Sunday, January 6, 2013

Alan Rubin has come a long way in 16 years. He first joined the cigar business in 1996, selling a cigar brand designed for sale at golf courses. It didn’t succeed. Rubin had left the family fastener business for something he enjoyed: selling cigars. He named his young company after his two sons, Alec and Bradley, but struggled to find his way. Deep in debt, he realized he had to be in premium cigar stores. He gained a measure of popularity by selling cigars in bundles.

Trying to find an edge in an industry that was going through difficult times, he showed signs of innovation early with the release of a cigar with a triangular shape, a first for the cigar business. In 2007 he finally hit his stride with the creation of Alec Bradley Tempus, a heavy-bodied cigar that brought his best ratings to date as well as industry buzz.

Two years later, he created a blend called Alec Bradley Prensado. Rubin had smoked a very dark wrapper leaf grown in a region of southern Honduras called Trojes and decided to build a cigar brand around it, using Central American tobacco exclusively. And what a cigar he made. The brand hit the market in 2009 and was acclaimed from the very beginning. In a vertical brand tasting in Cigar Insider of the five original sizes, each scored 91 points or more and earned our accolade of Humidor Selection.

The Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill, made at the superb Raices Cubanas factory in Danlí, Honduras, is as gorgeous a cigar as you’ll ever see, with a picture-perfect head and a stunning wrapper. But it is the flavor that makes it a classic smoke. The Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos come together to create leather, chocolate and spice notes, and a long, lush finish.

PARTAGAS SERIE P NO.2

That old adage of things getting better with age is perfectly suited to Cuba’s Partagás Serie P No. 2. The cigar, originally called the Partagás Pirámide, was released in 2000, scoring in the high 80s in our publications.

The popular smoke was made part of the regular Cuban cigar portfolio, and was renamed the Serie P No. 2, again scoring in the upper 80s. In recent years, however, these cigars have gone from good to great. Versions in 2006 scored 90 points, the scores crept up to 91 points by 2009, and last year the cigar scored even higher. In this tasting, it scored a near classic 94 points.

The cigar shares the same dimensions as all of Cuba’s pirámides, and the Partagás Serie P No. 2 is currently smoking better than all of them, even the legendary Montecristo No. 2.

Brimming with black pepper, coffee bean, leather and sweet cappuccino notes, the cigars are powerful and complex, loaded with bold Cuban flavors. This Partagás smoke shows true evolution: it has been transformed into something incredible, a perfect example of the level of top-quality smokes that are being made in Cuba today.

Box Date: March 2011

CAMBRIDGE

cvamgrd

PUNCH DOUBLE CORONA

Cuban double coronas went through an inconsistent period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Today, they are superb, rivaling their days of glory before the modern-day cigar boom. The stately size, measuring 7 5/8 inches long with a ring gauge of 49, is known as aprominente in Cuban cigar factories. Double coronas are cigars that should never be rushed, something to be lit only when you are going to be free of interruptions and can truly enjoy all that they have to offer.

The mother factory for Cuba’s Punch brand is La Corona, a cigar factory located near Havana’s largest baseball stadium. The factory has a tasting room where workers come in every morning, sit at a small desk, and light up, filling out forms to ensure the previous day’s production tastes as it should.

Quality control of this nature—along with a less rushed atmosphere in which to make cigars, more draw testing in the factory and better tobacco—are among the reasons that Punch Double Coronas are so delicious to smoke.

They build in flavor and complexity. First you will taste the coffee, then dark fruits and some vanilla, then nuts, then more. Complexity, balance, power—the Punch Double has it all. The cigars also age beautifully, only adding to their allure.

Box Code: June 2010

SOLENT

CRAVEN A

Virginia

PLAYER'S

EVEREST

EVEREST
cigar

CRESCENT & STAR (NYOTA)

TCC

DIAMOND

Diamond

SAFARI

Safari
TCC

FUENTE FUENTE OPUSX

Fuente Fuente OpusX

Arturo Fuente introduced his OpusX in 1995 and watched as a near-cult gathered behind this creamy, earthy dream. Workers only roll 75 each day -- a paragon in quality control draped in a Cuban-seed wrapper. The OpusX carries a very steep price, beginning at $14.95 USD (but can run as high as $100 USD in some places), yet few who’ve had the pleasure of enjoying the OpusX would ever dream of complaining.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/top_10/20c_top_10.html#ixzz2GzOD2beH

SM (SWEET MENTHOL)

PADRON SERIE 1926 No.1

Padrón Serie 1926 No. 1

Cigar Aficionado crowned the Padrón Serie 1926 40th anniversary in the natural wrapper as their top cigar for 2004, and some feel this to be Padron’s finest ever. And it's hard to disagree with a user review on Top25Cigar.com, who wrote of the Serie 1926 in the maduro wrapper, “This cigar took me on a journey that should not be legal.”

Delivering complex, robust kinds of luscious creams, chocolates, coffee beans, and leathers, this cigar is a full-bodied beauty queen.

Matching spirit: Balvenie Portwood 21. This Scotch's smooth and silky blend of fruit, honey and a hint of spice is a rare match with the depth of this maduro Padron.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/top_10/20c_top_10.html#ixzz2GzNq3LFL

CLUB

TCC

COHIBA ESPENDIDO

The Cohiba cigar was conceived by Che Guevara himself as a super-premium cigar strictly reserved for Fidel, his buddies and world dignitaries. Only women roll them, and for many years only the most powerful people smoked them. When released to the public in 1982, Cohibas were an instant sensation -- and for good reason.

Writing for Forbes.com, the site’s tastemaker Nick Passmore did not hesitate in calling Cohiba’s Esplendido (along with the robusto), the “best cigar [he has] ever smoked” and Cigar Aficionado’s James Suckling gushed about the “unbelievable pedigree” of this cigar “bombshell.”

PORTSMAN

psm

MARLBORO

Mrbr

SPORTSMAN

Sports

ASHTON

Ashton - Made in the Dominican Republic by the hand of Tabacalera A. Fuente, Ashton cigars offer an impeccably rolled cigar that is always consistent from box to box. Three styles are offered which include (Aged Maduro, Aged Cabinet and Traditional). This popular brand offers a wide variety of mild-to-medium rich flavors that satisfy the most discriminating smoker.