Ramon Allones extra EL

[gigabyte056]

My new found love is the RA extra.

Smoke time 1 hour 10 minutes.

paired with Havana club 7 anos.

Cigar is firm to the touch with a very dark wrapper with evident oily blotches and some veins.

Cold draw is dark fruit and bread.

First 1/3

Thick smoke that coats the tongue with dark fruit cake and espresso, cocoa and some spice through the nose.

the flavors are amazing, shows great promise for aging.

some sweetness develops along with each puff towards the end of the first third.

Second 1/3

Malt and honey interlace with the predominant dark fruit.

dark coffee is still evident, some dark raisin is also evident, loving every puff!

Last 1/3

The flavors from before are still here, although there is a touch of ammonia showing that this puppy needs some time.

Ash is white grey, holds firmly and falls when tipped in big bunches.

The cigar will be great in 1-2 years but storing for 10+ years is also a possibility which I will explore in the coming years.

I rarely rank cigars in numbers but if I had to , 90 right now with potential of a 93-94 in the coming years.

[Scdalak]

Nice review, Man I want to love this cigar sooo much, I have smoked 5 but my pallet just doenst care for it....

[maverickdrinker]

nice review!!!

[brazoseagle]

My current favorite cigar. I am stocking up on boxes "ShaneStyle".

[gigabyte056]

You and me both David, they ought to reintroduce it as a regular production cigar as I am certain these are selling more than most this year.

I have 5 boxes picked up in Havana and the value for money is superb.

[mazolaman]

Well, I shan't send you one of those then, if you have a hundred of them!

[isa]

Thats one oily cigar Cant wait for my box to arrive , thanks for the great review

[canadianbeaver]

Great review and pics... one of our absolute faves this year!

[audio1der]

Great review- thanks for sharing!

I find it a curious stick, as I just don't get anything but balnd, one-dimensional tobacco taste from it.

If they had cost any more then they did I would sell them off to recover, but as it is they'll just sit and see what a decade does for them with little loss.

To each their own- glad you're happy.

[CaptainQuintero]

Great review- thanks for sharing!

I find it a curious stick, as I just don't get anything but balnd, one-dimensional tobacco taste from it.

If they had cost any more then they did I would sell them off to recover, but as it is they'll just sit and see what a decade does for them with little loss.

To each their own- glad you're happy.

Had the same experience. Great opening but then very bland and dead flavours.I've have five from five different boxes now and the same experience has happened each time. Either there is some serious CQ issues or people are really loving that profile. Strange cigar indeed.

Someone last week mentioned that they have been thinking that people who smoke/have smoked NCs regularly have been enjoying these the most as they are like a refined NC.

Not sure how that goes but it's an interesting theory.

[Orion21]

It seems to me these EL's are always best at initial release and then take a nose dive until they hit the 18-24 month mark. Maybe it's a sick period? I would revisit at the 18 month mark after the box date.

[brazoseagle]

It seems to me these EL's are always best at initial release and then take a nose dive until they hit the 18-24 month mark. Maybe it's a sick period? I would revisit at the 18 month mark after the box date.

I haven't had a bad one yet, I've smoked from 3 different box codes.