Byron 20th Century

Today’s Featured Cigar:

Byron 20th Century Habaneros

The Cigar: 

This cigar is simply impressive and addictive. There is not a lot of information out about the blend itself but there are three district styles in this series. ⁠

Byron 19th Century | White Boxes: Old School Cuban style cigars. Dark, dirty and spicy. Perfect for bolder Nicaraguan smokers that want more refinement. ⁠

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Byron 20th Century | Yellow Boxes: Softer and more complex. Very similar to modern day Cuban cigars with notes of stone and minerals. ⁠

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Byron 21st Century | Black Boxes: Full Flavor that is balanced across your entire palate. The future of blended cigars, this is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

The Flavor: 

The cigar is full of sweet cedar and hay with minor dried fruit undertones. The biggest thing about this cigar is the complexity and depth it has from start to finish.

The Bottle: 

The bottle of @whistlepigwhiskey is a barrel selection from our friends at @carothersws a couple years ago. The best part of this barrel pick is the added proof. Their standard 10 YR is right about 100 proof and this bottle sneaks up to over 116. That extra head goes a long way to create a bigger but elegant rye flavor profile.

The Pairing: 

This pairing is one of my favorites because of the sweet base line from both the cigar and the whiskey.  The Rye in this whiskey creates a more aggressive spice element in the cigars, it adds richness and depth to the experience.

The Story: 

Two Cousins Started the Brand Lord Byron in 1850 named after the world renowned Poet. They were one of the first in their region of Cuba and won the appreciation of many due to their quality blends and modern/elegant packaging. ⁠

The problem was not making a cigar, the problem was not even selling cigars. The biggest problem these gentleman had was they were tobacco guys, learned from the farms and factories. They were not business guys, they over leveraged and built a big new factory that they could no longer pay for. They were forced to sell and close their operations. Many years later, one of their Great-Great-Grandsons Nelson Alfanso bought the rights to the brand and brought it back into their family name. Moved the operations to Costa Rica in 1999 and starting producing these soon to be world famous cigars. ⁠

Davidoff Nicaragua Box Press

Today’s Featured Cigar:

Davidoff Nicaragua Box Pressed

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The Cigar:

The second rendition of the Nicaragua expansion by Davidoff Cigars. With this Box Pressed version they changed the wrapper into a Habano Oscuro from Jalapa with a mix of Nicaraguan fillers. This blend comes in only Box Pressed Toro & Robusto. 

The Flavors:

Similar but more of what you like. The additional ligero put in the fillers mixed with the lighter draw truly thickens the bold black pepper spice which is the dominate flavor of the cigar. This box pressed version also comes off a bit more sweet than the round counterpart. 

The Bottle: 

This skillfully crafted cognac is a blend of several crus with a perfect balance between Fins Bois, Grande and Petite Champagnes at the peak of their aromatic potential. It drinks very smooth with an excellent balance of oak and floral flavor that can be fully appreciated neat or mixed with ice and water. ⁠

The Pairing: 

The additional sweetness from the cognac is not necessarily needs but thoroughly enjoyed. It now explodes off the palate and creates a much deeper experience. It is steady and consistent from start to finish, but the balance of the two are sure to impress. 

The Story:

“Fire is not easily tamed, yet the Davidoff Master Blenders have done it. You can taste the heat and intensity of the rich, volcanic soil of Nicaragua but it has been softened to bitter sweet perfection. You will feel a fire to match the passion for fine cigars.”

This cigar is an elegant version of the region. 5 different tobaccos blended together to find the most refined experience produced with aggressive tobacco. 

