Stogie Geeks Episode 17 – “Oliva Showdown”

Stogies of the Week

From the manufacturer (current as of April 2012):

Serie V Maduro Serie V is a complex blend of Nicaraguan long filler tobaccos. Blended with specially fermented Jalapa Valley Ligero, and finished with a high priming Habano Sun Grown Wrapper.

The Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial first made it’s appearance in 2008, after the success of a 2007 Limited Edition version of the Serie V. Since then, the Maduro Especial has made an appearance annually in November. With the 2009 release received the Number 5 spot in Cigar Aficionado’s Best of 2009. We thought it would be interesting to have four people smoke all four releases during the show and compare notes. Let’s burn!

This week we are drinking

Ron Abuelo 7 Años	Ron Abuelo 12 Años

Paul’s List

• Hoyo De Monterrey Des Duis (1998) – Not aged out, burn and construction were spot on, flavors were pure heaven. Crawl across the desert my friends, this 14-year-old cuban was one of the best vintage cubans I’ve smoked to date.
• Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010 – Goes great with coffee, a tad bitter, needs more age.
• Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2009 – Loved the spice.
• Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2008 – Roasted nuts, then kinda just okay.
• Quesada Selección Espana – What wonderful floral flavors that come form this smoke, subtle spice, and very smooth. The short robust is by far my favorite. Box worthy.
• Viaje Skull and Bones Daisy Cutter – CRAWL ACROSS THE DESERT! Wow, everything they said about this stick being amazing, is true, and more. The thing that really gets me about this stick os the flavor. Unbelievable representation of coffee and cocoa flavors in the cigar. Its almost like smoking something that was infused, except its the opposite of suck. Probably the most flavor I’ve even gotten out of a non-cuban cigar, just wish they would make more like this, as the new cigars in this line are not even close to this.
• Hoyo De Monterey Churchill – This was also a great stick, the flavors were not as well balances as some of the other Cubans I smoked, but still a solid smoke. These need lots of age, and are good when not aged, but really come to life after 4 years. Overall, very enjoyable, and box worthy.
• Partagas Lucitaina (2005) – Thanks to this stick, I stayed warm on Sunday while smoking outdoors with co-host Tim at a cigar event in Rhode Island put on by Mr. J’s Havana Smoke Shop. The stick POORED flavors for well over 1 hour and 30 minutes. Nice smooth earth and wood, classic cuban profile, excellent burn and construction. Box worthy.
• Padron Ambassador (vintage) – To be honest, I was not overly impressed with this one. It had some nice cocoa flavors, and earth, but just didn’t deliver a good overall smoking experience. That being said, dry boxing could have helped, and maybe it was just this particular stick that was a little off. However, I enjoyed the torpedo more than this size.
• Por Larranaga Monte Carlo – Great smoke, they can be bitter if they are not aged. When aged, they smooth out and its like smoking orange soda.
• E.P. Carrillo Edicion Inaugural 2009 – This stick is absolutely amazing. Nice smooth, creamy smoke, full of flavor, and just keeps getting better with age! I almost get a citrus sweetness from this one now, and glad I bought an extra box just to age.
• Cabaiguan Guapos RX – This is a solid smoke, great construction, classic Tatuaje flavors, spice, wood, and a nice finish. While this isn’t an over-the-top-awesome cigar, its good, so go get at least a 5-pack or a box if you can get one cheap. Great for when you’re looking for an easy smoke.
• Paul Gamarian Gourmet Series – Symphony 20 – This is the original toro size that came before the salmon and the robust. It smells so awesome, smokes great, and the flavors are outstanding. The cigar still packs a punch, I would not smoke it at 11:00AM like I did, wait until after dinner!
• Unbanded La Aurora Preferido – This was a gift from my friend Jeff. Awesome smoke, nice change ups in flavor, classic La Aurora goodness.I tried to catch a picture of the oils oozing from the cigar, a sign that even though this cigar was a few years old, there were still some oils left, which means more aging potential!
• Cusano 18 – An okay mild-medium body cigar, no change ups, and just okay flavors. Buy one to try it.
• Jose L. Piedra Conservas – Budget cuban, I believe machine made binder/short filler with a hand applied wrapper. $2-$3 a stick has great cuban flavors and very enjoyable.
• Viaje Skull & Bones WMD (2011) – Nice pepper and great flavors throughout!
• Opus X El Scorpion 2009 – Major disappointment! Overpriced. Underrated. Poor construction. Just okay flavors. At this point, I would not buy another 22 count Opus X box.
• Opus X Super Belicoso XXX Power Ranger – Awesome start, boring middle, awesome finish
• Fish & Quesada! – Not a great cigar, not horrible, but I would not recommend that people go out and buy these in this size. It was a 60 Tribute, but would be much better in a corona. I also smoked a Gurhka Cellar Reserve, which was totally awesome, great flavors, great burn and construction (it held up while i was fishing!).
• La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003 – Amazing smoke! Starts of very mild, with sublet flavors, then picks up and developed a wonderful orange peel sweetness, then moves to a rush earth flavor. Simply outstanding, perfect burn and construction, you are in for a really wild ride when you smoke this one! Crawl across desert.

