Freestyle Review of a Custom "Made in La Habana"

[laficion]

Hi everyone,

I was thinking this afternoon that, since it's all about some great customs from CZAR,

I would then start up my review with a custom cigar from a friend who lives here in Nimes.

My friend heads off to La Habana, Cuba every 10 months . One good and simple reason is

that, well, his wife is Cuban and she needs to see her family relatively often.

Robert is 37 years old and has been a cigar smoker ever since his wife initiated him to

Habanos 5 years ago.

Robert enjoys very thin cigars, he says that for him the taste of a very thin cigar is very

concentrated on the aromas and flavours, and that he feels very comfortable with this size.

I can't say that it's a size you see everyday either, I would normally call this

vitola a very slim, Slim Panatella.

They are made in La Habana but I won't go into the details of who, how or where, I'm sure you'll all understand.

This afternoon, after I've had a good lunch and finished my two glasses of local wine, I said

to myself that it would be nice to have one of Robert's custom made skinny cigar.

When I'm outside, I'm always in the company of an old" personage" who keeps an eye

on how many glasses of wine I drink and that dear fellow is non other then good ole

BACCHUS. (My water fountain, poor guy, he only spits water)

There I was, with my Slim Panatella, , my green marble cuban ashtray and Bacchus looking

over me.The stage was set.

The cigar is indeed a well constructed little piece of art, long, thin with a bit of a bumpy

wrapper but it gives this cigar it's charm. Cuting the cape was very easy and fast since the

ring gauge is so small. The pre-lighting taste was very grassy and earthy moss.( I must say,

Bacchus has one of those inquisitive looks everytime I light up a cigar ). To give you an Idea

on the size and looks of this cigar, I put a Bolivar Corona Extra along side of the Slim Panatella.

The First Third was a very grassy and somewhat floral profil with some notes of spiceyness

through the nose.

However, what strikes the most is the ash,it must be the darkest & blackest cigar ash I've

ever seen.( Bacchus also looked surprised)

The Second Third is where the smoke takes a turn in taste. The aromas and mouth taste

become sweeter with creamyness mixed with a bit of grilled admond and hints of bread

dough . The ash doesn't hold very long but it's always very black.(by now , Bacchus is really

enjoying the surrounding air and it's fragrance.) Also as you can see, the wrapper is soo thin that it cracked at on point.

but all fell back into place very quickly.

The Last Third stayed on a dominate nutty with dark tea tastes with slight hints of coffee &

milk chocolate. ( By now , Bacchus couldn't take much more so I had to share the end with him)

Final notes, the cigar was a surprisingly well balanced smoke for such a thin cigar, again,

the ashes never became anywhere close to a lighter shade of black. I would consider this

vitola as a light to medium cigar.

This Slim Panatella had an interesting and evolving profil, almost complexe. I give it a note of 88/100

I hope you enjoy my afternoon smoke with Slim & Bacchus.

[lemmycaution]

Thanks for an interesting review and I love your fountain. All of the reviews brought on by this contest have been really amazing so far. I guess it shows how much anticipation there is for the prize being offered.

[DocG]

I enjoyed your review and your smoking partner. I have had to smoke with much much less intelligent partners in the past. You are lucky to have such a wise sage to to smoke with.

It has been said that a pipe gives a wise man something to ponder and a fool something to stick in his mouth. If that is true, for cigars as well, I wonder what Bacchus is thinking about...

[mbrody]

Always a pleasure Guy, thanks!

[steve047]

I enjoyed your review. Thanks

[CigarmanTim]

What a unique cigar. Love your ashtray

[tugboat]

Enjoyed the review Guy and thanks.

Just let us all know how that other cigar on the ashtray works out for ya ok.

[micha]

Thanks for this fine review, I enjoyed reading it. What an interesting smoke that must have been. The last picture is brilliant. It's good to have a companion that watches you to make sure that you have enough wine and not the other way round, if only our women could be more like that...

[Jimmy2]

Nice review Guy !!

[Leftridge]

Great review of a cigar from the "roller we shall not name"!

One of the more interesting reviews for sure!

[anacostiakat]

[CanuckSARTech]

Bravo, Guy - well done! I really like your ashtray - fits right in with your outdoor decor. Snazzy review also - interesting read and pictures. Thanks for posting this for us.

[LeafLover]

Nice.....very nice.

[Bartolomeo]

Great review and cool pics Guy!

Bart

[Habanos2000]

Enjoyed that review of a real custom hananos.

BTW, how many glasses of wine does it take for Bacchus to start talking to you?

[Stalebread]

. . .

I hope you enjoy my afternoon smoke with Slim & Bacchus.

I did for sure.

Thanks for the opportunity.

[maalouly]

Guy,

Always enjoy reading your reviews, must say though I love your ashtray.

Cheers,

Elie.

[Vetteman]

Great review, really enjoyed reading it.