JohnS' Smoking Diary 2021


JohnS

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Partagás Serie D No.5 EOT Oct 2016 I would like to thank @Luca again for gifting me this cigar. The Partagas Serie D No.5 doesn't get anywhere near the attention of its big brother, the Partagas

I'd like to take the opportunity to again thank you for taking the time to peruse and support this blog. I would like to especially thank a number of you who have supported me in your gratitude expres

Bolívar Tubos No.1 ULA Jun 2015 The Bolivar Tubos No.1 was a medium-full Corona cigar discontinued in 2017. It was one of the last Coronas, a 42 ring gauge, 142 mm (or 5⅝ inches) in length cigar

On 3/27/2021 at 5:52 AM, JohnS said:

Por Larrañaga Montecarlos LGR Oct 2017

Looking over my Cuban Cigar Website Smoking Diary, whilst I've had a number of Por Larranaga Montecarlos in the last twelve months, this LGR Oct 2017 example is just my third from that box code in that time. The previous two were quite ordinary and quite good (in that order). Thankfully this was quite brilliant, much like how this box has been in the 12 to 18 months prior to mid-2020.

Despite being slightly underfilled, like my last Por Larranaga Montecarlos, this dominated in caramel and honey from the beginning and continued throughout the life of the cigar until I nubbed it. Along the way I got some wood and toast but no spice whatsoever, unlike my last one, which meant I didn't need to compensate and smoke the cigar slower this time.

This Box Code of Por Larranaga Montecarlos has been noted on our forum for being of sound quality and recently there's been speculation that the box has peaked and taken a downturn. My previous two examples would support that hypothesis but today's example was outstanding and suggests that I still have six sticks left that potentially will smoke as good as this one today.

This has spurred me to try one today from my Jul LGR 17 box. They have all been stellar and just a handful left. Haven’t had one for a bit so hopefully there has been no downturn

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1 hour ago, Chucko8 said:

This has spurred me to try one today from my Jul LGR 17 box. They have all been stellar and just a handful left. Haven’t had one for a bit so hopefully there has been no downturn

Yes, I will be eager to follow the outcome when you post it up on the Daily Smoking thread. 😉

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16 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Yes, I will be eager to follow the outcome when you post it up on the Daily Smoking thread. 😉

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Choose a beautiful looking example. Will let you know 

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4 hours ago, JohnS said:
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Ramón Allones La Palmera 2016 - Edición Regional Emiratos Arabes Unidos SOM Dic 2016
The Ramon Allones La Palmera is a 2016 U.A.E Regional Edition which was released to market in early 2018. According to Cuban Cigar Website, this cigar made first use of a new regional band for the United Arab Emirates with the text Emiratos Arabes. Previous releases wore a band with E.A.U.
With a 54 ring gauge x 164mm length (or 6½ inches)  the RA La Palmera is a Sublimes vitola, the same size as the 2004 Cohiba Sublimes and 2008 Montecristo Sublimes Limited Editions and LCDH Bolivar Libertador. It comes packaged in a 10-count semi boite nature box.
Like my last one sampled around two months ago, this cigar was a touch under mild-medium, so nothing like a youthful Ramon Allones Specially Selected in strength or body, more like an aged Ramon Allones Superiores. Again, I felt the flavours were also unique to the marca, it smoked like something akin to the 2017 Montesco-sized Asia Pacifico Regional Edition Silver Jubilee. It had no cocoa whatsoever but it did have a delightful combination of baked bread, walnut, apple and pear citrus and some wood notes.
This was a long cigar to smoke, easily over two hours. Again the ash was extremely flaky and white-grey but this time I had fewer re-lights and the ash held together a bit better. Like my last one, it proved to be a fine cigar nevertheless. I wouldn't call this a complex cigar but its simple concoction of flavours resonated well with my palate. I could reach for another one right now just thinking about it!