Tim’s List

• Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 1 – Smooth, easy to smoke Cuban. I couldn’t detect a lot of flavors however. There were some citris notes on first half with more spice on the second.
• Partagas Lusitanias – Gifted to me by Mark during the last EP of the podcast. This double corona, burned well and the draw was a bit tight but was still managable. Started with cedar, lots of that Cuban twang, and some mild pepper. The second half brought some toastiness. An enjoyable gift. I recently traded with someone for more of these, so I will be enjoying them again soon.
• Padron Londres Maduro – How can you go wrong with a Padron Maduro that costs $3.75. Admittedly, it is not the most attractive Padron ever produced. But this Corona is consistant in flavor and construction every time. “Box Worthy”
• Casa Magna Domus Magnus Limitada – I finally got around to trying this stick and I am glad I did. It had made some of the top ten lists of 2011 but for whatever reason, I just never reached for one until now. Nice mix of cedar spice, cocoa, and a sweetness I couldn’t place. Good performance, I will be revisting this stick again.
• La Gloria Cubana Medaille d’Or No.4 – I scored one of these in a recent trade. This 6 x 32 Slim Panetela offered up a unique combination of citris and pepper. The profile didn’t change up much, but it was a very enjoyable and smooth 30 minute smoke that I would certainly revisit. “Box Split”
• Bolivar Belicosos Finos – The big brother to the Bolivar Petit Corona, this stick performed perfectly with slightly stronger flavors up front than the PC. As the burn line worked its way tdown the tapered length to the more narrower gauge, the strength lessened but the earthly, smooth flavors were more similar to the Petit. “Box Worthy” but I think I do prefer the PC.
• Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill Tubo – This stick offered up a nice balance of coffee and graham cracker with subtle sweetness. The finish was medium in length and toasty. Construction was perfect on the first one I smoked but I had a void in the second one. After clipping past the void all was well. Hard to gauge with the construction issues on this one, but I ordered a box.
• Paul Garmirian Reserva Exclusiva Corona Extra – Paul and I had scored a seven year old box of these a while back and I absolutely loved them. So when I recently found a five pack available online, I immediately pulled the trigger. Not as smooth as the older sticks but enjoyable and certainly worth it. “Box Worthy” if you plan to age.

Stogie Tech: Cigar Travel Cases

I have a ton of different travel cases. I like the hard plastic cases when I travel because it protects the cigar. I like a nice leather case when I go out, because it looks classy. I am in search of something that holds a flask, cutter and lighter. I really want a nice one, but would rather have a nice box or two of cigars instead. You can use these as an overflow for your humidor. You can use cigar tube or two instead. This is largely personal preference, but I thought I would go through some different types. Several I own and several are on the wish list.

1. Two through Four Finger Soft Cases – This type of case seems to be the most commonly available. They are usually leather on the outside and some type of cedar lining on the inside. The cases are soft, and not crush-proof. Sometimes there will be a flap to open, some will slide together.

   Basic Case: $9.99

2. Cuban-Style Case with Zipper – This is a variation on the above, except there is a hard cedar insert that holds up to 4 cigars. The top is held by a zipper, and there is another compartment on the bottom for humidification.

   H. Upman Case: $189

3. Cigar Caddy/Xicar Cases:

   Xicar 5-Count: $21.38

4. Zero Halliburton Cigar Cases – Perhaps the best case I’ve ever seen. Simply awesome, yet discontinued and super hard to find. The real kicker is they are super expensive. A 9 cigar capacity case, without the key, was on Ebay for $125

Pictures can be found here.

5. Travel Humidors – I have a travel humdir that holds about 10 cigars. Its leather on the outside, and cedar on the inside. Its like a humidor, but only holds 10 cigars. It VERY classy looking. My Dad paid about $300 for it new at a local shop. I take it when I want to try to be classy.
6. Andre Garcia – Supposed to be some of the nicest travel cases around. There are several styles to choose from, the cheapest being about $80:

Andre Garcia Italian 4 Finger Black Leather Hard Cigar Case

Andre Garcia Italian Brown Leather Hard Cigar Case 15ct

7. Vanderburg Humidors Outback4 Leather Travel Humidor – This looks like a really nice case, except I can’t help think of the Seinfeld episode with the “european carry-all”. Its a “nurse” or “man purse” in my opinion and that has held me back from buying it.