigar starts with slow burn until 1/3 then it burns fast. BTW, how are you doing...long time no see.
danielzreyes:
Lovely review Rip. Question, how long did it take you to smoke that? I've had a few of the box pressed, and they all smoked really fast.
Been good Rip. Slowed down on posting but I'm still here. Still enjoying your reviews. Still learning the ways of the leaf. Still enjoying this wonderful hobby. Actually, I don't like calling it a hobby. "hobby" is an understatement at this point. To me anyways
"It's plume, bro. Nothing to worry about. Got any Opus?" The suppose to be DZR
Glad to know that you are doing well. I agree it became more than hobby now. I would say it is part of our lifestyle.
danielzreyes:
rzaman:
Thanks Daniel. It took me an hour and 15 minutes but i was smoking slowly. Good observation, the cigar starts with slow burn until 1/3 then it burns fast. BTW, how are you doing...long time no see.
danielzreyes:
Lovely review Rip. Question, how long did it take you to smoke that? I've had a few of the box pressed, and they all smoked really fast.
Been good Rip. Slowed down on posting but I'm still here. Still enjoying your reviews. Still learning the ways of the leaf. Still enjoying this wonderful hobby. Actually, I don't like calling it a hobby. "hobby" is an understatement at this point. To me anyways
Regius Cigar Company that originally started selling non-Cuban cigars across the United Kingdom and Europe then recently started selling the cigars over in the United States. Few stores carry them because still the brand is not very well known. I heard many nice things about the bands and got a box from the owner through a friend. I smoked couple of this cigar before and I enjoyed them each time. It is a Nicaraguan puro. These are rolled in Placensia factory in Esteli Nicaragua. They come in four different vitolas and each of them has different blends. They also make another cigar comes with an additional white band- Regius White Label. These are rolled in Manuel Queseda's MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic.
The Latin Regius denotes of a King. We present you a regal smoking experience: to enjoy a hand-made King of Cigars. Gaius Petronius Arbiter (AD27) was a Roman writer and courtier for Emperor Nero who devoted himself to a life of pleasure. Yet far from being an ordinary, vulgar profligate, he became known as an accomplished voluptuary. Showing capacity for outrageous indulgence, he was looked upon by Nero to be the absolute authority on questions of taste (arbiter elegantiae), especially with the science of alchemy. In his memory we bring you Regius. The alchemy of cultivating and blending the finest aged tobacco to achieve the best possible taste, an even burning quality and elegant aromas. We invite you to be arbiter elegantiae, the judge of elegance, of our beautifully hand crafted and flavoursome creations. Grandido: This cigar is a versatile, medium bodied blend for those long afternoons and evenings. Perfect with your favorite wine or spirit, it achieves a delicate combination of complexity and a satisfying balance to fulfill even the most discerning of palates.
Robusto: This cigar is a more full-bodied creation and is consistent with being the preferred vitola of true cigar aficionados. The taste is perfectly smooth and the smoke lingers on the palate creating a beautiful, rich aftertaste.
Corona: This cigar has a light medium body. A charming accompaniment to the taste of coffee, it has a sweet aroma and creamy texture.
Lord Madse: This cigar has a light body, aimed at those who prefer a subtle taste and aroma. It has an elegant flavour, with hints of coffee and hazelnut overtones. The cigar is named in honour of a cigar loving elegance arbite.[Source: Company site and other on-line cigar Journals] The cigar has a beautiful light brown color wrapper, slight oily sheen with few visible long veins. It has hay, barnyard aroma. The cold draw is perfect- not so tight or not so loose. It has mild cocoa, hay elements with honey like sweetness on the lips. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of wood (oak), earth, leather, cocoa powder, cream, chocolate, mild aromatic cinnamon, coriander powder spice, medium black pepper spice flavors with nutty, sweet raisin, bay leaf, cardamom, mild floral aroma at the back. The sweetness of the cigar is more like brown sugar and caramel-molasses. The complex sweetness of this cigar is amazing. The draw is perfect with slight uneven burn. It is straight a medium bodied cigar and super smooth. The cigar is very complex with balanced flavors, aroma and long finish. Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaragua
Fillers: Nicaragua 1/3: It starts with rich oak, earth, leather, cream, cocoa powder and mild chocolate flavors- yam! The smoke is intense from the start. Within few puffs the cigar also releases medium black pepper flavor with nutty, sweet raisin aroma at the back. There is also a brown sugar like sweetness after each puff. The smoke is very smooth and soft to the palate. During retrohale the mild black peppery spiciness through the nose is simply amazing. I am enjoying it from the first puff. The smoke is very creamy, thick and smooth. The top of my tongue has super mild black peppery spicy feel, the middle of my tongue is full of creamy smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue is clean. At the end of the 1/3, the cigar is concentrating to more aromatic spiciness with underlying changing sweetness between brown sugar-mild caramel-molasses. This is extraordinary complexity in sweetness. The cigar is well balanced with complex flavors and aroma with long finish. 2/3: Interestingly, the 1/3 flavor and aroma profile is there but I am also detecting dark chocolate(sometime feels like milk coffee), mild aromatic cinnamon and coriander spice powder with distinctive nutty, sweet raisin and mild floral aroma at the back. I have to mention that the floral aroma is quite rich. There is also rich caramel-molasses sweetness after each puff. The cigar gets three additional points in complexity here with changing flavors, aroma and the sweetness. This is a wonderful smoking experience. Few cigars can hold into full 1/3 flavor profile and add additional new flavors, aroma and sweetness like this. The top of my tongue has the medium black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue is full of creamy, round smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue has a mild tobacco bitterness. The retrohale has the amazing mild black peppery spiciness through the nose. I cannot say the overall complexity is extreme but it is definitely well balanced with layers and layers of flavors and aroma. Again, the complex sweetness of the brown sugar-caramel-molasses is very unique and enjoyable. I always say that a well-balanced medium bodied cigar helps us to concentrate to enjoy the complex flavors, aroma, background notes and the elements. This is one of those cigars. Final third: The final third starts with weak 1/3 but richer 2/3 flavors and aroma profile but the boosting complexity is coming from the aroma and sweetness rather than the flavors. The 2/3's dark chocolate (sometime milk-coffee), aromatic cinnamon, coriander spice powder is more upfront with richer nutty, sweet raisin, aromatic cardamom, floral aroma. There is also a new bay leaf kind of aromatic element at the back. The sweetness has four layer elements of brown sugar-caramel-molasses and rich sweet raisin. This is definitely extremely complex in aroma and sweetness at this stage. If you are familiar with Indian aromatic Chicken Korma Curry- the taste of this cigar is like that. In Korma Curry, the chicken meat pieces are coated with thick Greek yogurt or cream with additional 11 aromatic spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, saffron, black mastered seed, Fenugreek, cumin, black pepper pods, graham masala). This cigar reminds me of the aromatic Chicken Korma Curry. On top of that the multi-layers of complex sweetness are simply amazing. The cigar is very well balanced with complex flavors and aroma and long finish.
Final thoughts: I understand why some people compare it with Cuban taste because of its aromatic spice and mild floral notes. But in reality, the Cuban cigars rich fruity-floral aroma is more complex and upfront. However, in my opinion this is not an alternate of Cuban cigar but this is definitely the Non-Cuban cigar which tastes as close as to a Cuban cigar I have ever smoked. However, at the same time I do not like to compare it this way rather than enjoy its unique taste. The Cubans cigars are not cheap in Europe but the current on-going economic crisis in Europe is pushing some smokers to find some alternative of Cuban cigars. Regius has the softer Cuban like strength and some aromatic touch. The price of this cigar is moderate and also extremely competitive. I understand why the owner marketed a cigar like this in the United Kingdom where the tobacco tax is very high. I highly recommend this cigar, as well as for a box purchase. I am glad to have a full box of 25. This cigar does not require further aging. More aging will lose some aroma, background notes and some sweet elements. Overall, this is an excellent smoke with excellent value. You should not miss it.
I was just telling Doc how awesome these were. This is an awesome smoke IMO, can't wait to try the matasa. I talked to Ahkil the other day, he's in Nica right now. He's a good dude and I like his vision.
Regius is a great smoke and under rated. I want to ask the owner why he is not pushing hard to the US market. The complexity in aroma and sweetness of this cigar is extraordinary. Do you know who is selling the MATASA line in the US? Maybe I should try to get it directly from Ahkil through my friend. Ahkil came to Managua and met my friend recently but i couldn't go for an urgent commitment. Do you still need the original Regius?
catfishbluezz:
I was just telling Doc how awesome these were. This is an awesome smoke IMO, can't wait to try the matasa. I talked to Ahkil the other day, he's in Nica right now. He's a good dude and I like his vision.
