Cigar Event: Edwards Pipe and Cigar Hosts Ashton Event!

So, Wednesday July 19^th was Edwards Pipe and Cigar Ashton event to celebrate the San Cristobal line of cigars offered by Ashton! To promote this, they had buy three of the special event cigars, get one, if you bought five of the special event cigars, you got two free, and if you had participated in the Ashton Cigar and Beer Pairing dinner, they threw in an extra free cigar regardless of which deal you took!

However, great deals were not all that were there. People who attended were welcomed with a three piece jazz band, the Tom Barbour Trio, raffles, scotches and rums, and games. Amid the numerous people there that you could talk to, there was also a representative from Ashton Cigars there named Mike Watman. He was an unassuming man that looked very comfortable with whatever he was doing at the time and very knowledgeable about a vast array of cigar related topics. Favorite conversation with Mike was regarding our love of the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor—also by Ashton—and our appreciation for its flavorful subtleties and the punch that comes from the second third of the cigar!

Patrons were also graced with a bean bag tossing tournament that was bracketed and the winner received some great give-away San Cristobal cigars! The Cigar Czar was, of course, included in the tournament losing only until the last game before the finals. However, there wasn’t a game where it was a close nail-biter! Most games seemed to be going heavily in favor of one team, only to have the opposing team catch up and eventually win the game. It made for very dramatic moments, including the second to last game where the Cigar Czar and his partner Rob, were out, but then we made a striking come back to move on! Mike, the Ashton rep, was also knocked out earlier on in the tournament, however, the Finals came down to Armando, the owner of Edwards (convenient) and Team Viagra, Jerry and Al, regulars of the Bada Bing Lounge in Edwards. What had been a hell of a run getting to the Finals, had been a disappointing fizzle for Team Viagra, who eventually lost decidedly to Armando and his wringer.

Once the tournament was done, the last thing to do was the raffle, which had several prizes for folks attending. The majority of those who first won received cigar bundles of Ashton and San Cristobal labels. There was also a very nice San Cristobal ashtray given away with multiple cigars and other tremendous gifts!

All-in-all, the Edwards Pipe and Cigar Ashton Cigar Event was a big success with lots of people going home freshly supplied with San Cristobal cigars and other prizes! I had a lot of fun with this event and look forward to attending and blogging more about Edwards Pipe and Cigar events! The next one the Cigar Czar will be attending is the Cigar and Scotch pairing dinner at TI in Fort Collins! Until then, keep on smokin’!

Cigar Review: Curivari Reserva Limitada, Salty Peanuts It Is Not.

Thanks to the encouragement of the Edwards staff, I have recently become focused on Curivari’s line of cigars, in part because of their open enjoyment of these cigars, but also because of an odd criticism as well. Whether it was a genuine reaction or a comment made in spite, Pete Johnson’s tweet about the Curivari Reserva Limitada tasting like “salty peanuts” while smoking, intrigued the crap out of me, especially since I was getting great reviews from Randy and Armando of Edwards Pipe and Cigar! So, I gave one a chance last night to see if I would get the ballpark experience from this cigar.

I figured a great time to try this Nicaraguan puro cigar from Esteli was right after work; my brain was still fired up from doing a million things at once, but was really primed for some great downtime. Wasting no time when I get home, I attack my humidor--and my fridge for a Shocktop Wheat--and step right outside to my smoking chair! The weather was on the cusp of getting really bad, which is when I tend to enjoy it the most, and threatened to kill the pleasure of my cigar. Thankfully, it held off long enough for me to enjoy this puppy, and enjoy it I did.

