Ramon Allones Club Allones EL 2015 RAE JUL 15 (SMRW)

[PointFivePast]

Really enjoyed the theme this week as it gave me plenty of choices in the humidor! Wish I could have fired up a Partagas Lusitania but it is full on winter here in the northern hemisphere so that was out of the question. Settled on a Ramon Allones Club Allones as I figured I could get through it before losing a digit to the cold and I haven’t had one in ages. Wrapper is darker than I would normally expect on a Ramon Allones but that seems to be on par for the EL releases. Aroma at cold was very muted, not giving much other than a mild sweet tobacco note. Cold draw was similar... slightly musty with a hint of sweet toasted malts. No dry boxing but I’ll touch on that later...

 

First Third: 

Cigar starts off slow not giving much in the way of flavor through the first half inch or so. In all fairness, I did smoke a couple of cigars with heavy proportions of Pennsylvania Broadleaf in them last night so my palate may be a bit off. Notes of graham cracker start to roll in. Smoking slow and constant is the key here... cold weather outside means I need to keep this cigar evenly warm without over-puffing to maintain flavor. Starts to develop red fruit notes with a bit of spice that is oddly reminiscent of mulled wine or gluhwein. The spice component builds leading to me to pick up clove or maybe even cardamom. Girlfriend comes out to join me and she lights up a Davidoff Winston Churchill petit belicoso. We don’t often get to smoke together so this is a wonderful treat!

Second Third:

The Club Allones is getting much earthier with a building cocoa component as well. About halfway through and the mulled wine note switches to more of a booze-soaked fruitcake. Flavor is still lighter than I would like but I believe that would have been help by a day or two of dry boxing. The draw is fine but I feel that the cigar is a bit out of sorts and would have benefited from a day to prepare... oh well, we’re here now. Cedar and a bit of honey now, venturing away from the red fruit notes of earlier.

 

Final Third:

Cigar turns towards a creamy sweetness with a bit of vanilla while also starting to ramp up in strength. Medium bodied but I may be off on this as the cold and dry air was really noticeable on the quality of this smoke. Nicotine is kicking up in strength to. Not much evolution in the final third, just a return of everything noted so far all at once and a bit muddled. 
 

In conclusion, I would say this smoke gets an 88/100 from me as is. Proper dry boxing combined with a warmer night (for both June and the cigars sake!) would probably push this up to a 92 or higher. There was a lot of potential in the flavors here so I will prepare another in a few weeks on the first unseasonably warm night that pops up in the forecast. Can’t complain too much though as I was able spend an hour smoking with my lovely partner and that what this hobby is really all about. Thanks for reading!