Ramon Allones 898 '76 Dodge Charger 2002 (CCCCRW)

[earthson]

Received in a most generous trade from someone who knows their stuff.

1st puffs - oaky like an autumn day.  Very smooth with soft earthiness in the back

1st third - cream, cinnamon raisin toast and a whiff of mustiness from aged tobacco.  This mustiness eventually becomes sandalwood and a rosy floral element brings up the rear along with pops of gingerbread.  Exciting cigar as I've also had random notes of fresh-baked bread and Darjeeling tea.  Resting aroma is Rich, warm and belies the aged taste of this gem.

2nd third - begins with gritty deep earthiness, a muted raisin toast hit, followed by sweet honey and cream.  A brief but forceful dose of bubblegum occurs just as the bottom drops out on flavor depth and this thing turns into a kaleidoscope that is hard to pin down.  Instead of this note and that note, things blend together to create a symphony in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  I'm getting relentlessly pummeled by a very creamy expression of RA - almost like it was blended with some HdM Epicure tobacco - that is incredibly floral in nature.  The flowers are alive and vibrant, vs the dried flower vegetal notes that often occur in aged Habanos.  There is an unmistakable berry note trying to peak through - like a sweet raspberry.

3rd third - Things heat up as the cigar gets earthy, the spices come off the spice rack (cinnamon - both sweet and hot, cardamom, tumeric, lt coriander) and that raisin toast sits underneath it all.  The honey fades in and out, and is completely impregnated by the spices, rather than existing alongside them.  The nicotine becomes noticeable at this point.  Notes of aged Brandy and coffee bandy about, suggesting a good pairing with something stronger than water.

The end - the cigar finishes with heavy doses of espresso - much like my beloved HUPC - and the raisin toast fades to the background, as is some dirty, spicy cream that struggles in vain to the fore.  Everything suggests this cigar can age another 20 years and still provide oomph and satisfaction.  I have one more specimen, weighing in at 3 grams heavier than the average sample.  After some dryboxing, I am fascinated to foray again into the world of vitolas long gone for no good damned reason.

This cigar reminds me of my buddy's restored 76 Dodge Charger.  So much power under a gently purring engine, with enough pretty paint and mint condition interior to make it plush and comfortable.  If you pull up in one of these cars, powerheads know you're not focking around; so, too, if you pull an RA 898 out around cigar people, expect them to ask you questions about how it performs and look longingly at it, wanting to take it for a test drive.

[chris12381]

My favorite cigar. Thanks for the review. 

[treberty]

I miss the 8-9-8... a lot.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[earthson]

1 hour ago, chris12381 said:

My favorite cigar. Thanks for the review. 

You poor chap!  I hope you have a vault full of them at your fingertips!  Utter shame the way classic vitolas - images of history! - are disappearing to make way for flashier, fatter, for only the select few.

[chris12381]

2 hours ago, earthson said:

You poor chap!  I hope you have a vault full of them at your fingertips!  Utter shame the way classic vitolas - images of history! - are disappearing to make way for flashier, fatter, for only the select few.

I do!