2001 Saint Luis Rey Double Corona

[shrink]

I don't often have the time for a double corona. But this Saturday afternoon was perfect… mild, with huge cumulus clouds shading the sun. The chores were done. Nothing better to do than put on some instrumental music, brew up a mug of dark-roasted Kenyan coffee, add some cream to it, and kick back on the deck for some serious communion with the leaf.

My Saint Luis Rey double corona was golden brown, oily and mottled with age. It had prominent light-colored veins that gave it the appearance of a See's milk chocolate log, dusted lightly with cocoa powder. It was perfectly rolled, dense and firm but still moist and springy between my fingers. There were no soft or hard spots along its considerable length. The age and veining gave it a rustic, somewhat gnarled appearance... I could imagine a tiny hobbit using it as a walking staff.

The vitola's prelight aromas were among the most intriguing and complex I have ever enjoyed. There was the distinct smell of English butter toffee, a scent and flavor which is unique to Saint Luis Rey. This was bolstered by nuances of allspice, sweet and sour fermenting spring hay, bittersweet Swiss chocolate, and hints of clover honeycomb. The effect was so appetizing and compelling that I spent long minutes just inhaling and savoring the aromas. Almost too good to burn!

But burn it did. The cigar offered some initial resistance, which encouraged me to take long, slow, full draws. It burned cleanly and evenly throughout an hour and one half. The initial salvos were dominated by toasted allspice, which lightly peppered the back of my tongue. This was followed by the medium-bodied flavors of graham cracker, bittersweet cocoa powder and that trademark buttered English toffee. And what wonderful aromas! How could all this be tobacco? In my mid-day musing, I returned to the Saturday kitchen of my childhood home, where my mother was preparing a layer spice cake from scratch. There was flour, milk, butter, spices, brown sugar and honey, which she blended in a big ceramic bowl. I remembered how much I liked to "help", mostly by licking the semi-sweet and spicy batter from the beaters. Every long draw from my Saint Luis Rey was like a taste of that batter.

As the cigar progressed into its second half, the various flavors melded, like the ingredients of that slowly baking cake, into a warm and spicy confection. A double corona takes real patience, but not nearly as much patience as that spice cake demanded. "Is it done yet?", I would ask. Eventually, my mother told me to take a straw, and poke the cake to see if it came out clean. Then, as it cooled, the cake filled the kitchen with its sweet and spicy aromas, arousing my eager anticipation. And so did my toasty Saint Luis Rey. It was as if freshly baked rounds of spice cake were layered with a delicate butternut cream icing, then topped with crumbled bits of toffee. The cigar's finish was long and savory, like a hard caramel candy melting in the mouth. When it was done, I was more than satisfied… I was satiated… I was stuffed… like a kid gorged on spice cake.

This six year-old Saint Luis Rey was a uniquely flavored and outstanding double corona, in its way every bit as good as any Lusi or Hoyo I have enjoyed.

[Ken Gargett]

are they not truly glorious!

[winelover]

Great review. Love SLR PC's so will have to try its very big brother.

[Professor Twain]

Outstanding review. I have had a few of the SLR Churchills and they were magnificent, I can imagine the many flavors that you described.

[motownflip]

excellent review. What other vitolas of this line share this taste profile? It is seldom for me to have the time to spend on a stick this size.

[servebig]

as usual great review bob! i could almost smell your mom's kitchen.

i had the opportunity to snag a nearly full box of the '01s a couple of years back from a kind BOTL and was quite excited to try them slowly over the next decade or so. unfortunately they started to show signs of beetle infestation and i was forced to gobble them up as part of my daily rotation over the period of a month or so.

it was a good month :-D

[El Presidente]

» excellent review. What other vitolas of this line share this taste

» profile? It is seldom for me to have the time to spend on a stick this

» size.

Great Review!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the SLRDC stands alone in terms of quality, flavour definition and complexity in the SLR family. There are other good to very good SLR's....but nothing comes close to those 2001 SLRDC

[Gryphon]

As always, great review.

Thanks

[Freefallguy]

I’ve never had a SLRDC, nor should I expect to have one as glorious as this ’01 sounds. Great review; leaves me most envious.

[jqmunro]

SLRDC's are something of a decadent dessert, and like shrink says, I almost feel stuffed after smoking one.

[Quint]

Excellent review shrink and timely I might add. A cab of '04 just arrived at my door step this morning. After that reveiw its going to be tough to let them sit for a week or so before savoring.

[stever]

Excellent review! Looking forward to smoking one of these myself, especially after your review. Thanks.

[Ken Gargett]

» I’ve never had a SLRDC, nor should I expect to have one as glorious as this

» ’01 sounds. Great review; leaves me most envious.

cannot believe rob did not sort this for you.

next time...

