Popular Post Corylax18 Posted July 14, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted July 14, 2019 For this review I decided to pair an EL Cohiba Lancero with some of Yarra Valley's finest Tipple. @Ken Gargett introduced me to Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin through one of the reviews on his back deck. He and Rob have shown or enjoyed a few different 4 Pillars products during their video reviews. A distributor in California brings in a few cases of each type of their Gin each year and they sell for very reasonable prices if you get lucky on your timing. I popped a fresh bottle of the 2017 Vintage and mixed it about 3:1 with Fever Tree Tonic and a quarter Lime. I like a more bitter/savory tonic with this particular Gin, Schwepps just doesn't cut it here. The Gin provides all the sweetness you need in this drink. In my eyes, this is just about the perfect drink. Sweet, sour, bitter, savory. A little something for every taste bud. The cigar was acquired in Havana during my trip this April. Its been in my wine fridge at about 64% and 70 degrees since. The cigar felt pretty firm to the touch so I pulled it out of the humidor at around 6am, punched it and let it sit out (~45% and 70 degrees) while I went to work for the day. The cigar felt roughly the same when I got home, but the draw was a bit more open. 1st Third - We are off and running! From the first puff the smoke production and flavor is all there. Sweet Butter cream in the main, thick, chewy smoke, and lots of it. The draw feels firm, but every puff produces plumes of thick, palate coating smoke. First two ashes both hold over 3/4" before I drop them in the ashtray. Construction is perfect. 2nd Third - More of the same. Draw is still firm, but the cigar continues to produce clouds of thick, delicious smoke. Flavors have stayed pretty consistent as well. Tobacco, Sweat butter cream, some kind of sweet spice on the edges. Maybe Cinnamon or Nutmeg, I cant quite pin it. Absolutely no grass, hay, or anything vegetal. Unfortunately, no citrus either. The G&T is done around half way through and I switch to a Stella to see if that will coax some different flavors out of the cigar. Final Third - Flavors continue down the same path tobacco and butter cream in the main. The sweetness has increased, and the sweet spice has disappeared. I think the Lime in the G&T may have been covering up the hints of citrus in the cigar, or its just my imagination, but I am getting the citrus I was missing in this last third. There is definitely a sourness. The cigar stays smooth, creamy and flavorful until the very end. No rough edges, no bite, no bitterness. Conclusion - I hate to say it, but the Stella ended up being a better pairing with this particular cigar than the G&T. I probably should have seen that coming, but this is the first stick I've pulled from this box, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The cigar was spectacular, with either drink, but better with the beer. If I had been given this cigar blind I would have guessed it was 8+ years old, not 8 months. Very high quality Tobacco, perfectly fermented, aged, then expertly rolled. Its near perfect cigars like this that make it even harder to stomach the plugs, wind tunnels and myriad of other issues that we run into. I am going to smoke another one tonight and its going to be a struggle for me to string this box out until my next re-supply later this year. 97/100. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raskol Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Nice pictures & great review. Thank you. Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyontop Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Great review sir ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corylax18 Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 Thanks guys! The next one I smoked was more of the same. Firm draw, but plenty of tasty smoke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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