So after cutting this pristine looking medium brown Colorado wrapped cigar, I test the draw pre-light and find it airy and inviting, but not annoyingly so. I get the scent of something that does remind me a bit of peanut butter: Hmmm… There is, however, another scent coming through that is very woody, but only subtly so. I toast the foot, bring it to my lips and I am pleasantly surprised by a brief rush of spice, not overwhelming, but most certainly there. It quickly subsides, and it takes me a minute to realize that, Randy wasn’t bs’ing me, it tasted like plain popcorn. Not buttered or salted, kettle or caramelized, just… popcorn. Truth be told, it was actually really unique and refreshing! There were also some woody undertones that I could detect periodically keeping the cigar from becoming too redundant. But overall, this cigar was relatively non-complex, light, and enjoyable and not the salty peanuts that Johnson had claimed, in my esteemed estimate. The only thing I would strongly recommend is to not enjoy this cigar with a Shocktop Wheat. For such a surprisingly light flavor, this cigar demands a darker ale or porter. It turned the flavor of the Shocktop Wheat almost soapy and was not too much fun to drink. Swing by tomorrow when I discuss another of the Curivari line, the Café! And why you WANT a cup of coffee with it!

Cigar Review: Does Leccia's Cain Live Up To It's Legendary Name?

Everyone knows the tale of Cain and Abel, that Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve and eventually murdered his brother Abel, so I was expecting something very dark, rich, and, well honestly, evil from Oliva's Cain Habano double toro straight ligero cigar.

The irony of my smoking this cigar, with such heavy mythical implications, was not lost on me as I was enjoying this cigar at Edwards Pipe and Cigar while watching news coverage of the Dark Knight Rises shooting victims vigil. A truly evil act in contemporary times.

The background of Sam Leccia's Cain cigar came out of Leccia's want to create a truly straight ligero cigar that was also flavorful. This name, however, is a bit of a misnomer, as no cigar could be truly comprised of all ligero leaf, the top part of the leaf which receives the most nutrients and sun, as it would have inherent combustion problems according to Leccia. Therefore the Cain incorporates a little bit of other leaf making this not a 100% ligero, but, and 82% ligero. The ligero used is a blend of leaf that is grown in the Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.

Before lighting this cigar I notice that it provides me with truly stunning notes of milk chocolate and spice! I toast my cigar, and then once lit, I am immediately greeted with heavy spice and oak flavors with the slightest hint of an undefined sugary sweetness and leather. This flavor holds for most of the first third to half of the cigar.

Once I get a little passed the second third mark, I notice that the spice has diminished a bit and the sweetness has become more defined and the closest I could describe it would be almost raisin-like. While the dried fruit sweetness takes the stage for a bit, the leather stays relatively low key and the oak dries out a bit maintaining the flavor of the spice without the punch. I've also noticed by this point that the strength of this cigar is not at all what I had anticipated. It's still very much a full-bodied cigar, but I'd honestly say that the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero has more of a strength punch, or even the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor!

Toward the end of this cigar the pepper picks back up and the sweetness is reinforced by the leathers and oak flavors! Overall this cigar was a fantastic smoke, full-bodied but not overpowering, thanks to Leccia's triple fermentation process to take some of the ligero's edge off, while still providing the complex flavors this blend provides! I highly recommend smokers who want a nice full-bodied cigar with an interesting flavor pallet to give the Cain Habano a try!

Cigar Event: Ashton Cigars and Odell Brewery Pairing Dinner Pt. 4:

Alright everybody, here it is, the last pairing from the Ashton Cigar and Odell Brewery cigar pairing dinner hosted by Edwards Pipe and Cigar at d’Vine Bistro! And this final pairing was an exceptional and exquisite treat! Up until now, every pairing, from the green chili soup and San Cristobal Elegancia Imperial, to the Piri Piri with the La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especiale #5, to the Stilton and Goat cheese stuffed Medjool dates and the Ashton VSG, have been, without a doubt, magnificent! Yet, Edwards, Odells, and d’Vine quite possibly saved the very best for last, as dessert often is.

Introducing us to dessert, d’Vine’s chef discusses the simple, yet scrumptious, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse! Made with 80 Cacao chocolate, butter, Cruzan Spiced rum, and heavy cream raspberries, this mousse stayed true to the bistro’s name and was absolutely divine! Eating this was like eating a fluffy scoop of chocolaty heaven!

Next up, Nico, who introduces us to another staple beer for Odell: Cutthroat Porter. This ebony beauty is inspired by the traditional London porters of olde. It is a dark, malty, beer that produces a great roasted flavor with hints of chocolate and coffee rolling over your tongue as though it were a fresh mocha!