[Tom Bolivar]

» cannot believe rob did not sort this for you.

» next time...

What, does Rob still have a few cabs of the 2001s?!?

[Curt]

Great review but now I want to go and get a box of See's Nuts and Chews.:-D

[Ken Gargett]

» » cannot believe rob did not sort this for you.

» » next time...

»

» What, does Rob still have a few cabs of the 2001s?!?

i reckon rob has pretty much anything you want hidden away. you just have to annoy him a real lot (ring in the middle of the night, let down tyres, harpic on the ceiling fans etc) and then he'll find them.

[Freefallguy]

» cannot believe rob did not sort this for you.

» next time...

Sort? Huh?

Good to hear you're back from your bivouac. I suppose you caught tons of barramundi. Does mum still have your alleged beemer?

[Ken Gargett]

» » cannot believe rob did not sort this for you.

» » next time...

»

» Sort? Huh?

»

» Good to hear you're back from your bivouac. I suppose you caught tons of

» barramundi. Does mum still have your alleged beemer?

sometimes logging on to this forum feels like following alice down the rabbit hole.

sort. as in arrange, provide, make sure you had the opp to smoke one.

what bivouac?

sadly, i have not been fishing, nor near any barra, but why would you think that?

last heard of, my mother was travelling up some river in burma or cambodia or somewhere. why would she have my car and why would you think she would?

excuse me, i'm off to spend the day with the maad hatter. he is much more sane than this forum.

[Tom Bolivar]

» i reckon rob has pretty much anything you want hidden away. you just have

» to annoy him a real lot (ring in the middle of the night, let down tyres,

» harpic on the ceiling fans etc) and then he'll find them.

I could do the phone bit and throw in some (more) mails. Would you take care of the on-site stuff?

Not that I really need another cab of 2001 SLRs, but there is some other stuff... :-D

[Ken Gargett]

» » i reckon rob has pretty much anything you want hidden away. you just

» have

» » to annoy him a real lot (ring in the middle of the night, let down

» tyres,

» » harpic on the ceiling fans etc) and then he'll find them.

»

»

»

» I could do the phone bit and throw in some (more) mails. Would you take

» care of the on-site stuff?

»

» Not that I really need another cab of 2001 SLRs, but there is some other

» stuff... :-D

i'm happy to do it whether he has anything hidden or not.

[CoryOllis]

These sound like one to add to the list!

Thanks for the review!

[Freefallguy]

Ken, you’re in no position to be playing the sanity card. When I heard you asked Daniel when the Foreskins would be back in post season play, I knew you were not right above the brow. Sorry if I further disturbed your mental faculties; maybe Shrink can help. Be sure and post on the forum, should make for great entertaiment.

Rob told me you were living in a cardboard box; when I heard you had moved to somewhere in remote southern Queensland, I figured you had moved into a tent. Bivouac means living out of a tent in a remote area.

Rob also told me your mum had nicked your car; hence you couldn’t live on the road.

He said as well that when it came time to settle on your house, you’d save money in as much as you are a conveyance lawyer.

You mean none of this is true?

Back to the thread… Even if Rob had graced me with an ‘01 SLRDC, it in no way would have topped the Don Alejandro Robaina. No way.

[Ken Gargett]

» Ken, you’re in no position to be playing the sanity card. When I heard you

» asked Daniel when the Foreskins would be back in post season play, I knew

» you were not right above the brow. Sorry if I further disturbed your

» mental faculties; maybe Shrink can help. Be sure and post on the forum,

» should make for great entertaiment.

»

» Rob told me you were living in a cardboard box; when I heard you had moved

» to somewhere in remote southern Queensland, I figured you had moved into a

» tent. Bivouac means living out of a tent in a remote area.

» Rob also told me your mum had nicked your car; hence you couldn’t live on

» the road.

» He said as well that when it came time to settle on your house, you’d save

» money in as much as you are a conveyance lawyer.

» You mean none of this is true?

»

» Back to the thread… Even if Rob had graced me with an ‘01 SLRDC, it in no

» way would have topped the Don Alejandro Robaina. No way.

okay, first - the glorious skins are a dead set lay down misere to win a superbowl before the cowgirls.

next, when checking out various levels of mental health, you believed rob on not once but several occasions. res ipsa loquitor.

i was a banking lawyer, though did a lot of property stuff (when i worked in dc, we had a heap of banks as clients but also fannie mae - very interesting.)

as a former dirt salesman, rob is scared of conveyancing lawyers (actually all lawyers). can't believe that any of you believe a single word - have you not learnt anything??????

and i'll back an slr dc against pretty much anything.

[Freefallguy]

You're too much Ken...