tobacco – Malt Mileage Whisky & Spirit Reviews

The Ashton Virgin Sun Grown (VSG) line is blended by Carlos Fuente Jr using Dominican tobacco which has been aged 4 to 5 years. The wrapper tobacco, grown on a private estate in Ecuador, is said to heavily contribute to the flavour profile of the cigars in the line. Taken from the higher primings of the tobacco plant, the theory is that the leaf matures slowly as sunlight is filtered through the layer of cloud which commonly covers the land.

The flavour of this cigar is robust and intense with heavy notes of splintered cedar, muddied bark, resinous wood and earthiness, sediment rich Turkish coffee, roasted coffee beans, the darkest chocolate, potent dried oregano, dried whole walnuts, and, a bitter chicory finish. Soapy suds form on the back palate, joined by mild floral notes. A sweetness balances the quite earthy and woody flavour journey, from first puff to last. This is a balanced and full flavoued cigar with a slightly oily touch to the lips. Spectacular.

Try it with a peaty malt, such as Ardbeg 10 year old or Perpetuum.

A must buy for any cigar aficionado! Full marks.

Romeo y Julieta No 2 (Cuba)

March 8, 2015August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Romeo y Julieta No 2 (Cuba)
Rating:	★★★
Origin:	Cuba
Cigar info:	The Romeo y Julieta No 2 are machine made petit coronas with a ring gauge of 42. Romeo y Julieta are perhaps one of the world’s most well-known Cuban cigar brands, with a “house” flavour commonly associated with wood and cedar.
Draw:	Good
Burn:	Below average. The cigar had an uneven burn and it needed frequent puffing to stay alight.
Construction:	Average
Strength:	Medium
Flavours:	The Romeo y Julieta No 2 offers a lovely spectrum of flavours that are only let down by the below average burn of the cigar, which gives it harsh burning bonfire undertones that grind against the palate. Find wood, cloves, spice, campfire notes, burnt orange peel, lime, cracked pepper, curry powder and a subtle toasted wood sappiness with wood vanillas. Towards the nub the cigar becomes harsher and more full flavoured with the spritz of lemon fresh dishwashing liquid and soap, entangled with denser tobacco and more flavours from the wrapper.
Format:	Petit Corona
Match with:	Try this cigar with some dry wors or other peppery cured meats, or a spicy pot still Irish whiskey.
Bottom line:	Don’t bother. The No 2 in the range seems to be a hit and miss with consistency. The stick I last smoked had very impressive flavours, but its construction and burn really let it down – the burn was uneven and the cigar needed a lot of frequent puffing to keep it alight. This resulted in a smoke that was marred by harshness and pronounced tar and bonfire flavours, though between those moments there was some really lovely spicy Cuban kick and complex flavours. That said, you could get that spicy Cuban kick of tobacco flavour in many other Cuban – or fuller flavoured Nicaraguan or Dominican – cigars, and not have to fret over the burn issues and inconsistent I have experienced with this cigar.

Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill (Cuba)