Regius is a great smoke and under rated. I want to ask the owner why he is not pushing hard to the US market. The complexity in aroma and sweetness of this cigar is extraordinary. Do you know who is selling the MATASA line in the US? Maybe I should try to get it directly from Ahkil through my friend. Ahkil came to Managua and met my friend recently but i couldn't go for an urgent commitment. Do you still need the original Regius?
catfishbluezz:
I was just telling Doc how awesome these were. This is an awesome smoke IMO, can't wait to try the matasa. I talked to Ahkil the other day, he's in Nica right now. He's a good dude and I like his vision.
I've got Doc picking some up for me. I can send Akhil a message to reach out to you if you want. I have his number there, but would want to ask him first out of respect. My guess is he will call you immediately lol. That's what he did to me. Let me know, and I'll reach out to him. You can PM me your number if you want as well and I'll give it to him.
The MATASA line and the original black band are being distributed by SAG imports. From what he told me, he really just opened up everyone he could at first, and looking back wants to concentrate on serious tobacconists. They are doing really well in Texas and the East coast apparently where the cigar culture is a bit different then CA. They are really doing well in the Euro market as well. His take on cigar politics and shops in general is spot on bro, you will appreciate his conversation. He is also a huge food and spirits fan as well.
Good to know that he is a huge fan of food, spirit and cigars like me. He is friend with one of my colleague at work . Sometime people do not want to open up with us for the nature of our job. My friend told me, he saw him at the airport and he is going to UK. He will be back to Nica in June. I am going to PM you with my cell number. He seems like a interesting guy to meet.
catfishbluezz:
rzaman:
Regius is a great smoke and under rated. I want to ask the owner why he is not pushing hard to the US market. The complexity in aroma and sweetness of this cigar is extraordinary. Do you know who is selling the MATASA line in the US? Maybe I should try to get it directly from Ahkil through my friend. Ahkil came to Managua and met my friend recently but i couldn't go for an urgent commitment. Do you still need the original Regius?
catfishbluezz:
I was just telling Doc how awesome these were. This is an awesome smoke IMO, can't wait to try the matasa. I talked to Ahkil the other day, he's in Nica right now. He's a good dude and I like his vision.
I've got Doc picking some up for me. I can send Akhil a message to reach out to you if you want. I have his number there, but would want to ask him first out of respect. My guess is he will call you immediately lol. That's what he did to me. Let me know, and I'll reach out to him. You can PM me your number if you want as well and I'll give it to him.
The MATASA line and the original black band are being distributed by SAG imports. From what he told me, he really just opened up everyone he could at first, and looking back wants to concentrate on serious tobacconists. They are doing really well in Texas and the East coast apparently where the cigar culture is a bit different then CA. They are really doing well in the Euro market as well. His take on cigar politics and shops in general is spot on bro, you will appreciate his conversation. He is also a huge food and spirits fan as well.
La Gloria Cubana is the name of two premium cigar brands, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and other produced in the Dominican Republic and Miami, Florida by El Credito Cigar Company for General Cigar Company, now a subsidiary of Swedish Match. La Gloria Cubana was sold to General Cigar Company by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in 1999 for an undisclosed sales price. HISTORY: The La Gloria Cubana brand was created in 1885 by the Sociedad Caba
Zino's Crown series is an expensive cigar. Initially, the target group was the successful professional and also the upcoming younger jetsetter who enjoy urban lifestyle and also looking for high life with moderate price. The second group simply didn't find the Crown series price very wallet friendly. So Zino came up with the Z class, four sizes (Toro, Pyramid, corona and robusto) with moderate price line. However, the blend remains medium-full bodied for both Crown and Z class. This cigar was also designed mainly for the US market. In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Zino Platinum, the brand has produced a premium collectors edition set of four custom boxes in collaboration with urban artists UR New York. Dubbed The Make, this collectors edition celebrates the self-made man and his success, as well as ten years of redefining cigars and a new generation of cigar smokers. Zino Platinum, an ultra-premium cigar brand, introduced the ZP Ten New York Collectors?Edition featuring urban art by URNY and Zino Platinum Ten Salomones.?In commemoration of the tenth anniversary, Zino Platinum had unveiled two limited editions, both accented by a brand new blue and black band and unique packaging. The?ZP Ten New York Collectors Edition, feature a Nicaraguan Rosada wrapper, Dominican Piloto binder and Dominican and Peruvian filler tobaccos, the Toro is a full-bodied cigar. Available in a 10-count box, the Collectors Edition boxes feature four custom graffiti-inspired pieces created by UR New York, an urban artist collective who have redefined themselves and the landscape that surrounds them. Limited to 500 pieces each, the artwork adorn four different collectors edition boxes, said Richard Krutick, Davidoffs head of marketing. The collection is inspired by the innovators, the risk takers, the mavericksthose who capture the spirit of Zino Platinum. The Collectors Edition offers in a unit of 4?boxes with one of each design included. The second format, Zino Platinum Ten Salomones, comes in at 7 ¼ x 57 and is available in a 64-count acrylic cube featuring black matter rubberized accents. The majestic Salomones format is a spectacular indulgence for the aficionado of Nicaraguan tobaccos. The ZP Ten New York Collectors Edition cigars were released on August 2012. For full review please click at:
Following the global success of the first limited edition, launched in 2012 for the ten-year anniversary of Zino Platinum, again in 2013, Zino Platinum has teamed up for the second time with the urban artist collective UR New York. Capturing the same maverick spirit of Zino Platinum Brooklyn based, Mike Baca aka 2ESAE and Fernando Romero aka SKI originally joined forces with the goal of transforming the perception of street art and have become successful international artists. The dynamic New York duo went to work on the collectors edition Zino Platinum boxes with the same passion and artistry that brought them success in their professional art career. This limited release of only 750 sets of 4 boxes appeared on retailers shelves on May 15th with a kick off event in New York City, supported by an eight week east coast US Tour featuring the ZP Mobile Lounge. This special collectors edition perfectly illustrates what Zino Platinum represents, self-expression. New York is a city that inspires self-expression like no other and we are thrilled to pay homage with this limited edition cigar to the pioneers that continue to disrupt the status quo. states Scott Kolesaire, Zino Platinum Brand Manager. Zino Platinum Collectors Edition 2013: The Make of New York which celebrates the four pillars of self-expression. The result is a collectors edition which celebrates the four pillars of self-expression:
FASHION THE THREAD OF THE CITY| FOOD THE FLAVOR OF THE CITY | MIXOLOGY THE SPIRIT OF THE CITY and MUSIC THE PULSE OF THE CITY. [Source: Zino Press Release and my personal conversation with one of Davidoffs marketing executive] It is a Perfecto shaped gorgeous cigar. The milk chocolate smooth wrapper has some reddish hue and little visible veins. It has a dry wood scents with a slight vanilla sweetness to the foot. I love a well-balanced, flavorful and complex perfecto shape cigar because it allows me to enjoy the intensity of a cigar with smaller ring gauge and then slowly opens up its full flavor and aroma with each puff. The cigar has an impressive complex twit. The flavor profile is the combination of musty earth, cedar wood, vanilla, white pepper, milk chocolate, mocha, aromatic cardamom spice with hints of citrus, toasted nut and slight flowery aroma at the back. There is also a honey like sweetness after each puff at the finish. It has some similarities with Zino Davidoff Chubby Platinum Crown Series. I would recommend this cigar to smoke in the morning with clean palate. This way you can enjoy the full flavor and the aroma. The cigar has perfect construction and burn evenly all the way from head to foot. The flavor-aroma profile is well balanced with medium-long finish. It is smooth and the strength is medium to full. Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut Rojiza
Binder: Dominican Olor/Piloto
Filler: San Vincente Viso, Piloto Viso, Criollo Viso und San Vincente Mejorado Viso 1/3: First puff opens up with clean smoke with signature Kelner musty earth, cedar wood, mild white peppery spicy flavors and toasted nutty aroma at the back. It has a smooth finish. The top of my tongue can feel the white pepper spice. Interestingly the middle of tongue has a distinctive citrus feel. There is a mild tobacco aftertaste which is close to mild harshness at the back of my tongue but not unpleasant. This cigar needs some rest. I am retrohaling from the first puff and the subtle and delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is amazing and very enjoyable. It is smooth, round and balanced. The draw and burn is perfect. It is straight medium bodied with balanced flavors and aroma and long finish. I am having a slight tingly feeling around my mouth which compliments the citrus feel with a nice twist of a crispy bite. I am surprised with the early tingly feeling because usually it comes at the 2/3. Overall this is a very good start. 2/3: At this stage the cigar takes off from medium to medium-full body but again still smooth and round. The flavor profile taken over by distinctive milk chocolate, vanilla, subtle aromatic cardamom flavors with a hint of citrus and nutmeg aroma at the back. There is also a nice toasted nutty and super mild floral element at the back. This is quiet complex with long dry finish. The top my tongue can feel robust white pepper spiciness and middle of my tongue is enjoying round and mouthful texture with vanilla, toasted nutty notes. The harshness level increased a little more at the back of my tongue. This cigar definitely need some age because now it is little unpleasant. I can still retrohale and enjoy the white peppery spiciness through the nose. However, still it is quiet smooth but I am looking for Davidoff quality creamy smoothness. At the end of 2/3 the cigar took a 90 degree turn in complexity with strong citrus aroma and thick honey like sweetness after each puff. This sudden twist is keeping me busy and giving me a crispy, tingly feeling to my palate. The mild harshness at the back of the tongue also scaled down and it is very smooth and creamy now. This is awesome! I will add two additional points here for the twist of the complexity of this cigar at this stage. Final/3: At this stage, I am completely floating on a smooth, round and flavorful world. The power is constantly coming and going in-between medium to full body. I always enjoy this playful strength in a cigar. The milk chocolate flavor is more like mocha flavor with a tiny touch of cream at the back. Again the complexity adds another point here. The cigar is fuller and rounder with the full 2/3 flavor and aroma profile with additional creamy mocha flavor. The crispy citrus and toasted nut aroma is stronger with thick honey sweetness at the finish of each puff-Yammy! The cigar is smooth as silk now and the harshness is completely gone. It is performing in its optimum level as a Limited Edition release. It is extremely complex at this moment. In addition of the 2/3 and final/3 flavors, the aroma is concentrating into a citrus-nutty aroma ball which is surrounded with a thick creamy honey sweet shield. I don't know if my description makes any sense or not. All I can say is, I am extremely enjoying the smoke. This is the reason why we love Davidoff and anxiously wait for their limited release cigars. My entire mouth is full of tingly feeling with above ever changing complexity of flavors and aroma with long finish. The cigar is medium-full in strength.
