Mr Ramses Herrera Churchill 2005

[nugget]

Rolled by the man himself, Mr. Ramses Pantoja Herrera, rolling room supervisor of the Partagas factory, where he is in charge of controlling the production of several cigar rollers and quality control of the same.

The cigar itself is of Churchill size and was rolled out the back of Cigar Czar on or around the 12th of November 2005 in the fine company of many local members.

The look is a deep tan with dark glossy veins exposing the natural leaf filler beneath. Although slightly bent, a good demonstration of the man true rolling ability, even after few Coronas.

The feel once rolled, was as you could imagine moist and spongy, but now we have a much firmer cigar that gives a slight crackle from a gentle press that is consistent along the entire cigar.

At cold the smell is of fresh tobacco, slightly woody, and is giving off a strong sense of spiciness.

Picking an opening off the head with my fingers, the way this fine stogy should be respected, and placing it to my lips I am hit with a dry but sweet, somewhat nutty flavor and the unlit draw is just perfect….give me that dam lighter!

After heating the foot for a few seconds, I lay back in my chair and am less than surprised by the combustion and effortless draw. With the first mouthful of smoke I’m again hit by spices although this time definable by white pepper, nutmeg and Cuban earth.

Half way we notice the burning is even, the ash firm but a bit flaky and the cigar is now intensifying, asserting itself to be quite robust. Every one of the thick velvet mouthfuls of smoke are sinking me further into my seat, the spices are dying a little and I’m now introduced to some lightly roasted coffee notes and even floral characteristics.

Near the end now and many of the dominant flavors have died a bit, god rest their soles, and the cigars become marginally sharper in taste. Now like dark chocolate, slightly bitter, but not enough to dampen my spirits due to the also leathery finish left behind that lingers nicely.

One to remember!

To paraphrase, a medium bodied full flavor cigar best suited to the late afternoon/evening glass/bottle of Shiraz.

Rated 91/100, I only hope the Salomone and Torpedo he rolled me are just as good.

PS. Sorry the camera wasn’t working….your loss.:-P

[JMH]

I had a pyramid back in 2005 when he was in Sydney. It was a great cigar, I wish I had bought a few more to hold on to for a little while.