Ramon Allones Specially Selected - UMR MAY 21 (JBWP3RW)*

[SmoothContest]

 Certainly 20 and 21 Cubans seem to be smoking very well. At least that’s popular opinion. With this in mind I popped open my box of MAY 21 RASS that were so fresh I swear the glue is still drying on the cigar bands😉

Anyway I’m a huge fan of robustos. My favorites are the HdM Epi 2 and the Bolivar Royal Corona.  I tend to enjoy cream pepper and Leather notes with a hint of sweetness from the wrapper.  With that said, the specially selected I have had in the past have always hit me as a bit on the bitter side with heavy notes of charred wood, so I went into this review with that thought in my head and did something a little different.  I decided to pair this with a cappuccino.  This could have influenced my experience with the May 21 RASS, but wow was it enjoyable!  First of all the wrapper on these are awesome with a texture of smooth very fine sand paper and minimal veins.  The first and second third were pure coarse black pepper and espresso with a hint of sweet cream.  The last third transitioned to the typical charred wood with a hint of clove.  I can only imagine this will calm down with some age on these very young sticks, I’m excited to test them again in about 6 months and see how they’ve transformed.  
 

For the rating I’ll go with an 88, as I can see their potential with some age. But overall a very good smoke, with some coffee, that I highly recommend  

 

[SmoothContest]

Little bit of an update. I couldn’t help myself and decided to go for a second dip with the May 21 RASS. This time I dry boxed for  a day (I keep my humidors at 65rh and 69 degrees). And paired it with a rum casked Bourbon from Doc Swinson. Same pepper, espresso and sweetness from the wrapper, but the smoke output and the burn consistency after the dry box is amazing. 100% perfect. It also helped the espresso last into a nice long finish.  
 

okay… now I’ll quit smoking them and check in again around Christmas😉
 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Interesting! I always find it curious how differently a cigar is perceived by different individuals. I know for me, when I think of a RASS profile, I think rich leather cream and unspecified fruit accents maybe some coffee interspersed here and there.

Great reviews though, and I'm glad to hear the dry boxing works so well for you! I think there's a saying somewhere, oh how did it go? "Once you dry box you can't stop" something like that 😄