Final thoughts: This has been a great smoking experience. However, this cigar needs some age. At the 2/3, I was indeed little disturbed with the increasing harshness at the back of my tongue. At the same time I can say this with confidence that with a year age- this is going to be a perfect smoke. My friend from Davidoff told me that whenever they work on a Limited Edition, the blender gete the freedom and access to their aged tobacco vault to play with the blend. He also mentioned that Davidoff will not make more and more bold and full bodied cigars. The first Zino Platinum Ten Collector Edition was full bodied and some smokers complained about it. As a result this second edition reduced the power which is very true. I would like to thank Davidoff for listening to us because we like you for your medium bodied cigar with smooth full flavor and aroma. Finally, I highly recommend this cigar to all the Davidoff lovers. At the same time I would also say that if you can age it a little longer then you will be rewarded. Have a great day!
The owner William C. Paley, known as Little Bill to differentiate him from his father, was also the grandson of Harvey Williams Cushing, the noted Boston neurosurgeon and the father of brain surgery. Bill never knew the good doctor, as he had passed away in 1939. His middle name pays tribute to his Cushing ties. It is worth noting before going into the tobacco in Bill Paleys DNA that his mother, Babe, was one of three Cushing sisters, all of whom figured in society for the longest time. Aunt Betsey, the middle sister, was wife of James Roosevelt, the son of Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She later married John Hay Whitney, President Eisenhowers Ambassador to Great Britain, Publisher of the International Herald Tribune, and a formidable society figure himself. The eldest sister, known as Minnie, was married to Vincent Astor. Bill Paley, the Paley of this story, had a few brushes with higher education before deciding it wasnt for him. He joined the United States Army in 1968 and wound up being a Military Cinematographer in Vietnam. After his tour of duty there, the Army transferred him to duty at the Pentagon, where he began his unrequited love affair with the city of Washington, D.C. Currently, he is a philanthropist and involves with many charitable organizations based in Washington DC and NY. He also opened the Samuel Paley Park in NYC, dedicated to the cigar lovers where they can sit, relax and smoke a cigar. It is very difficult to smoke a cigar in an open area in NYC now days. They want to stick with the core line to maintain the qualityand the consistency. So far they only use to roll their cigars in three famous factories Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubana factory of Danlí, Honduras ,Graycliff in Bahama and El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana, Miami. Goldie Drell Paley, the namesake of our brand, was the wife of Sam Paley, who in 1896 founded La Palina Cigars. To celebrate the history, contributions and accomplishments of women in the cigar industry, we are proud to release the La Palina Collection Goldie. ¬The Goldie is a limited 1000 box release. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Goldie is made under the supervision of owner Sandy Cobas. The entire collection has been rolled in the Laguito No. 2 vitola (6×38) by master roller Maria Sierra. Maria is one of the ?rst women trained to roll cigars in Cuba. Her historic 32 year career at Villa El Laguito began July 22, 1967. Maria is a 95 rated, category 9 roller trained by Fidel Castros personal roller Eduardo Rivera Irizarri, as well as Avelino Lara, the creator of the legendary Cohiba blend. Each cigar is ?nished in the traditional Laguito style with a fan cap, exclusively taught to rollers at Villa El Laguito. The Goldie is blended with the prized Medio Tiempo leaf, found on only 10% of tobacco plants. After the great success of La Plania Laguito no. 2 last year, Bill is proud to present the initial release of the new Goldie in May 2013, with a second release in August of 2013. The La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 will be limited to 2500 numbered boxes. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Goldie is made under the supervision of owner Sandra Cobas. The La Palina Goldie Laguito No.5 will be a 5 5/8 x 54 cigar and presented in boxes of 10. Master roller Maria Sierra, signed each numbered box, rolled the entire La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 release. Each cigar is finished in the traditional Laguito style with a fan cap, exclusively taught to rollers at Villa El Laguito. The Goldie is blended with the prized Medio Tiempo leaf, found on only 10% of tobacco plants. The La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 embodies the tradition, expertise and passion of women in the cigar industry. [Source: La Palina website & various on-line resources] It is simply a beautiful looking double robusto cigar with eye catching La Palina classic band. I can tell La Palina(LP) simply copied Cuban Cohiba Behike 54s aesthetic look, size and the medio tiempo model. La Palinas wrapper is lighter than the Behike. The wrapper is light brown, smooth with few light veins. It has slight oily sheen on the surface. I always like triple cap and pig tail in a cigar which indeed reminds me of the Cuban style. It has sweet wood and mild caramel scent at the foot. This cigar is extremely full of flavors with dimensional complex aroma. It has the perfect construction with perfect draw and burn. There are few non-Cuban cigars in the market burns as good as Goldie #2 and #5. It has all the qualities of a great cigar. It has extreme aromatic complexity with long finish after each puff. It is a medium bodied cigar but at the final/3 it is medium-full bodied. The cold draw is perfect- neither loose nor tight. The entire flavor and aroma profile is 98% similar to La Palina Languito No. 2. The only differences are the body and in intensity of smoke. LP no. 2 is straight medium bodied and LP no. 5 is medium to medium-full bodied and less intense. Whenever a cigar increases its size and ring gauge the cigar always loses its intensity. Same thing happened with this cigar but it doesnt undermine its unique taste rather than provide a different smoking experience. The cold draw has a nice banana-vanilla bread aroma. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of sweet oak, mild earth, black-white(50:50) pepper spice, spicy leather, banana-vanilla bread, cloves, cardamom, caramel-butterscotch coated toffee, cappuccino, creamy honey, sugar cane sweetness, toasted pine nuts and lots of mix fruits aroma at the back. It is not an easy task to maintain the same flavor, aroma, strength, long finish with balanced complexity. Well, La Plaina did it and this is where La Palina can declare its superior capability of making excellent cigars. In fact, when I was finalizing my review I discovered the notes were same as my review of LP no.2. So it was easy for me to compile the review with 75 percent cut and paste- . Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Ecuador
Fillers: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua 1/3: It starts with a blast of aromatic fruity flavor, aroma and black-white(50:50) spiciness. My mouth is immediately filled with banana-vanilla bread, sweet oak, mild earth and aromatic cardamom flavors with mild rough spicy leathery finish at the back. Within few puffs the rough spicy leather goes away and taken over with banana-vanilla bread finish. There is also clean but sharp sugar cane sweetness at the end which I am really enjoying. I am puffing the cigar very slowly and retrohaling end of each puff-ultimate method to enjoy a medium bodied flavorful cigar. The top of my tongue has the spiciness of black-white pepper, the middle of my tongue is full of honey like creaminess with round and thick smoke, the back of my tongue has a slight tobacco bitter harshness but it gets balanced very nicely with a layer of clean sugar cane sweet aftertaste. The retrohale has the amazing cardamom aromatic spiciness through the nose. However, at the same, I cannot say that the back of my tongue is completely clean. A little aging will fix this bitter harshness. I am very confident with my statement because now when I smoke La Palina Goldie no. 2 after a year ago, I do not feel the bitter harshness. How many non-Cuban cigars can release so many flavors and aroma atthe 1/3? Only few cigars like the La Palina Goldie series can. The smoke is very smooth, buttery, round, mouthful and complex with long finish. I already have a little tinglyness in my mouth. Interestingly, at the end of 1/3 the cigar remains straight medium. The LP Golidie #2 was mild to medium at this stage. Anyway, it is a flawless cigar with a perfect start. 