El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse

[thechenman]

Cigar: EL REY DEL MUNDO DEMI TASSE

Vitola: Mini-Panatela/Entreactos

Filler: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Wrapper: Cuba

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

Price: $3.55 (USD)

Ring Gauge: 30

Length: 3.9 inches

Body: Light

Pairing: Coca-Cola Zero

Location: Outdoors – On my front porch.

Date/Time: Friday, August 28th, 2009 @ 11:12pm EDT

Environment: It was late in the evening on this Friday night when I finally had the opportunity to step out onto my front porch and enjoy what I hoped would be a good smoke. Given the time of night and a packed morning on Saturday of errands, classes, for the kids, birthday party, etc., I opted for a short smoke so that I could head off to bed at a decent hour. Opening up my Cuban singles humidor, I find this mini-panatela sitting in the top tray. It seemed the right size, so I pulled out the El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse for my evening (but almost morning) smoke. It was cool outside, with a slight breeze. I would say in the low-60s (farenheit).

Band: Checking out the band as I always do, I remember that the ERDM cigar band is not one of my favorites. The yellow oval just does not sit well with me. The band has shiny gold borders trimmed in red. The yellow oval that sits in the center with the ERDM crest (in gold and white) encircled by a band of gold. El Rey del Mundo and Habana is written in red within the yellow oval, top and bottom. While the wrapper is appealing, I still mentally go bleech…

Appearance: Outside of the ugly cigar band, the ERDM Mini-Panatela is a good looking, albeit small cigar. The wrapper is a light shade of brown. The cigar was a little lighter than a café latte in color. The ERDM Mini-Panatela was firm to the touch with no noticeable soft spots. I did not detect any water spots either. The cap was neatly applied.

Construction: This vitola looks almost like a cigarette. Small and fits like a cigarette in my hand, just a bit heavier. The cigar was well constructed. I could find no soft spots, but I didn’t want to squeeze too hard for fear of snapping the cigarette, I mean cigar. The cap looked good as well. Someone with really small hands and fingers must have put this mini-panatela together.

Aroma: I really did not pick up much of a scent from this cigar pre-light. Generally, I detected just a light tobacco scent with nothing else to speak of. Then again I wasn’t expecting a whole hell of a lot from this tiny stick. Nothing earth shattering, just a good smoke.

Cut: I cut this cigar with my Xikar Xi3 Zebrawood handle cigar cutter. The cut was clean and easy. All too simple due to the small ring gauge of this cigar.

Draw: The pre-light draw on this cigar was a little tight. To be honest, in my albeit limited experience, that tends to be the case with the smaller ring gauge cigars. Luckily they are short, so I don’t have to work to hard. I guess the La Gloria Cubana Medaille d’Or No. 3 I have my eyes on might be a different story given its length. I will let you readers know at a later date. Getting back to the ERDM Demi Tasse, I got a nutty and sweet taste come forward during the pre-light draw.

Light: I lit the ERDM Demi Tasse with my Lotus T3 table lighter. Talk about overkill. The flame almost torched the whole cigar. Needless to say, this puppy lit almost instantaneously.

Smoke: The ERDM Demi Tasse did not put out a lot of smoke. What little smoke it did produce had a bluish hue. Honestly though, how much smoke can you really expect from a cigar this size? Apparently – not a whole hell of a lot. This was the case for the duration of this short smoke.

First Third: There was nothing special that came with the opening of this cigar. Initially I tasted some sweetness and tobacco flavors. Very mild. I waited for the chocolate and nuttiness that I hear comes with this vitola, but nothing.

Second Third: During this third, there was really no progression to the cigar. Flavors remained the same. Kind of dull. In all honesty…the little sweetness was pleasant, but I was expecting more.

Final Third: The cigar did build in strength during this third. But the flavor profile was still the same. Oh well…nothing ventured, nothing gained. With a little less than an inch left the cigar began to get hot, so I put it down and let it go out.

Burn: This puppy burned pretty fast. I say this because I know that I am a fast smoker, and given the thin ring gauge I took extra care to take it slow. Still this stick turned to ash pretty quickly. Then again…that is what I expected of it and it delivered on this front, but is it wrong to expect a little bit more?

Ash: The ash on the ERDM Demi Tasse was a solid gray. It held up better than I expected, falling off on its own at about 1.5 inches. The remainder held on until I let the cigar go out.