February 11, 2015August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill (Cuba)
Rating:	★★★★
Origin:	Cuba
Cigar info:	The Romeo y Julieta Wide Chuchill is a stubby 13 centimeter long cigar with a 55 ring gauge so you can expect some complex, intense and sharp flavours to leap out of this rolled bunch of tobacco. Romeo y Julieta are perhaps one of the world’s most well-known Cuban cigar brands, with a “house” flavour commonly associated with wood and cedar. The Wide Churchill is an addition to the Romeo y Julieta family that seems to play on the wide ring gauge to differentiate itself from the rest of the familia. As the below tasting notes show, you can expect an interesting flavour packed experience with this cigar that surpasses what you might have tried in a Romeo y Julieta No 1, No 2 or No 3. This is a cigar for the serious cigar aficionado, not just the fellas who might puff a cigar once in a blue moon or for something to do on a bucks night.
Draw:	Excellent
Burn:	Excellent
Construction:	Excellent
Strength:	Medium
Flavours:	There is no mistake that this cigar is a Romeo y Julieta. With each puff the taste of wood and cedar dominates, and then fades into a spicy finish full of black pepper, cocoa, espresso and the bitter bite of chicory and rocket. With each puff memories of my grandfather’s Italian salad came to mind, which was made from more bitter and woody salads than you can poke a stick at and drizzled in olive oil. As the cigar progresses it becomes more intense and flavour packed, with notes of black Spanish olives, burning wood, burnt herb bread, oregano, charcoal, ash and more of the wrapper on the finish. Overall, this is a solid and rounded smoke of medium strength that maintains a consistent woody profile beneath some interesting fireworks of flavour.
Format:	Robusto
Match with:	This cigar paired nicely with a fine sipping rum that had enough age and oak influence to accentuate the woody style of Romeo y Julieta, but at the same time cut through the tobacco smoke and dance in tandem with the spices. Try it with Pusser’s 15 year old, Appleton Estate 21 year old or Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros. This cigar would also pair nicely with a peaty malt, such as a Bowmore with its undertones of peppermint.
Bottom line:	Buy it, if you are after a solid and balanced cigar with rounded flavours that are emblematic of Romeo y Julieta cigars but also push the boundaries with more kick, spice and complexity than the standard range of the Romeo y Julieta family. This cigar may not blow your head off with flavour, but it was an easy smoking bundle of Cuban joy.

La Gloria Cubana (Dominican Republic)

January 28, 2015August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	La Gloria Cubana
Rating:	★★★★
Origin:	Dominican Republic
Cigar info:	Almost a decade after Senator Ernesto Perez-Carrillo fled Cuba in 1959 he rekindled a bit of his homeland in Miami’s Little Havana in 1968, when he began to make La Gloria Cubana cigars. Needless to say, it seems they were a hit and production of these cigars continues to this very day in both Miami and the Dominican Republic. La Gloria Cubana contains long filler tobacco from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Nicaragua, which means that this 7 inch Churchill is a bunch of long full leaves all lovingly rolled together and wrapped in a dark Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper – that bad boy, as you will see from our tasting notes, is responsible for much of this cigar’s flavour. The ring gauge is a standard of 50.
Draw:	Excellent
Burn:	Excellent
Construction:	Excellent
Strength:	Mild-Medium
Flavours:	The dark Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper clings against my lips, coating it with an oily film and a sour taste that is pleasant and offers hues of woodiness. Dark chocolate and unsweetened espresso accompany the oiliness, with notes of mild campfire, charred twigs and a bitter finish of chicory infused within the tobacco smoke. Mid-way the cigar becomes fuller, gaining soapy notes for a few puffs which then recede and are taken over by a consistent woodiness and earthy sourness – that chicory bitterness remains, though the chicory is wilder and reddened with an intensified sourness while a puckering red wine cask finish reminds me of the woody dimension of some Pinot Noir wines. The filler tobacco seemed to balance out the bitterness and sourness of the wrapper, to create an enjoyable and imminently puff-able cigar. This is an elegant cigar that is mostly consistent throughout, though the sourness intensifies towards the end. Excellent.
Format:	Churchill
Match with:	This cigar pairs nicely with a soft red wine, such as a light Pinot Noir, or a wine cask finish whisky – try it with Glenmorangie Companta or Benromach Sassicaia.
Bottom line:	Buy it, if you are after a balanced cigar with a bitter chicory finish and shades of earthy woodiness that showcase the flavours of a lovely Ecuadorian Sumatran wrapper. These wrappers can sometimes be quite sour or bitter and thus overbearing on the palate, but La Gloria Cubana seem to have selected a wrapper that integrates nicely with the filler tobacco but which holds its own and becomes prominent on the finish. Superb. *Thank you to cigarscity.com for the stick!

