Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
The new line is called Mas Igneus, which comes from a Catalan expression meaning “house of ignition” and which is shared by a winery in the Priorat region of Spain. If the name sounds familiar, ACE Prime’s president and co-founder, Luciano Meirelles, is a partner in the winery along with Jerome and Ornella Valcke, and in November 2021, the trio announced they had created a wine to complement ACE Prime’s Luciano The Dreamer cigar.
Now, a cigar is being created to pair with a wine, and instead of simply offering a balanced flavor profile, the tobacco has been selected for its pH balance, which is a measure of how much acidity or alkalinity something has.
The Mas Igneus blend features a high priming, Ecuadorian corojo 98 wrapper, a Brazilian binder, and fillers from Nicaragua. The tobaccos in the filler were selected for offering a balanced pH level that is designed to not only create an outstanding cigar on its own, but one that is designed to be a perfect match for the “M” wine from the Mas Igneus winery. To do that, Meirelles and the ACE Prime team adapted a chemistry kit to help them select filler tobaccos that match the pH of the wine.
“We are thrilled with all of our joint projects,” Meirelles said in a press release. “Blending a cigar and winemaking are independently captivating processes, but to work jointly on this, it’s simply been a remarkable journey; searching for a balanced pH in the combined leaves was an interesting journey to say the least.”
But the pairing capability of the Mas Igneus blend is not limited to just that wine; Meirelles told halfwheel that it would be well complemented by other denser wines with higher tannin levels such as Malbecs, cabernet sauvignon, Grenaches, shiraz and Bordeaux. He described it as a very meaty cigar that is “almost a meal” when it comes to the density and texture of its smoke.
Mas Igneus will be offered in four vitolas, all of which are offered in 20-count boxes:
Mas Igneus Short Robusto (4 1/2 x 50) — $11.95 (Box of 20, $239)
Mas Igneus Toro (6 x 52) — $12.45 (Box of 20, $249) REVIEWED TODAY
Mas Igneus Ancho (5 x 54) — $12.95 (Box of 20, $259)
Mas Igneus Excelente (6 x 60) — $13.45 (Box of 20, $269)
The cigar is a reddish brown and has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were orange citrus, light citrus peel, brown sugar, cinnamon, and earthly leather. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. Nice start.
At the first third (24 minutes) I had the same flavor notes and now there is the additional flavor of light toffee. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a touch of citrus and leather with good lingering black pepper. The flavors are working well together. I rated the first third 95.
As I moved through the second third (45 minutes) the earthiness increased. I had a muffled citrus, light brown sugar, and leather. The earthiness took away a lot of the nice notes. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. I rated the second third 91.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 6 minutes. The earthiness decreased a little allowing the citrus to come out. There are now light cedar notes, brown sugar, light toffee, and leather. The finish is leather with very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The cigar got a little better with the decrease in earthiness. I rated the final third 92. Pretty good cigar.
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