Saint Luis Rey Regios Review

[thechenman]

Cigar: Saint Luis Rey Regios

Vitola: Robusto/Hermoso No. 4

Box Code: Unknown - Purchased as a single from Czar (likely '07 - '08)

Price: $7.71 (USD)

Ring Gauge: 48

Length: 4.8 inches

Body: Light - Medium

Pairing: Samuel Adams Scotch Ale

Location: Outdoors - On my front porch

Date/Time: Thursday, August 27th @ 9:12pm EDT

Environment: It was fairly cool last night. Probably around 68 degrees farenheit. The humidity was surprisingly low given that we just had rain showers a few hours earlier, but this allowed me to finally enjoy my first cigar since getting back from California on Sunday. There was a slight breeze and the sky was overcast (no stars) probably due to Tropical Storm Danny sitting off the NY coast. All in all, a very pleasent night.

Band: I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I really enjoy looking at cigar bands. That is the reason I leave the band on when I smoke, as I enjoy looking at it and studying it. I think in general the Saint Luis Rey Regios have a very attractive band. I think it's the brilliance of the red and the richness of the gold. That said though...I think that the crest/emblem on the shield was poorly embossed on this example as the impression was not complete. Still from a distance it looked good.

Appearance: This Saint Luis Rey Regios was not a beauty, but I would not call it rough looking either - somewhere in between, but still a good looking cigar. The wrapper was the color of a latte. Being my first expereince with this cigar, I don't know if it is the norm, but from my limited experience, Cuban cigar wrappers can vary widely in color from box to box and year to year. The wrapper was more on the dull side than the oily side. Some veins, but they were very slight.

Construction: To the touch, this was a well packed cigar. Firm, with only the slightest give and no soft spots whatsoever. I was impressed. In hand the cigars weight felt good and the wrapper had a smooth texture to it; however the wrapper appeared very thin and fragile. The triple cap was nicely applied to the head which looked to be on the flat side - possibly the norm for this cigar.

Aroma: There was only a very faint pre-light aroma to this cigar. A little musty with just a touch of spiciness to the nose.

Cut: I used my Xikar Xi3 Zebrawood handle cigar cutter. Unfortunately, the cut did not come away clean. The wrapper tore just slightly at the cut. Not a big issue though. More than likely I think it is was due to the RH in my humidor. With the A/C set at a higher temperature (gotta leave the A/C on for the dogs and dog walker) while the family and I were in California, the RH factor in my humidors rose to the 68% level. A bit higher than the 63% RH I normally prefer.

Draw: The draw was a bit tight on this cigar. The pre-light draw tasted of tobacco and was sweet on the lips while being just a tad harsh. Unfortunately, the draw remained farily tight through the duration of the smoke. My cheek muscles were definitely a bit on the weary side by the end of this smoke. Any longer, and I may have made myself light headed...hahahaha.

Light: I lit the cigar with my Lotus T3. I toasted the foot of the SLR Regios and then took a few puffs. It lit easily despite being what I consider to be a slightly overhumidified cigar. But the Lotus T3 is a triple flame table lighter, so I really never have a problem getting any stick lit.

Smoke: The SLR Regios created a decent amount of smoke. It was a bluish gray, at least in the light of my front porch. Could look different during daylight, but I tend to smoke mostly at night after the kids are put to bed. While the volume of smoke may not have been something to write home about, I found the smoke to be more fragrant than normal. Very pleasing to the nose, but I can't quite describe the scent, other than to say I liked it.

First Third: I had expected at least a little hint of initial spiciness even though the pre-light smell only revealed a hint of pepperiness, but it did not materialize. That was not a bad thing as it made the smoke very smooth. The cigar started out on the mild side. The initial flavor was a sort of sweetness which I enjoyed. After that I began to tast some woodiness in the cigar.

Second Third: Going into the middle third of this cigar, I began to get hints of chocolate. I love chocolate. The sweetness began to evolve and while not overly sweet began to take on the characteristics of nectar. The chocolate was the slightly bitter kind and the woodiness I experienced earlier was slowly fading into the background. At this point I would say the cigar was medium bodied.