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne (Nicaragua)

January 6, 2015August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Perdomo 10^th Anniversary Champagne
Rating:	★★★★
Origin:	Nicaragua
Cigar details:	The Perdomo 10^th Anniversary Champagne is handmade using a Nicaraguan binder and filler, and, a Connecticut natural shade wrapper. Being grown in the shade, the tobacco wrapper is intended to have few veins and an even surface for a delicate and smooth smoking experience.
Draw:	Excellent
Burn:	Excellent, even if uneven at certain points
Construction:	Excellent
Strength:	Milder side of medium
Flavours:	From the first puff the taste of creamy vanilla is prominent, entangled with pistachio, almond, burnt toast, cocoa, coffee and a soft bonfire burns at back palate with hints of cedar on the finish. An inch into the cigar, and the bonfire taste on the finish begins to fade. Tropical fruit starts to emerge, mostly lychee and fresh fleshy coconut, and a mild spiciness prickles the palate – hints of pepper and red chili especially. That bonfire taste on the finish, while fading, slowly morphs into bitter dark chocolate and roasted coffee. Zesty undertones form beneath the complex layers of flavour mid-way through, in particular lemon and soft citrus. The flavours remain consistent, and the cigar is very puff-able.
Format:	Epicure (Toro)
Match with:	This cigar paired nicely with Bushmills 16 year old Irish whiskey, lychee beer and a number of rums, including Appleton Estate 21 year old, Havana Club Seleccion de Meastros and Pusser’s Blue Label.
Bottom line:	Buy it, if you want a smooth and easy smoking cigar with layers of complex flavours packed within a big, bold yet silken tobacco smoke. *Thank you to cigarscity.com for the stick!

Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve (Nicaragua)

December 15, 2014August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve
Rating:	★★★
Origin:	Nicaragua
Cigar details:	The Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve line is comprised on Nicaraguan and Honduran long fillers encased in a dark Nicaraguan wrapper. They are hand made in the Flor de Copan factory in Honduras.
Draw:	Excellent
Burn:	Excellent
Construction:	Excellent
Strength:	Medium, gradually becoming fuller as the cigar is smoked
Flavours:	The first few puffs are hugely disappointing – burning paper and bonfire burn the back palate with rigid embers, though notes of cedar, wood, citrus and pepper come through the smoky haze of harshness.Without warning, the harshness mellows about two centimeters or so into the stick. The bonfire taste mellows, to the point where it fades completely. Magic happens. The cigar becomes extremely integrated and smooth, with pronounced citrus, cocoa, ground coffee, mild creaminess, hints of honey, cedar, edamame, dried parsley and a sweet peppery heart – capsicum, crisp fresh peppers and bull horn chilies, not cracked pepper. The tobacco smoke is moderately dense, but no means overbearing. It is very puff-able. This is the sweet spot, and the cigar smokes impeccably from a few centimeters to around the half way point. Just this part of the cigar would easily score into the 90’s – superb. The sharp contrast from the harsh beginning makes this part of the cigar especially pleasant, because the taste buds seem so relieved to finally sit back and enjoy the party.At half way, the harshness returns. Bonfire embers burn the back palate, and sit in the upper throat with the nagging taste of burning paper. Two thirds into the cigar, the bonfire harshness recedes and the cigar now becomes much more noticeably fuller – find hazelnuts, coal fire, wood, dark cocoa and perfumed soap infused in the dense tobacco smoke. The cigar quickly becomes hot to draw, however, and the revival is short lived.
Format:	Toro
Match with:	Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve is a medium to full cigar with lots of varying temperaments. Try it with something that can douse those occasional harsh embers, but which will compliment the impeccable “sweet spot” – a Corona with lemon and similar style crisp lager is recommended.
Bottom line:	Seriously consider buying it. Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve took me on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs – a harsh start was followed by a sensationally smooth and flavourful experience which lasted until the cigar’s half way point, at which some harshness re-emerged until the cigar regained some full flavoured magic only to stumble again towards the nub of the cigar and become a tad too hot to handle. The cigar’s “sweet spot” and subsequent stint of full flavoured magic is, in my opinion, well worth buying this cigar and the long filler tobacco leaf tells quite an entertaining story of ups and downs.*Thank you to cigarscity.com for the stick!