Smoking Time: 20 minutes

Conclusion: All in all, I can’t say that I was impressed by this cigar. It never really took off for me. While the flavors were not bad, they were nothing special. I would smoke another if offered to me, but wouldn’t buy this cigar of my own volition. I guess that says something when the cigar costs only $3.55 USD. I was looking for a quick smoke, and it delivered on that front, but I still expect my quick smokes to be good. On the latter, the ERDM Demi Tasse did not deliver.

Rating: 84/100

Date of Publication: September 3rd, 2009

Written by: David Chen (a.k.a. thechenman)

[soltino]

Chenman - sorry to hear about your less than favourable experience with this smoke. I have found these to be a very flavour packed little cigar, and smoke them regularly. Next time get Rob/Lisa/Smithy to send you some with a darker shade, I find that they are generally tastier.

If you are still interested in thin/small cigarettes... I mean cigars... then I can recommend the HDM du Maire. Great fresh but give them a couple of years and they have lashings of cocoa, a real pleasant morning coffee cigar

[thechenman]

Chenman - sorry to hear about your less than favourable experience with this smoke. I have found these to be a very flavour packed little cigar, and smoke them regularly. Next time get Rob/Lisa/Smithy to send you some with a darker shade, I find that they are generally tastier.

If you are still interested in thin/small cigarettes... I mean cigars... then I can recommend the HDM du Maire. Great fresh but give them a couple of years and they have lashings of cocoa, a real pleasant morning coffee cigar

Thanks for the insight Soltino. I actually have a du Marie in my humidor that I am planning on reveiwing after seeing the Prez's commentary on it last week. Should be interesting. As far as ring gauge goes, I do tend to prefer 42+, but am not opposed to enjoying thinner ring gauge smokes, particularly during the winter months hear in the Northeast. Take care..

[frenchkiwi]

"Date/Time: Friday, August 28th, 2009 @ 11:12pm EDT"

The one thing i'd say about these small light-bodied cigars is that in my experience, they are best smoked in the morning on a clean palate. I find that as the day goes on, each extra taste experience decreases the palate's sensitivity to subtle flavours, and these ERDMs are quite subtle. I used to smoke them in the morning before coffee and they were great - honey and cream (had boxes from 1990 and 2005). When i made the mistake of getting one out after dinner, it seemed totally flavourless. Of course, the one you smoked could just've been a dud!

ps: same goes for the du Maire i smoke it in the morning to appreciate it fully. The Petit Julieta is one small cigar that i do smoke after dinner and it's ok - not amazing but ok.

As for darker wrapper on a ERDM, it does make for a stronger cigar which is good if they are lacking flavour (youth?) but it also takes away slightly from the delicate floral and honey hints that i enjoy in this demi-tasse (more leather, less sweetness)...

[thechenman]

"Date/Time: Friday, August 28th, 2009 @ 11:12pm EDT"

The one thing i'd say about these small light-bodied cigars is that in my experience, they are best smoked in the morning on a clean palate. I find that as the day goes on, each extra taste experience decreases the palate's sensitivity to subtle flavours, and these ERDMs are quite subtle. I used to smoke them in the morning before coffee and they were great - honey and cream (had boxes from 1990 and 2005). When i made the mistake of getting one out after dinner, it seemed totally flavourless. Of course, the one you smoked could just've been a dud!

ps: same goes for the du Maire i smoke it in the morning to appreciate it fully. The Petit Julieta is one small cigar that i do smoke after dinner and it's ok - not amazing but ok.

As for darker wrapper on a ERDM, it does make for a stronger cigar which is good if they are lacking flavour (youth?) but it also takes away slightly from the delicate floral and honey hints that i enjoy in this demi-tasse (more leather, less sweetness)...

French...

I think that you make a very good point here. The time of day can make a serious impact on the taste profile of the cigar. I may try to sample one in the morning, on a weekend, where I don't have to shuttle the kids around. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[PigFish]

I have found these to be great little cigars second on the Demi Tasse chain to the Bolivar. It is really too bad that most of the Demi Tasse cigars are now extinct. They will be missed. Thanks for the review. -Piggy

[thechenman]

I have found these to be great little cigars second on the Demi Tasse chain to the Bolivar. It is really too bad that most of the Demi Tasse cigars are now extinct. They will be missed. Thanks for the review. -Piggy

Thanks Piggy. I completely agree with you. I love them for a quick smoke...especially during the winter. You're right though...there are very few to choose from, and likely fewer still in the future.