JC Newman

September 26, 2010

Weekend review/Camacho event; September 24-26, 2010

Friday night was the Camacho cigar event at the Maduro Room in Lexington, SC. Zev Kaminetsky, Camacho rep, was in attendance. Good crowd in attendance.


Zev



Mike




Grady Marsh, shop owner 


Zev helping customers


Steve at the bar


Connie and Mr. Bob

Barrett




Team Maduro Room; Grady, Steve, and Mike

Me with Zev


Mike taking his own pics

Checking out the results



Good time at The Maduro Room. Thanks to Zev and Camacho for a nice evening.

This weekend I'm reviewing a couple cigars from Cigars Direct. They are 2 very prized cigars by the cigar enthusiast; the Ashton ESG 20 year salute churchill and 22 year salute torpedo. The ESG story is quite interesting. Basically, it is a celebration of 25 years of Ashton cigars. ESG stands for estate sun grown. The wrapper is not used on any other cigar. I am reviewing these cigars on different days to give the best review I can.

This weekend's cigars are:
  • Ashton ESG churchill
  • Perdomo Patriarch corojo torpedo
  • Ashton ESG torpedo


Saturday, Sepember 25, 2010

Ashton ESG churchill (6 3/4x49)



Reddish brown color. Very smooth peppery cinnamon spice. There are interesting sweet notes in the spice. There are actually hints of cherry in the spice! First time I can remember saying that about a cigar. The finish is long with sweet almond notes and light pepper. Very light gray ash. These cigars are quite pricey. They would probably be used as a celebratory type cigar or special occasion cigar. After an inch or so there are raw almond notes in the spice. Medium bodied at best. At the midpoint I noted light citrus notes. I can still pick out all the other flavors that I previously noted. One of the best things about this cigar is the finish. It coats the entire palate and you can taste it all across your tongue.


Nice cigar; not overpowering but has nice flavor. The price might keep some from trying it but this would make a nice special occasion cigar.

Score: 87




Perdomo Patriarch corojo torpedo (6 1/2 x 54)


Dark brown, beautifully made cigar. Very dense feeling. Draw is very good. First draws had nice, dark leather notes. Amazing, sweet cinnamon spice with tons of black pepper. There are also black coffee notes. The cigar produces a ton of smoke. The finish is long with sweet raw almonds and lingering black pepper with hints of black coffee. After an inch there are vanilla notes in the finish. Perdomo is making some great cigars right now; the Champagne, Patriarch, and others. I am impressed at what they are doing. This cigar appears to also be a winner. The heavy pepper in the sweet spice is so nice. This particular cigar has cinnamon spice and it works! Anyone who is a fan of corojo cigars will like this cigar. The cigar doesn't change but that's ok; it's great the way it is! This Perdomo did not disappoint. Another winner!

Score: 92



Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ashton ESG torpedo (6x52)


The draw is much better with this cigar than with the churchill. Initially, I can detect citrus and cinnamon in the spice with hints of leather and almonds. The pepper is very good; again, much better than with the churchill. It makes you wonder how 2 cigars from the same brand could be so different. There is a nice sweetness in the spice too. The burn is very even. I can't emphasise enough how different this cigar is from the churchill. I also can't explain where all the semi-sweet grapefruit citrus comes from. At the midpoint there is vanilla in the spice. The finish is long with sweet citrus/vanilla notes with lingering pepper. Medium bodied that works it's way toward full. Good cigar. MUCH better than the churchill. I would definitely recommend this cigar as a special occasion cigar. Keep in mind this cigar will run in excess of $20, so be prepared. I really enjoyed it.

Score: 91

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