Drew Estate Dirty Rat

Today’s Featured Cigar:
Liga Privada Dirty Rat

The Cigar:

This cigar features a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut & Cured Sun Grown Habano Wrapper, Brazilian binder and Nicaragua & Honduras fillers. The size only comes in the classic 5x44 corona and produced by Drew Estate Cigars in Nicaragua. This might be the longest name for a single tobacco leaf in the industry, but it is filled with a lot of great information. The Connecticut River Valley is a region in Connecticut USA where the Liga Privada tobacco was born 20 years ago. Stock cut and cured just means they do not pick individual leaves off this plant they chop the entire stock off when the plant is ready and start the curing process completely intact to that plant. This actually intensifies the tobacco because of all the remaining nutrients from the stock being poured into the tobacco during this process. The sun grown Habano means it was a Cuban seed That was grown in Connecticut, but this blend uses the top of the tobacco plant due to the higher exposure to sun rays. Sun grown also intensifies the flavor profile because it is the strongest tobacco on the plant.

The Pairing:

The flavor profile of the cigars truly magnificent. It is one of the most complex and interesting cigars I’ve ever experienced. The majority of flavors you get on the back half of your palate with dark cocoa, leather spice and hints of cedar. The nuances of the flavor profile come and go at first you start to get a little creaminess that pairs well with the dark chocolate flavors. But as you smoke the cigar the silkiness starts to fade and the charred oak notes start to shine. The brew comes from our friends up at Eighth & Roast and is one of my favorites to drink with a cigar. This bean is the Willows from Costa Rica. Notes fill your palate with citrus, cocoa and honey. This coffee is actually lighter roast than you would normally pair with such a full body scar. But the flavor profile is loud enough to cut through some of the notes of the blend, and the intensity of the coffee balances out some of the richness of the cigar. This brew and blend hair so well together it is an amazing way to start any day you get the chance.

The Story:⁠

The Dirty Rat is part of the Liga Privada series but in a different way. The most famous has been the original No. 9 blend but Drew Estate has made a few unbeilable variations usuing this these tobaccos. ⁠ "At this point, we have made 200 or more Liga Privada blends…There are probably nine or 10 of them so far that are exceptional….They’re cigars that work as a particular size, such as a lancero or Corona, with the blend being unique to that particular vitola. The Dirty Rat is a great example of this, so we have decided to introduce this as the first cigar in the Ünico line." - Steve Saka (President of DE at the time.)  ⁠ Liga Privada Unico Serie – a home for these unique ones. All of the cigars within this series are not only different in size and blend, but they are extra special, extremely limited and exceptionally delicious.⁠

Rocky ALR

Today’s Featured Cigar:

Rocky Patel Aged. Limited. Rare. No. 2

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The Cigar:

Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler. This is the second edition of the Rocky Patel ALR series. First Edition was made 2015 and released in 2017. This blend first hit the market in 2018 and is now a re-release of the same second edition. 

The Flavors:

This is the most flavorful and complex San Andrés on the market. It is full of baking spices instead of the classic chili spices you get from San Andrés tobacco. A mild sweetness shines on the end of the smoke that resembles more of a gram cracker and honey note.

The Bottle: 

“The Japanese characters for the skylark (hibari), the much-loved herald of spring in the East and West, and for this masterfully blended whisky.

Like the clear, exquisite song of a small bird, it features an agreeably pure, mellow flavour. Carefully selected unprocessed whiskies and pure, natural spring water are expertly blended to create this distinctive whisky.” This was the vision of Tenjaku Master Blender, Kenji Watanabe.

The Pairing: 

This experience is to bring out all of the flavors in the cigar. The soft and refined Japanese whiskey add a bit of smoke and a bit of stone to the palate that anchors throughout the pairing. Those notes also allow the baking spices of the cigar to shine even brighter. 

The Story:

Rocky Patel blended the cigars in 2016 at the TAVICUSA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, and they have been sitting in the factory’s aging rooms until their release to retail in early October. “We tell everyone it’s got a minimum of two years of age,” Nish Patel told halfwheel. “Rocky wants them to have a little more than what we tell people,” he added.

The Brand:

Rocky Patel is a company that covers all the bases in flavor profiles. It’s a premium, diverse company that makes something for everyone.

Rocky Patel has Connecticut, Sungrown, Maduro, Corojo, Sumatra, Habano, and Ecuadorian to name a few styles. The available size profiles also cover most consumer’s preferences, with Robusto, Toro, Churchill, and Gordo in almost all the blends. It is a brand that everyone can find something they love even if you don’t fall for them all. 

