And now the Sunday Links…

• Casas Fumando smokes the Dona Flor Selecao Robusto.
• Keepers of the Flame reviews the Reyes Family Vintage Robusto.
• Toasted Foot interviews Bryan White from 13th Floor Cigars.
• UBI Cigar beats me to the punch on the Fonseca Especial.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Reyes Family Vintage

I was hit with another cold this week and it destroyed my taste buds. It is now at the point where acigarsmoker.com is looking for another reviewer to join our team. If you have an interest in this un-paid position reach out to us via the contact page. The Reyes Family Vintage comes courtesy of Reyes themselves. They sent me a few cigars for review, and this is the first of others over the next few weeks. This cigar used to be known as the Puros Indios Viejo.

Cigar: Reyes Family Vintage
Size: 6 x 53 (Toro)
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Aged 8 Years
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (16/20): One thing I learned from the Reyes Family is looks can be deceiving and we shall see if this holds true with this smoke. The wrapper has some significacnt veins in it, and there is a wrapper tear near the cap of the cigar. It’s more a hole, then a tear but due to the roll of the cigar it does not go through to the binder. There is some tooth as well and some oils visible on this cigar. Despite the wrapper issues the cigar is well rolled, and has a well placed cap. The band has the tribal looking Reyes logo with some green and the word Vintage.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): The prelight draw offers some wood and earth. Upon light of the cigar there are some mocha/coffee notes that quickly fade and give way to earthy notes. The second third offers continued earth notes but some wood is mixed in as well. As we reach the final third there are some faint coffee notes with wood on the finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (24/25): The burn line on the cigar is jagged and uneven which has been an issue for me since Reyes was known as Puros Indios. The ash is strong. It has minimal flake and holds on forever. The draw would make Goldilocks proud as it is just right.

Overall (22/25):A cigar like this teaches you aesthetics are not everything. The Reyes Family classic while not pretty to look at offers a nice flavor profile and is a nice everyday smoke.

Rating: 88
Price: $Unkown

A

Cuba Aliados Miami

A few weeks back Jerry Cruz from The Stogie Review was carrying on like a crazed leprechaun about how much he loved these sticks. Well having heard enough I had to break down and locate these to purchase which was no easy task. I have now smoked a few and it is time to share if I found a pot o gold at the end of the rainbow…

Cigar: Cuba Aliados Miami
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (15/20): Wrapped in a cedar sleeve with a gorgeous red and white label the cigar catches your eye. However once the cigar is undressed it is one ugly looking beast. The bands are off center, the wrapper has a lot of veins and the cap has an amateur feel to it. This cigar won’t win any contests in the construction category. There however are no soft spots and the cigar is well packed with tobacco.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): The cedar sleeve gives the stick some nice notes on the prelight of cedar (of course!). Once lit the first third of the cigar offers some nice wood notes with some pepper along for the ride. As we enter the second third the cigar begins to lose some of the pepper notes and they are replaced by leather which slowly over comes the cedar. The final third the leather like a thoroughbred comes from behind and is the dominant note through the finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (25/25): The light gray ash holds very strong and for long periods of time. There is no flake at all and I only had to ash twice during the entire smoke. The burn had a slight resistance and was perfect.

Overall (22/25): While enjoyable I expected a lot more based upon the raving of a leprechaun. The cigar was enjoyable and worth the price in my eyes, but it fell short of expectations. I will probably buy some more if I run across them locally.

Rating: 88
Price: $7.95

A few years back when I was manager of a cigar store in Brooklyn New York we had a girl who hung out from time to time, who we affectionately called Minnesota being that is where she hailed from. Amazing that her nick name stuck with me all these years, but I can’t recall her real name. She was amazing, she had Angelina Jolie’s lips and a killer body that guys were falling over, including me. Anyway, one day we’re all smoking and she goes “you can tell a lot about a guys manhood by the size of cigar he smokes. Guys tend to stick to sizes close to their own so they don’t feel threatened”. One guy who happened to be smoking a small perfecto cigar quickly objected. In the mean time my boss went to the back of the store and came out with a Puros Indios Chief which measures 18 x 66. As he is lighting the cigar and everyone is laughing hysterically, he says, “what she says is true, definitely true”. One of the funniest moments I could remember…

The Skinny:

Cigar: Reyes Family Premier
Origin: Honduras
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Wrapper: Maduro Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Condega & Jalapa)

Pre-Light: The wrapper on this cigar isn’t the prettiest in the world with prominent veins and visible lines on the roll. It did however shine with oils. With the cigar in hand I felt the wrapper and realized this cigar was loosely packed with a couple of soft spots. The scent of the wrapper was very nutty as was the foot. The flavor on the pre-light draw was that of espresso.

Smoke: I used a straight cut on this cigar, and remembering my lighter for the first time in days, I toasted the foot of the cigar. Taking my first few draws I realized the cigar was loose, and the smoke would be fast. The notes off the cigar was delightful and on the 1st third of the cigar there were notes of chocolate and espresso while on the 2nd third it was espresso and earth, before giving way to earth with slight notes of pepper.

Overall: This full bodied smoke lasted just under an hour, and was a really enjoyable smoke. I smoked it to the nub and was very disappointed when the smoke was over . The overall finish was dry, so have some beverage available, perhaps a cup of espresso. The ash was a medium gray that held despite the defined image of a loosely rolled cigar. The notes were espresso, chocolate, earth, and slight pepper. If a loosely packed cigar bothers you a lot deduct one point from my rating.

My Local Price: 7.50 (A Gift from Reyes)
Rating: 90 (Out of 100)