2/3: the second third continues the flavorful journey with a little change in the flavor profile. In fact, it adds additional flavors and aroma. The strength is still straight medium. I am detecting strong cappuccino coffee, caramel-butterscotch coated toffee with toasted pine nuts aroma at the back. The 1/3 full flavor and aroma profile is still there with distinctive banana-vanilla bread next to it. It is so flavorful that it invites me to puff more often. All the 1/3 and 2/3 flavor and aroma profile is there. They just simply come and go with ever changing complexity. I love with LP Goldie series. I am amazed to see how the blender maintained the same flavor profile in a different size and ring gauge. Great job La Palina! The top of my tongue has more clove kind of aromatic spiciness with a slight touch of black- white peppery spiciness. It changes very quickly with each puff. It is not easy to keep track of different spiciness at this stage. The finish has a combination of creamy honey and clean sugar cane sweetness. The sweetness is pretty sharp which gives a nice crispy feeling in the palate. The middle of my tongue is full of all the above flavors and aroma with super long finish. The back of my tongue still has a mild bitter harshness at this moment. It wasn't there in LP Goldie #2. Maybe the size and the additional amount of tobacco though I am not completely sure about it. The retrohale still has the aromatic cardamom spiciness through the nose. At the same time also feels the aromatic clove kind of spiciness. How can I keep track of all the changes? This is an awesome smoke. I also noticed that the cigar is burning little quickly but I am not rushing the puff at all. One reason cab be the aged tobacco which lost additional oil from the aged tobacco leaf. Another difference is the robust floral notes are more distinctive and noticeable at this stage. I love the floral element in any cigar. This is a reason why I am a huge fan of Cuban cigars. Though for the larger ring gauge the intensity is less but it also releases more smokes with larger ring gauge. It adds an additional chard to the smoke and the flavor-aroma profile. This is a wonderful smoke with long finish. My entire mouth is full of medium tingly feeling - awesome! Final/3: It is hard to believe that still the cigar is holding the full flavor and aroma profile of the 1/2 and 2/3 marks. This is unbelievable how this new cigar maintained the same performance with the previous Goldie #2 release. It has the same dominant fruity and toasted pine nuts finish after each puff. Thoughthe cappuccino, butterscotch toffee flavors are dominating the flavor profile but still other flavors are coming and going with extreme complexity and long finish. The top of my tongue has more clove kind of spiciness. The middle of my tongue is coated with honey, creamy and round texture. The smoke is completely subtle and relaxing. There is no sign of any bitter or harshness at the back. I am retrohaling each puff to enjoy the aromatic cardamom delicate spiciness through the nose. The spiciness through the nose is strong and also gives a side kick of sweet-black pepper at the end. The smoke is creamy, round and mouthful but the sweetness is somewhere in between honey and sugar cane. I never had this kind of sweet feeling in any other cigar, except Goldie #2. Another difference i found at this stage is, during retrohale the aromatic cardamomy spiciness is stronger compares to Goldie #2 but it is very enjoyable. This is a magical smoke, a perfect and typical La Palina style masterpiece. This truly represents excellent quality and the meaning of a true Limited Edition cigar. The cigar truly delivers the exact quality what the company says- no overhype marketing here. This cigar has all the qualities of a good cigar it should have- the flavors, balanced strength with multi layers of aroma, long finish with ever changing super complexity. The twist of complexity is simply top notch and magical. One more difference I found at this stage is- at the end of final/3 the strength is medium to medium-full body. I love this playful strength in a cigar. This is simply a fantastic smoking journey from the start to finish.
Final thoughts: I am having the same issue as Goldie #2 to finish this part because I don't know what to say or how to end my final thought about La Palina Goldie #5. It has been a great almost two hours of smoking journey. The weather in Managua is gloomy like London. This is a sign of a heavy rain. I am sitting in my backyard and lost in a flavorful world. Somewhere a dove is cooing which spreading a relaxing and natural peace in my mind. I am a huge fan of La Palina. They are improving the quality steadily with new blends one after another. Only God knows what they are going to release next. There are only two Non-Cuban cigar makers who are delivering excellent cigars one after another. One is La Palina and another ROOM 101. I can see that they both truely care about their cigars with limited quantity to maintain the quality of cigars. We are experiencing a commercial trend with some of our favorite brands. The result is more and more poor quality cigars with higher price. I do not want to mention any name because at the end the individual smoker is responsible to accept or reject certain brand. I would like to mention this again, La Palina's first limited release was Robusto LImited Edition 1896. After smoking it, I immediately fell in love with this new brand in 2011, after that with Little Bill, LE release Goldie 2 and now Goldiea #5. The owner Bill Paley always believes in medium bodied cigar with full of flavors and aroma. A blender can easily hide the creativity in a heavy and full bodied blend but not in a mild or medium bodied cigar. La Palina is very confident and they keep sticking with medium bodied and releasing more and more cigars each year. La Palina cigars are not cheap but they deserve the money. I did not hesitate to say that La Palina Goldie 2 was the best non-Cuban and the best petit Lancero cigar in 2012. However, I will still wait the IPCPR/2013 to say the same thing for Goldie #5 because we have to wait see what other cigar release during the upcoming largest cigar show. However, I won't hesitate to say that La Palina Goldie #5 is definitely going to be one of the best 2013 release. I will buy couple more boxes and add to my aging project to enjoy this excellent cigar many years to come.
awesome review as always man!! I've smoked the goldie no2 and it was a fantastic smoke! Been on a buying freeze, and been eying the No5's! Just been holding back on em. Your review might change my mind though!
awesome review as always man!! I've smoked the goldie no2 and it was a fantastic smoke! Been on a buying freeze, and been eying the No5's! Just been holding back on em. Your review might change my mind though!
Davidoff is a Swiss luxury tobacco goods brand name, which is carried by a range of products including cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos. Its cigarette brand is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco but the company is otherwise independently owned.
HISTORY:
Zino Davidoff was born on March 11, 1906 in Kiev, Russian Empire and present-day Ukraine. He was the eldest of four children born to tobacco merchant, Henri Davidoff. Even in his own autobiographical writings, the facts on his youth are a bit hazy, as he was quite young during this time and could only piece together some stories of his youth. His parents were either cigar merchants or cigarette manufacturers in Kiev. Fleeing the political turmoil, his parents left some of their family behind and immigrated to Geneva, Switzerland in 1911 for a better life, where they opened their own tobacconist shop in 1912. Finishing school in 1924, Zino went to Latin America to learn about the tobacco trade, spending time in such places as Argentina, Brazil and finally Cuba where he spent two years working on a plantation and first encountered Cuban cigars. Returning to Switzerland around 1930, he took over his parents' shop. What had originally been a modest tobacco shop grew into a rich business during and after World War II. Neutral Switzerland was spared much of the havoc wreaked elsewhere in Europe and became a haven for wealthy tobacco customers. Zino was particularly successful in marketing the Hoyo de Monterrey Ch
Comments
Great read and as always a great review.
