Padron 4000
Today’s Featured Cigar:
Padron 4000 Natural
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The Cigar:
A beautifully balanced and full-bodied smoke of exceptional quality and value, the Padrón line is aged for a minimum of two-and-one-half years. As with all of their cigar offerings, this line is hand crafted using only sun-grown tobacco wrappers from Nicaragua. The 4000 is a 54x6 1/2 toro that is available in a Natural and Maduro wrapper.
The Flavors:
The Natural wrappers from Padron have strong earth and woody notes that are consistent not only throughout the blend, but throughout their entire portfolio. A mild saltiness covers the palate and lingers around after you smoke but the predominate flavor is black pepper and wood. This is not a cigar with transitions or deep complexity, this is a cigar that is consistently built with a baseline of flavor from the Nicaraguan region.
The Bottle:
Nicaragua- American-Style Lager- Toña Cerveza is a smooth premium lager beer. Its exceptionally balanced flavor and rich body are sure to satisfy even the most demanding tastes. The beer is unique and reflects a world of exotic adventure and wonder. Toña reflects and identifies the Nicaraguan culture, and the passion and pride of its roots and traditions.
The Pairing:
Two Nicaraguan products that are at the top of their industries. A cold beer and premium cigar is hardly a unique pairing, but this one is a instant classic. Everything you want from an affordable and relaxing experience, you can rely on these two to consistently give you exactly what you are looking for. The salty and woody cigar match with the delicate sweet of the beer to create a fantastic texture on the palate. Instead of adding to the bitterness like a to of domestic beers, this one creates balance.
The Man:
Jose Padron
The founder of Padron Cigars, José Padrón, was born in Cuba and raised on the family tobacco farm. He grew up around the crop in all its forms, from seed to smoking. His upbringing ultimately led him to open his first factory in Miami, 1964. It wasn’t until three years later when he started importing tobacco from Nicaragua that he saw his business double.
His popularity exploded during the cigar boom in the 1990’s with the introduction of the popular 1964 and 1926 Series. In addition to being regarded as a top premium cigar maker, José was active in community and in politics. He aided in the release of political prisoners in Cuba, and also started a foundation supporting health and education. The cigar legend passed away on December 5, 2017 in Miami at the age of 91.
The Brand:
Padron has a fully integrated approach to the cigar industry. Any cigar enthusiast can enjoy the brand at multiple different tiers and flavor profiles. They make a Natural and Maduro version of everything in their portfolio and then separate their tiers with different refinement levels. The most raw are the Thousand Series. Each number indicates a different size of the same blend. Our top selling cigar from this tier is the 4000 Maduro. Next is the 1964 Series with our most popular being the Exclusivo Natural. The 1926 is considered their most famous blend and our best is the No. 2 Torpedo. After the normal three blends they have the their top tier limited editions. My favorite of these are the Family Reserve 85th Natural, and the 50th Maduro. Experiment with each level of refinement and find your favorite!
Today’s Featured Cigar:
Padron 4000 Natural
••••••••
The Cigar:
A beautifully balanced and full-bodied smoke of exceptional quality and value, the Padrón line is aged for a minimum of two-and-one-half years. As with all of their cigar offerings, this line is hand crafted using only sun-grown tobacco wrappers from Nicaragua. The 4000 is a 54x6 1/2 toro that is available in a Natural and Maduro wrapper.
The Flavors:
The Natural wrappers from Padron have strong earth and woody notes that are consistent not only throughout the blend, but throughout their entire portfolio. A mild saltiness covers the palate and lingers around after you smoke but the predominate flavor is black pepper and wood. This is not a cigar with transitions or deep complexity, this is a cigar that is consistently built with a baseline of flavor from the Nicaraguan region.
The Bottle:
Nicaragua- American-Style Lager- Toña Cerveza is a smooth premium lager beer. Its exceptionally balanced flavor and rich body are sure to satisfy even the most demanding tastes. The beer is unique and reflects a world of exotic adventure and wonder. Toña reflects and identifies the Nicaraguan culture, and the passion and pride of its roots and traditions.
The Pairing:
Two Nicaraguan products that are at the top of their industries. A cold beer and premium cigar is hardly a unique pairing, but this one is a instant classic. Everything you want from an affordable and relaxing experience, you can rely on these two to consistently give you exactly what you are looking for. The salty and woody cigar match with the delicate sweet of the beer to create a fantastic texture on the palate. Instead of adding to the bitterness like a to of domestic beers, this one creates balance.
The Man:
Jose Padron
The founder of Padron Cigars, José Padrón, was born in Cuba and raised on the family tobacco farm. He grew up around the crop in all its forms, from seed to smoking. His upbringing ultimately led him to open his first factory in Miami, 1964. It wasn’t until three years later when he started importing tobacco from Nicaragua that he saw his business double.
