FOH'ers Daily Smoke

[Rupe]

MonteCarlo

 

TOS - OCT ‘16

 

 

[Paso]

[maverickdrinker]

2010 Santos lonsdale custom roll




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[Kaptain Karl]

California can be such a pain in the ass, but then we get to experience this

[westg]

Montecristo Edmundo

[Ej456]

[NicPac]

[maverickdrinker]

In regards to construction and consistency, the very best at the moment, in my view and from my recent experience would have to be Trinidad. The reason for the resurgence is due to the 50th anniversary of the founding of the marca in 2019, although this is from Habanos S.A's point-of-view. The descendants of the Trinidad family would argue that the brand was founded in 1905 (and this dispute is on-going), whilst our dearest friend [mention=1177]ATGroom[/mention] would point out scant references to any diplomatic gifts being Trinidad prior to the 1990s. So is the Habanos version of Trinidad really 50 years old? I know dear pal [mention=30385]99call[/mention] that you are aware of the saying attributed to Lord Alfred Tennyson, "Ours is not to reason or question why!" It's a phrase that can be condescending but sometimes, as Habanos enthusiasts, you've just got to accept "Cuba being Cuba", put reason aside and accept the fact that Trinidad was a marca in the doldrums in the early to mid-2010s and now it's back to its premium status.
The resurgence of Quai d'Orsay around very late-2017/early 2018 with the introduction of the Quai d'Orsay No. 50 and 54 and the updated band for the Quai d'Orsay Coronas Claro is harder to pinpoint the reasons for. This was a brand which for me was close to 'dead in the water'; after all, the Imperiales was discontinued in 2015, the sadly last Ninfa-sized Panatelas went a few years prior in 2010.  From 2011 until 2018 there were five special release Regional Editions in the Quai d'Orsay marca. To attain the best logical guess for the resurgence of Quai d'Orsay one needs to delve into Habanos history as, like the Trinidad example above, this can give us an insight into the context of why Habanos S.A does the things they do, at times. The Quai D'Orsay marca was founded in 1973 for the French market. Now, France is one of the biggest Habanos markets in the world and if we look into Quai d'Orsay releases since the QdO Nos. 50 and 54 came out we'll see three Regional Editions in French-speaking markets (including a prestigious Numero 109 slated for release in 2020 in Switzerland) and the first Limited Edition ever for Quai d'Orsay with the Senadores. If anyone had forecast that such things were possible with the Quai d'Orsay marca in 2015 when the Imperiales was discontinued you'd have to say that they would have been crazy! Such is the joy of following this distinguished hobby!
On a personal note, I would opine that the first run of QdO Nos 50 and 54 were of better quality than the recent 2019 run. However, Quai d'Orsay is still a very good Habanos product currently, it's just that I feel the initial 2018 offerings were better.
The question of Cohiba is complex and as I need to go to work as I type this, I may need to come back to it. If I use a sporting analogy, the reason why NFL is arguably one of the world-leading sporting products is because the people that run that game actively make sure to stick to a 16 game season. By doing this, the NFL ensures that their brand is more valuable as they avoid diluting and over-marketing their product. With the release of the Talisman Limited Edition in 2017, I would argue that this was a quality Cohiba release but Habanos S.A re-releasing in 2019 was a foolish step, it's akin to the NFL playing their game in the middle of the Baseball season in late-Fall/early Summer. They've (H.S.A) diluted the exclusivity of their premium brand and I wonder if the quality of recent Cohiba is equal to Cohiba regular production prior to the Talisman release in 2017. I would argue no but we need to keep in mind that Cohiba did have a shortage of crop in relation to wrapper recently so perhaps these things were taken out of the hands of Habanos S.A literally!
Having said this, I still think that Cohiba is a premium brand but recent Cohiba is not as good as Cohiba from the mid-2010s, for example. This Daily smoking thread is a good guide to following trends and if you go over the pages in this thread in the past few months one could see for themselves the veracity in what I'm saying. There's a lot more image uploads and references to Trinidad than there is for Cohiba currently.

Thanks for sharing your perspective on Cohiba.

Admittedly, I haven’t smoked too many recent regular production Cohiba vitolas or even tried some of the newer releases (like the medio siglo) to make a fair assessment between aged Cohiba and new production.

Am curious about your comment on recent production Cohiba vs, mid-2010s. Is that in reference to quality of tobacco, blend and construction? (This is my interpretation). If so, what would you say are the major differences?