"Many cigar brands celebrate the places where they were born-great cigar cities such as Havana and Miami. The Angelenos cigar may be the first to honor a city where cigars are not produced, but enjoyed with gusto and enthusiasm matched nowhere else. I am referring of course to Los Angeles, home of many of the world's most passionate cigar lovers. Countless movie stars, titans of business, musicians, athletes, writers, and politicians call Los Angeles their home. The city's flourishing population exhibits an unmatched love of life, inspired both by the culture that surrounds them and by the natural beauty and idyllic climate of their chosen home. It is no wonder they have so fervently embraced the cigar, a product conceived by artisans, formulated from painstakingly-cultivated natural ingredients, rolled by skilled torcedors using techniques passed down from generation to generation-and unsurpassed in the subtleties and satisfaction of flavor it offers. Every year, I co-host a charity cigar dinner for children in need at Hotel Bel-Air. When I sit down for dinner on the front lawn of Hotel Bel-Air where our charity cigar dinner is held, I am always touched by the passion and enthusiasm of the attendees for cigars and helping the underprivileged children in our communities. Despite the passion and enthusiasm of the Angelenos for cigars, this is the city where many anti-smoking measures have started. We must hold our annual charity cigar dinner on the front lawn because we are not allowed to enjoy our cigars indoors. Furthermore, California has one of the highest state tobacco taxes in the U.S.
Angelenos cigars are created to salute the connoisseurs around the world who, despite all these obstacles, continue to enjoy cigars with incomparable passion. We might not like some of the things our governments do, but we must still love our communities and countries. Cigars create camaraderie among us, and I am sure that this world will be a better place if we can share our cigars together. Made with Ecuadorian wrappers and Dominican fillers and binder at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic, Angelenos cigars combine the smoothness and sophistication of the City of Angels with a touch of the boldness that made the city what it is today." - Keith K. Park, Founder and President: Angelenos - Prometheus - God of Fire - Sencillo.[Source: Angelino Cigar]
The cigar feels heavy in hand. The black band is very elegant with embossed silver color A at the middle. Interestingly, though the band is made of paper but it looks like leather band. The wrapper is toffee color, silky smooth, has slight oily sheen with few visible small veins. The cigar has a spongy feel on the surface. It has woody and mild floral, earthy aroma on the foot. The cold draw is open and releases some dry fruity aroma with tea and mild mint notes. The flavor and aroma profile is the combination of wood, earth, dry cracker, eggnog latte coffee, cream, white pepper powder, aromatic cardamom flavors with almond nutty, mild floral, nutmeg aroma at the back. It also has a mild aromatic cinnamon kind of spicy sweetness at the finish. The cigar has mild to medium strength. It is fairly complex with medium finish. The smoke is cool, super smooth and silky. The draw and burn is perfect- sign of rolled in Arturo Fuente's factory. It is a completely relaxing and easy smoke.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
1/3: It start with a soft touch of wood, earth, dry cracker, white pepper powder flavors with almond nutty aroma at the back. Within few puffs, I am also detecting creamy flavor. The smoke is soft, subtle but very thick. During retrohale the delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is amazingly pleasant. My entire mouth is full of thick, soft, round smoke. The top of my tongue has a tiny bit of white peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue can feel the creamy texture smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue is clean. It smokes with elegant silky touch- it has a wonderful mild floral aroma with a mild aromatic cinnamon sweet-spiciness at finish. It also has a underlying creaminess in each puff. This is nothing extraordinary but very pleasant. Ecuadorian grown Connecticut has one advantage over American grown Connecticut wrapper. Somehow the Connecticut bitterness is less powerful and has a slight floral sweetness. The strength is mild, fairly complexity with medium finish.
2/3: The cigar really wakes up at this stage. The strength is mild-medium with strong musky earth, distinctive eggnog latte coffee, cream, white pepper powder, aromatic cardamom flavors with strong almond and nutmeg aroma at the back. There is also the presence of a slight floral note. During retrohale the delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is stronger but it pleasant. The cigar adds additional two points in complexity at this stage. It also has the mild aromatic mild spicy sweetness at the finish end of each puff. The top of my tongue has a crisp and zesty white peppery spicy zing, the middle of my tongue is mouthful smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue has slight tobacco bitterness. We can't simply avoid the tobacco bitterness with Connecticut unless it has a long age. The underlying creaminess after each puff is still there. The strength is almost medium now but still mild-medium. I am really enjoying it because of its smooth, silky touch. Overall this is a good smoke.
Final/3: Until now, the draw and burn have been very impressive. However, I am not detecting any new flavors and aroma. It has more or less 2/3 flavors and aroma profile which is good but at the same time also boring. The strength is still mild-medium. The bitterness increased a little more and the back of my tongue can feel it. However, the smoke is still mouthful with thick and round smoke.
Final thought: This is a good smoke but again nothing extraordinary. With $10+ price tag, the market has many good Connecticut cigars. Most probably I will not buy it again but won't refuse if anyone offers me one to smoke. It is a very relaxing smoke but does not deserve the price tag. If you haven't smoke one then you did not miss anything special. Los Angeles is definitely a great city but the cigar doesn't represent the overhyped marketing. It is not glamorous as the City of Angels.
Regius Cigar Company that originally started selling non-Cuban cigars across the United Kingdom and Europe then recently started selling the cigars over in the United States. Few stores carry them because still the brand is not very well known. I heard many nice things about the bands and got a box from the owner through a friend. I smoked couple of this cigar before and I enjoyed them each time. It is a Nicaraguan puro. These are rolled in Placensia factory in Esteli Nicaragua. They come in four different vitolas and each of them has different blends. They also make another cigar comes with an additional white band- Regius White Label. These are rolled in Manuel Queseda's MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic.
The Latin Regius denotes of a King. We present you a regal smoking experience: to enjoy a hand-made King of Cigars. Gaius Petronius Arbiter (AD27) was a Roman writer and courtier for Emperor Nero who devoted himself to a life of pleasure. Yet far from being an ordinary, vulgar profligate, he became known as an accomplished voluptuary. Showing capacity for outrageous indulgence, he was looked upon by Nero to be the absolute authority on questions of taste (arbiter elegantiae), especially with the science of alchemy. In his memory we bring you Regius. The alchemy of cultivating and blending the finest aged tobacco to achieve the best possible taste, an even burning quality and elegant aromas. We invite you to be arbiter elegantiae, the judge of elegance, of our beautifully hand crafted and flavoursome creations.
Grandido: This cigar is a versatile, medium bodied blend for those long afternoons and evenings. Perfect with your favorite wine or spirit, it achieves a delicate combination of complexity and a satisfying balance to fulfill even the most discerning of palates.
Robusto: This cigar is a more full-bodied creation and is consistent with being the preferred vitola of true cigar aficionados. The taste is perfectly smooth and the smoke lingers on the palate creating a beautiful, rich aftertaste.
Corona: This cigar has a light medium body. A charming accompaniment to the taste of coffee, it has a sweet aroma and creamy texture.
Lord Madse: This cigar has a light body, aimed at those who prefer a subtle taste and aroma. It has an elegant flavour, with hints of coffee and hazelnut overtones. The cigar is named in honour of a cigar loving elegance arbite.[Source: Company site and other on-line cigar Journals]
The cigar has a beautiful light brown color wrapper, slight oily sheen with few visible long veins. It has hay, barnyard aroma. The cold draw is perfect- not so tight or not so loose. It has mild cocoa, hay elements with honey like sweetness on the lips. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of wood (oak), earth, leather, cocoa powder, cream, chocolate, mild aromatic cinnamon, coriander powder spice, medium black pepper spice flavors with nutty, sweet raisin, bay leaf, cardamom, mild floral aroma at the back. The sweetness of the cigar is more like brown sugar and caramel-molasses. The complex sweetness of this cigar is amazing. The draw is perfect with slight uneven burn. It is straight a medium bodied cigar and super smooth. The cigar is very complex with balanced flavors, aroma and long finish.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaragua
Fillers: Nicaragua
1/3: It starts with rich oak, earth, leather, cream, cocoa powder and mild chocolate flavors- yam! The smoke is intense from the start. Within few puffs the cigar also releases medium black pepper flavor with nutty, sweet raisin aroma at the back. There is also a brown sugar like sweetness after each puff. The smoke is very smooth and soft to the palate. During retrohale the mild black peppery spiciness through the nose is simply amazing. I am enjoying it from the first puff. The smoke is very creamy, thick and smooth. The top of my tongue has super mild black peppery spicy feel, the middle of my tongue is full of creamy smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue is clean. At the end of the 1/3, the cigar is concentrating to more aromatic spiciness with underlying changing sweetness between brown sugar-mild caramel-molasses. This is extraordinary complexity in sweetness. The cigar is well balanced with complex flavors and aroma with long finish.