Great review John. The last time you did one on this cigar I mentioned to you that I had some boxes with the same code. What is your feeling on how they will age and how they are now vs what you anticipate they may become.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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7 minutes ago, LLC said:

Great review John. The last time you did one on this cigar I mentioned to you that I had some boxes with the same code. What is your feeling on how they will age and how they are now vs what you anticipate they may become.

Thank you. I think that they are excellent right now, yet I have no hesitation, based on experience with cigars of similar blend in this marca, that they will become milder (naturally) and potentially develop more baking spice notes. Those citrus-type flavours will probably become more prominent too as the other nut and wood flavours recede.

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On 3/21/2021 at 6:39 AM, JohnS said:

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Cohiba Siglo VI ARG Jun 2015

This is the second Cohiba Siglo VI I've smoked from this ARG Jun 2015 10-count box and it was even better than my first one, which was superb. I shared one each with @Luca, paired with some Yellow Chartreuse and this was easily a 95-point cigar.

@Luca stated that his example was a combination of butter, toffee, hay and some mocha coffee. That's good enough for me as later on we both were trying to smoke our Siglo VIs way past their safe 'nubbing point' and endangering our fingers!

Again, I hope to smoke another Cohiba Siglo VI from this box quite soon. One thing I'm now sure of: I don't think this box will see even another twelve to eighteen months of aging, judging by how good the first three from the box have been!

I almost burnt my fingers!

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On 3/27/2021 at 5:47 AM, JohnS said:

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Juan López Selección No.2 MEL Dic 2016

I'd like to thank @Luca for this Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2. It's been six months since my last JL2, also kindly gifted by @Luca. At the time I wrote that the cigar had some Cointreau orange, citrus and chocolate in the first third but it soon settled into a stronger espresso coffee, toasted tobacco and spice offering towards the end of the first third and stayed that way until the end.

In summary, it wasn't too different to the JL2s from my box these past few years. For me, I felt that I needed some more time for those orange and chocolate flavours to come more to the fore and for those espresso coffee and toasted tobacco flavours to recede. How long? At the time I indicated that I will sample another one in the next six to nine months to see how they were coming along.

Fast forward six months and this four-and-a-third year-old Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2 was the kind of cigar that makes you perform a complete 180° turn in your wish list. I make no secret of the fact that I haven't had the best time with young Juan Lopez in the past, I haven't loathed them, but I haven't loved them either. This was all orange peel citrus right from the word go, with a combined light coffee and milk chocolate core and most importantly, it was medium to medium-mild in strength the whole way.

It's been explained to me in the past, from a dear and sage friend, that the key to a quality Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2 was letting them rest and develop, and this was why I guess this cigar today connected so favourably with my palate. 5 out of 5, 10 out of 10, a 95 point cigar, however you want to rate it, it was superb!

Thank you John. Great review and I agree with your tasting notes. I'm actually smoking one right now! 

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El Rey del Mundo Petit Cayo 2018 - Edición Regional Andorra SMA Nov 2018

The El Rey del Mundo Petit Cayo is a 2018 Andorra Regional Edition released in early 2019. It is a 52 ring gauge x 110 mm (or 4⅜ inches) in length Petit Edmundo and it came packaged in a 25-count slide lid box. The last time I smoked this cigar, around two months ago, I was significantly disappointed. This time it was a lot better; alas, it's still no Juan Lopez Malecon!

This time the light colorado claro wrapper thankfully remained intact and did not split. Also, it was much more true to the El Rey del Mundo profile. El Rey del Mundo is known for its mild strength and softer attributes such as floral notes, a touch of citrus, shortbread, hay, almond nut and perhaps toast. My last ERdM Petit Cayo was mainly burnt almond, toast and black pepper. This example had no burnt flavours nor black pepper. Instead it was basically hay, toast and some citrus and it was much easier to smoke! It was also much milder and less intense.

Last time I mentioned that I wouldn't be reaching for another one of these soon. Let's just say I wanted to clear up space in my humidor today. Needless to say, this was my last one I have and no, I won't be seeking out another box or stick for acquisition. Let's just leave it at that!

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