CIGAR REVIEW - NEW RELEASE: Alec Bradley - Prensado

Last Friday I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of smoking with Mr. George Sosa, National Sales Director of Alec Bradley Cigars, and was fortunate enough to be one of the first to receive their newest release, the Prensado. Not only is Mr. Sosa one of the company’s three principal executives, he is also a retired U.S. Navy – Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, so naturally he and I hit it off right away and he is also the only other person in the industry I have ever met who knew the answer to the riddle of why do Bomb Technicians like box-pressed cigars? If you want to know, you have to ask.

The Prensado was débuted by Alec Bradley at this year’s IPCPR convention in New Orleans and is their strongest cigar to date. It is being released in five vitollas: Corona Gorda, Robusto, Churchill, Gran Toro, and Torpedo. It is made with a Honduran – Corojo 2006 wrapper, a Nicaraguan – Jalapa binder, and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. It is box-pressed and has a maduro-colored, oily wrapper that had a little veiny character to it. The body had a mild pre-light aroma with a hint of sweetness and more pronounced aromas at the foot. Interestingly, the filler blend could be clearly seen at the foot as a swirl of light and dark tobaccos. The body was also firm with no soft spots or defects and passed the squeeze test with flying colors.

I made a straight-cut with scissors and tested the draw, which was smooth with light to moderate resistance. The pre-light taste was primarily a pleasant tobacco flavor with notes of slightly bitter cocoa. Once lit it started out mild but shortly began to develop a little spice at the tip of the tongue with stronger notes at the back of the throat. It burned with an attractive blue smoke from the foot and a light grey smoke from the draw, leaving a crisp, semi-dense “zebra-ash”, meaning it was alternately a distinct light and dark grey in color. The early spice, while the dominant flavor characteristic, was mild to moderate and never overwhelming although it did make retro-nasal exhalation a little difficult. This isn’t a big deal of course and is by no means a comment on a cigar’s quality, I just like to do it in order to try and maximize my appreciation of all a cigar has to offer. As it progressed, the spice mellowed in the middle third and maintained a consistent and pleasant flavor throughout. Once into the final third the spice began to reemerge and progress a little farther along the tongue leaving a mild peppery finish.

My overall opinion is that the Alec Bradley – Prensado is a well made, quality cigar. I enjoyed every minute of it and found it to be a good choice for relaxing alone or with friends. The bi-phasic characteristics of a premium cigar were definitely present in this one and in good proportions to each other.

As always, I wish you Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Baltimore Beer Week

It is officially Baltimore Beer Week! It runs for ten days from 08 through 18 October and includes over 300 separate events. There will be beer dinners at local pubs and restaurants, appearances by brewers, and tastings at numerous locations. There is just far too much going on for me to list it here. Just go to the web site and there are lists of events with the locations for each which are spread all over the area so something may be convenient to you. Come out and support this event if you can and have a great time doing it.

Baltimore Beer Week

www.baltimorebeerweek.com

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Honeygo Harvest Fest Beer Gala

Honeygo Wine & Spirits (one of my favorite liquor stores) is holding a beer tasting on Monday, 12 October 2009. You are invited to come and try some Fall and other seasonal beers, as well as a few new beers being offered. Their first event was very good and I had a great time at it and they promise that this one will be even bigger and better. Tickets are only $15.00 each and allow you to sample any of the styles being offered.

Honeygo Harvest Fest Beer Gala

Monday, October 12 2009

19:00 - 21:00 hours

Honeygo Wine & Spirits

5004 Honeygo Center Drive

Perry Hall, Maryland 21128

410.529.5500

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Butts for Ta-Tas Breast Cancer Fundraiser

On Saturday, 17 October 2009 The Humidour Cigar Shoppe is hosting the Butts for Ta-Tas fundraising party. Proceeds from this event benefit breast cancer research. You are invited to join in a fun-filled evening of cigars, food, drinks, and friends as we support a worthy cause. There will be great deals and hundreds of premium cigars available at discount prices. Cigars will be provided by Ashton, CAO, Camacho, Drew Estate, Oliva, and Rocky Patel and each cigar representative will be competing to raise the most money for the cause. If you are in the Maryland-Delaware-Virginia-Pennsylvania area please come and join the party.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and space is limited. If you have never been to a Humidour event before, they are always great and the shop is a big supporter of worthy causes and charities.

Saturday, 17 October 2009
18:30 - 21:30 hours
(Thats 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm for those who asked, or one-bell of the Second Dog Watch to three-bells of the First-Watch for non-lubbers)
The Humidour Cigar Shoppe
10721 York Road, Cockeysville, Maryland
410.666.3212
www.humidour.com

CIGAR REVIEW: Padron, Family Reserve No. 45

Hello fellow lovers of the leaf, I recently returned from overseas, just in time to attend a very special event. I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of meeting Jorge Padron, President of Padron Cigars and son of founder, Jose Padron. I missed the opportunity to meet him last year when he came through Baltimore because I was deployed again so I made sure my schedule didn’t conflict this time, though it was a close one. I had been very much looking forward to this event, not only because it was an opportunity to meet Mr. Padron, but also because he was bringing with him the new Padron Family Reserve No. 45. Ever since reading the posting about them by Jorge Armenteros in the Tobacconist University Forum, I have been anticipating the opportunity to enjoy what was certain to be a fine cigar.