2/3: Interestingly, the 1/3 flavor and aroma profile is there but I am also detecting dark chocolate(sometime feels like milk coffee), mild aromatic cinnamon and coriander spice powder with distinctive nutty, sweet raisin and mild floral aroma at the back. I have to mention that the floral aroma is quite rich. There is also rich caramel-molasses sweetness after each puff. The cigar gets three additional points in complexity here with changing flavors, aroma and the sweetness. This is a wonderful smoking experience. Few cigars can hold into full 1/3 flavor profile and add additional new flavors, aroma and sweetness like this. The top of my tongue has the medium black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue is full of creamy, round smoke with above flavors and aroma, the back of my tongue has a mild tobacco bitterness. The retrohale has the amazing mild black peppery spiciness through the nose. I cannot say the overall complexity is extreme but it is definitely well balanced with layers and layers of flavors and aroma. Again, the complex sweetness of the brown sugar-caramel-molasses is very unique and enjoyable. I always say that a well-balanced medium bodied cigar helps us to concentrate to enjoy the complex flavors, aroma, background notes and the elements. This is one of those cigars.
Final third: The final third starts with weak 1/3 but richer 2/3 flavors and aroma profile but the boosting complexity is coming from the aroma and sweetness rather than the flavors. The 2/3's dark chocolate (sometime milk-coffee), aromatic cinnamon, coriander spice powder is more upfront with richer nutty, sweet raisin, aromatic cardamom, floral aroma. There is also a new bay leaf kind of aromatic element at the back. The sweetness has four layer elements of brown sugar-caramel-molasses and rich sweet raisin. This is definitely extremely complex in aroma and sweetness at this stage. If you are familiar with Indian aromatic Chicken Korma Curry- the taste of this cigar is like that. In Korma Curry, the chicken meat pieces are coated with thick Greek yogurt or cream with additional 11 aromatic spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, saffron, black mastered seed, Fenugreek, cumin, black pepper pods, graham masala). This cigar reminds me of the aromatic Chicken Korma Curry. On top of that the multi-layers of complex sweetness are simply amazing. The cigar is very well balanced with complex flavors and aroma and long finish.
Final thoughts: I understand why some people compare it with Cuban taste because of its aromatic spice and mild floral notes. But in reality, the Cuban cigars rich fruity-floral aroma is more complex and upfront. However, in my opinion this is not an alternate of Cuban cigar but this is definitely the Non-Cuban cigar which tastes as close as to a Cuban cigar I have ever smoked. However, at the same time I do not like to compare it this way rather than enjoy its unique taste. The Cubans cigars are not cheap in Europe but the current on-going economic crisis in Europe is pushing some smokers to find some alternative of Cuban cigars. Regius has the softer Cuban like strength and some aromatic touch. The price of this cigar is moderate and also extremely competitive. I understand why the owner marketed a cigar like this in the United Kingdom where the tobacco tax is very high. I highly recommend this cigar, as well as for a box purchase. I am glad to have a full box of 25. This cigar does not require further aging. More aging will lose some aroma, background notes and some sweet elements. Overall, this is an excellent smoke with excellent value. You should not miss it.
The MATASA line and the original black band are being distributed by SAG imports. From what he told me, he really just opened up everyone he could at first, and looking back wants to concentrate on serious tobacconists. They are doing really well in Texas and the East coast apparently where the cigar culture is a bit different then CA. They are really doing well in the Euro market as well. His take on cigar politics and shops in general is spot on bro, you will appreciate his conversation. He is also a huge food and spirits fan as well.
La Gloria Cubana is the name of two premium cigar brands, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and other produced in the Dominican Republic and Miami, Florida by El Credito Cigar Company for General Cigar Company, now a subsidiary of Swedish Match. La Gloria Cubana was sold to General Cigar Company by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in 1999 for an undisclosed sales price.
HISTORY: The La Gloria Cubana brand was created in 1885 by the Sociedad Caba
Zino's Crown series is an expensive cigar. Initially, the target group was the successful professional and also the upcoming younger jetsetter who enjoy urban lifestyle and also looking for high life with moderate price. The second group simply didn't find the Crown series price very wallet friendly. So Zino came up with the Z class, four sizes (Toro, Pyramid, corona and robusto) with moderate price line. However, the blend remains medium-full bodied for both Crown and Z class. This cigar was also designed mainly for the US market. In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Zino Platinum, the brand has produced a premium collectors edition set of four custom boxes in collaboration with urban artists UR New York. Dubbed The Make, this collectors edition celebrates the self-made man and his success, as well as ten years of redefining cigars and a new generation of cigar smokers.
Zino Platinum, an ultra-premium cigar brand, introduced the ZP Ten New York Collectors?Edition featuring urban art by URNY and Zino Platinum Ten Salomones.?In commemoration of the tenth anniversary, Zino Platinum had unveiled two limited editions, both accented by a brand new blue and black band and unique packaging. The?ZP Ten New York Collectors Edition, feature a Nicaraguan Rosada wrapper, Dominican Piloto binder and Dominican and Peruvian filler tobaccos, the Toro is a full-bodied cigar. Available in a 10-count box, the Collectors Edition boxes feature four custom graffiti-inspired pieces created by UR New York, an urban artist collective who have redefined themselves and the landscape that surrounds them. Limited to 500 pieces each, the artwork adorn four different collectors edition boxes, said Richard Krutick, Davidoffs head of marketing. The collection is inspired by the innovators, the risk takers, the mavericksthose who capture the spirit of Zino Platinum. The Collectors Edition offers in a unit of 4?boxes with one of each design included. The second format, Zino Platinum Ten Salomones, comes in at 7 ¼ x 57 and is available in a 64-count acrylic cube featuring black matter rubberized accents. The majestic Salomones format is a spectacular indulgence for the aficionado of Nicaraguan tobaccos. The ZP Ten New York Collectors Edition cigars were released on August 2012. For full review please click at:
http://www.cigar.com/cs/forums/29/477190/ShowThread.aspx
Following the global success of the first limited edition, launched in 2012 for the ten-year anniversary of Zino Platinum, again in 2013, Zino Platinum has teamed up for the second time with the urban artist collective UR New York. Capturing the same maverick spirit of Zino Platinum Brooklyn based, Mike Baca aka 2ESAE and Fernando Romero aka SKI originally joined forces with the goal of transforming the perception of street art and have become successful international artists. The dynamic New York duo went to work on the collectors edition Zino Platinum boxes with the same passion and artistry that brought them success in their professional art career. This limited release of only 750 sets of 4 boxes appeared on retailers shelves on May 15th with a kick off event in New York City, supported by an eight week east coast US Tour featuring the ZP Mobile Lounge. This special collectors edition perfectly illustrates what Zino Platinum represents, self-expression. New York is a city that inspires self-expression like no other and we are thrilled to pay homage with this limited edition cigar to the pioneers that continue to disrupt the status quo. states Scott Kolesaire, Zino Platinum Brand Manager.
Zino Platinum Collectors Edition 2013: The Make of New York which celebrates the four pillars of self-expression. The result is a collectors edition which celebrates the four pillars of self-expression:
FASHION THE THREAD OF THE CITY| FOOD THE FLAVOR OF THE CITY | MIXOLOGY THE SPIRIT OF THE CITY and MUSIC THE PULSE OF THE CITY. [Source: Zino Press Release and my personal conversation with one of Davidoffs marketing executive]
It is a Perfecto shaped gorgeous cigar. The milk chocolate smooth wrapper has some reddish hue and little visible veins. It has a dry wood scents with a slight vanilla sweetness to the foot. I love a well-balanced, flavorful and complex perfecto shape cigar because it allows me to enjoy the intensity of a cigar with smaller ring gauge and then slowly opens up its full flavor and aroma with each puff. The cigar has an impressive complex twit. The flavor profile is the combination of musty earth, cedar wood, vanilla, white pepper, milk chocolate, mocha, aromatic cardamom spice with hints of citrus, toasted nut and slight flowery aroma at the back. There is also a honey like sweetness after each puff at the finish. It has some similarities with Zino Davidoff Chubby Platinum Crown Series. I would recommend this cigar to smoke in the morning with clean palate. This way you can enjoy the full flavor and the aroma. The cigar has perfect construction and burn evenly all the way from head to foot. The flavor-aroma profile is well balanced with medium-long finish. It is smooth and the strength is medium to full.
