Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos ER Asia Pacific

[Ginseng]

Got my box from Lisa recently and I have smoked two. The first was tame, bland, and not at all strong. The second, well, here's my liveblog of the experience:

I'm on my second from this box and all I can say is Wow! This cigar is nothing, I mean nothing like the first one I smoked. Piercing, powerful trailing smoke aroma. Full-bodied and strong. An almost oily smoke on the palate that is a touch astringent but clean on the palate. A bit of back-of-the throat burn but no ammonia or other hints that the tobacco is improperly or insufficiently cured. Primarily woody, sweet, but man, strong. Nothing at all like RASS I've recently been smoking. A much cleaner, less complex body that is not as earthy, or leathery.

I take back what I said about ammonia. I'm 1.5" in now and am getting regular nosefuls of it. It's become a challenge to smoke. I swear to god the area around my nostrils and lips are stinging like from a Habanero chili pepper burn but without the actual sensation of spice. This is turning out to be a damned tough cigar.

Oh yeah. This cigar is a definite hard case. As strong as a young RyJ Cazadores but not quite as unsmokeable if that makes any sense. Every single nose hair is tingling and I'm not even expelling nasally. It's killing me, puff by vicious puff.

Beginning of the final third and I honestly don't know how much longer I can take this. My throat is burning and my eyes are intermittently watering. I can keep most any smoke gripped between my teeth as I smoke but I find I'm taking this one out pretty regularly. Ou-freakin'-chie.

About 1.75" left and the raw power has toned downed just the slightest bit. The cigar is in the ashtray right now while I give my nasal membranes a rest. Just starting to get touches of warm leather and earth but it has left me with a bitterness deep down in my throat. Surprisingly, the nicotine buzz is not as heavy as one might expect. It's strong as hell but I don't feel dizzy or nauseous. Drinking coffee with sugar and cream might be helping just a tad.

Super light puffs and keeping the cigar on the edge of extinguishing seems to make it more manageable. This is the same technique I use for smoking the strongest of the strong (e.g., Litto Gomez, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño) and not something I've had to do with Habanos.

I honestly can't remember ever smoking a Habanos that has been this punishing. I find myself reflexively grimacing when I bring the cigar to my lips. About 1.25" left to go. To its benefit, it has still not gotten unbearably harsh or acrid. It's just freakin' strong.

Getting a little tightness in the chest. Pretty sure it's not a heart attack.

At the final inch now and it's finally telling me the end is near. Burn has been flawless so far. Straight with a clean burn line. Tight medium gray ash and clean, conical coal upon ashing.

Slowing down my pace is keeping it on track. Punishing. Touches of almond and smoldering wood behind the mind-numbing power haze.

Pulse rate is 84. My normal standing heart rate is 64.

The in-room aroma is really quite pleasant. Fresh, pungent tobacco. But cigar-in-face it's just rough.

Even at 0.75", it's "smokeable" in the sense that it hasn't fallen off the cliff and gotten nasty. But I think I'm going to put it down soon. Curious to see how far this stick will go.

Ok, fingers are burning so it's time to put this thing down.

In sum: An unbelievably strong cigar. No two ways to put it. Just naked power right now. But amazingly I don't get the sense it is a bad cigar...just like someone accidentally put all ligero in the blend. There's no real fullness to it. Clean, clear, but insanely potent.

Never, ever give this to a Habanos newbie...unless he regularly smokes LFD Chisels or Double Ligeros. This is the strongest Cuban I've ever smoked. Bar none.

I don't know how this will develop with age. Will other flavors come out? Will the blend reveal some hidden treasure? I couldn't say. It's simply too strong to make that determination at this time.

Wilkey

[Colt45]

Thanks for the warning review. It'll surely be interesting to see how these pan out,

but given most of the comments to date, for me there's not much appeal.

[hoyopr]

Thanks for the very detailed review, it should be interesting to see if concistency turns out to be a problem with the definite difference between your two experience. I'm very interested in hearing more reviews as to which way these will be going over the next 6 months.

[bunburyist]

Wow. Nice review Wilkey. Funny how like a child, being told something is painful and probably not good for you....makes you want to go and do it. Will have to try one soon. I'm thinking Sunday afternoon, once there's nothing left to do and I can sign-off for the rest of the day

[Lotus400]

Thanks for "taking one for the team" Wilkey. With my experience level, if I tried a cigar like this I would have to lay down aftrwards

I am on the wait list for the RACF and will have Lisa throw the box in my FOH Humidor and just forget about them for a few years. I really wonder what PCC was trying to accomplish this cigar and its blend, someday many of us will find out.

[Ellery]

This sounds interesting, I think Im gonna pick some up (maybe a sampler) next time. Great review.

[Colt45]

I know we've done the dance already on the video review thread of this cigar, but a few things again come to mind from your review.

Nose hair burning ammonia to me screams improperly processed tobacco. Whether intentional or not, it does not instill much confidence.

If the the strength comes from an abundance of ligero, I can only imagine an imbalanced cigar down the line - conjecture. But perhaps what

may be most crucial for me is that these have been described as possibly being a ten year cigar. If I'm going to be asked to invest ten years

in a box of cigars, what should I expect as a return on my investment?

Personally, I think anything less than an exceptional box would be inadequate.

[aavkk]

well I do have a box but havent smoked any... yet. Call me crazy and I understand the speculation especially because its such a different experience than a young Estupendos but... I trust Dag Holmboe and David Tang to create a blend for the long haul. These guys have a lot of experience between the two of them. I would however LOVE TO HEAR HAMLET'S THOUGHTS ON THESE!