Last we have Randy of Edwards Pipe and Cigar presenting us with our final smoke of the evening: the San Cristobal Monumento. An cigar crafted by the Garcia family from a blend of aged Nicaraguan leaf and wrapped in an elegant and oily Nicaraguan wrapper.

I light up my cigar almost immediately while the tantalizing Tiffany spares no time in digging into the mousse. I am blessed with a deep, rich, and satisfying flavor of this cigar as it wastes no time presenting me with strong oak flavors with mocha and a hint of almost creamy walnut and black cherry flavored coffee. Taking a sip of the beer, I am shocked at the impressive smooth and light flavor of such a dark beer. I expected a typical porter/stout bitter roasted malts flavor, but it provided me with the full-bodied nature of a porter with a light-as-a-feather character! It is only now, of course, that I take my first sinful spoonful of the mousse and let it just dissolve in my mouth. Again I am surprised me by how incredibly subtle the raspberry flavor is and just taken away by the buttery cocoa of the mousse. This left me with a moment of pause where all I could say afterward was “Oh. My. God!”

The overall experience of the San Cristobal, with the Cutthroat, and the Raspberry mousse was simply too much to describe in words. Every pairing from this evening had something fresh, unique, and startling about how well these flavors intermingled and played with each other. I never quite had so much enjoyment having a cigar, beer, and meal use my tongue as their playground, and I’m more than willing for them to do it again! Until next time and enjoy those cigars!

Cigar Event: Ashton Cigars and Odell Brewery Pairing Dinner Pt. 3:

So, here at The Cigar Bar, we’ve been discussing the Ashton Cigar and Odell Brewery cigar pairing dinner hosted by Edwards Pipe and Cigar at the d’Vine Bistro, and we’ve had some great things to talk about. Today, we continue with part three, which is easily the most exotic in the Czar’s opinion, which provided an exciting combination of flavors!

Starting again, the chef of d’Vine introduces us to a most interesting little finger food: Medjool dates stuffed with Goat cheese and English Stilton, a type of Bleu cheese, wrapped in speck, a smoked and dry cured Spanish ham that resembles a thick cut slice of bacon.

Presenting Odell Brewery’s contribution to this pairing is Nico who educates us on Odell Brewery’s flagship beer 90 Schilling. 90 Schilling is another amber ale, but unlike Levity, it is a bit darker, more medium-bodied, and provides a bit more of a malted flavor.

The last element to be presented is Ashton’s VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Pegasus 5X54 cigar. The Pegasus is blended specifically for Ashton cigars by renowned Carlos Fuente Jr. Fuente produces this fabulous cigar by crafting Dominican Tobacco leaf aged between four to five years and uses an exclusive wrapper grown only on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family. The characteristics of this dark marbled beauty are immediately evident. It is finely crafted with the absolute best roll, firmness, and draw pre-light.

The first thing I do is light up the Ashton VSG and enjoy its immediate coffee and earth-like flavors, that, when combined with the 90 Schilling, creates an almost creamy, bitter-sweet, mocha flavor. Then, I indulge in one of the stuffed dates and I am immediately impacted by the salty, smokiness of the flavors swirling through my mind. I follow up the date with another swig of the 90 Schilling and I’m greeted by a swirling dervish of sweet and salty flavors carried on the back of the now subtle smoky characteristics of the stuffed date. Then the beer seems to dissolve the saltiness all together. This was my queue to take another pull from my cigar. The date still has some of the smokiness remaining in my mouth as the cigars now woody-like mocha flavor smoothes out the smoky flavor while giving me a pleasant savory undertone.

Of course, after three such spectacular pairings, we’re left with the best part of any meal: dessert. I can assure you folks that this is a dessert you certainly do not want to miss. It rivals the Piri Piri wraps of yesterdays post as my favorite of the evening, and judging by how fast the beautiful Tiffany finished hers, it was easily her favorite too. Check back tomorrow as I give the final pairing of the evening and discuss the conclusion to this relaxing evening of cigars, beer, great food, and even better company!