Boutique Wednesday Cigar Review: Cigar.com Cameroon Label

Size: 5×50, Robusto

Wrapper: West African Cameroon

Filler: Dominican

Strength: Medium

Price: Box of 20, $45.95 at Cigar.com

Grade: 8.2

Packed in boxes of 20 and available in 4 sizes, the Cameroon Label does not stray far from the Cigar.com House Blends lineup. Another stick produced at the famed Tabadom Factory, the folks at Cigar.com recommend this stick to lovers of the Fuente Don Carlos and Hemingway, Partagas, or Romeo y Julieta. I will say that this stick reminded me a bit of the RyJ 1875. Billed as a solid medium, the Cameroon is protected by a unique West African wrapper and is filled with Dominican tobacco.

This completes our series of reviews on the Cigar.com House Blends. To view the other six blends, click on their link: Blue, Brazilian, Corojo, Cuban, Purple, and Red.

Now, on to the toasting.

Pre-light, 1.5:
The aroma on the Cameroon was of clean and sweet tobacco, similar to that of polished furniture in an antique shop. The aroma was a bit sweeter at the foot and mellowed toward the head. The cold draw produced some very sweet notes complemented by a raw sugar undertone. The exterior was pretty rugged, with a ragged cap and a dry wrapper that seemed to lack any oils. There was however no soft spots to speak of and minimal veins showed up on this medium dark wrapper. The wrapper was simple and didn’t exactly excite you about toasting it.

Burn, 1.8:
The Cameroon had an excellent draw and was not quite as loose as the other Cigar.com House Blends have been; the burn is also a bit slower. There is a great hold to the ash with a nicely stacked white ash. There was no touch up required on the Cameroon and the straight edged ring of ash held well throughout.

Flavor, 2.3:
The first third of this smoke felt a bit empty on flavor with just a mild sweetness dominating the smoke—this is to be expected in some smokes but not in a cigar billed as a solid medium. As the stick progressed, only a minimal body arrived and it remained consistently smooth, reminding me a bit of the Cu-Avana Maduro. The final two inches of the smoke burned bitter and a bit hot and I would definitely not classify this a being a solid medium, perhaps a Mild-Medium would be most appropriate.

Overall, 2.6:
On the plus side, I will say that at times this stick reminded me a bit of the RyJ 1875 and so, in some ways, it is as advertised. Once again, this is an excellent value at around $2.25 a stick. Given the improved appearance and burn, this stick stands above the other C.com House blends in these categories, though it fails to keep the high standards in the flavor profile. The flavor never materialized for me but it was a good Mild-Medium smoke that would accompany you well during yard work. I enjoyed this stick to the nub and at this price point I do recommend this stick, despite the low-8 score.

(Total: 8.2)

Question of the Day: How much does price affect your cigar purchases?

Toast of the Week (3/9/10)

This has been an exciting week as buzz continues for the quarter one releases of 2010; the first two have already arrived, the El Triunfador and  Nestor Miranda Dominicano, andAVO LE10 and Nosotros should be just around the corner! It looks like we’ll be making a trip North to Atlanta to check out some of the B&M’s!

The Spring weather that has graced Georgia over the last week or two has allowed some extra outdoor smoking and it has been a great change of pace! The Cigarpass of 2010 finally made its way back to the original passer, so I’d like to give a big shout out to Barry, Lindsay, and Tony for getting this started – great job everyone!

Now, on to the Toasts!

• Ed with Cigar Inspector lights up the Liga Privada No. 9 Toro. He gives it a perfect rating, but does he justify it? Toast it here.
• Brooks over at The Smoking Stogie proves once again that he has the largest cigar budget around. His latest post shows off his recent acquisitions. You’ll be amazed! Toast it here.
• The Perfect Draw, whose tag line is “Smoking Cigars for the Children”, takes on the Camacho Select, for the children, of course. Toast it here.
• Cigar Jack completes a Cigar Chat via Twitter on the Jameson Declaration – get 8 opinions on this relatively new cigar. Toast it here.
• Finally, I’m not sure that we ever gave a toast to Cigar Stash. This is a great new site that has a searchable database of online cigar sales. It also has a feed for some of the more popular cigar blogs. Toast it here.

Cigar Review: Don Pepin Garcia Vegas Cubanas

Size: 5×50, Robusto (Invictos)

Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Habano Rosado Claro)

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan (’99 Corojo)

Strength: Medium

Price: Box of 25, $154.95

Grade: 8.7

The Vegas Cubanas from Don Pepin Garcia is one of Pepin’s first blends and is currently produced at his Miami factory, El Rey de Los Habanos. It is comprised of Cuban-seed tobacco from a 1999 crop for which there is some secrecy attached to. Its medium body sets it apart from other Pepin blends, for which we lesser-bodied smokers are thankful for! Though the VC is one of his first blends, it is very easy to come by online, in both boxes and five packs.

We all know plenty about Don Pepin Garcia, so let’s get on to the toast!

Pre-light, 1.8:
This Don Pepin beauty was pure class from top to bottom, starting with a triple cap and an elegant label. The Rosado wrapper had a wonderful red hue to it with no discolorations. The construction was great as well, with no soft spots, minimal veins, and a well formed foot—classic Pepin quality. The aroma was of sweet cedar, slight earth, and a bit of spice that seemed to linger longer than the other smells. The draw was a little loose and had some unannounced flavors, even a bit bland. After several cold draws, I eventually was able to pick up some sweet and earthy profiles but mostly it was empty.

Burn, 1.6:
The draw was fairly loose and started off with a quick burn. The smoke was very thick and had a nice billow to it. The ash was very nicely colored but had no hold to it and flaked along the edges for the duration of the smoke. The burn was even and the smoke pulled a little dry even though it has been properly stored for several months. From the two thirds mark forward there were some issues with the burn and I had to perform one re-light. Not a terrible burn experience, but not up to what I’m accustomed to with Don Pepin’s cigars.

Flavor, 2.6:
As to be expected, the Vegas Cubanas throws you back with spice in the first few puffs, but it quickly mellowed out, setting it aside from most Pepin smokes. In some regards, the flavor on this stick reminded me of the Tabacos Baez (review), another medium bodied Pepin blend. The first third kept a bit of the spicy tingle on the tongue but mostly mellowed into a nice earthiness with an ample amount of cream. The second third didn’t provide much transition other than a bit of fruit on the edges of the smoke; the finish was less pronounced during this portion of the cigar as well. The final third provided a momentary return of spice, but only enough to remind you of the transition. It finished with the classic Nicaraguan flavor profile of earth and cream and had a smoky and grainy undertone.

Overall, 2.7:
Locally, this stick was $7.70, which is a bit strong for what you are getting in my opinion, but with a box purchase you can get the price down to around $6 a stick. On a blind test, you’d write down DPG pretty quickly; the construction was fairly spot on, the burn had some issues toward the end, and the flavor had some nice complexity to it. If this stick jumped down a bit in price it would fly more closely to my radar, but right now I’d pass on it.

Question of the Day: What is your take on a company that puts out multiple blends each year, such as Don Pepin Garcia and Rocky Patel? Do they risk diluting their reputation?

(Total: 8.7)