Also curious if price is a factor to Cohiba vs Trinidad, in terms of buying patterns? Due to price increases, Cohiba has become ultra priced vs. Trinidad. This could be why there is more reference to Trinidad vs Cohiba in the various threads. Using price and quality as factors, I can see why Trinidad is outpacing Cohiba as the quality and price are both there for Trinidad. All things being equal, I would buy Trinidad due to price point today vs Cohiba due to price point (even though Cohiba has historically been a big portion of what I acquired)

I share your view on Trinidad recent vitolas additions are smoking very well and the 2019s regular reproduction across marcas that I have smoked all are more approachable now. What I have found is that they are lol too consistent, meaning that the nuance and interplay between flavours throughout the cigar are more uniform (this would be across marcas as well) vs. Trinidad and other marcas of early 2000s. More instant gratification vs. Patience will be rewarded. (Not a bad thing)

Will be curious to see the impact of aging on the 2018 to 2020 vintages will have over time. Will recent production continue to have that uniform consistency or will further development and flavour evolution occur as they age? I think it would but would like to get your thoughts (and others too) on this.


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[Dusk]

[Trimming]

[mprach024]

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

If I use a sporting analogy, the reason why NFL is arguably one of the world-leading sporting products is because the people that run that game actively make sure to stick to a 16 game season. By doing this, the NFL ensures that their brand is more valuable as they avoid diluting and over-marketing their product.

Very nice write up John.  Great insight and I found it very informative.  Of course the NFL just increased their number of games from 16-17, so let the dilution begin!!! Now my Lions can lose one more game next season.

[Grady]

8 hours ago, mtd057 said:

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon were both beautiful days in Denver - I love this time of year.  Montecristo #1 from a 2008 jar and Punch Coronation TOS ABR 2016.

How was the Montecristo #1 from the 2008 jar?  It's going to be a couple of months before I give mine a try ...

 

 

[glaesthetic]

40th birthday yesterday and a BOTL was kind enough to open a special bottle he had been holding on to for years. Siglo V paired nicely with it. 

[Kongelunden]

Nice autumn weather here in Copenhagn today, so enjoyed a BBF in the afternoon sun - box code ULA DIC 14. Very enjoyable, with great bolivar flavors, and more earthy sweetness as compared to yesterday's BRC ? Truly a great cigar with perfect construction, and plenty of thick smoke production ?

[Raskol]

C&C time. PLPC (2017) from our host.

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[jcorona]

Psd4

Hdm petit robo

[BlueRidgeFly]

Boli PC BRE SEP 18, and a D4 BUP ABR 19, both excellent!

[Kai Ø]

Best buds

[Bijan]

Took advantage of some of the last of the nice weather today.

Punch Double Corona (my first DC) and RyJ Churchill.

And PSD4 last night.

Ready for a winter of minutos, entreactos and the occasional Petit Corona... ?

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Juan Lopez Seleccion #1 UTL ABR 19

 

[JohnS]

16 hours ago, maverickdrinker said:

Thanks for sharing your perspective on Cohiba.

Admittedly, I haven’t smoked too many recent regular production Cohiba vitolas or even tried some of the newer releases (like the medio siglo) to make a fair assessment between aged Cohiba and new production.

Am curious about your comment on recent production Cohiba vs, mid-2010s. Is that in reference to quality of tobacco, blend and construction? (This is my interpretation). If so, what would you say are the major differences?

Also curious if price is a factor to Cohiba vs Trinidad, in terms of buying patterns? Due to price increases, Cohiba has become ultra priced vs. Trinidad. This could be why there is more reference to Trinidad vs Cohiba in the various threads. Using price and quality as factors, I can see why Trinidad is outpacing Cohiba as the quality and price are both there for Trinidad. All things being equal, I would buy Trinidad due to price point today vs Cohiba due to price point (even though Cohiba has historically been a big portion of what I acquired)

I share your view on Trinidad recent vitolas additions are smoking very well and the 2019s regular reproduction across marcas that I have smoked all are more approachable now. What I have found is that they are lol too consistent, meaning that the nuance and interplay between flavours throughout the cigar are more uniform (this would be across marcas as well) vs. Trinidad and other marcas of early 2000s. More instant gratification vs. Patience will be rewarded. (Not a bad thing)

Will be curious to see the impact of aging on the 2018 to 2020 vintages will have over time. Will recent production continue to have that uniform consistency or will further development and flavour evolution occur as they age? I think it would but would like to get your thoughts (and others too) on this.