Final Third: At this time I removed the band. Let me tell you, it was no small feat. They really glued this sucker on. I nearly damaged the wrapper in my efforts. Now the cigar began to get a bit harsher (not surprising), but was still far from being overpowering. The sweetness I had experienced earlier began to fade, but there was still a bitter chocolate type taste and some slight woodiness. I smoked this SLR Regios down to about three-quarters of an inch which is a testament to how much I enjoyed it. I usually let my cigars go out at 1.5 inches.

Burn: This burn on this cigar was virtually razor sharp through the first two-thirds of this cigar. Truly impressive. Despite my aggressive puffing it did not get hot. It did waver in the final third, but not drastically.

Ash: The ash was predominantly white with some flecks of gray. Granted my expereince with Habanos is limited, but this was the whitest ash that I have seen to date on a Cuban cigar. The ash was firm as the layers were tightly packed. The ash held on for more than two-thirds the length of the cigar before falling off on its own. I regret that I have no pictures as it was a sight to see.

Smoking Time: 53 minutes - That is pretty short for a cigar of this size. I attribute it to me puffing extra hard because of the tight draw.

Conclusion: Overall, despite the draw issue, I was very impressed by this cigar. The flavors were difficult to place, but the smoke coated my palate well and lingered for quite some time. This could be due to complexity, but more than likely it was due to my inexperienced palate. However, the cigar did display good evolution. My gut tells me that these could be even better with age. The one mistake was the beverage pairing. I think I would have preferred to go with somthing that was less smokey than the Samuel Adams Scotch Ale I paired the SLR Regios with. Something lighter and sweeter like a Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 anos, rather than a smokey, peaty scotch. I would definitely look to purchase of box of SLR Regios in the future, it would be a welcome addition to my humidor. For the price, I think the SLR Regios offers good value as well.

Rating: 89/100. Would have been higher if not for the tight draw.

[android]

Great job with the review.

[rckymtn22]

Nice review

[Ellery]

Great review, just picked up a box, cant wait to get into them.

[tigger]

Nice review!

Had an '01 SLR Lonsdale last night myself. Tasty, but I was surprised to find that it seems like they need a bit more age.

[Colt45]

Thanks for the great review!

[Aficionado]

Very cool review, full of fresh enthusiasm.

I really like these cigars, but I did not have a white ash, maybe almost white.

No pictures=no problem.

[neal875]

Nice review!

Had an '01 SLR Lonsdale last night myself. Tasty, but I was surprised to find that it seems like they need a bit more age.

I have a cabinet of 50 SLR Lonsdales from 1998 and they are UNBELIEVABLY great right now. One of the most complex and rich smokes ever. I was caught by surprise on this cab. Plus, as has been noted by others, the 98s are extremely dark quite often and this cab has nearly oscuro wrappers. An amazing experience. Give your box some time and exercise unusual amounts of patience because you will be rewarded.

[thechenman]

Thanks for the feedback all. Sorry about the lack of pictures. I'll work on that. My Blackberry phone just does not cut it. Especially at night. May need to go to a real camera.

[aavkk]

thanks for the very detailed review. I also had a cigar outside on thursday night in NYC and it was a great night to light up.

[ksblazer]

I smoked a late 07 a couple of weeks ago. While still young I really enjoyed and and look forward to seeing how they change with age.

[ipfoley]

Thanks for the review and I really enjoy the format of your reviews. Keep it up!

[thechenman]

Thanks for the review and I really enjoy the format of your reviews. Keep it up!

Thanks for the feedback. I do plan on continuing to post reviews regularly. Hoping to get my camera work down soon and figure out how to post pictures to my reveiw.

[Ellery]

Was about to post a review about this cigar. Just smoked one from AGU Nov 2008

Pretty much same thoughts/flavors that you got. Going into the 2nd third, picked up on some licorice with the woodiness that you were talking about. And going into the last 3rd, the licorice/sweetness really picked up going into a chocolate flavor. Fortunately, had no draw issues.

Overall:

This is a goto cigar for me. It took me approx 45 min to smoke, a big plus now that its getting colder outside. Its got a great flavor profile, and just an overall enjoyable smoke.

Id give it a 90/100