Ramon Allones Superiores TUA MAR 21 (SRW)

[jakebarnes]

I normally shy away from activities like selfies. Honestly, I seem to shy away from the general concept of taking photos when I am on vacation or doing things in general. It's s less about judging those that do, I just enjoy seeing/feeling/remembering things through my favorite filter--my eyes. Yesterday was sort of a gloomy day and both my partner and realized we really needed a quiet-ish day to check out and stop thinking about job search things (we're both in the "will they make an offer" fretting stage). 

Cut to the cigar selection part. I honestly didn't know what I wanted, but I was sort of feeling a corona gorda-sized cigar as I had about 2 hours to kill while the pork for my carnitas slow cooked. Originally thought I was going in for a Juan Lopez 1, but in the process of digging through the coolidor, I saw this box of Superiores that I received from our host. The first one I had from the box was about six months ago at the Chicago get-together and figured that this would be a good check in 6ish months later. 

Pre-light: Slightly firm draw, which I prefer. Notes of woodiness and a black tea on the inhale. 

First Third: Toasted the foot with a soft flame. Honestly feel like this made a huge difference--with the humidity here I've been getting really wonky burns (wrapper burning slower than the inside) and this burned splendidly despite being able to drink the air. After the first puff, I know I am in for a treat. It's not a very well-kept secret that I am enamored with 2021 RASS right now. The first third starts off with beautiful creamy smoke layered with stewed fruit and a black tea. Medium strength, but absolutely full of flavor--I am absolutely wowed by how sweet this cigar is and definitely a welcome change compared remember from the first of the box (which was more tobacco, earth, leather...maybe some slight stewed notes, but not a ton). The cream/tea/fruit notes are absolutely beautiful together and I am a little shocked on how refined this is smoking at such a young age. Maybe I am due for a fight with it later, but right now it's not showing any signs of it. 

Second Third: The creaminess and deep cherry fruit continue to be in the forefront with the tea while a leather note starts to show up as the base of the cigar. It feels like the actual strength of the cigar has picked up slightly to a medium-full, but there's no fighting amongst the flavors-- I am once again enamored with how beautiful and refined this is smoking. Towards the end of this third, the sweetness transitions from the roundness of flavor of the stewed cherry fruit to more of a slight honey sweetness while the tea and leather start to move to the forefront.

Final Third: The strength has definitely ramped up. It's almost as if the black tea has been steeping the entire time I've been smoking as the intensity of this flavor has grown each third. The sweetness has taken a bit of a backseat to the tea and earthiness. Burn is still wonderful and has really defied the humidity here. Despite the strength, the Superiores really has maintained the regal finesse where the flavors feel intentional and the smoke is smooth. I put it down a little short of burning my fingers. 

Final Thoughts: What a treat this has been. As I mentioned earlier, this is a completely different cigar than it was six months ago and shows a lot of potential for the future. It's almost like a RASS that went to prep school and studied the classics. My greatest hope is that the stewed fruit continues to evolve and last longer into the final third. I am going to go with a 93-94 on this one. Honestly, I might even be shortchanging it with that.

 

 

 

And now what you've been waiting for, the man behind the curtain. Had I known we were going into selfie-review weekend I would have maybe gone to the barber or something. I genuinely dislike selfies as a whole--probably because I can't take one that well. 

[Capn_Jackson]

This is so great to read, as I’ve got an identical box! Superiores, TUA MAR ‘21. I haven’t touched them yet but I know that as soon as I have one, I’ll worry about running out. 😆

[jakebarnes]

1 hour ago, Capn_Jackson said:

This is so great to read, as I’ve got an identical box! Superiores, TUA MAR ‘21. I haven’t touched them yet but I know that as soon as I have one, I’ll worry about running out. 😆

You definitely have something to look forward to! 

[Chibearsv]

Nice review and selfie

[Chucko8]

Great review! Thank you