La Instructora Delicado

Today’s Featured Cigar:

La Instructora Delicado 

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The Cigar:

The Delicado was blended with those who prefer a more delicate nature to cigar smoking. The fruition of this blend resulted in a USA Connecticut wrapper, Sumatra binder and combination of Dominican filler tobaccos. This cigar comes in 6 different sizes from a small corona to a beautiful and long Presidente. Each one is constructed to perfection and is held at a very high standard when created each and every cigar. The US wrapper is thin and delicate but it shines in this blend. 

The Flavors:

This blend is delicate, obviously, but there is so much flavor still to be had. The major note of sweetness comes in waves on the palate as you smoke, continuing to get deeper and deeper. This is a sensitive cigar so watch the temperature and smoke time. If you pull too hard and smoke too fast the heat will take over the flavor, so take your time and enjoy. 

The Bottle: 

Château Ducasse Bordeaux Blanc is harvested in September. Vilification and aging takes place in stainless steel cuves for at least six months. It is then bottled unfiltered for a total production of 8,500 cases. The grapes used are 60% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc. 

The Pairing: 

On the palate, this wine is luscious and mouth coating with generous passion fruit and stone, and then the finish thickens and creates a chalk and acidity sensation. It has the classic Sauvignon Blanc notes of lime and grass with a more delicate approach, but unlike classic Sauv Blancs, this wine has a mineral shine. That stone flavors pairs perfectly with the wonderful sweetness that comes in layers from the US Grown Connecticut wrapper. The experience is all very delicate but there is a lot of flavor and complexity, it just takes a little bit more attention to detail. The dry wine brings the earth and salt note that rounds out the sweet and creamy cigar. The texture created by the two is silky smooth and continues to cover the palate hours after the cigar was out. 

The Story:

Aaron Saide came across the wrapper during the process of blending the cigar at Tabacalera Palma, with the leaf catching his attention both for its color and its sweet aroma. He told halfwheel that the creation of the cigar was about achieving balance and minimizing the lesser desired qualities of USA-grown Connecticut. To achieve that, a  binder and filler from the Dominican Republic were selected, both of which are grown by Jochy Blanco and have enough age on the leaves to provide balance to the wrapper. “Jochy achieved this blend,” Saide noted.

Saide said that while the cigar is smooth and on the milder side, the smoker never has to “reach for flavor.” He noted that there is no ligero in the blend, a decision made to ensure balance among the components.

The Man:

Jochy Blanco
The Godfather of tobacco. A true hoarder of the leaf. He is one of the largest cigar producers in the Dominican Republic and currently holds the largest collection of premium tobacco leafs.

He is fourth-generation tobacco grower, second-generation cigar maker and CEO of Tabacalera Palma.

His family’s tobacco-growing legacy began with his greatgrandfather, Manuel Blanco Lozada, who emigrated from Spain to the Dominican Republic in the mid-1800s. In 1925, Jochy’s father, José Arnaldo Blanco II, founded Tabacalera Palma, making him one of the country’s earliest cigar manufacturers.

“I’ve been involved with my father’s business since I was a kid,” says Jochy. “In 1980, I began to make changes, and started making different types of cigars for exportation. Before that, everything was local market only. So we went from being a mostly North American market company, to exporting Dominican-grown tobacco and cigars worldwide.” He knew that cigar smokers wanted a higher quality product, and he had the means to do it. “What you need are good growers, good tobacco, good fermentation, and good rollers,” says Jochy, who still ferments tobacco the way his grandfather did. “All of these processes, including the quality of the land and the leaf, come down to tradition. But the main thing is the passion you put into what you do.”

Jochy also buys tobacco from farms once subcontracted by Jochy’s father, Arnaldo. Some of these growers are third generation, and Jochy continues the tradition because it’s good for the growers, the business, and the Dominican economy. Of all the independent tabaqueros in the Dominican Republic, Jochy is arguably the country’s biggest grower and buyer.