His popularity exploded during the cigar boom in the 1990’s with the introduction of the popular 1964 and 1926 Series. In addition to being regarded as a top premium cigar maker, José was active in community and in politics. He aided in the release of political prisoners in Cuba, and also started a foundation supporting health and education. The cigar legend passed away on December 5, 2017 in Miami at the age of 91.
The Brand:
Padron has a fully integrated approach to the cigar industry. Any cigar enthusiast can enjoy the brand at multiple different tiers and flavor profiles. They make a Natural and Maduro version of everything in their portfolio and then separate their tiers with different refinement levels. The most raw are the Thousand Series. Each number indicates a different size of the same blend. Our top selling cigar from this tier is the 4000 Maduro. Next is the 1964 Series with our most popular being the Exclusivo Natural. The 1926 is considered their most famous blend and our best is the No. 2 Torpedo. After the normal three blends they have the their top tier limited editions. My favorite of these are the Family Reserve 85th Natural, and the 50th Maduro. Experiment with each level of refinement and find your favorite!
Plasencia Alma de Fuego
Today’s Featured Cigar:
Plasencia Alma del Fuego
••••••••
The Cigar:
The “Soul of Fire” Alma del Fuego radiates passion and highlights the strong character of the volcanic soil that stems from the Ometepe Island witch makes up about 75% of the blend. This is a Nicuraguan Puro with a Sun-grown wrapper from the fields of Jalapa Valley that were carefully selected to complement the cigar with a sweet character. Nestor Andres Plasencia says this new cigar combines the fire from the ground (as in the volcanic soil in which the tobacco is grown) and the fire from the sky (the abundant sunlight that nurtures the plants).
The Flavors:
The cigar offers a hint of spice throughout the entire experience. It is complemented by floral notes and savoy roasted cashews. It is big and bold and covers the palate with force.
The Bottle:
Papa’s Pilar 24 Dark Rum from Key West, Fl always has a special place on the shelf. It is incredibly complex in flavor and adds a new detention the the pairing. This rum has deep notes of vanilla, maple, sherry and port. it coats your mouth with a thick syrup like texture with a long and robust finish.
This brand was created to capture the spirit of adventure. “A rum as bold, yet nuanced as Papa Hemingway himself. Papa’s Pilar was born from a complex creative process inspired by his artistic expression.”
The Pairing:
Loud can be refined, that is exactly what comes to mind during the pairing. It is bold. It is loud. And it is complex. The most impressive part is how balanced both of these full boded consumables truly are.
The Story:
The Plasencia family has been one of the world’s leading growers of premium tobacco since 1865, when Don Eduardo Plasencia began growing tobacco in Cuba. Now in the fifth generation of tobacco cultivation, the Plasencias have continued this legacy in Nicaragua, including the pioneering of premium tobacco on the Ometepe island in the 1990s.
Today’s Featured Cigar:
Plasencia Alma del Fuego
••••••••
The Cigar:
The “Soul of Fire” Alma del Fuego radiates passion and highlights the strong character of the volcanic soil that stems from the Ometepe Island witch makes up about 75% of the blend. This is a Nicuraguan Puro with a Sun-grown wrapper from the fields of Jalapa Valley that were carefully selected to complement the cigar with a sweet character. Nestor Andres Plasencia says this new cigar combines the fire from the ground (as in the volcanic soil in which the tobacco is grown) and the fire from the sky (the abundant sunlight that nurtures the plants).
The Flavors:
The cigar offers a hint of spice throughout the entire experience. It is complemented by floral notes and savoy roasted cashews. It is big and bold and covers the palate with force.
The Bottle:
Papa’s Pilar 24 Dark Rum from Key West, Fl always has a special place on the shelf. It is incredibly complex in flavor and adds a new detention the the pairing. This rum has deep notes of vanilla, maple, sherry and port. it coats your mouth with a thick syrup like texture with a long and robust finish.
This brand was created to capture the spirit of adventure. “A rum as bold, yet nuanced as Papa Hemingway himself. Papa’s Pilar was born from a complex creative process inspired by his artistic expression.”
The Pairing:
Loud can be refined, that is exactly what comes to mind during the pairing. It is bold. It is loud. And it is complex. The most impressive part is how balanced both of these full boded consumables truly are.
The Story:
The Plasencia family has been one of the world’s leading growers of premium tobacco since 1865, when Don Eduardo Plasencia began growing tobacco in Cuba. Now in the fifth generation of tobacco cultivation, the Plasencias have continued this legacy in Nicaragua, including the pioneering of premium tobacco on the Ometepe island in the 1990s.