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut Rojiza
Binder: Dominican Olor/Piloto
Filler: San Vincente Viso, Piloto Viso, Criollo Viso und San Vincente Mejorado Viso
1/3: First puff opens up with clean smoke with signature Kelner musty earth, cedar wood, mild white peppery spicy flavors and toasted nutty aroma at the back. It has a smooth finish. The top of my tongue can feel the white pepper spice. Interestingly the middle of tongue has a distinctive citrus feel. There is a mild tobacco aftertaste which is close to mild harshness at the back of my tongue but not unpleasant. This cigar needs some rest. I am retrohaling from the first puff and the subtle and delicate white peppery spiciness through the nose is amazing and very enjoyable. It is smooth, round and balanced. The draw and burn is perfect. It is straight medium bodied with balanced flavors and aroma and long finish. I am having a slight tingly feeling around my mouth which compliments the citrus feel with a nice twist of a crispy bite. I am surprised with the early tingly feeling because usually it comes at the 2/3. Overall this is a very good start.
2/3: At this stage the cigar takes off from medium to medium-full body but again still smooth and round. The flavor profile taken over by distinctive milk chocolate, vanilla, subtle aromatic cardamom flavors with a hint of citrus and nutmeg aroma at the back. There is also a nice toasted nutty and super mild floral element at the back. This is quiet complex with long dry finish. The top my tongue can feel robust white pepper spiciness and middle of my tongue is enjoying round and mouthful texture with vanilla, toasted nutty notes. The harshness level increased a little more at the back of my tongue. This cigar definitely need some age because now it is little unpleasant. I can still retrohale and enjoy the white peppery spiciness through the nose. However, still it is quiet smooth but I am looking for Davidoff quality creamy smoothness. At the end of 2/3 the cigar took a 90 degree turn in complexity with strong citrus aroma and thick honey like sweetness after each puff. This sudden twist is keeping me busy and giving me a crispy, tingly feeling to my palate. The mild harshness at the back of the tongue also scaled down and it is very smooth and creamy now. This is awesome! I will add two additional points here for the twist of the complexity of this cigar at this stage.
Final/3: At this stage, I am completely floating on a smooth, round and flavorful world. The power is constantly coming and going in-between medium to full body. I always enjoy this playful strength in a cigar. The milk chocolate flavor is more like mocha flavor with a tiny touch of cream at the back. Again the complexity adds another point here. The cigar is fuller and rounder with the full 2/3 flavor and aroma profile with additional creamy mocha flavor. The crispy citrus and toasted nut aroma is stronger with thick honey sweetness at the finish of each puff-Yammy! The cigar is smooth as silk now and the harshness is completely gone. It is performing in its optimum level as a Limited Edition release. It is extremely complex at this moment. In addition of the 2/3 and final/3 flavors, the aroma is concentrating into a citrus-nutty aroma ball which is surrounded with a thick creamy honey sweet shield. I don't know if my description makes any sense or not. All I can say is, I am extremely enjoying the smoke. This is the reason why we love Davidoff and anxiously wait for their limited release cigars. My entire mouth is full of tingly feeling with above ever changing complexity of flavors and aroma with long finish. The cigar is medium-full in strength.
Final thoughts: This has been a great smoking experience. However, this cigar needs some age. At the 2/3, I was indeed little disturbed with the increasing harshness at the back of my tongue. At the same time I can say this with confidence that with a year age- this is going to be a perfect smoke. My friend from Davidoff told me that whenever they work on a Limited Edition, the blender gete the freedom and access to their aged tobacco vault to play with the blend. He also mentioned that Davidoff will not make more and more bold and full bodied cigars. The first Zino Platinum Ten Collector Edition was full bodied and some smokers complained about it. As a result this second edition reduced the power which is very true. I would like to thank Davidoff for listening to us because we like you for your medium bodied cigar with smooth full flavor and aroma. Finally, I highly recommend this cigar to all the Davidoff lovers. At the same time I would also say that if you can age it a little longer then you will be rewarded. Have a great day!
The owner William C. Paley, known as Little Bill to differentiate him from his father, was also the grandson of Harvey Williams Cushing, the noted Boston neurosurgeon and the father of brain surgery. Bill never knew the good doctor, as he had passed away in 1939. His middle name pays tribute to his Cushing ties. It is worth noting before going into the tobacco in Bill Paleys DNA that his mother, Babe, was one of three Cushing sisters, all of whom figured in society for the longest time. Aunt Betsey, the middle sister, was wife of James Roosevelt, the son of Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She later married John Hay Whitney, President Eisenhowers Ambassador to Great Britain, Publisher of the International Herald Tribune, and a formidable society figure himself. The eldest sister, known as Minnie, was married to Vincent Astor. Bill Paley, the Paley of this story, had a few brushes with higher education before deciding it wasnt for him. He joined the United States Army in 1968 and wound up being a Military Cinematographer in Vietnam. After his tour of duty there, the Army transferred him to duty at the Pentagon, where he began his unrequited love affair with the city of Washington, D.C. Currently, he is a philanthropist and involves with many charitable organizations based in Washington DC and NY. He also opened the Samuel Paley Park in NYC, dedicated to the cigar lovers where they can sit, relax and smoke a cigar. It is very difficult to smoke a cigar in an open area in NYC now days. They want to stick with the core line to maintain the qualityand the consistency. So far they only use to roll their cigars in three famous factories Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubana factory of Danlí, Honduras ,Graycliff in Bahama and El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana, Miami.
Goldie Drell Paley, the namesake of our brand, was the wife of Sam Paley, who in 1896 founded La Palina Cigars. To celebrate the history, contributions and accomplishments of women in the cigar industry, we are proud to release the La Palina Collection Goldie. ¬The Goldie is a limited 1000 box release. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Goldie is made under the supervision of owner Sandy Cobas. The entire collection has been rolled in the Laguito No. 2 vitola (6×38) by master roller Maria Sierra. Maria is one of the ?rst women trained to roll cigars in Cuba. Her historic 32 year career at Villa El Laguito began July 22, 1967. Maria is a 95 rated, category 9 roller trained by Fidel Castros personal roller Eduardo Rivera Irizarri, as well as Avelino Lara, the creator of the legendary Cohiba blend. Each cigar is ?nished in the traditional Laguito style with a fan cap, exclusively taught to rollers at Villa El Laguito. The Goldie is blended with the prized Medio Tiempo leaf, found on only 10% of tobacco plants. After the great success of La Plania Laguito no. 2 last year, Bill is proud to present the initial release of the new Goldie in May 2013, with a second release in August of 2013. The La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 will be limited to 2500 numbered boxes. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Goldie is made under the supervision of owner Sandra Cobas. The La Palina Goldie Laguito No.5 will be a 5 5/8 x 54 cigar and presented in boxes of 10. Master roller Maria Sierra, signed each numbered box, rolled the entire La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 release. Each cigar is finished in the traditional Laguito style with a fan cap, exclusively taught to rollers at Villa El Laguito. The Goldie is blended with the prized Medio Tiempo leaf, found on only 10% of tobacco plants. The La Palina Collection Goldie Laguito No.5 embodies the tradition, expertise and passion of women in the cigar industry. [Source: La Palina website & various on-line resources]
It is simply a beautiful looking double robusto cigar with eye catching La Palina classic band. I can tell La Palina(LP) simply copied Cuban Cohiba Behike 54s aesthetic look, size and the medio tiempo model. La Palinas wrapper is lighter than the Behike. The wrapper is light brown, smooth with few light veins. It has slight oily sheen on the surface. I always like triple cap and pig tail in a cigar which indeed reminds me of the Cuban style. It has sweet wood and mild caramel scent at the foot. This cigar is extremely full of flavors with dimensional complex aroma. It has the perfect construction with perfect draw and burn. There are few non-Cuban cigars in the market burns as good as Goldie #2 and #5. It has all the qualities of a great cigar. It has extreme aromatic complexity with long finish after each puff. It is a medium bodied cigar but at the final/3 it is medium-full bodied. The cold draw is perfect- neither loose nor tight. The entire flavor and aroma profile is 98% similar to La Palina Languito No. 2. The only differences are the body and in intensity of smoke. LP no. 2 is straight medium bodied and LP no. 5 is medium to medium-full bodied and less intense. Whenever a cigar increases its size and ring gauge the cigar always loses its intensity. Same thing happened with this cigar but it doesnt undermine its unique taste rather than provide a different smoking experience. The cold draw has a nice banana-vanilla bread aroma. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of sweet oak, mild earth, black-white(50:50) pepper spice, spicy leather, banana-vanilla bread, cloves, cardamom, caramel-butterscotch coated toffee, cappuccino, creamy honey, sugar cane sweetness, toasted pine nuts and lots of mix fruits aroma at the back. It is not an easy task to maintain the same flavor, aroma, strength, long finish with balanced complexity. Well, La Plaina did it and this is where La Palina can declare its superior capability of making excellent cigars. In fact, when I was finalizing my review I discovered the notes were same as my review of LP no.2. So it was easy for me to compile the review with 75 percent cut and paste-
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Ecuador
Fillers: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
1/3: It starts with a blast of aromatic fruity flavor, aroma and black-white(50:50) spiciness. My mouth is immediately filled with banana-vanilla bread, sweet oak, mild earth and aromatic cardamom flavors with mild rough spicy leathery finish at the back. Within few puffs the rough spicy leather goes away and taken over with banana-vanilla bread finish. There is also clean but sharp sugar cane sweetness at the end which I am really enjoying. I am puffing the cigar very slowly and retrohaling end of each puff-ultimate method to enjoy a medium bodied flavorful cigar. The top of my tongue has the spiciness of black-white pepper, the middle of my tongue is full of honey like creaminess with round and thick smoke, the back of my tongue has a slight tobacco bitter harshness but it gets balanced very nicely with a layer of clean sugar cane sweet aftertaste. The retrohale has the amazing cardamom aromatic spiciness through the nose. However, at the same, I cannot say that the back of my tongue is completely clean. A little aging will fix this bitter harshness. I am very confident with my statement because now when I smoke La Palina Goldie no. 2 after a year ago, I do not feel the bitter harshness. How many non-Cuban cigars can release so many flavors and aroma atthe 1/3? Only few cigars like the La Palina Goldie series can. The smoke is very smooth, buttery, round, mouthful and complex with long finish. I already have a little tinglyness in my mouth. Interestingly, at the end of 1/3 the cigar remains straight medium. The LP Golidie #2 was mild to medium at this stage. Anyway, it is a flawless cigar with a perfect start.
