Weekend review; April 24 & 25, 2010

We finally got some much needed rain on Saturday so my yard work was very selective. I did a little maintenance on some crepe myrtles in the back yard but that's about it. I had mentioned on Facebook that I was going to have a cigar in honor of Mr. Alejandro Robaina who passed away last Saturday, April 17th. He was the owner of the Vegas Robaina cigar company which is a Cuban cigar manufacturer. Mr. Robaina is the only person to have a Cuban cigar named for them; the Don Alejandro. I decided to have one of these cigars as a way to honor him. He was 91 years old when he died.
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The review line-up for this weekend:

• Vegas Robaina Don Alejandro
• Savinelli Special Selection 2005 torpedo
• Miura Connecticut torpedo

Saturday, April 14th, 2010

Vegas Robaina Don Alejandro (7 5/8 x 49) [Cuban]
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Medium brown in color. This beauty is very dense to the feel. Quite spicy with roasted almond notes initially. Nice pepper noticed when blown through the nose. The finish is a mix of raw almonds and vanilla. Cinnamon noted @ 1" point. Medium to full bodied. At the midpoint the spicy cinnamon notes intensify. There are light sweet notes in the spice. The distinctive Cuban aroma became prominent around the midpoint. Simply amazing. The cigar maintained the intense cinnamon spice mixed with black pepper from the midpoint to the end. A fantastic cigar that lasted 2 hours 2o minutes!

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Score: 96

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Just before dinner I received a text message from Charlie Ruffalo. He was at Hemingways with 2 other guys. I decided to meet them right after dinner. Charlie, as you may know, is the franchise owner of Sub Station II. He was in town to meet up with Nik, a naval buddy who was having some training before heading out to Afghanistan. Along with Nik was Tom, a chaplain in the service who was getting ready to ship out to Kuwait. Here we are all together:

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(L-R) Nic, Tom, Charlie, me

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Sunday, April 25, 2010

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I decided to highlight some of the cigars we received at the South Carolina Sit Down that may not be as known as some others. Today I chose 2 to review; the Savinelli Special Selection 2005 torpedo and the Miura Connecticut torpedo.

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Savinelli Special Selection 2005 torpedo (6.5x54)

A dark cigar which has a Colorado maduro wrapper. Orange citrus spice with pepper and black coffee are the initial flavors. The finish is long with vanilla notes. The spice became sweet at the 1/3 point. Cinnamon noted in the final 1/3. Fairly full bodied. Here is a close-up of the band:

A very good cigar.

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Score: 91
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Miura Connecticut torpedo (6.5x52)

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Miura is a new company to me. It was suggested as a possible donor by Sid Ehrenreich, a cigar rep in New York who has helped set me up with a lot of manufacturers and distributors as donors to the SC Sit Down. These cigars are priced quite reasonably. I found that Holt's sells them. Here is a close-up of the band.

The cigar is a Connecticut shade wrapper that is quite nice looking. There was sweet spice with leather notes and light pepper initially. Light citrus notes on the spice. The finish is long with light peppery sweet vanilla notes. Unique flavor that is quite pleasing. Raw almonds noted after an inch or so. Medium bodied. Very good cigar. I'd like to hear from others who got this cigar at the Sit Down.

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Score: 91
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The biggest gage of how much I like a cigar is "would I buy it". Well, both of the above cigars fall into the "Yes" category. I enjoyed both of them very much.