La Instructora Perfeccion Invicto
Today’s Featured Cigar:
La Instructora Perfeccion Invicto
The Cigar:
This blend is adventurous and exciting every time you smoke it. The reddish brown color from the wrapper from from the Ecuadorian Habano Rosado which brings the power and complexity to the entire blend. The binder and fillers are a blend of Dominican tobaccos that are all grown by Jochy Blanco (The god father of tobacco). The five sizes of this blend vary greatly, each one delivering a different experience. This is truly a cigar that you should try multiple times to fully appreciate the craftsmanship and complex blending philosophies.
The Flavor:
Very woody, cedar, bright and red pepper spice, milk chocolate undertones. The spice of this cigar hits hard as your start to smoke it, but as it burns and developed a small amount of acidity and sweetness start to rise to balance the experience and deliver a cool and clean finish.
The Cocktail:
The world famous Negroni has made its way though cocktail bars and spirit nerds for decades. It is a staple in some of the best bars in the world. This Italian cocktail was invented in 1919 Florence Italy. Count Camillo Negroni asked his friend and bartender, Forsco Scarselli to strengthen his favorite cocktail (the Americano) by replacing the soda water with gin.
1 part Campari
1 part sweet vermouth
1 part gin
Stir, rocks glass, orange peel garnish
Campari: Italian aperitif, an infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water, 48 proof
Sweet vermouth: Fortified wine, (fortified typically with added clear brandy) flavored with herbs. This red vermouth gets its color not from the white grapes of origin, but from the added caramelized sugar, 30 proof
Gin: distilled grain spirits infused with juniper berries, other botanicals, orange peels, etc, 80 proof
The Pairing:
Bitter focus on both the cigar and the cocktail, but both are balanced by the sweetness of the vermouth and the acidity of the cigar and the orange garnish. The gin has a bright botanical base but with dark fruit notes underneath with brings the intensity up to match the vivid flavors of the cigar. This cocktail and cigar are perfectly balanced with a wild flavor profile, a true acquired taste combination.
The Story:
This cigar was one of the 3,000 test blend from another project. La Instructora was born due to the strange tobaccos and vivid flavor profiles used in this blend but it did not fit with any other branding. Jochy Blanco is often referred to as the Instructor of his factory, always passing knowledge and passion down the chain of command. They honored that tradition with a brand like no one has seen before. The cigar experience matches perfectly with the artistic band which resembles a chaotic but beautiful painting from Jason Pollock.
Today’s Featured Cigar:
La Instructora Perfeccion Invicto
The Cigar:
This blend is adventurous and exciting every time you smoke it. The reddish brown color from the wrapper from from the Ecuadorian Habano Rosado which brings the power and complexity to the entire blend. The binder and fillers are a blend of Dominican tobaccos that are all grown by Jochy Blanco (The god father of tobacco). The five sizes of this blend vary greatly, each one delivering a different experience. This is truly a cigar that you should try multiple times to fully appreciate the craftsmanship and complex blending philosophies.
The Flavor:
Very woody, cedar, bright and red pepper spice, milk chocolate undertones. The spice of this cigar hits hard as your start to smoke it, but as it burns and developed a small amount of acidity and sweetness start to rise to balance the experience and deliver a cool and clean finish.
The Cocktail:
The world famous Negroni has made its way though cocktail bars and spirit nerds for decades. It is a staple in some of the best bars in the world. This Italian cocktail was invented in 1919 Florence Italy. Count Camillo Negroni asked his friend and bartender, Forsco Scarselli to strengthen his favorite cocktail (the Americano) by replacing the soda water with gin.
1 part Campari
1 part sweet vermouth
1 part gin
Stir, rocks glass, orange peel garnish
Campari: Italian aperitif, an infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water, 48 proof
Sweet vermouth: Fortified wine, (fortified typically with added clear brandy) flavored with herbs. This red vermouth gets its color not from the white grapes of origin, but from the added caramelized sugar, 30 proof
Gin: distilled grain spirits infused with juniper berries, other botanicals, orange peels, etc, 80 proof
The Pairing:
Bitter focus on both the cigar and the cocktail, but both are balanced by the sweetness of the vermouth and the acidity of the cigar and the orange garnish. The gin has a bright botanical base but with dark fruit notes underneath with brings the intensity up to match the vivid flavors of the cigar. This cocktail and cigar are perfectly balanced with a wild flavor profile, a true acquired taste combination.
The Story:
This cigar was one of the 3,000 test blend from another project. La Instructora was born due to the strange tobaccos and vivid flavor profiles used in this blend but it did not fit with any other branding. Jochy Blanco is often referred to as the Instructor of his factory, always passing knowledge and passion down the chain of command. They honored that tradition with a brand like no one has seen before. The cigar experience matches perfectly with the artistic band which resembles a chaotic but beautiful painting from Jason Pollock.
Atabey
It all begins with an idea.