2/3: the second third continues the flavorful journey with a little change in the flavor profile. In fact, it adds additional flavors and aroma. The strength is still straight medium. I am detecting strong cappuccino coffee, caramel-butterscotch coated toffee with toasted pine nuts aroma at the back. The 1/3 full flavor and aroma profile is still there with distinctive banana-vanilla bread next to it. It is so flavorful that it invites me to puff more often. All the 1/3 and 2/3 flavor and aroma profile is there. They just simply come and go with ever changing complexity. I love with LP Goldie series. I am amazed to see how the blender maintained the same flavor profile in a different size and ring gauge. Great job La Palina! The top of my tongue has more clove kind of aromatic spiciness with a slight touch of black- white peppery spiciness. It changes very quickly with each puff. It is not easy to keep track of different spiciness at this stage. The finish has a combination of creamy honey and clean sugar cane sweetness. The sweetness is pretty sharp which gives a nice crispy feeling in the palate. The middle of my tongue is full of all the above flavors and aroma with super long finish. The back of my tongue still has a mild bitter harshness at this moment. It wasn't there in LP Goldie #2. Maybe the size and the additional amount of tobacco though I am not completely sure about it. The retrohale still has the aromatic cardamom spiciness through the nose. At the same time also feels the aromatic clove kind of spiciness. How can I keep track of all the changes? This is an awesome smoke. I also noticed that the cigar is burning little quickly but I am not rushing the puff at all. One reason cab be the aged tobacco which lost additional oil from the aged tobacco leaf. Another difference is the robust floral notes are more distinctive and noticeable at this stage. I love the floral element in any cigar. This is a reason why I am a huge fan of Cuban cigars. Though for the larger ring gauge the intensity is less but it also releases more smokes with larger ring gauge. It adds an additional chard to the smoke and the flavor-aroma profile. This is a wonderful smoke with long finish. My entire mouth is full of medium tingly feeling - awesome!
Final/3: It is hard to believe that still the cigar is holding the full flavor and aroma profile of the 1/2 and 2/3 marks. This is unbelievable how this new cigar maintained the same performance with the previous Goldie #2 release. It has the same dominant fruity and toasted pine nuts finish after each puff. Thoughthe cappuccino, butterscotch toffee flavors are dominating the flavor profile but still other flavors are coming and going with extreme complexity and long finish. The top of my tongue has more clove kind of spiciness. The middle of my tongue is coated with honey, creamy and round texture. The smoke is completely subtle and relaxing. There is no sign of any bitter or harshness at the back. I am retrohaling each puff to enjoy the aromatic cardamom delicate spiciness through the nose. The spiciness through the nose is strong and also gives a side kick of sweet-black pepper at the end. The smoke is creamy, round and mouthful but the sweetness is somewhere in between honey and sugar cane. I never had this kind of sweet feeling in any other cigar, except Goldie #2. Another difference i found at this stage is, during retrohale the aromatic cardamomy spiciness is stronger compares to Goldie #2 but it is very enjoyable. This is a magical smoke, a perfect and typical La Palina style masterpiece. This truly represents excellent quality and the meaning of a true Limited Edition cigar. The cigar truly delivers the exact quality what the company says- no overhype marketing here. This cigar has all the qualities of a good cigar it should have- the flavors, balanced strength with multi layers of aroma, long finish with ever changing super complexity. The twist of complexity is simply top notch and magical. One more difference I found at this stage is- at the end of final/3 the strength is medium to medium-full body. I love this playful strength in a cigar. This is simply a fantastic smoking journey from the start to finish.
Final thoughts: I am having the same issue as Goldie #2 to finish this part because I don't know what to say or how to end my final thought about La Palina Goldie #5. It has been a great almost two hours of smoking journey. The weather in Managua is gloomy like London. This is a sign of a heavy rain. I am sitting in my backyard and lost in a flavorful world. Somewhere a dove is cooing which spreading a relaxing and natural peace in my mind. I am a huge fan of La Palina. They are improving the quality steadily with new blends one after another. Only God knows what they are going to release next. There are only two Non-Cuban cigar makers who are delivering excellent cigars one after another. One is La Palina and another ROOM 101. I can see that they both truely care about their cigars with limited quantity to maintain the quality of cigars. We are experiencing a commercial trend with some of our favorite brands. The result is more and more poor quality cigars with higher price. I do not want to mention any name because at the end the individual smoker is responsible to accept or reject certain brand. I would like to mention this again, La Palina's first limited release was Robusto LImited Edition 1896. After smoking it, I immediately fell in love with this new brand in 2011, after that with Little Bill, LE release Goldie 2 and now Goldiea #5. The owner Bill Paley always believes in medium bodied cigar with full of flavors and aroma. A blender can easily hide the creativity in a heavy and full bodied blend but not in a mild or medium bodied cigar. La Palina is very confident and they keep sticking with medium bodied and releasing more and more cigars each year. La Palina cigars are not cheap but they deserve the money. I did not hesitate to say that La Palina Goldie 2 was the best non-Cuban and the best petit Lancero cigar in 2012. However, I will still wait the IPCPR/2013 to say the same thing for Goldie #5 because we have to wait see what other cigar release during the upcoming largest cigar show. However, I won't hesitate to say that La Palina Goldie #5 is definitely going to be one of the best 2013 release. I will buy couple more boxes and add to my aging project to enjoy this excellent cigar many years to come.
HISTORY:
Zino Davidoff was born on March 11, 1906 in Kiev, Russian Empire and present-day Ukraine. He was the eldest of four children born to tobacco merchant, Henri Davidoff. Even in his own autobiographical writings, the facts on his youth are a bit hazy, as he was quite young during this time and could only piece together some stories of his youth. His parents were either cigar merchants or cigarette manufacturers in Kiev. Fleeing the political turmoil, his parents left some of their family behind and immigrated to Geneva, Switzerland in 1911 for a better life, where they opened their own tobacconist shop in 1912. Finishing school in 1924, Zino went to Latin America to learn about the tobacco trade, spending time in such places as Argentina, Brazil and finally Cuba where he spent two years working on a plantation and first encountered Cuban cigars.
Returning to Switzerland around 1930, he took over his parents' shop. What had originally been a modest tobacco shop grew into a rich business during and after World War II. Neutral Switzerland was spared much of the havoc wreaked elsewhere in Europe and became a haven for wealthy tobacco customers. Zino was particularly successful in marketing the Hoyo de Monterrey Ch
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