Art, one thing that experienced cigar enthusiasts, such as ourselves, are in peril of doing is becoming sentimental. By that I mean we can glorify past smoking experiences so highly that the same marca/vitola smoked at the present time might be exemplary but in our minds it might not be as good as a fabled stick smoked in the past. An example of this might be comparing current production Siglo VI with the halcyon initial 2003 run. Or perhaps any Cohiba with the 2009 Gran Reserva Cosecha Siglo VI. I had a deep reflection on this question last night and I had to admit that my feeling towards mid-2010s Cohiba in comparison to current production was biased for the following reasons:

1. I have a lot of my Cohiba stock from this period, a number of which I'm yet to 'crack' open.
2. I think I have some resentment 'spilling over' when it comes to this marca due to the re-release of the Cohiba Talisman in 2019 which I question in regards to its impact upon regular production Cohiba.
3. Yes, the price factor is more relevant, I would agree. I spoke to a US member on FoH ZOOM a few months ago and we were discussing Siglo VI approaching $US35 a stick. For this member that was a 'cut-off' point. For myself, I have Siglo VI from 2015 I'm yet to open and for which I'm glad I bought at that time and not now.
4. I have to be honest enough to admit that some '18-19 Cohiba such as Esplendidos, Lanceros, Siglo III and Siglo V I have smoked have been every bit as good as any Cohiba I've smoke, old or young.

I guess I made my comment based on trends on this forum. As an example, where has the Cohiba Robustos disappeared to? I seem to remember it been much, much more prevalent on this Daily Smoking thread and the Cuban Purchase thread.

As to the impact of aging on the 2018 to 2020 vintages will have over time, my feelings are that in general if a cigar is smoking really well when young, it's just as likely to evolve and smoke just as well as it ages. For me, cigars that are 'ugly ducklings' when youthful rarely evolve into 'beautiful swans' after years of aging.

One further thing I must add, sentimentality isn't all bad. I love the memories and feelings I get when I read your excellent blog, Art. Some of the cigars you've smoked this year really encourage me to persist in the pursuit of this hobby and seeking the next 'hot' cigar, whether it's a recent one or whether it's an aged 'hot' box code vitola.

15 hours ago, mprach024 said:

Very nice write up John.  Great insight and I found it very informative.  Of course the NFL just increased their number of games from 16-17, so let the dilution begin!!! Now my Lions can lose one more game next season.

Really, I honestly wasn't aware of that. Ooh, is this the beginning of a slippery slope for the NFL? Best guess...the increase in games was due to the impact of COVID-19 or maybe it's a permanent fixture? We'll see!

On a further note, is is true that the Lions can lose every game of the season excepting the Green Bay Packer clashes? If the Lions defeat the Packers in these grudge matches then that redeems the season for a Lions fan?

[JohnS]

Vegas Robaina Famosos AEM May 2015

I waited four years to 'crack open' this box in 2019 and I went through half the box in that year. This cigar is my fourth Vegas Robaina Famosos in 2020, but my first since early May. Overall, I'd rate this box thus far as been simply outstanding. Vegas Robaina is a marca that is easily overlooked but when you get a fantastic box of this marca, it really can be like nothing else.

Today's cigar had quality lush tobacco and grass, soft creamy milk chocolate, dates, baking spice and floral notes here and there. In a word...luscious from 'go-to-whoa'!

I have one-quarter of this box left and I feel that it's hit its peak after today's cigar. I could leave the remaining cigars for another year or two but the fact is that the last few cigars having been smoking so well that there's really no need to.

Diplomáticos No.2  EML Ago 2014

At just over six years of age, this Diplomaticos No.2 was strong on sourdough, had some capsicum or bell pepper, nutmeg and wood but this time it had no cloved or paprika spice. The texture of the cigar on the palate was also completely different than some of the toasty Diplomaticos No.2s I had from this box in 2019, that is, it was more akin to an older cigar.

The blend, flavour profile and balance of this Diplomaticos No.2 was just 'spot-on' for me today. After finishing it I reflected to myself how good it would be if this blend were available again in another vitola in the Diplomaticos marca, such as the long-since discontinued No.1, No.3, No.4 and No.5. I suppose one could dream, couldn't they?

[THEMISCHMAN]

Illusione Epernay Le Grande.

[LLC]

ARS AGO 18 Fundy. Excellent construction and flavors. Wish they were all this good.




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[GVan]

My first ever RASS - it was just ok.  Did not have the expected RASS flavors I've read so much about ....