Perdomo Double Aged 12 year Connecticut (Nicaragua)

November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Perdomo Double Aged 12 year Connecticut
Score:	79/100
Origin:	Nicaragua
Cigar details:	This cigar is made from tobacco that has been aged for 12 years, first bale aged for 10 years and then in white oak bourbon barrels for a further two years.
Draw:	Excellent
Burn:	Excellent, though it did burn quite evenly and it needed some touching up.
Construction:	Excellent
Consistency:	Excellent
Flavours:	Very smooth, soft notes of vanilla and coffee soaked brown sugar underpin a mild dark chocolate infused tobacco smoke that fades into a woody finish that showcases the Connecticut wrapper. Bourbon flavours have certainly infused into the cigar. The flavours of wood are prominent, but they are softened by mild hues of caramel and the faint flicker of brown sugar as the sweet flavours of the Jalapa tobacco counterbalances the richer heavier tobaccos (such as from Esteli). With each draw the wood notes in the cigar evolve, from woody splinters into more nuanced and delicate wood spices as buttered burnt toast lingers on the finish, accompanying the woody notes. Half way through, and the strength of the tobacco smoke intensifies with more pronounced burnt hay/bonfire and soft notes of bitter dried herbs. A harshness then develops, which is too much for the sweet components of the cigar to counteract – that bonfire note remains on the palate, producing a mismatch with and almost spoiling the enjoyment of paired spirits. The first half of this cigar was sublime but unfortunately after the half-way point it became harsh and unenjoyable, ruined in my view by the taste of burning paper/bonfire. What a monumental change of enjoyment I experienced smoking this cigar, at first I could not get enough of it but after two thirds I had no desire to continue smoking it.
Format:	Robusto
Match with:	The first half of this cigar was divine with some spirits, while the second half went off the rails and did not produce the same caliber of carefully balanced smoke that made it worthy of a pairing with a fine spirit. This will sound cliché, but the first half of this cigar paired beautifully with a bourbon – Eagle Rare 17 year old was my bourbon of choice with this cigar, a combination which released a lovely buttery note with seeded raisins and sweetened coffee. It also pairs nicely with whiskies that showcase delicately cultivated oak notes from careful aging, and I found it was delicious with Glenlivet 18 year old and Glen Grant 16 year old. A number of rums also brought a welcome shimmer of sweetness to the party, but the oak notes underlying them really brought to life the cigar’s wood infused heart – try it with Pusser’s 15 year old or Havana Club 7 year old.

Macanudo Estate Reserve Robusto (Dominican Republic)

November 8, 2014August 4, 2015 by maltmileage, posted in Cigars

Name:	Macanudo Estate Reserve
Batch:	0290/1800 – 2014
Rating:	★★★★★
Origin:	Dominican Republic
Cigar details:	This cigar is handmade from Jamaican binder and filler tobacco and wrapped with a US Connecticut shade wrapper. The tobacco has been aged for at least 8-10 years.
Draw:	Flawless
Burn:	Flawless, with an even burn that did not extinguish even when the cigar was left alone.
Construction:	Excellent
Consistency:	Excellent
Flavours:	This is an ultra-smooth cigar that errs to the milder side of a medium strength smoke. It can easily underwhelm an experienced smoker, but its subtle flavours are sublime for those who enjoy an elegant cigar with lots of nuances and complexity – find a foundation of cocoa, cappuccino, ground coffee, crushed nuts, vanilla and soft cream beneath the silken cedar infused tobacco smoke as it prickles the palate with hints of pepper.
Format:	Robusto
Match with:	This is a very smooth cigar that can easily be dominated by some whiskies and spirits. The last thing you want with a cigar of this age and style is to lose its flavours to a tsunami of malt and oak. Try it with Glenmorangie Companta, Appleton Estate 21 year old rum, Glen Grant 10 year old or any Chivas Regal. This cigar also matches nicely with a mild espresso (try a Honduran single origin) or an iced coffee.