United Cigars - Atabey
The Cigar:
The ATABEY cigars are produced in limited quantities by the "Selected Tobacco" factory in Costa Rica. The leaves of these cigars have many origins, they are from caribbean and central america countries. This cigar is an ultra premium blend that has been aged five years after it’s rolled. Through that process the flavors become incredibly delicate and well rounded on the pallet. The majority of the cigar has notes of sweet hay, dried candy fruit with a minor oak spice on the finish.
The Man:
Nelson Alfonso is the founder of Golden Age Visual Developers (GAVD), a design firm that is credited with some of Habanos S.A.’s most iconic designs of the last decade including the BHK Behike, Gran Reserva, and Humitube packaging. His work with Habanos ranges from branding to design to porcelain ashtrays to an expansive photography book and then some. His client list is a veritable who’s who of Habanos S.A. and their most prominent distributors, as well as Padrón, for which GAVD manufactured the company’s 50th anniversary humidor. He also founded Selected Tobacco S.A., a company’s who portfolio includes three cigar brands—all of which look like they could be part of the Habanos S.A. portfolio: Atabey, Bandolero, and Byron.
The Bottle:
Green Chartreuse is the only liqueur in the world with a completely natural green color It is powerful and unique. Only two Chartreuse monks know the identity of the 130 plants, how to blend them and how to distill them into this world famous liqueur. They are also the only ones who know which plants they have to macerate to produce the natural green and yellow colors. And they alone supervise the slow aging in oak casks.
The Pairing:
This is a combination that is truly unpredictable and interesting. The Atabey has some of the earthy mineral qualities that pairs so well with the botanical notes on the chartreuse. Both can be enjoyed while sitting back in a very relaxed setting.
The Story:
Atabey: Supreme deity of the Taino Indians. It was the name of a female divinity of the extinct Taino people, who occupied a large part of the Caribbean islands. In Taino mythology, Atabey was the first female in the world and was the mother of Yucahu, the main male god of the Tainos. Besides being the mother goddess, was Atabey divinity of the Moon, the Sea of Fertility and Birth, Her figure is also associated as "Mother of Waters", associating it with rivers, lakes and seas to give life to the cultivation of cassava, tobacco and agriculture in general.
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
It all begins with an idea.
Today’s Featured Cigar:
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
The Cigar:
The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos line of cigars is a testament to excellence. Carlos Fuente Jr. blended the cigar to honor his father, Fuente patriarch Carlos Fuente Sr., for whom the cigar is named. The cigar has long been prized for its flavor and consistency. The cigars are wrapped in toothy Cameroon harvested from Western Africa. The filler and binder leaves include some of the oldest tobaccos in Fuente's extensive and massive tobacco inventory. The No. 2, which first hit the market in 1997, is a considerably fat pyramid, with a portly 55 ring gauge.
A rich, African Cameroon wrapper over vintage Dominican filler give way to flavors both complex and refined. The slightly sweet flavor produced by the select African Cameroon wrapper is in perfect balance with the savory aroma. Flawless construction, a hallmark of Tabacalera A. Fuente, ensures an even burn and smooth draw, unquestionably among the world’s most elite cigars.
The Bottle:
Double Rye is a blend of two different rye whiskeys. It is also crafted to be twice as spicy (think cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) as your average rye whiskey. The younger rye is produced on a column still and tastes of cinnamon, clove, anise, eucalyptus buttons, and evergreen “gin-like” flavors. The older rye made using a pot still adds a richer, bolder character and just enough caramel sweetness and woody vanilla richness to calm the “bite” of the younger rye. The resulting combination is bold, balanced, complex and perfect for mixing.
The Brand:
High West is Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870 and the world’s only ski-in gastro-distillery. If you find yourself in Old Town Park City, please stop (or ski) by to visit us. We’d love to share our passions with you: the American West, our contemporary western victuals, American roots music, and of course, pairing all the above with our greatest passion – superb whiskey. Better yet, you ought to come out to our distillery in the mountains of Wanship, Utah. It’s a celebration of cowboys and the American West.
The Story:
Named in honor of its legendary creator and Fuente family patriarch Carlos Fuente, Sr., Arturo Fuente Don Carlos cigars are one of the world's finest smokes. To create this masterpiece, Carlos Fuente, Sr. blended together rare, vintage tobaccos that were hand selected and aged as much as 10 years. These cigars are rich and flavorful, with flawless African Cameroon wrappers, making them as appealing to the eye as they are to the palette. Because of the select tobacco required, these cigars are released in limited quantities and are among the finest cigars rolled at Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. In every way possible, Carlos Fuente, Sr. strives to attain the ultimate in rich flavor, flawless wrapper color and superior construction in every cigar that bears his name. "My dream wasn't to be the biggest," says Don Carlos, "just the best."