josie67 Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Not too long ago, I purchased a few custom cigars that were made by master roller Juan Escobar from the old Romeo Y Julieta factory in Havana. When they arrived, I noticed a pungent but sweet smell emanating from the package as I opened it. the cigars were fairly dark, slightly spongy, and none of the cigars looked exactly like the others...some had an ever so slight bend, one had a cap that was a tad smaller than the others. This is exactly what I was expecting to see....no computer generated cigar like we see nowadays where every cigar in a box looks EXACTLY like its brother next to it. the long and short of it, they looked rustic and beautiful. They are robustos with obviously no band on them. I let them stabilize a bit, and after a few months the sponginess was gone (left them in my humidor that runs around 64% humidity, so much of the extra moisture was gone). I had high hopes for these, and my wife and I went to the local cigar shop yesterday to see how these were. In 2 words, GOOD GOD. From the first puff, I was hit with a blast of earthy, supremely rich, leathery flavors that literally made my eyes water, and when I looked at my wife, who was smoking the same cigar, I thought she was going to throw up . 1 minute in, and she said that there was no way she was going to be able to smoke it, so she put it down and lit up a PLPC (no worries, after I finished mine, I smoked hers). The draw was very loose, so I just puffed very lightly, and I was rewarded with thick volumes of smoke. The first 1/3 provided me with the strongest, richest, and most complex smoke I have ever had, and I would consider it ultra full bodied. During the second 1/3, the intensity mellowed out a bit to merely full bodied, and the flavors changed ever so slightly to leathery with a slight hint of sweetness. The final third provided much the same as the second 1/3, and the cigar never heated up or tasted harsh. These were rolled in July of last year, and it will be interesting to see how the cigar evolves ( I have 2 left, and I am not sure I can keep my hands off them to see how they develop, but for the good of my fellow man, I will leave the last one for another year so I can review it with some actual age on it). I paired the first cigar with a glass of Grand Marnier and the second one with a glass of Zaya Grand Reserve 12 y.o. rum. Both drinks paired well with the cigars, with the Grand Marnier adding a sweet orange accompaniment and the Zaya adding some really nice vanilla undertones. My impressions overall: Flavor 10/10 Intense, earthy, leathery, slightly sweet flavors Draw 8/10 very loose draw, but puffing gently greeted me with a full mouth of dense smoke. Construction 8/10 slightly rustic, but I must say they were more beautiful than the normal, computer generated cigars coming out of Havana Burn 9/10 Very nice Final score 99/100 The only thing that really kept it out of 100 points was the very loose draw, but the draw absolutely did NOT impair the flavors at all. With only 6 months of age, I was impressed that it had no harshness or bitterness or any youth at all. I smoked the cigars at 2 PM and when I went to bed at 10 PM I was still feeling the effects of this beast (I felt like I got hit over the head with a hammer and my stomach was still unsettled). The only other cigar that I have ever rated as high as this was a 1990 Davidoff Dom Perignon that I had a few years ago (if you dig around I have a review of that cigar), and I have to tell ya, this Juan Escobar custom rolled BLEW the Davidoff away.
El Presidente Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Great review mate If you get the opportunity I would love to see a pic of one of the remaining cigars. One thing about the top echelon of custom rolled cigars is that they are very different in terms of personality to even the best of the standard Marques. I have spent plenty of time with great rollers as they conjure a custom cigar. Yes, in the main they are choosing from excellent tobacco, Yes their rolling skills are at the pinnacle. However what makes a stunning custom as opposed to a good one is the passion they put into it. The passion in blending it, the passion in the search for perfection. When it all comes together it is a wonderful experience as you can attest
josie67 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Posted January 25, 2009 Rob, here are some pictures of the Juan Escobars....enjoy. I forgot to mention that the smell at cold was a mixture of leather, sweetness, and the typical barnyard aroma.
jdbrown Posted January 27, 2009 Posted January 27, 2009 I picked up a bundle of these same sticks...I tried one a few months ago and like you said even the loose draw did not negatively impact the flavours. Great stuff for sure. I am letting mine sit for another year!!
Miami101 Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 These looks great and the photos help out: Please keep it coming, and once again thank you.
sounddust Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Great work man. I have always loved the mysterious allure of non-banded custom CCs. I'm kicking myself for missing the opportunity to purchase some made by Virginia Cansino now.
josie67 Posted January 28, 2009 Author Posted January 28, 2009 Great work man. I have always loved the mysterious allure of non-banded custom CCs. I'm kicking myself for missing the opportunity to purchase some made by Virginia Cansino now. I picked up a few of Virginia Cansino's as well. I will post some pictures soon, but since they were rolled in September '08, I will wait another 2 months before I do a review of them. I must say though, they are GORGEOUS with a beautiful flagged foot. In a side by side comparison between the Virginia Cansino and the Juan escobar, the cansinos come on top with regards to aesthetics, but I can't imagine the cansinos can be any better in flavor to the near perfect flavor of the escobars.
DocRKS Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Juan Escobar Customs....the thing a cigar smoker's dreams are made of....
sounddust Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 I picked up a few of Virginia Cansino's as well. I will post some pictures soon, but since they were rolled in September '08, I will wait another 2 months before I do a review of them. I must say though, they are GORGEOUS with a beautiful flagged foot. In a side by side comparison between the Virginia Cansino and the Juan escobar, the cansinos come on top with regards to aesthetics, but I can't imagine the cansinos can be any better in flavor to the near perfect flavor of the escobars. Ahhhh! *Extraordinarily flexible steel-toed boot to the head*
terrantheman Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 How do I get one of these??? Great review!
aavkk Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 It almost looks like one of them has a 109 head. Ive never heard of these before... I guess I know why.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now