Jorge Padron was an extremely personable man. He had a very genuine smile on his face the whole time and shared several stories with me. Two of my favorites were the stories of when, after graduating college, he told his father that they should replace the plain brown bands on their cigars with something more flashy to increase sales, following which his father put him in his place in no uncertain terms; and of how his cousin, who he says the family just refers to as the “crazy cousin”, defused a bomb someone had placed in their Miami facility about thirty years ago.

So on to the good stuff. The 45 is a Nicaraguan puro made from tobaccos aged at least ten years! Now that’s good anejamiento. It is being offered as a box-pressed, parejo (6 x 52 – Toro vitolla) in both natural and maduro, which frankly can’t be visibly differentiated. The appearance was beautiful. The wrapper was dark and consistent with no visible flaws. Its construction was just right; firm yet slightly flexible, and recovered immediately from the squeeze test, all characteristics of a high quality, well-made cigar. It also had a very interesting feel, not silky but perhaps best described as sleek with a fascinating texture that close examination revealed to cover the whole wrapper. I enjoyed the pre-light aroma very much, which can only be described as subtle and understated with a hint of sweetness.

I made a punch-cut and tested the draw, which was perfect. It offered just the right amount of resistance without effort and the draw-volume was excellent. It lit easily and evenly, signaling that the best was yet to come. From the very first puff the 45 was full-bodied, robust, balanced, and strong, but in no way overpowering. It produced copious amounts of thick, blue-grey smoke, characteristic of quality tobacco, that you didn’t want to blow out as much as let it just roll out of your mouth. It had a creamy overall mouth-feel while producing a spicy tingle all around the tongue. It burned evenly without any problems or even a re-light and produced an attractive, firm and dense, light-grey ash with dark undertones. As it continued to smoke, the flavor and strength mellowed but lost none of the complexity or balance all the way to the end, and I smoked it down to the nub. Jorge told me he smoked about one thousand cigars while trying to reach the right balance and flavor for the 45. It shows because in my opinion, this cigar has umami.

My overall opinion of the Padron Family Reserve No. 45 is that it is an outstanding cigar. I recommend you enjoy it slowly and on a full stomach because the strength in the beginning was undeniable. It is complex and balanced throughout and deserves your attention while being smoked. In my area, after taxes they came out to $27 and change each. I really wanted to buy a whole box and let them continue to age in my humidor but I just couldn’t get away with it right now so I grabbed a handful and will be sorry to see the last one go. Bravo-Zulo to the Padron family for the 45.

I wish you Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

BEER REVIEW: Clipper City - Prosit Imperial Octoberfest Lager

The next in Clipper City's Mutiny Fleet is their Prosit - Imperial Octoberfest Lager. They describe it as being a "malt focused Marzen style" and call it the "burly big brother" to their Marz-Hon. Yes it is a play on words and you sort of have to be from around here to get it so you can contact me if you are that curious about it.

Prosit is made with three kinds of hops and five kinds of malts, including Vienna and Munich, and is 9% ABV / 20 IBU. It poured with a pretty amber color, a nice malty aroma, and not much of a head. The first taste revealed a sweet malty flavor to go along with the aroma, and surprisingly a nice hoppy bite in contrast. It had a creamy overall mouthfeel complimented by a pleasant tingle around the tongue. As it drank it began to reveal the slightest citrus flavor and didn't leave much lace behind.

This was a good, flavorful beer with nice balance. It was consistent with the Marzen style but had a nice twist of its own added by the folks at Clipper City. I recommend it but you better move fast because the Mutiny Fleet is a limited release.

BEER REVIEW: Southern Tier Brewing Company - Imperial Pumking Pumpkin Ale

Well, Fall is closing fast so I figured I would venture into the new seasonal brews, starting with a pumpkin ale. This is a rather uniquely American style descended from out forefathers. Early Americans used to make various types of beers brewed with different things that were available to them. Several craft breweries continue to make their own versions today but the trick is to find one where the pumpkin and / or spice doesn't overwhelm the beer.

The one that I'm starting with is Southern Tier Brewing Company's - Imperial Pumking Pumpkin Ale. It is brewed with 2-row pale malt, caramel malt, pureed pumpkin, magnum kettle hops and sterling aroma hops. They recommend you enjoy it chilled to 40 degrees F and served in a goblet.

It poured with a beautiful golden-copper color with a minimal but creamy head which laid down quickly. It had a very pleasant pumpkin pie aroma, which while obvious, was not overpowering or sickly-sweet. It had a nice, spicy (not pumpkin) flavor and gave a pleasant tingle on the tongue with a borderline tingly-creamy mouth-feel on the cheeks. The flavor was good throughout and the strength was such that it gave me more than a mild euphoric feeling which was closer to pleasant buzz.

I definitely enjoyed this beer. It is certainly worth trying if you are one of those people who are interested in trying something different, but cringe a little when you hear pumpkin and beer in the same sentence. Its not what you might think, but don't wait too long, its a seasonal.