[thechenman]

Ouch...thanks for the review Wilkey. However, reading it makes me wanto pass on the RACFs until I hear that they have some serious potential down the road. Right now they sound like an instrument of torture...

[Colt45]

Call me crazy and I understand the speculation especially because its such a different experience than a young Estupendos but... I trust Dag Holmboe and David Tang to create a blend for the long haul. These guys have a lot of experience between the two of them.

Fair enough and difficult to argue with. But what are your expectations, and what do you feel they should be when investing up to or

perhaps even more than a decade?

If the goal was to create a cigar with a certain profile, and to reach this goal the cigar (or any cigar really) needed to be blended in such a

way that would require aging for ten years (at this point, ten years is for example purposes), then that I can fully understand and support.

If the cigar was blended simply to be strong and stay that way for most of it's life span - perhaps not so much. It may sound that the two need

not be mutually exclusive, but I think you get my point.

[tugboat]

…”Super light puffs and keeping the cigar on the edge of extinguishing seems to make it more manageable. This is the same technique I use for smoking the strongest of the strong (e.g., Litto Gomez, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño) and not something I've had to do with Habanos”…

….”Never, ever give this to a Habanos newbie...unless he regularly smokes LFD Chisels or Double Ligeros. This is the strongest Cuban I've ever smoked. Bar none"....

For me this is what’s a little confusing. I enjoy the Little Gomez and the Chisels. Could the RACF be on the other side of the pendulum as compared to say the Monte Open? Are they just trying to come out with something different?

[bassman]

I smoked my first RA CF yesterday. First the bad news- the cigar was quite underfilled & burned much too fast. Outside of that, what a fine cigar! Strong, but not harsh or overpowering, full bodied with sweet flavor & a nice even burn. For a lover of strong cigars like me, this is great. Just pulled a random one out of the box. Hope the others have more tobacco in them.

[Bartolomeo]

RA CF STA JUN 09

One word.....GROSS!

I will keep my review short and sweet, kind of like my experience tonight with the CF, I have the same thoughts as Wilkey above

I bought a box of these as an investment, as I knew I wouldnt touch them for a while but I pray they do get better b/c tonight was no fun, but tonights review was from a Fiver I bought, waiting to get my CF from Czar shortly

Wrapper was mild tan, cigar seemed very tight, almost packed to the gills, draw was a little tough but manageable, lots of veins, pretty shape though

As a former social cigarette smoker, it was the closest CC I have tasted to cigarettes.........thats not good

Ash was White and tight with an even burn

Flavors: Not much I could decipher but tasted like Nuclear chicken wings spicy, cayenne pepper and also a horrible aftertaste

I ditched it after the 2/3, I never do that as I nub most cigars right now

Reminded me like a spicy jawbreaker you had when you were a kid that was too spicy to keep in your mouth and you had to take out every 2 mins b/c the spice was just overwhelming

I am not going to say I am disappointed b/c I knew what I was getting into buying a box but if they are like this after 5 years, I may quit cigars

I am not going to rate since I didnt smoke the complete cigar but I do suggest trying one to at least tell your grand kids you had a RA CF back in the day

Bart

[Ginseng]

I've been smoking out of this same cab and have made it through a half-dozen or so. They span the range from blow your head off (2) to bland hot air (2) to "what the hell am I smoking?"(3). I cannot get a bearing on this cigar. But I will say, not a one had me thinking that this was going to develop into a classic. But then again, the strong ones have been stronger than any other ER I've smoked. So, unlike the benchmark RA Estupendos, I can't say that the power is balanced by the (potential) flavor. It's a shame as they are pretty cigars.

Wilkey

[shrink]

I appreciate all the "reviews" so far, especially from Wilkey and others who have suffered the torments of hell on our behalf. Since I have never had a "bad" Ramon Allones, I bought a cab without much concern. Now, I doubt that I will open it for at least another year or two. Better yet, I'll just "forget" about it, and one day "find" it in the recesses of the humidor to discover that it's become a gem. Stranger things have happened. Thanks, guys.

[CigarmanTim]

Keep the defribulators ready! Let's revisit this in say..... 30 years.

[CigarmanTim]

Since I have never had a "bad" Ramon Allones, I bought a cab without much concern. Now, I doubt that I will open it for at least another year or two. Better yet, I'll just "forget" about it, and one day "find" it in the recesses of the humidor to discover that it's become a gem. Stranger things have happened. Thanks, guys.

or maybe you could put some 5vers up for trade or sale

[vivalanation734]

Had one with a JUL 09 box code yesterday. I thought it was excellent. Not too much strength and little to no ammonia. Had that fruit RA flavor, a nice sweetness, and hints of coffee with a little more heft behind it. I'd rate it at a 91, with the potential of 93-94 in a year+.

[Tone_NY]

I posted this on another board the other day.

I had smoked one a few weeks ago strong flavorful, rough around the edges. Overall I enjoyed it. Last night with some warm weather I smoked one from the this group buy and it was rather flat and muted go figure.

I have no idea what time would do for them. So I guess they'll be put away and revisited next summer. Interesting enigma on these cigars.

[aavkk]

I smoked one from a friends box over this past weekend and it was medium bodied without too much complexity other than straight forward tobacco. It was a very forgettable cigar and I will be doing just that, burying my box for years and will forget about it.

[thechenman]

Most of the comments I am reading on this cigar make me just want to pass it up. Love the brand, love the shape, but that is not reason enough to go ahead with a box purchase.

[mash]

I've really enjoyed these. Along with the Mag 48, my favourite special production cigars lately.