2001 Ramon Allones 898 (RAWR)

[CaptainQuintero]

  I had a Ramonitas picked out for this week as the weather was supposed to be a little lackluster, but the gods of fortune changed their minds and gave me an excuse to light up one of my last few 898s

  Tight draw but certainly not unsmokeable, the foot looks well packed so I'm guessing the draw will loosen up a little as things get going.

  Straight up and a big hit of rum. I get rum and raisins from aged RASS sometimes so it's not too unusual, I just wasn't expecting such a ferocious blast right out of the gates. Deep molasses and caramel that's just caught.

  A little way in and the rum subsides a tad and that classic stewed plum and overripe berry-fruit sweetness takes over. A hint of spice in the tip of the tongue.

  Second half and a big swing in flavours; it's all caramelised peaches and cream. It's like a Cohiba 1966 but your jaw doesn't ache.

  Towards the half way point and the draw actually begins to tighten up a touch, the burn begins to waver.

  Final third and the sweetness has gone, replaced by a heavier floral perfume note. The Christmas cake core is still there and grows in depth and darkness.

The last 10 minutes throw up a lovely doughy and richly spiced bread 

94/100 A fantastic journey of flavours only let down by a few burn and draw issues but considering it's a 2001 creation, I'm not going to hit it too heavily. I haven't tried the German RE release but if they get close to these originals then kudos indeed.

 

[PigFish]

Great review mate... thanks for sharing!

Cheers! -R

[99call]

great review dude, excellent stash

[anjimj]

White whale indeed.

[SwissPEP]

Nice review 

Thanks 

[Raskol]

Good review....Nice pictures too. Thank You.

 

[TheMonk]

Great review! I've never had the chance to smoke the original RA 898, but I can tell you the German REs are superb smokes, and they're getting better every year. I should've bought a truckload.